Tariff

# Tariff

## Abstract

A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and policy that taxes foreign products to encourage or safeguard domestic industry. Protective tariffs are among the most widely used instruments of protectionism, along with import quotas and export quotas and other non-tariff barriers to trade.

Tariffs can be fixed (a constant sum per unit of imported goods or a percentage of the price) or variable (the amount varies according to the price). Taxing imports means people are less likely to buy them as they become more expensive. The intention is that they buy local products instead, boosting their country's economy. Tariffs therefore provide an incentive to develop production and replace imports with domestic products. Tariffs are meant to reduce pressure from foreign competition and reduce the trade deficit. They have historically been justified as a means to protect infant industries and to allow import substitution industrialisation. Tariffs may also be used to rectify artificially low prices for certain imported goods, due to 'dumping', export subsidies or currency manipulation.

There is near unanimous consensus among economists that tariffs have a negative effect on economic growth and economic welfare, while free trade and the reduction of trade barriers has a positive effect on economic growth. Although trade liberalisation can sometimes result in large and unequally distributed losses and gains, and can, in the short run, cause significant economic dislocation of workers in import-competing sectors, free trade has advantages of lowering costs of goods and services for both producers and consumers.

## Etymology

The English term tariff derives from the French: tarif, lit. ' set price ' which is itself a descendant of the Italian: tariffa, lit. ' mandated price; schedule of taxes and customs ' which derives from Medieval Latin: tariffe, lit. ' set price '. This term was introduced to the Latin-speaking world through contact with the Turks and derives from the Ottoman Turkish: تعرفه, romanized: taʿrife, lit. ' list of prices; table of the rates of customs '. This Turkish term is a loanword of the Persian: تعرفه, romanized: taʿrefe, lit. ' set price, receipt '. The Persian term derives from Arabic: تعريف, romanized: taʿrīf, lit. ' notification; description; definition; announcement; assertion; inventory of fees to be paid ' which is the verbal noun of Arabic: عرف, romanized: ʿarafa, lit. ' to know; to be able; to recognise; to find out '.

## History

### Ancient Greece

In the city state of Athens, the port of Piraeus enforced a system of levies to raise taxes for the Athenian government. Grain was a key commodity that was imported through the port, and Piraeus was one of the main ports in the east Mediterranean. A levy of two percent was placed on goods arriving in the market through the docks of Piraeus. Despite the Peloponnesian War preceding year 399 BC, Piraeus had documented a tax income of 1,800 in harbor dues. The Athenian government also placed restrictions on the lending of money and transport of grain to only be allowed through the port of Piraeus.

### Great Britain

In the 14th century, Edward III (1312–1377) took interventionist measures, such as banning the import of woollen cloth in an attempt to develop local woollen cloth manufacturing. Beginning in 1489, Henry VII took actions such as increasing export duties on raw wool. The Tudor monarchs, especially Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, used protectionism, subsidies, distribution of monopoly rights, government-sponsored industrial espionage and other means of government intervention to develop the wool industry, leading to England became the largest wool-producing nation in the world.

A protectionist turning point in British economic policy came in 1721, when policies to promote manufacturing industries were introduced by Robert Walpole. These included increased tariffs on imported foreign manufactured goods, and export subsidies. These policies were similar to those used by countries such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan after the Second World War. In addition, in its colonies, Great Britain imposed a ban on advanced manufacturing activities that it did not want to see developed. Britain also banned exports from its colonies that competed with its own products at home and abroad, forcing the colonies to leave the most profitable industries in Britain's hands.

In 1800, Britain, with about 10% of Europe's population, supplied 29% of all pig iron produced in Europe, a proportion that had risen to 45% by 1830. Per capita industrial production was even higher: in 1830 it was 250% higher than in the rest of Europe, up from 110% in 1800.

Protectionist policies of industrial promotion continued until the mid-19th century. At the beginning of that century, the average tariff on British manufactured goods was about 50%, the highest of all major European countries. Thus, according to economic historian Paul Bairoch, Britain's technological advance was achieved "behind high and enduring tariff barriers". In 1846, the country's per capita rate of industrialisation was more than twice that of its closest competitors. Even after adopting free trade for most goods, Britain continued to closely regulate trade in strategic capital goods, such as machinery for the mass production of textiles.

Free trade in Britain began in earnest with the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, which was equivalent to free trade in grain. The Corn Acts had been passed in 1815 to restrict wheat imports and to guarantee the incomes of British farmers; their repeal devastated Britain's old rural economy, but began to mitigate the effects of the Great Famine in Ireland. Tariffs on many manufactured goods were also abolished. But while liberalism was progressing in Britain, protectionism continued on the European mainland and in the United States.

