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Local Columnists
Lessons from the Civil War
- Details
- By Mike Scruggs
The Menace of Sectionalist Politics and Protective Tariffs
Part 8 of 8 on the Morrill Tariff
Protectionist tariffs are a general menace to economic prosperity. Near the beginning of the Great Depression, one of the highest tariff bills in U.S. history, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, was passed on June 17, 1930, by Congress and signed by Republican President Herbert Hoover, who had strongly opposed the bill. Its purpose was to protect suffering American workers, farmers, and businesses from foreign competition. Up until then, exporters were faring well and remained one of the relative strengths in the economy. The House passed the bill 264 to 147, with 244 Republicans and 20 Democrats voting for it. The Senate passed it 44 to 42, with 39 Republicans and 5 Democrats voting for it. As could have been predicted by historical experience, exports soon suffered, dropping 61 percent with even Canada introducing a retaliatory tariff against U.S. goods. Unemployment was at 7.8 percent when Smoot-Hawley passed and jumped to 16.3 percent in 1931 and peaked at 25.1 percent in 1933.62
Mark Thornton and Robert B. Ekelund Jr. in their 2004 book on the economics of the Civil War, summarize some of their general economic conclusions: Protective tariffs benefit some commercial or regional interests in the short to intermediate term, but they do more harm than good to the overall economy. Obviously, some interests are injured. Tariffs are essentially a redistribution of wealth through political means. Protected economic interests often become non-innovative drags on the economy and taxpayers.63
The Secret Betrayal – The Sordid Story Of “Operation Keelhaul” and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s Crimes Against Humanity! – Part 1
- Details
- By W.H. Lamb
“There is nothing so powerful as truth, and often nothing so strange.” - Daniel Webster
“Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains taken to bring it to light.” - George Washington
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country.
“It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.
“In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth—whether about the President or anyone else—save in the rare cases where this would make known to the enemy information of military value which would otherwise be unknown to him.” - Theodore Roosevelt
WHAT WAS “OPERATION KEELHAUL”?
I wasn’t quite old enough to vote for the re-election of President Dwight Eisenhower during his 1956 presidential re-election campaign, although I would have if I could have (one had to be 21 years old to vote for President until 1971, when it was lowered to age 18).
Don’t Get Me Wrong
- Details
- By Ben Graydon
Don’t get me wrong: COVID is very real. It’s just not to be found in a laboratory … nor to be discovered in a person’s body by testing … nor to be prevented by any so-called vaccine … nor to be slowed by cloth masks or social distancing. In THAT sense – the sense alleged when alluded to by those who use the term “the science” or “I follow the science” – COVID is not real. Not at all. But it IS very real … in another way. As a psy-op. As psychological warfare. As theater. As an object of fear. As fearmongering. As spin. As manipulation. As a political tool to steal elections, to drug the masses, to effect change internationally, and, yes, to kill.
A Call To Fight Rising Authoritarianism, in 2022 and Beyond
- Details
- By Veronique de Rugy
At the eve of a new year, it's traditional to make a resolution or two. I have no such list for myself or others, but I do have a wish. For 2022 and beyond, I wish that all of us who still cherish liberal values will band together to oppose the worrisome rise of authoritarianism around the world.
For decades, those inclined toward free markets have focused on authoritarianism coming from the political left. We have spared no energy denouncing and opposing it. We've rightfully been concerned about the push to centralize more power in the hands of federal governments and to increase the scope and size of all government. We have warned that these policies, pursued consistently, pave what the great F.A. Hayek called "the road to serfdom."
Jesus – Christmas
- Details
- By Jim S. Brooks - Roebuck, SC
Sometime during a winter season in the insignificant, ancient Roman Province of Judea-over two thousand years ago-God the Father, in love, chose to send His Word and Spirit into the material world He had created and to reveal Himself in the human flesh of a fully human man who was named by His earthly mother Jesus. That incarnation and its benefits are beyond the mental grasp of any of the seed (mankind) of Adam! The incarnation had many purposes and among them were: (1) to fulfill God's ancient Promise to Israel (to send The Long Promised Anointed One) born of the “seed of a woman” through the line of Abraham and David (Jesus was a human descendent of Eve-not of Adam! Genesis 3-14.)
The Tariff Road to Secession and War
- Details
- By Mike Scruggs
Protectionism versus Free Trade
Part 7 of 8 of a Series on the Morrill Tariff
Whig leaders in congress were again able to pass protectionist legislation in the Tariff of 1842, also known as the “Black Tariff.” This tariff primarily benefited the iron industry, nearly doubling the rates for both raw and manufactured iron goods. It also raised the percentage of dutiable items from about 50 percent to over 85 percent of all imported items. By 1843, imports had dropped by half, thus actually reducing total tariff revenues. Exports dropped approximately 20 percent. This was replaced by the 1846 Walker Tariff that lowered tariff rates to pre-1842 levels after the Whigs lost the presidency and Congress in the 1844 elections.50
The 1857 “Free-Trade” Tariff was passed by a nonpartisan coalition dominated by conservative Southern Democrats and reduced tariff rates to almost free-trade levels. This was strongly opposed by Northern industry and Northern industrial workers. When a financial panic caused by loose banking practices resulted in a Northern recession in 1857, the Republicans blamed it on free trade and the 1857 Tariff Law. By 1858, the Republicans had submitted new tariff legislation, the Morrill Tariff, to the House Ways and Means Committee.51
Like many modern legislative attempts to conceal the purposes, costs, and political and economic benefits and injuries of a bad bill, the title of the Morrill Tariff commences with deceptive obfuscation:
Are We Headed For The Bottom? A Titanic Question Indeed!
- Details
- By W.H. Lamb
A long time ago (actually in 1956, my second year in university—which is a ‘long time ago’ for sure), I took a public speaking class. I really enjoyed that semester, and I’ve done a fair amount of public speaking since those days, an activity that I do enjoy. One of the class assignments was to come up with a “proposal” to accomplish something unusual or difficult, or both. Searching for a suitable topic, I suddenly came up with a “eureka--I have found it” moment (with a ‘tip of the hat’ to the ancient Sicilian philosopher, Archimedes—c. 287-212B.C.). I had recently been reading, for my very first time, about the loss of the passenger liner, RMS Titanic in 1912. What better “unusual” topic could there be, in those halcyon days of 1956, then to come up with a proposal to “RAISE THE TITANIC”, which became my talk’s title?
So I conceived a plausible (for those days) idea on how to raise the wreckage of that famous vessel, once it was discovered (a minor detail that my proposal assumed had been overcome, although Dr. Robert Ballard wouldn’t find the Titanic’s wreck until 1985, and discover that it was in two large pieces). As I recall, my 15-minute talk was a big hit with my classmates, and I received a high mark from my professor. Interestingly, my 1956 speech about raising that famous lost ship was a forerunner of an idea that the author, Clive Cussler, also developed, because back in the 1970’s he wrote his book: “Raise the Titanic”, which was made into a thrilling film of that same name in 1976. The story was riveting and the musical score by the late, great composer, John Barry, was one of his very best and most melodic, exceeded only by his score for one of my very favorite films, “Somewhere In Time.” I’m glad that the book was written, the movie made, and the wonderful music composed. But I had the idea first!
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