Which school of economic thought do you prefer?

[Mint]

Anyway, though I have my disagreements, the Austrian school certainly makes the most sense among those listed here.

How so?

[Mint]

I don't think tariffs are crony capitalism necessarily. I do think subsidies are generally bad policy but I agree with government owning some banks, regulations against speculation (derivatives), infrastructure development, etc. The American School makes a lot more sense to me than the so-called 'free market' economics we have now.

I must say though austrians make a lot of good points, certainly Faber or Schiff sound a lot more coherent to me than someone like Krugman even if I disagree with them on a fair amount... I was just wondering where you were coming from on this given your.. unique perspective.

[Mint]

Tariffs and subsides are both definitely crony capitalism. The State is punishing the population at large for the benefit of politically-connected big business.

Well that really depends. I think it makes sense to levy some sort of tax if there's wide disparities in terms of working conditions (e.g. worker's rights) in a third world nation compared to here, for example. Or if other countries manipulate their currency or markets in a way that's definitely 'protectionist' too. Of course some tariffs like the ones we have on sugar should be repealed definitely.