David Urban’s op-ed piece (June 6, “Tariffs Are Good for Pennsylvania”) is surprisingly unoriginal even for a Trump supporter. He parrots conservative talking points that have been used to justify economic theories that have yielded little benefit to the middle class.
Case in point, “the nation’s five biggest steel producers ... gained nearly $700 million in market value” subsequent to Donald Trump’s tariff announcement. This, without producing an additional ton of steel or a single dollar added to employee wages. Nothing has been gained for manufacturing except to increase corporate and investor wealth.
Mr. Urban spoke volumes when he said, “American workers have been ripped off for decades.” Clearly, tariffs and trickle-down economics such as those promoted by him and the present administration have repeatedly failed American manufacturing workers in “the forgotten sectors.” Furthermore, they will not likely help them now. History reveals that these sectors were not forgotten but ignored by industries that sought the cheapest production costs possible.
I have heard protectionist arguments before, and they do not sound any better now when trumpeted (pun intended) by Dave Urban.
LAWRENCE C. KORCHNAK
Hampton
First Published: June 9, 2018, 4:00 a.m.
