A History of US Tariffs, Anyone?… Anyone?

Tariffs are nothing new in the US, but they have a long history of being controversial. The following chart shows the average US tariff rate on imports since the 1820’s, followed by an excellent explanation of the 1930 “Hawley-Smoot” tariff, as per Ben Stein… Anyone? Anyone?…

"In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone?... the Great Depression, passed the... Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?... raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression. Today we have a similar debate over this. Anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve. Anyone know what this says? It says that at this point on the revenue curve, you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point. This is very controversial. Does anyone know what Vice President Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Something-d-o-o economics. "Voodoo" economics."

-Ben Stein, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.