Quote:I was a little disappointed that one of the things he said went sailing through, and that was, when he was asked about how he intended to stop companies from moving factories to other countries, and his answer was, put a tax on the stuff they would make and import back into the US.   I think this is a serious policy proposal that deserves debate, but I guess Clinton figured that saying anything about that would not be to her advantage, so she let it go. 

 

My personal reaction to such a proposal is that it amounts to raising taxes to save jobs.  I don't want to pay more for stuff just to save someone else's job.  I'm not sure it would work, anyway.  If Carrier Air Conditioner doesn't build a plant in Mexico, some European company will, and they will have a cost advantage and will sell their stuff at lower prices in the US.   So what would we do about that?   Charge an import tax on their stuff too?   Where does this end?  Do we just erect a wall around the US and let no imports into this country?   Raising taxes on imported goods is a dumb idea, it would lead to other countries doing the same thing to us, and that would probably lead to a world wide recession or depression.  

 

Raising taxes to support jobs is not something I would expect from a Republican.  Maybe an extreme liberal democrat, but not a Republican. 

 

The reality is complicated.  The bottom line is that taxes shouldn't be raised on the vast majority of Americans.  But the corporations and billionaires have been getting tax breaks for way too long.  Hillary is right, trickle down economics doesn't work.  It's time they start paying thier fair share.

 

As for import taxes...  it's one way to go.  I think there are better ways to support business in the USA.  But in order to make american workers and middle class competitive takes investment in eduction, infrastruction, and creation of new industries.  That takes money.  Money that should be raised via increasing the taxes on corporations and the 1%.  

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