Discover how tariffs shape prices, power, and everyday life for American families.
This clear, cautionary look explains why protection often means higher costs for consumers and favors for a few, not the public good.
The book argues that a tariff can become a hidden tax when used to shield private interests. It connects the idea of protection to real-world consequences, from how imported goods are priced to who really benefits when government favors certain industries. The text also places tariff policy in a larger debate about liberty, government power, and fair rules for trade.
- How tariff taxes can act like hidden charges that raise the price of goods you buy.
- Why protection might not deliver cheaper or better products for most people.
- The way special interests, not the general public, can gain from certain policies.
- A historical view of how public opinion and law interact with economic ideas about protection.
Ideal for readers of historical political economy and anyone curious about how government policy affects prices and ordinary life.