On June 15, 1903, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, made a speech in the House of Lords in which he defended fiscal retaliation against countries that applied high tariffs and whose governments subsidised products sold in Britain (known as "premium products", later called " dumping "). The retaliation was to take the form of threats to impose duties in response to goods from that country. Liberal unionists had split from the liberals, who advocated free trade, and this speech marked a turning point in the group's slide toward protectionism. Lansdowne argued that the threat of retaliatory tariffs was similar to gaining respect in a room of gunmen by pointing a big gun (his exact words were "a gun a little bigger than everyone else's"). The "Big Revolver" became a slogan of the time, often used in speeches and cartoons.

In response to the Great Depression, Britain finally abandoned free trade in 1932 and reintroduced tariffs on a large scale, noticing that it had lost its production capacity to protectionist countries like the United States and Weimar Germany.

### United States

Before the new Constitution took effect in 1788, the Congress could not levy taxes – it sold land or begged money from the states. The new national government needed revenue and decided to depend upon a tax on imports with the Tariff of 1789. The policy of the U.S. before 1860 was low tariffs "for revenue only" (since duties continued to fund the national government).

The Embargo Act of 1807 was passed by the U.S. Congress in that year in response to British aggression. While not a tariff per se, the Act prohibited the import of all kinds of manufactured imports, resulting in a huge drop in US trade and protests from all regions of the country. However, the embargo also had the effect of launching new, emerging US domestic industries across the board, particularly the textile industry, and marked the beginning of the manufacturing system in the United States.

An attempt at imposing a high tariff was attempted in 1828, but the South denounced it as a " Tariff of Abominations " and it almost caused a rebellion in South Carolina until it was lowered.

Between 1816 and the end of the Second World War, the United States had one of the highest average tariff rates on manufactured imports in the world. According to Paul Bairoch, the United States was "the homeland and bastion of modern protectionism" during this period.

Many American intellectuals and politicians during the country's catching-up period felt that the free trade theory advocated by British classical economists was not suited to their country. They argued that the country should develop manufacturing industries and use government protection and subsidies for this purpose, as Britain had done before them. Many of the great American economists of the time, until the last quarter of the 19th century, were strong advocates of industrial protection: Daniel Raymond who influenced Friedrich List, Mathew Carey and his son Henry, who was one of Lincoln's economic advisers. The intellectual leader of this movement was Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States (1789–95). Thus, it was against David Ricardo 's theory of comparative advantage that the United States protected its industry. They pursued a protectionist policy from the beginning of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century, after the Second World War.

In Report on Manufactures, considered the first text to express modern protectionist theory, Alexander Hamilton argued that if a country wished to develop a new activity on its soil, it would have to temporarily protect it. According to him, this protection against foreign producers could take the form of import duties or, in rare cases, prohibition of imports. He called for customs barriers to allow American industrial development and to help protect infant industries, including bounties (subsidies) derived in part from those tariffs. He also believed that duties on raw materials should be generally low. Hamilton argued that despite an initial "increase of price" caused by regulations that control foreign competition, once a "domestic manufacture has attained to perfection… it invariably becomes cheaper. He believed that political independence was predicated upon economic independence. Increasing the domestic supply of manufactured goods, particularly war materials, was seen as an issue of national security. And he feared that Britain's policy towards the colonies would condemn the United States to be only producers of agricultural products and raw materials.

Britain initially did not want to industrialise the American colonies, and implemented policies to that effect (for example, banning high value-added manufacturing activities). Under British rule, America was denied the use of tariffs to protect its new industries. This explains why, after independence, the Tariff Act of 1789 was the second bill of the Republic signed by President Washington allowing Congress to impose a fixed tariff of 5% on all imports, with a few exceptions.

The Congress passed a tariff act (1789), imposing a 5% flat rate tariff on all imports. Between 1792 and the war with Britain in 1812, the average tariff level remained around 12.5%. In 1812 all tariffs were doubled to an average of 25% in order to cope with the increase in public expenditure due to the war. A significant shift in policy occurred in 1816, when a new law was introduced to keep the tariff level close to the wartime level – especially protected were cotton, woolen, and iron goods. The American industrial interests that had blossomed because of the tariff lobbied to keep it, and had it raised to 35 percent in 1816. The public approved, and by 1820, America's average tariff was up to 40 percent.

In the 19th century, statesmen such as Senator Henry Clay continued Hamilton's themes within the Whig Party under the name " American System which consisted of protecting industries and developing infrastructure in explicit opposition to the "British system" of free trade. Before 1860 they were always defeated by the low-tariff Democrats.

From 1846 to 1861, American tariffs were lowered but this was followed by a series of recessions and the 1857 panic, which eventually led to higher demands for tariffs than President James Buchanan signed in 1861 (Morrill Tariff).

