I particularly like the "government's finger on the scale of free trade".

Excellent suggestions, blarman. 👍
I'd eliminate incomes taxes completely on small businesses to encourage more people to take financial responsibility for themselves and their families. Unfortunately, small businesses have no voice in con-gress. Only big (corrupt) business has lobbyists to bribe con-gress and to crush potential competitors in small businesses.

Yep. No idea what motivates that organization now.

Well, there is only so much crow an arrogant economist can eat. I can't believe there is even a whisper, and view it as a defensive measure relevant to the upcoming election.

I will have to go read that description. It seems 100% plausible.
Although I question “guilt”. Envy and sympathy seem stronger. Guilt would only apply to the wealthy. What we have is a structure where there are many that feel sympathize to others that have less, but plan to take from a third party to support those with less. We have an Empathic Lynch Mob.
There is no doubt some guilt (maybe), for example Bill Gates. Although I think he is also motivated by ego. Look at all these little commoners that I’ve made feel better. I can’t wait until I see Larry on the boat and ask him how many letter he got!

His work "The Road to Serfdom" is as much philosophical treatise as economic. I highly recommend it to any with the capacity to reason.

In a classic free market exchange, I knap 12 arrowheads and exchange 6 of them to you for 6 arrow shafts, feathered and nocked. We both specialize at our skills, and we each get 6 complete arrows faster than we would working alone.

This system breaks down when I no longer know how to make the arrow shafts. At that point, even if you are crummy at knapping arrowheads (as long as you can still make them), if I am not able to make the shafts at all, I am now at your mercy.

We either have to trust each other or we have to have backup capabilities. China is not trustworthy (unlike Taiwan, who is) and the US is perilously close to 'not still being able to make arrow shafts'. That is where free market and national self interest both come into play.

Jan

You have described the political front perfectly

Right, they let us optimize the short term (local minima), while playing the long game. We cripple ourselves, so that when the short term is over, they have a monopoly, at least long enough that their economic position supports a military position that controls a future threat.

I think it has improved the SOL for workers in the US big time. Maybe your acronym is different than mine. SOL = shit outta luck.

Yes, IN THEORY, I would agree.
But add in Flawed Humans, and Abject Corruption (ie, the world we live in), and it's a giant fail.

First, the EPA had job #1 to STOP new businesses in this country. Making ever increasing hurdles. Does it make ANY sense to have such stringent rules in the USA that DRIVE the companies to countries without those rules? (Notice the difference from rules that generally improve things at a realistic pace. I am NOT against a local government saying that a building must spend X% on artistic look/decorations to enhance the areas appeal. Now when X grows out of whack, the new building stop!).

Next, Free trade MUST be free in BOTH directions. This concept that OUR goods are tariffed but theirs cannot be. Sorry. Wrong idea. No good businessman would enter into a one sided deal AGAINST them. But people MISTAKENLY call that Free Trade. Sorry, it's NOT. If we are NOT allowed to sell our goods in their country, or they are so heavily taxed we cannot afford to sell them there... Then what? We should still sell our stuff to them? (BTW, is it free trade when the CCP owns 51% of your intellectual property for opening up a business in their country, but you don't even get to AUDIT the books of a company listed in our stock market? Is that YOUR definition of Free Trade? It's not mine.
Free Trade is a Two-Sided coin, In My Opinion. And ONCE one side is not FREE... The other side has some soul searching to do... I agree 100% w/trump and his approach to China. He's been right on this relationship since day 1, and I will give him plenty of latitude.)

"There are other ways to punish China for whatever they have done to harm the U.S." Can you offer us a list?

Here here!

Of course they tried to recover their position of control, but it is nice to see the admission.

Timing is a little suspicious. I wonder if they are paving the way for Biden to offer a different plan to deal with China, that departs from Trump's, and is yet another promise.

If we all are free to buy the cheapest products through trade in a global market without tariffs or other distortions, consumers will reap the rewards. Our productive resources will naturally flow to our strongest, most skilled economic areas while “outsourcing” others to countries more efficient in a given field. As economist Gregory Mankiw put it, “Americans should work in those industries in which we have an advantage compared with other nations, and we should import from abroad those goods that can be produced more cheaply there.”

The trade barriers we have in place today prevent this realignment from taking place in full. In doing so, they limit economic growth, decrease wages, and kill far more jobs than they protect. And by lowering its trade barriers, a government enriches its citizens regardless of the policies implemented by foreign governments.