[bzbarsky]

> I am unhappy you condensed my points down to something akin "taxation is theft mkay".

I was definitely not aiming at that, and I'm sorry if that's how my comment came across. I was trying to point out that saying "this just moves money around; money is not created or destroyed" is not a logical argument for anything. The real issue is what happens with actual goods or services as a result of the new distribution of money.

I largely agree with you on the long-term implications here, for what it's worth.

> in case of this tariff 'war' that'll mean returning to the bargaining table, ready to make some concessions

That's one plausible outcome, yes. Another one, though, is that we just keep on as we are, with somewhat reduced standards of living in the US in exchange for a stronger geopolitical position. This might well be worth it, but I think it's important to be clear that this is the real tradeoff we're making here.