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They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means “The Ultimate Argument of Kings,” and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. “We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it’s about: You’ll do as I say or I’ll send my goons to kill you.”
I thought about that for a long time. If there’s an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I’ve got bullets – he’s got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that’s not going to happen. So if there’s an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain’t bullets.
It finally came to me – and that’s when I abandoned the city and most of my stuff, and gave all that was behind me a good stiff Randian Shrug.
The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.
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We could always make our own beer, of course. Some other things might be a lot more trouble to replace… like fresh fruits and vegetables. We may be glad we stocked up on canned stuff after all.
only if you insist on buying imports.
I insist on making my own choices. You can also buy whatever you wish… or not buy it.
Imports are very often the only thing available. Do you buy bananas? Coffee? Lots of things won’t grow anywhere in the US. If you don’t want to buy them, fine. You can’t speak for anyone else.
Have you ever studied the history of traders and trade? People have traded among themselves and with strangers at incredibly long distances since the beginning of at least recorded history. The struggle for free trade, with nobody interfering, has gone on as long, of course. Smuggling – giving the finger to the thieves and prohibitionists in “government,” is actually the “oldest profession.”
“only if you insist on buying imports.” Oh goodness. If only the world were that simple! Prices are controlled by supply & demand. If Mexican beer goes up in price and consumers respond by switching to domestic brews, then that puts upward pressure on the price of USA-made beer.
And often you have no way of avoiding Mexican goods. For example: When you buy “American” beer, you have no information about where the ingredients were sourced. It could have Mexican grain in it. Also your “USA” beef might have been fattened with foreign-sourced feed. Your “American” car will almost certainly contain Mexican parts.
Raising the price of Mexican vegetables will also raise the price of American vegetables, because that’s how Economics works. The same is true with most anything that Mexico imports to the USA, including gasoline and cars. The result of a tariff will be inflation.
A tariff is a tax, pure and simple. It means you can’t eat without also feeding the tax man.
The economies of the United States, Canada and Mexico are so intertwined that there really isn’t “just buy American.” anymore. As far as import tariffs go, get ready to pay a lot more for a lot of products. Even if the label says it’s American made just about all those products use some foreign parts and those parts will be taxed.
This will give you an idea of how the trade situation works. Click on the Gif and move the globe to America and look at where the trade flow goes.
http://metrocosm.com/map-international-trade/
The major cause of lost jobs in the United States (and Canada for that matter) is not from foreign countries stealing them, it’s from automation. In his quest to bring jobs back El Presidente Trump will end up costing people a lot more money for very little return. El Presidente Trump simply does not have the means to get rid of the assembly line robots that build just about everything you use.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3896342/Mexico-taking-US-factory-jobs-Blame-robots-instead.html
That Tariff might well raise prices. It will also make some stuff grown or produced in the US more competitive…..Which will enrich Americans.
Also, it will damage the Mexicans.
Either way, we get our wall. I really don’t care if we have to pay for it or they do. Either way, we greatly reduce the inflow of illegals, drugs and gang members into the US.
I really fail to see how that is a bad thing.
But then again, I am an American, and loyal to my country and the Citizens of the US first..not citizens of other countries.
But I am odd like that.
“It will also make some stuff grown or produced in the US more competitive…..Which will enrich Americans.”
Oh I agree! Rising prices for American goods will certainly “enrich Americans”. But which Americans will be the benefactors? I suspect that it won’t be the ones who read this blog.
For us ordinary folks, new tariffs mean rising prices for consumer goods, such as food! We already have enough income disparity in this country. Those Americans at the top of the food chain are already rich enough. They don’t need our help.
I agree that tariffs and duties are a bad way to go. The cleanest solution is a 3 or 5% transaction fee on every remittance wired to Mexico by Western Union or any other such service. A high percentage of what goes to Mexico is black money paid off the books so I do not see this as a bad thing for the US Economy. Also, making it low enough to not cause the mob to get involved is a plus and over time we will get that wall paid for and then some.
Once the wall is up, then you can raise that fee to 10% and watch the self repatriation begin. If this is coupled with eliminating regulations and lowering corporate income tax (a fiction, every consumer of the product taxed pays for it), job creation will skyrocket. My 2c from Econ 101 pre-progessive era (PPE)
Maybe I live in a weird location, but I sure don’t seem to find Las Cerveza Mexicana to be less expensive than domestic in my AO. Neither in the bars, nor in the retail stores…
Hmm, I am sure there are variations across the country on Messican beer, but locally you can get Negra Modelo on tap for 1.98 a pint where the local craft brewery is getting $4 to 6 a pint, then again, I have not been buying national distributed bulk produced swill for many years and do not know what it goes for.
Oh, local is SW Michigan, where we are literally swamped with illegals mixing in with the population
I don’t get it,who the hell buys Mexican beer?
Anyone who needs a good laxative, billf…
Some Mexican beers benefit from the talents of immigrant Germans many years ago. To the best of my knowledge – Corona is not one of them.
This ruling by decree is getting interesting. The devil is in the details – not so well suited to Twittering. I predict hurt feeling all around sooner or later as we all get a turn in the barrel.
It ain’t Hillary – there’s that to be said.
End consumers pay for everything. As everyone here knows, there’s no such thing as a tax on a company of any size.
I like milk, and I pay the cost of supporting it and producing it. If you like Mexican products, you will pay the cost of supporting them.