Oren Cass has written several articles about the need for tariffs to save America. Like all his writings on this subject, he reveals that he has learned enough economics to be a nuisance but not enough to be helpful. In them, he accuses economists of only thinking about the costs of tariffs, such as the increased prices, the net loss of jobs, stagnated economic progress, and the retaliatory tariffs which other nations levy against America, which cost us dearly. At this point, anyone following his work can be left with but one conclusion: he will not let facts stand in the way of his agenda. While his tenacity is admirable, his economic prowess is not.
In these articles, Cass commits three fundamental errors: 1) a misapplication of what economists call “externalities,” 2) falling victim to the water-diamond paradox, and 3) a disregard of secondary effects.
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