A Liberal Lives In Wisconsin

     Old Democrats and New Democrats, for all their differences, have had at least one thing in common: seeking to reduce tariffs and bolster free trade. Grover Cleveland reduced tariffs. Woodrow Wilson reduced tariffs by more than 40 percent and transitioned federal income to direct taxation on wealthy individuals. While unsuccessful, President Obama proposed a Trans-Pacific Partnership, and he did manage to open free trade with South Korea and Colombia in 2011. President Biden has already sought to reduce tariff rates in Southeast Asia to compete with China. Perhaps the most notable example of this comes from President Clinton, who, aside from signing over 300 trade agreements with nations, secured the passage of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement.      NAFTA actually originated in 1988, when President Reagan passed a United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement. In 1992, President Bush secured a skeletal agreement, but it faced stiff opposition ...