During the American Civil War (1861–65), agrarian interests in the South were opposed to any protection, while manufacturing interests in the North wanted to maintain it. The war marked the triumph of the protectionists of the industrial states of the North over the free traders of the South. Abraham Lincoln was a protectionist like Henry Clay of the Whig Party, who advocated the "American system" based on infrastructure development and protectionism. In 1847, he declared: "Give us a protective tariff, and we will have the greatest nation on earth". Once elected, Lincoln raised industrial tariffs and after the war, tariffs remained at or above wartime levels. High tariffs were a policy designed to encourage rapid industrialisation and protect the high American wage rates.

The policy from 1860 to 1933 was usually high protective tariffs (apart from 1913 to 1921). After 1890, the tariff on wool did affect an important industry, but otherwise the tariffs were designed to keep American wages high. The conservative Republican tradition, typified by William McKinley was a high tariff, while the Democrats typically called for a lower tariff to help consumers but they always failed until 1913.

In the early 1860s, Europe and the United States pursued completely different trade policies. The 1860s were a period of growing protectionism in the United States, while the European free trade phase lasted from 1860 to 1892. The tariff average rate on imports of manufactured goods in 1875 was from 40% to 50% in the United States, against 9% to 12% in continental Europe at the height of free trade.

In 1896, the Republican Party platform pledged to "renew and emphasize our allegiance to the policy of protection, as the bulwark of American industrial independence, and the foundation of development and prosperity. This true American policy taxes foreign products and encourages home industry. It puts the burden of revenue on foreign goods; it secures the American market for the American producer. It upholds the American standard of wages for the American workingman".

In 1913, following the electoral victory of the Democrats in 1912, there was a significant reduction in the average tariff on manufactured goods from 44% to 25%. However, the First World War rendered this bill ineffective, and new "emergency" tariff legislation was introduced in 1922 after the Republicans returned to power in 1921.

According to economic historian Douglas Irwin, a common myth about United States trade policy is that low tariffs harmed American manufacturers in the early 19th century and then that high tariffs made the United States into a great industrial power in the late 19th century. A review by the Economist of Irwin's 2017 book Clashing over Commerce: A History of US Trade Policy notes:

Political dynamics would lead people to see a link between tariffs and the economic cycle that was not there. A boom would generate enough revenue for tariffs to fall, and when the bust came pressure would build to raise them again. By the time that happened, the economy would be recovering, giving the impression that tariff cuts caused the crash and the reverse generated the recovery. Mr Irwin also methodically debunks the idea that protectionism made America a great industrial power, a notion believed by some to offer lessons for developing countries today. As its share of global manufacturing powered from 23% in 1870 to 36% in 1913, the admittedly high tariffs of the time came with a cost, estimated at around 0.5% of GDP in the mid-1870s. In some industries, they might have sped up development by a few years. But American growth during its protectionist period was more to do with its abundant resources and openness to people and ideas.

The Economist Ha-Joon Chang argues, on the contrary, that the United States developed and rose to the top of the global economic hierarchy by adopting protectionism. In his view, they adopted an interventionist policy to promote and protect their industries through tariffs. It was this protectionist policy that enabled the United States to achieve the fastest economic growth in the world throughout the 19th century and into the 1920s.

#### Tariffs and the Great Depression

Most economists hold the opinion that the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in the United States did not greatly worsen the Great Depression:

Paul Krugman writes that protectionism does not lead to recessions. According to him, the decrease in imports (which can be obtained by introducing tariffs) has an expansive effect, that is, it is favourable to growth. Thus, in a trade war, since exports and imports will decrease equally, for everyone, the negative effect of a decrease in exports will be offset by the expansionary effect of a decrease in imports. Therefore, a trade war does not cause a recession. Furthermore, he points out that the Smoot-Hawley tariff did not cause the Great Depression. The decline in trade between 1929 and 1933 "was almost entirely a consequence of the Depression, not a cause. Trade barriers were a response to the Depression, partly as a consequence of deflation."

Milton Friedman held the opinion that the tariffs of 1930 did not cause the Great Depression, instead he blamed the lack of sufficient action on the part of the Federal Reserve. Douglas A. Irwin wrote: "most economists, both liberal and conservative, doubt that Smoot–Hawley played much of a role in the subsequent contraction".

Peter Temin, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explained that a tariff is an expansionary policy, like a devaluation as it diverts demand from foreign to home producers. He noted that exports were 7 percent of GNP in 1929, they fell by 1.5 percent of 1929 GNP in the next two years and the fall was offset by the increase in domestic demand from tariff. He concluded that contrary the popular argument, contractionary effect of the tariff was small.

Jacques Sapir explains that the crisis has other causes than protectionism. He points out that "domestic production in major industrialized countries is declining...faster than international trade is declining." If this decrease (in international trade) had been the cause of the depression that the countries have experienced, we would have seen the opposite". "Finally, the chronology of events does not correspond to the thesis of the free traders... The bulk of the contraction of trade occurred between January 1930 and July 1932, that is, before the introduction of protectionist measures, even self-sufficient, in some countries, with the exception of those applied in the United States in the summer of 1930, but with negative effects. very limited. He noted that "the credit crunch is one of the main causes of the trade crunch." "In fact, international liquidity is the cause of the trade contraction. This liquidity collapsed in 1930 (-35.7%) and 1931 (-26.7%). A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research highlights the predominant influence of currency instability (which led to the international liquidity crisis) and the sudden rise in transportation costs in the decline of trade during the 1930s.

