Ben Stein, a commentator on political and economic issues, taught about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in the 1986 film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence but the classic John Hughes film will be airing Sunday night as part of the MLB Network’s weekly Bleacher Features opposite ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Talk about timing! While it’s not uncommon for people to be talking about films that are nearly 40 years old, it’s timely and relevant specifically because of Ben Stein’s dialogue. Stein played an economics teacher in the film and it just so happens that he’s teaching about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 on the day that Matthew Broderick’s character skips school.

In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the… Anyone? Anyone?… the Great Depression, passed the… Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?… raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression.

Today we have a similar debate over this. Anyone know what this is? Class? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone seen this before? The Laffer Curve. Anyone know what this says? It says that at this point on the revenue curve, you will get exactly the same amount of revenue as at this point. This is very controversial. Does anyone know what Vice President Bush called this in 1980? Anyone? Something-d-o-o economics. “Voodoo” economics.

For what it’s worth, the U.S. Senate passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on June 13, 1930. Sen. Reed Smoot (R-Utah) chaired the Senate Finance Committee while Rep. Willis C. Hawley (R-OR) chaired the House Committee on Ways and Means. President Herbet Hoover had campaigned on tariffs to help American farmers. Economists, however, were opposed and petitioned him to veto the tariffs. He initially joined them in opposing the tariffs before later caving into pressure from Republicans. The Great Depression worsened and Hoover was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt during the 1932 election.

How many times does it need to be explained that tariffs are nothing more than a tax on Americans. American companies importing goods absorb the tariff costs and then pass it along to the consumer in the form of higher prices. This is a tax on Americans. It’s not a tax on foreign countries, no matter what anyone in the administration is thinking. Did they skip school on the day that they taught about tariffs? That’s my guess. Neither the convicted felon nor anybody participating in the Council of Economic Advisors has seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. If they did, they would recall what Ben Stein taught the class.

What Ben Stein doesn’t say in the film is that the 1930 tariffs had serious political ramifications, too. Democrats regained the House of Representatives following the 1930 election and maintained the majority through the 1994 Republican Revolution. As for the Senate, Democrats regained the majority after the 1932 election. For the most part, the party would not lose it until the aforementioned Republican Revolution. During the 60-year-plus span, Senate Democrats only lost the majority for six terms with a good chunk of this coming during the 1980s.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) knows the political history. He realizes that Republicans have everything to lose by supporting the tariffs. Sen. Mitch McConnell joined Rand Paul in standing up to this administration last week over the tariffs. While McConnell is retiring, Paul hasn’t announced whether he will be running for another term. Regardless, the bourbon industry in Kentucky is significant and stands to lose from the tariffs. Much like the impact on bourbon, there are a number of motor vehicle assembly plants in Kentucky. Tariffs impacting automakers will lead to layoffs or plants getting shut down.

If Republicans are not going to listen to Ben Stein explain tariffs, they need to listen to someone. Listen to Ben Stein. No, seriously, listen to Ben Stein.

Paramount opened Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in theaters on June 11, 1986. The film, featuring Ben Stein in a cameo, is available on 4K Ultra HD.

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