United States

Authored by Paul Craig Roberts,

On several occasions I have asked in my columns the rhetorical question: What became of the left? Today I answer my question.

Submitted by Bill O'Grady via Confluence Investment Management,

One of the key elements of global hegemony is the ability of a nation to project power. Ideally, this means a potential hegemon needs local security. In other words, a nation that faces significant proximate threats will struggle to project power globally. As a general rule, it’s easier to attack via land compared to the sea.

While the White House floated, then quickly backed off, a proposal for a 20% tax on Mexican imports to "pay for the wall", in addition to collecting an approximate $10 billion per year in tax revenues, there would be a notable flipside to a tax that would raise prices on Mexican imports by up to 20%, and would immediately affect a wide range of agricultural goods. Mexico exported $21 billion of food and drink north of the border in 2015, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, making Mexico the 2nd largest supplier of agricultural imports to the US.

(For those who wish to skip the wonkish intermediate steps and analysis, please proceed straight to the conclusion)