Behind Every Terrible Artist is a Foolish Patron, Tariffs Edition

It has been difficult this week, for those who are interested in at least attempting to get the contrary arguments on seemingly obvious points, to find any expert defenses of the Trump tariffs on economic policy grounds. This is unsurprising, since the economic policy is terrible and the experts agree that it's terrible. If you absolutely insist on finding "economists" who are willing to serve as apologists for Trump's single-person taxation frenzy, your options are highly limited. But you could consult Oren Cass and his team at American Compass. 

Out of curiosity about how it might come by its expertise in the area, I visited its website. The group, which describes its mission as "developing the conservative economic agenda," has a small team of "economists"--actually, "chief economist" Cass is the only one with "economist" in his job title, so I guess it's "chief" in the same way that I’m the chief law professor in my family--plus "policy directors," "policy advisors," and the usual add-ons. It is so fiercely devoted to its "economic agenda" mission that, on a team of twelve, it can boast a remarkable total of zero economics doctorates, zero master's degrees in economics, an MBA, and around two-ish undergraduate degrees in economics. That is...a surprising number, for a group which describes its own mission as developing an "economic agenda." I can understand an argument that economics isn't everything, which is basically the "a peat-burning barter economy is next to godliness" position that Trump's apologists are forced or even eager to take (albeit from comfortable perches and with a stock of claret laid in). But you'd think a group devoted to developing an economic agenda would occasionally hire a trained economist just by accident. (Even Cass, incidentally, had criticisms of the manner in which Trump has indulged his tariff obsession.)   

For well north of $2 million in grant money to support the team at American Compass over the last five years, including a $950,000 grant in May 2024, we may thank...the Hewlett Foundation, led until recently by former law school dean Larry Kramer--which, as Troy McClure would say, you may know from grants such as its ongoing seigneurial largesse to the Law & Political Economy Project. Yay team.