“The secrets of economic success are now known around the world: private ownership, legally enforceable contracts, thrift, low taxation, the free flow of capital, and the avoidance of war. Men still trust in government-controlled monetary systems [unfortunately] . . . But on the whole, people now know what makes societies rich: the free market.” —Gary North, May 22, 2002, (emphasis added)
President-elect Donald Trump is a well known champion of tariffs as a means to revive the country’s economy—not reducing them, but jacking them up. Calling tariffs “the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” he’s proposed even larger tariffs than the ones he had in his first term—“60 percent or more on China, and up to 20 percent on most goods from other countries.”
Further, “Tariff Man” has threatened American manufacturers such as John Deere with crushing tariffs if they move their manufacturing plants outside the US. It looks like his rule is: build it here or else.
Tariffs, like any other state interference into the economy, distorts too much activity in ways that are unhelpful for the consumers, the bosses in the economy. Sound money makes an economy, therefore, country great. BTC may just be that sound money.