## Arguments favouring tariffs

### Protection of infant industry

Postulated in the United States by Alexander Hamilton at the end of the 18th century, by Friedrich List in his 1841 book Das nationale System der politischen Oekonomie and by John Stuart Mill, the argument made in favour of this category of tariffs was this: should a country wish to develop a new economic activity on its soil, it would have to temporarily protect it. In their view, it is legitimate to protect certain activities by customs barriers in order to give them time to grow, to reach a sufficient size and to benefit from economies of scale through increased production and productivity gains. This would allow them to become competitive in order to face international competition. Indeed, a company needs to reach a certain production volume to be profitable in order to compensate for its fixed costs. Without protectionism, foreign products – which are already profitable because of the volume of production already carried out on their soil – would arrive in the country in large quantities at a lower price than local production. The recipient country's nascent industry would quickly disappear. A firm already established in an industry is more efficient because it is more adapted and has greater production capacity. New firms therefore suffer losses due to a lack of competitiveness linked to their 'apprenticeship' or catch-up period. By being protected from this external competition, firms can therefore establish themselves on their domestic market. As a result, they benefit from greater freedom of manoeuvre and greater certainty regarding their profitability and future development. The protectionist phase is therefore a learning period that would allow the least developed countries to acquire general and technical know-how in the fields of industrial production in order to become competitive on international market.

According to the economists in favour of protecting industries, free trade would condemn developing countries to being nothing more than exporters of raw materials and importers of manufactured goods. The application of the theory of comparative advantage would lead them to specialise in the production of raw materials and extractive products and prevent them from acquiring an industrial base. Protection of infant industries (e.g., through tariffs on imported products) would therefore be essential for developing countries to industrialise and escape their dependence on the production of raw materials.

Economist Ha-Joon Chang argues that most of today's developed countries have developed through policies that are the opposite of free trade and laissez-faire. According to him, when they were developing countries themselves, almost all of them actively used interventionist trade and industrial policies to promote and protect infant industries. Instead, they would have encouraged their domestic industries through tariffs, subsidies and other measures. In his view, Britain and the United States have not reached the top of the global economic hierarchy by adopting free trade. In fact, these two countries would have been among the greatest users of protectionist measures, including tariffs. As for the East Asian countries, he points out that the longest periods of rapid growth in these countries do not coincide with extended phases of free trade, but rather with phases of industrial protection and promotion. Interventionist trade and industrial policies would have played a crucial role in their economic success. These policies would have been similar to those used by Britain in the 18th century and the United States in the 19th century. He considers that infant industry protection policy has generated much better growth performance in the developing world than free trade policies since the 1980s.

In the second half of the 20th century, Nicholas Kaldor takes up similar arguments to allow the conversion of ageing industries. In this case, the aim was to save an activity threatened with extinction by external competition and to safeguard jobs. Protectionism must enable ageing companies to regain their competitiveness in the medium term and, for activities that are due to disappear, it allows the conversion of these activities and jobs.

### Protection against dumping

States resorting to protectionism invoke unfair competition or dumping practices:

- Monetary manipulation: a currency undergoes a devaluation when monetary authorities decide to intervene in the foreign exchange market to lower the value of the currency against other currencies. This makes local products more competitive and imported products more expensive (Marshall Lerner Condition), increasing exports and decreasing imports, and thus improving the trade balance. Countries with a weak currency cause trade imbalances: they have large external surpluses while their competitors have large deficits.

- Tax dumping: some tax haven states have lower corporate and personal tax rates.

- Social dumping: when a state reduces social contributions or maintains very low social standards (for example, in China, labour regulations are less restrictive for employers than elsewhere).

- Environmental dumping: when environmental regulations are less stringent than elsewhere.

### Free trade and poverty

Sub-Saharan African countries have a lower income per capita in 2003 than 40 years earlier. Per capita income increased by 37% between 1960 and 1980 and fell by 9% between 1980 and 2000. Africa's manufacturing sector's share of GDP decreased from 12% in 1980 to 11% in 2013. In the 1970s, Africa accounted for more than 3% of world manufacturing output, and now accounts for 1.5%. In an Op ed article for The Guardian (UK), Ha-Joon Chang argues that these downturns are the result of free trade policies, and elsewhere attributes successes in some African countries such as Ethiopia and Rwanda to their abandonment of free trade and adoption of a "developmental state model".

