Constitutional Protection Implemented by Tarrifs
The Spotlight, March 23, 1987
by Raymond E. Walk
Tariffs are a main political subject right now, nothing has changed in 2025.
“A friend of mine has just sent me a copy of Gary North’s newsletter “Biblical Economics Today,” the February/March issue. The subject matter was “Tariffs: The Preferred Tax of Masochists.”
His choice of words, not mine. In other words, those who advocate tarrifs receive some form of sexual satisfaction from the pain and damage caused by tariffs.
Although I have questioned some of North’s logic in the past, generally his presentations are pretty well thought through. Unfortunately, on this issue his writing reflects a severe case of ignorance of what tariffs and protectionism are all about.
A tariff is a tax, he claims, and this is a “dirty little secret” protectionists don’t dare tell you. His logic goes from bad to worse and he finally concludes that those who advocate protection of our economy are immoral individuals who are not leveling with the American people as to the true nature of these actions.
In effect he is calling protectionists “liars by omission” because they are not telling you all the facts.
My response to North is that I as a protectionist am a firm believer in the U.S. Constitution and in the intelligence of those who drafted this famous historical protectionist document. This is the real issue of free trade vs protection-ism. Tariffs are only a device to implement that protection.
The Constitution charges Congress with the responsibility to regulate trade and to regulate the value of the dollar in relation to foreign currencies. It further gives Congress the power to control our money.
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