re:  It's time to take on China

Let's assume that Paul Krugman's thesis is correct:  that China is in fact buying US dollars and manipulating the value of its own currency.  This would mean then that thanks to Chinese taxpayers, American consumers have more money to purchase goods and services as a result of the more valuable dollar — Chinese workers are subsidizing our own consumption.  Sounds to me like it is the Chinese taxpayers who should be upset about the situation, not American citizens.

Unfortunately, Professor Krugman sees this as a problem rather than a windfall, and proposes that the United States government respond to the Chinese by raising taxes on American consumers via a tax on imports from China, thus decreasing their purchasing power.  What a great idea:  increase the cost of consumer spending during a time of economic recession.  Such was the response of Herbert Hoover, who dramatically increased import taxes in response to the Great Depression, leading other industrialized countries to do the same for American products and sending the American economy into a tailspin.

One can only imagine that Professor Krugman's response to his neighbor shooting himself in the foot would be to shoot one of his own; that's basically what his prescription amounts to.

Sincerely,
Dave Smith
Houston, TX