Trump’s steel tariffs: A literary/pop culture response
Economics

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This originally appeared in the March 1 edition of the Nelson Report.
Searching for larger explanations of the chaotic last 24 hours of trade policymaking in the Trump administration, serious (and non-serious) literary analogies come to mind. First, many loyal readers may be too young, but Katherine Porter’s famous novel
Ship of Fools fits the bill here — a hapless group who takes passage looking for a utopia. In our case, the utopia is the Great Wall of protection, and the White House trade policy staff are replicas of the witless passengers.
Then there are less serious comparisons. Two come to mind: “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight,” and any episode of the Keystone Cops. I am sure there are others — maybe Don Quixote — but time and space don’t allow.
Though if those were steel or aluminum windmills, we should certainly protect them. . . .
http://www.aei.org/publication/trumps-steel-tariffs-a-literary-pop-culture-response/