The poor countries that have succeeded in achieving strong and sustainable growth are those that have become mercantilists, not free traders: China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan. Thus, whereas in the 1990s, China and India had the same GDP per capita, China followed a much more mercantilist policy and now has a GDP per capita three times higher than India's. Indeed, a significant part of China's rise on the international trade scene does not come from the supposed benefits of international competition but from the relocations practiced by companies from developed countries. Dani Rodrik points out that it is the countries that have systematically violated the rules of globalisation that have experienced the strongest growth.

The 'dumping' policies of some countries have also largely affected developing countries. Studies on the effects of free trade show that the gains induced by WTO rules for developing countries are very small. This has reduced the gain for these countries from an estimated $539 billion in the 2003 LINKAGE model to $22 billion in the 2005 GTAP model. The 2005 LINKAGE version also reduced gains to 90 billion. As for the " Doha Round ", it would have brought in only $4 billion to developing countries (including China...) according to the GTAP model. However, it has been argued that the models used are actually designed to maximise the positive effects of trade liberalisation, that they are characterised by the absence of taking into account the loss of income caused by the end of tariff barriers.

### Deindustrialization and wage deflation

Other economists have also highlighted these negative effects of trade with China on American workers in their article “Why are American workers becoming poorer? China, trade and offshoring“.

Other research shows that in the UK in the 2000s, workers in the sectors most affected by the growth in imports from China experienced more work stoppages and lower wages. Once again, these effects were more pronounced among the low-skilled.

### John Maynard Keynes, tariffs and trade deficit

#### The turning point of the Great Depression

At the beginning of his career, Keynes was an economist close to Alfred Marshall, deeply convinced of the benefits of free trade. From the crisis of 1929 onwards, noting the commitment of the British authorities to defend the gold parity of the pound sterling and the rigidity of nominal wages, he gradually adhered to protectionist measures.

On 5 November 1929, when heard by the Macmillan Committee to bring the British economy out of the crisis, Keynes indicated that the introduction of tariffs on imports would help to rebalance the trade balance. The committee's report states in a section entitled "import control and export aid", that in an economy where there is not full employment, the introduction of tariffs can improve production and employment. Thus, the reduction of the trade deficit favours the country's growth.

In January 1930, in the Economic Advisory Council, Keynes proposed the introduction of a system of protection to reduce imports. In the autumn of 1930, he proposed a uniform tariff of 10% on all imports and subsidies of the same rate for all exports. In the Treatise on Money, published in the autumn of 1930, he took up the idea of tariffs or other trade restrictions with the aim of reducing the volume of imports and rebalancing the balance of trade.

On 7 March 1931, in the New Statesman and Nation, he wrote an article entitled Proposal for a Tariff Revenue. He pointed out that the reduction of wages led to a reduction in national demand which constrained markets. Instead, he proposes the idea of an expansionary policy combined with a tariff system to neutralise the effects on the balance of trade. The application of customs tariffs seemed to him "unavoidable, whoever the Chancellor of the Exchequer might be". Thus, for Keynes, an economic recovery policy is only fully effective if the trade deficit is eliminated. He proposed a 15% tax on manufactured and semi-manufactured goods and 5% on certain foodstuffs and raw materials, with others needed for exports exempted (wool, cotton).

In 1932, in an article entitled The Pro- and Anti-Tariffs, published in The Listener, he envisaged the protection of farmers and certain sectors such as the automobile and iron and steel industries, considering them indispensable to Britain.

#### The critique of the theory of comparative advantage

In the post-crisis situation of 1929, Keynes judged the assumptions of the free trade model unrealistic. He criticised, for example, the neoclassical assumption of wage adjustment.

As early as 1930, in a note to the Economic Advisory Council, he doubted the intensity of the gain from specialisation in the case of manufactured goods. While participating in the MacMillan Committee, he admitted that he no longer "believed in a very high degree of national specialisation" and refused to "abandon any industry which is unable, for the moment, to survive". He also criticised the static dimension of the theory of comparative advantage, which, in his view, by fixing comparative advantages definitively, led in practice to a waste of national resources.

In the Daily Mail of 13 March 1931, he called the assumption of perfect sectoral labour mobility "nonsense" since it states that a person made unemployed contributes to a reduction in the wage rate until he finds a job. But for Keynes, this change of job may involve costs (job search, training) and is not always possible. Generally speaking, for Keynes, the assumptions of full employment and automatic return to equilibrium discredit the theory of comparative advantage.

