Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Family found dead in Ohio home
Man gets 3 years in prison for having sex with horse
Sex-toy study at Duke University raises some eyebrows
Robbers order bar patrons to empty pockets
Akron man turns himself in after authorities turn up heat
Man appears alive at own funeral
Take comfort in knowing Browns could be bigger losers
Blogs:
Pets:
Not 101 Dalmations…but close!
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your perusal
Akron Zips:
The morning after
Tribe Matters:
Tribe makes roster moves
Cleveland Browns:
Lewis doesn't like boycott
Kent State Sports:
Kent State falls to Akron, 20-28
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Knicks
Buckeye Blogging:
Weekly ‘B’ Deck Report – New Mexico St.
Varsity Letters:
Wrestling, bowling teams prepare for season
All Da King's Men:
If It Looks Like Islamic Terrorism…
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Dems Message To Women: Don't Enjoy The Sex
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (62) The Stupak Amendment
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Perfect Weather for an Autumn Drive
Let's Talk Real Estate:
RUMORS: Downtown Restaurant Explosion
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
The Black Keys to perform benefit concert at Musica on November 27
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
How tariffs punish Americans with lower incomes
Published on Sunday, Jan 06, 2008
A bipartisan coalition of House members introduced the measure in November. They recognize the harm caused by high tariffs applied to footwear imported from other countries. The legislation would repeal the tariffs, making shoes more affordable, especially for those at lower income levels.
These tariffs are relics of another era, the 19th century, to be exact. The past 50 years have seen a steady lowering of tariffs, on such items as furniture, toys and cars. Unfortunately, footwear has escaped attention. The result is, the levies on shoes amount to 10 times the average tariff rate. Worse, the steepest tariff applies to the cheapest footwear, sneakers, making this shoe tax particularly regressive.
The Progressive Policy Institute recently noted that Americans purchased 2.4 billion pairs of shoes in 2006. Their value at the border was $19 billion, the federal government then collected $1.9 billion in duties. The average American tariff rate is 1.6 percent. Yet for dress shoes the rate is 8.5 percent, for running shoes, 20 percent, and a whopping 60 percent for some types of cheap sneakers.
All of this adds up to higher prices. The PPI analysis explained that for sneakers to tariff regimen boosts the price by roughly one-third.
The usual argument for trade protection is the need to preserve American jobs. In this case, there aren't any American manufacturers of such inexpensive shoes. The American jobs involve design, research, marketing and specialty items. Thus, these shoe tariffs serve largely to punish the needy, making shoes more costly, reducing the amount of money families have to spend on other goods and services.
By next holiday season, let's hope Congress has done its generous part and removed these punitive levies on imported shoes.
Get the full article here.
