The US-Canada Trade War

President Trump has announced new tariffs:

25% on all Canadian imports, closing the loophole on imports valued at less than $800, with a lower 10% rate for energy, i.e., oil & gas
25% on all Mexican imports
10% on all Chinese imports, on top of the targeted tariffs Trump introduced in his first term (and which President Biden first retained and then expanded)

These tariffs are much larger than the tariffs Trump imposed during his first term. Those tariffs were targeted – they affected specific industries Trump was hoping to reshore. This is a broad-spectrum approach. It’s a strategy you use to force another state to make concessions in other policy areas. What is Trump trying to do? And will he succeed?

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Cotton is Not What Made the United States Rich

Lately, everyone is arguing that the United States got rich off of cotton. The New York Times recently put out a story arguing that American capitalism “begins on the plantation”. This completely misunderstands the relationship between slave and serf-based agriculture and industrial capitalism. A dominant agricultural industry is not the foundation for industrial success–it is an impediment. Let me show you why…

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How Trump’s Tariff Game Might Play Out

President Trump has already proposed $50 billion in tariffs on China and now wants to seek an additional $100 billion. I’ve noticed that people don’t seem to have much of a sense of scale with tariffs. It’s understandable–tariffs haven’t been a central issue in American politics for a while. We’ve forgotten how to talk about tariff policy and now we’re being made to re-learn. So, without further ado, let’s talk tariffs.

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Trump and May are like Teenagers Playing Chicken in the Parking Lot

A few days ago, President Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May got together for a pow wow. It went so well, they even held hands. Some people saw this as an occasion to contrast the gruff, emotional style of Trump with the more polished style of May. But I see something else–these two leaders have a lot more in common with each other substantively than their personal styles let on.

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No One Should Want Trump to Be Like Andrew Jackson

Today I read that President Trump has hung a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the oval office. One of Trump’s spokespeople heaped praise on Jackson, calling him:

an amazing figure in American history — very unique so many ways

Jackson was indeed unique–uniquely terrible. Many on the left dislike Jackson because of his mistreatment of Native Americans, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Jackson was objectively and provably a disastrous president for all Americans, native or otherwise. I continue to see Trump get compared to Jackson, but none of these comparisons capture just how bad Jackson was for the country. The 1830s were so long ago that few now remember just how absurdly terrible they were. Let me tell you all about it.

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