In July 1933, he published an article in the New Statesman and Nation entitled National Self-Sufficiency, in which he criticised the argument of the specialisation of economies, which is the basis of free trade. He thus proposed the search for a certain degree of self-sufficiency. Instead of the specialisation of economies advocated by the Ricardian theory of comparative advantage, he prefers the maintenance of a diversity of activities for nations. In it he refutes the principle of peacemaking trade. His vision of trade became that of a system where foreign capitalists compete for new markets. He defends the idea of producing on national soil when possible and reasonable and expresses sympathy for the advocates of protectionism. He notes in National Self-Sufficiency:

A considerable degree of international specialization is necessary in a rational world in all cases where it is dictated by wide differences of climate, natural resources, native aptitudes, level of culture and density of population. But over an increasingly wide range of industrial products, and perhaps of agricultural products also, I have become doubtful whether the economic loss of national self-sufficiency is great enough to outweigh the other advantages of gradually bringing the product and the consumer within the ambit of the same national, economic, and financial organization. Experience accumulates to prove that most modern processes of mass production can be performed in most countries and climates with almost equal efficiency.

He also writes in National Self-Sufficiency:

I sympathize, therefore, with those who would minimize, rather than with those who would maximize, economic entanglement among nations. Ideas, knowledge, science, hospitality, travel – these are the things which should have their nature be international. But let goods be homespun whenever it is reasonably and conveniently possible, and, above all, let finance be primarily national.

Later, Keynes had a written correspondence with James Meade centred on the issue of import restrictions. Keynes and Meade discussed the best choice between quota and tariff. In March 1944 Keynes began a discussion with Marcus Fleming after the latter had written an article entitled Quotas versus depreciation. On this occasion, we see that he has definitely taken a protectionist stance after the Great Depression. He considered that quotas could be more effective than currency depreciation in dealing with external imbalances. Thus, for Keynes, currency depreciation was no longer sufficient and protectionist measures became necessary to avoid trade deficits. To avoid the return of crises due to a self-regulating economic system, it seemed essential to him to regulate trade and stop free trade (deregulation of foreign trade).

He points out that countries that import more than they export weaken their economies. When the trade deficit increases, unemployment rises and GDP slows down. And surplus countries exert a "negative externality" on their trading partners. They get richer at the expense of others and destroy the output of their trading partners. John Maynard Keynes believed that the products of surplus countries should be taxed to avoid trade imbalances. Thus he no longer believes in the theory of comparative advantage (on which free trade is based) which states that the trade deficit does not matter, since trade is mutually beneficial.This also explains his desire to replace the liberalisation of international trade (Free Trade) with a regulatory system aimed at eliminating trade imbalances in his proposals for the Bretton Woods Agreement.

Trade liberalisation can sometimes result in large and unequally distributed losses and gains, and can, in the short run, cause significant economic dislocation of workers in import-competing sectors.

Despite an intuitive understanding of many of the benefits of free trade, the general public has strong reservations about embracing such a policy. One set of reservations concerns distributional effects of trade. Workers are not seen as benefiting from trade. Strong evidence exists indicating a perception that the benefits of trade flow to businesses and the wealthy, rather than to workers, and to those abroad rather than to those in the United States.

## Arguments against tariffs

### Neoclassical analysis in favor of free trade

Neoclassical economic theorists tend to view tariffs as distortions to the free market. Typical analyses find that tariffs tend to benefit domestic producers and government at the expense of consumers, and that the net welfare effects of a tariff on the importing country are negative due to domestic firms not producing more efficiently since there is a lack of external competition. Therefore, domestic consumers are affected since the price is higher due to high costs caused due to inefficient production or if firms aren't able to source cheaper material externally thus reducing the affordability of the products. Normative judgments often follow from these findings, namely that it may be disadvantageous for a country to artificially shield an industry from world markets and that it might be better to allow a collapse to take place. Opposition to all tariff aims to reduce tariffs and to avoid countries discriminating between differing countries when applying tariffs. The diagrams at right show the costs and benefits of imposing a tariff on a good in the domestic economy.

Imposing an import tariff has the following effects, shown in the first diagram in a hypothetical domestic market for televisions:

- Price rises from world price Pw to higher tariff price Pt.

- Quantity demanded by domestic consumers falls from C1 to C2, a movement along the demand curve due to higher price.

- Domestic suppliers are willing to supply Q2 rather than Q1, a movement along the supply curve due to the higher price, so the quantity imported falls from C1 − Q1 to C2 − Q2.

- Consumer surplus (the area under the demand curve but above price) shrinks by areas A+B+C+D, as domestic consumers face higher prices and consume lower quantities.

- Producer surplus (the area above the supply curve but below price) increases by area A, as domestic producers shielded from international competition can sell more of their product at a higher price.

- Government tax revenue is the import quantity (C2 − Q2) times the tariff price (Pw − Pt), shown as area C.

- Areas B and D are deadweight losses, surplus formerly captured by consumers that now is lost to all parties.

The overall change in welfare = Change in Consumer Surplus + Change in Producer Surplus + Change in Government Revenue = (− A − B − C − D) + A + C = − B − D. The final state after imposition of the tariff is indicated in the second diagram, with overall welfare reduced by the areas labeled "societal losses", which correspond to areas B and D in the first diagram. The losses to domestic consumers are greater than the combined benefits to domestic producers and government.

