The problem with the WSJ is that they had no problem with George W. Bush’s spending and debt.
The WSJ is wrong on everything else, which taints their opinion when they are rarely right.
A lot of people around here apparently have no problem with Trump's spending and debt so where's the difference?
Why is it anytime Trump initiates a policy that is not conservative, so many people float “Well Bush or Obama did it” or “Well media did not scrutinize Bush or Obama.” ??
I don’t care what WSJ did in past or says now—my opinion is not formed by their editorial boards.
Regardless of what happened a decade ago, this is going to raise the cost of gods sold—this will increase military upgrades (think tanks), it will increase cost of infrastructure spending, and it will increase consumer spending—think cars, homes, appliances etc.
I suspect any tax reduction consumers had will be eaten up in increased prices for consumer durables.
Check your memory. Bush II did exactly the same thing with sheet steel. Rather than protect steelworker jobs, the result was that appliance manufacturers left the US for Asia.
Bush II anti-free trade was a major reason for the loss of manufacturing jobs in the Rust Belt. Once gone, they are hard to get back, even when the mistake is eventually corrected.