“Government has never adopted one measure (the protective tariff system) with a distinct view to promote the interests of Labor; all the advantages of this one [Tariffs]- have been absorbed by the preponderating power of capital [management].”
– Executive Documents, First Session; Twenty-Third Congress, 1834, Doc. 104; History of the Great American Fortunes by Gustavus Myers, 1934; 712 pgs.
Claude-Frederic Bastiat (June 30, 1801-December 24, 1850) is considered the “greatest economic theorist who ever lived.
“Bastiat’s brilliant, lucid and witty essays to this day are remarkable and devastating demolitions of protectionism and of all forms of government subsidy and control. He was an advocate of unrestricted free trade although he said only under extraordinary circumstances should subsidies be available.” – Joseph Schumpeter
“Tariffs are a tax on the people. They benefit manufacturers to the detriment of the consumer.” – Claude-Frederic Bastiat, Economic Sophisms, 1847.