That tariffs overall reduce welfare is not a controversial topic among economists. For example, the University of Chicago surveyed about 40 leading economists in March 2018 asking whether "Imposing new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum will improve Americans' welfare." About two-thirds strongly disagreed with the statement, while one third disagreed. None agreed or strongly agreed. Several commented that such tariffs would help a few Americans at the expense of many. This is consistent with the explanation provided above, which is that losses to domestic consumers outweigh gains to domestic producers and government, by the amount of deadweight losses.

Tariffs are more inefficient than consumption taxes.

A 2021 study found that across 151 countries over the period 1963–2014, "tariff increases are associated with persistent, economically and statistically significant declines in domestic output and productivity, as well as higher unemployment and inequality, real exchange rate appreciation, and insignificant changes to the trade balance."

Tariffs do not determine the size of trade deficits: trade balances are driven by consumption. Rather, it is that a strong economy creates rich consumers who in turn create the demand for imports. Industries protected by tariffs expand their domestic market share but an additional effect is that their need to be efficient and cost-effective is reduced. This cost is imposed on (domestic) purchasers of the products of those industries, a cost that is eventually passed on to the end consumer. Finally, other countries must be expected to retaliate by imposing countervailing tariffs, a lose-lose situation that would lead to increased world-wide inflation.

### Optimal tariff

For economic efficiency, free trade is often the best policy, however levying a tariff is sometimes second best.

A tariff is called an optimal tariff if it is set to maximise the welfare of the country imposing the tariff. It is a tariff derived by the intersection between the trade indifference curve of that country and the offer curve of another country. In this case, the welfare of the other country grows worse simultaneously, thus the policy is a kind of beggar thy neighbor policy. If the offer curve of the other country is a line through the origin point, the original country is in the condition of a small country, so any tariff worsens the welfare of the original country.

It is possible to levy a tariff as a political policy choice, and to consider a theoretical optimum tariff rate. However, imposing an optimal tariff will often lead to the foreign country increasing their tariffs as well, leading to a loss of welfare in both countries. When countries impose tariffs on each other, they will reach a position off the contract curve, meaning that both countries' welfare could be increased by reducing tariffs.

## Modern tariff practices

### Russia

The Russian Federation adopted more protectionist trade measures in 2013 than any other country, making it the world leader in protectionism. It alone introduced 20% of protectionist measures worldwide and one-third of measures in the G20 countries. Russia's protectionist policies include tariff measures, import restrictions, sanitary measures, and direct subsidies to local companies. For example, the government supported several economic sectors such as agriculture, space, automotive, electronics, chemistry, and energy.

### India

From 2017, as part of the promotion of its " Make in India " programme to stimulate and protect domestic manufacturing industry and to combat current account deficits, India has introduced tariffs on several electronic products and "non-essential items". This concerns items imported from countries such as China and South Korea. For example, India's national solar energy programme favours domestic producers by requiring the use of Indian-made solar cells.

### Armenia

Armenia, a country located in Western Asia, established its custom service in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. When Armenia became a member of the EAEU, it was given access to the Eurasian Customs Union in 2015; this resulted in mostly tariff-free trade with other members and an increased number of import tariffs from outside of the customs union. Armenia does not currently have export taxes. In addition, it does not declare temporary imports duties and credit on government imports or pursuant to other international assistance imports. Upon joining Eurasian Economic Union in 2015, led by Russians, Armenia applied tariffs on its imports at a rate 0–10 percent. This rate has increased over the years, since in 2009 it was around three percent. Moreover, the tariffs increased significantly on agricultural products rather than on non-agricultural products. Armenia has committed to ultimately adopting the EAEU's uniform tariff schedule as part of its EAEU admission. Until 2022, Armenia was authorised to apply non-EAEU tariff rates, according to Decision No. 113. Some beef, pork, poultry, and dairy products; seed potatoes and peas; olives; fresh and dried fruits; some tea items; cereals, especially wheat and rice; starches, vegetable oils, margarine; some prepared food items, such as infant food; pet food; tobacco; glycerol; and gelatin are included in the list. Membership in the EAEU is forcing Armenia to apply stricter standardisation, sanitary, and phytosanitary requirements in line with EAEU – and, by extension, Russian – standards, regulations, and practices. Armenia has had to surrender control over many aspects of its foreign trade regime in the context of EAEU membership. Tariffs have also increased, granting protection to several domestic industries. Armenia is increasingly beholden to comply with EAEU standards and regulations as post-accession transition periods have, or will soon, end. All Armenian goods circulating in the territory of the EAEU must meet EAEU requirements following the end of relevant transition periods.

The Republic of Armenia became a WTO member in 2003, which resulted in the Most Favored Country (MFC) benefits from the organisation. Currently, the tariffs of 2.7% implemented in Armenia are the lowest in the entire framework. The country is also a member of the World Customs Organization (WCO), resulting in a harmonised system for tariff classification.

