I feel like that as usual the devil’s in the details. I think a good point of comparison is Trump’s proposal to have an across the board 10% tariff on all goods and Obama imposing tire tariffs in 2009. The latter was a dumb policy on the merits for the reasons I’m sure you can lay out in detail. But at the end of the day its actual real …
I feel like that as usual the devil’s in the details. I think a good point of comparison is Trump’s proposal to have an across the board 10% tariff on all goods and Obama imposing tire tariffs in 2009. The latter was a dumb policy on the merits for the reasons I’m sure you can lay out in detail. But at the end of the day its actual real world damage was pretty muted because it was so narrowly tailored. In addition, it was part of a policy to save the America auto industry that at least temporarily was successful. And let’s be real; that policy overall was about pandering to swing states like Ohio*. So as much as I think it was bad policy, if I was a political consultant at the time I probably would have given the go ahead.
The Trump tariffs on the other hand would be economically ruinous if actually implemented. One of those policies that sounds great to too many voters who would almost certainly turn around and absolutely notice (and hate) the results.
So I’m willing to give benefit of the doubt..for now. I’m guessing the proposal against “price gauging” is not going to actually involve anything too dramatic like price controls on food (at least I hope not). And honestly if the policy proposed primary component is empowering DOJ or FTC I’m not actually sure on the merits this is bad. Are we really sure that various grocery chains didn’t take the opportunity in 2022 and 2023 to boost prices a bit higher for longer than the market would otherwise dictate?
*worth remembering Obama won Ohio. Pointing out because this political pandering worked given the small margins involved. Also, a reminder that states can go from “blue” to “red” quicker than we think. Thinks it’s quite likely that Ohio will have larger Trump margin than Texas by a good distance (actually think Texas will end up being quite close for a variety of reasons).
I feel like that as usual the devil’s in the details. I think a good point of comparison is Trump’s proposal to have an across the board 10% tariff on all goods and Obama imposing tire tariffs in 2009. The latter was a dumb policy on the merits for the reasons I’m sure you can lay out in detail. But at the end of the day its actual real world damage was pretty muted because it was so narrowly tailored. In addition, it was part of a policy to save the America auto industry that at least temporarily was successful. And let’s be real; that policy overall was about pandering to swing states like Ohio*. So as much as I think it was bad policy, if I was a political consultant at the time I probably would have given the go ahead.
The Trump tariffs on the other hand would be economically ruinous if actually implemented. One of those policies that sounds great to too many voters who would almost certainly turn around and absolutely notice (and hate) the results.
So I’m willing to give benefit of the doubt..for now. I’m guessing the proposal against “price gauging” is not going to actually involve anything too dramatic like price controls on food (at least I hope not). And honestly if the policy proposed primary component is empowering DOJ or FTC I’m not actually sure on the merits this is bad. Are we really sure that various grocery chains didn’t take the opportunity in 2022 and 2023 to boost prices a bit higher for longer than the market would otherwise dictate?
*worth remembering Obama won Ohio. Pointing out because this political pandering worked given the small margins involved. Also, a reminder that states can go from “blue” to “red” quicker than we think. Thinks it’s quite likely that Ohio will have larger Trump margin than Texas by a good distance (actually think Texas will end up being quite close for a variety of reasons).
Seems like there is confusion between "price fixing" and "price gouging." Fixing is per se illegal. Gouging can be illegal, but usually is not.