OK, we’ve thought about the economic implications of tariffs, but what about the moral implications?

 

In this episode, I continue to philosophize on tariffs, this time with Libertarian and fellow podcast host Eric Benzenhoefer. Eric is the co-host of the Idea Tank Podcast, where he pontificates on potential business ideas. The continued news about Trump instituting steel and aluminum duties on China force us to evaluate the merit (or lack thereof) of such economic decisions. This time, we go deeper into the moral implications of import/export fees, and by extension – taxes.

 

Key Points in the Podcast:

-Getting into Libertarianism

-The Trump tariff situation

-The 3rd party soda tax

-Policy should be derived from morally based principles, not in-the-moment emotions

-Property rights are inherent to everyone

-Government attempts to manipulate behavior through policies (such as taxes and tariffs)

-The analog between taxation and theft

-The economic inefficiency of tariffs

-The island economy thought exercise

-The Libertarian tax abolitionist movement

-Stepping stones to a more moral society

 

Lastly, you can subscribe to The Post Money Plan podcast here.