The Law of Unintended Consequences Isn't Always Bad - A Look at Steel Tariffs in the US

Our government is usually the epitome of the lawIndeed, I told the Sierra Club lady, that the steel
of unintended consequences. Most everything thetariff taxes hurt the auto industry, the truck
government does is inefficient and nearly everymanufacturers, ship builders, and Caterpillar
law they make causes problems somewhere else,tractor, that could no longer compete with other
challenges which they will solve for us in thetractor manufacturers around the world and
future. Occasionally, the government doestherefore they were unable to sell their tractors
something really stupid, and accidentally somethingin China and get some of our trade deficit back.
good becomes of it.She said she didn't care because it saved the
Just the other day, I was in Starbucks talking todesert tortise, because less people were going
someone from the Sierra Club, and they wereout into the desert to dump their old cars. I told
drinking some kind of foo-foo latte drink, and theyher that she was a very smart lady and she had
told me that because of the high steel tariffall figured out and she should run for Congress
taxes, that the price of junk steel hasbecause she would fit in really well with the people
skyrocketed. So what people were doing is theythere. She thanked me so much for the
were going out into the desert where people hadcompliments shook my hand and smiled. She then
abandoned old cars and they were collecting thewalked out while singing a tune, totally oblivious to
cars, and taking them to the recycle yard andthe reality of the world.
collecting on the money for the steel.