### Switzerland

In 2024, Switzerland abolished tariffs on industrial products imported into the country. The Swiss government estimates the move will have economic benefits of 860 million CHF per year.

## Political analysis

The tariff has been used as a political tool to establish an independent nation; for example, the United States Tariff Act of 1789, signed specifically on July 4, was called the "Second Declaration of Independence" by newspapers because it was intended to be the economic means to achieve the political goal of a sovereign and independent United States.

The political impact of tariffs is judged depending on the political perspective; for example, the 2002 United States steel tariff imposed a 30% tariff on a variety of imported steel products for a period of three years and American steel producers supported the tariff.

Tariffs can emerge as a political issue prior to an election. The Nullification Crisis of 1832 arose from the passage of a new tariff by the United States Congress, a few months before that year's federal elections; the state of South Carolina was outraged by the new tariff, and civil war nearly resulted. In the leadup to the 2007 Australian Federal election, the Australian Labor Party announced it would undertake a review of Australian car tariffs if elected. The Liberal Party made a similar commitment, while independent candidate Nick Xenophon announced his intention to introduce tariff-based legislation as "a matter of urgency".

Unpopular tariffs are known to have ignited social unrest, for example the 1905 meat riots in Chile that developed in protest against tariffs applied to the cattle imports from Argentina.

## Additional information on tariffs

### Calculation of customs duty

Customs duty is calculated on the determination of the 'assess-able value' in case of those items for which the duty is levied ad valorem. This is often the transaction value unless a customs officer determines assess-able value in accordance with the Harmonized System.

### Harmonized System of Nomenclature

For the purpose of assessment of customs duty, products are given an identification code that has come to be known as the Harmonized System code. This code was developed by the World Customs Organization based in Brussels. A 'Harmonized System' code may be from four to ten digits. For example, 17.03 is the HS code for molasses from the extraction or refining of sugar. However, within 17.03, the number 17.03.90 stands for "Molasses (Excluding Cane Molasses)".

### Customs authority

The national customs authority in each country is responsible for collecting taxes on the import into or export of goods out of the country.

### Evasion

Evasion of customs duties takes place mainly in two ways. In one, the trader under-declares the value so that the assessable value is lower than actual. In a similar vein, a trader can evade customs duty by understatement of quantity or volume of the product of trade. A trader may also evade duty by misrepresenting traded goods, categorizing goods as items which attract lower customs duties. The evasion of customs duty may take place with or without the collaboration of customs officials.

### Duty-free goods

Many countries allow a traveller to bring goods into the country duty-free. These goods may be bought at ports and airports or sometimes within one country without attracting the usual government taxes and then brought into another country duty-free. Some countries specify 'duty-free allowances' which limit the number or value of duty-free items that one person can bring into the country. These restrictions often apply to tobacco, wine, spirits, cosmetics, gifts and souvenirs.

### Deferment of tariffs and duties

Products may sometimes be imported into a free economic zone (or 'free port'), processed there, then re-exported without being subject to tariffs or duties. According to the 1999 Revised Kyoto Convention, a "'free zone' means a part of the territory of a contracting party where any goods introduced are generally regarded, insofar as import duties and taxes are concerned, as being outside the customs territory".


2024 Tennessee Titans season

# 2024 Tennessee Titans season

## Abstract

The 2024 season is the Tennessee Titans ' 55th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 65th overall, their 28th in the state of Tennessee, their second under the leadership of general manager Ran Carthon and their first under head coach Brian Callahan. They will attempt to improve on their 6–11 record from last year, make the playoffs after a 2-year absence, and end their 2-year AFC South title drought. Long time running back Derrick Henry left the team in the offseason and joined the Baltimore Ravens.

The franchise enters 2024 with 493 lifetime wins encompassing regular season and playoffs; should they win seven games they will become the most recent team originating from the American Football League to reach 500 career wins.

## Offseason

### Coaching changes

On January 9, 2024, the Titans fired head coach Mike Vrabel after six seasons with the team. Vrabel had lost 18 out of the past 24 games dating back to the 2022 season and hadn't won a playoff game since the 2019 season. However, many still saw the move as a surprise and believed Vrabel to be a popular head coaching candidate for other teams.

On January 24, 2024 the Titans hired Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as their new head coach.

### Roster changes

#### Reserve/future free agent contracts

On January 8, 2024, the Titans signed six players from their practice squad to reserve/future contracts.

## Draft

## Regular season

### Schedule

Notes

- Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

- Networks and times from Weeks 6–17 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling.

- The date, time and network for Week 18 will be finalized at the end of Week 17.

### Game summaries

#### Week 1: at Chicago Bears

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

- Date: September 8

- Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT

- Game weather: Mostly sunny, 67 °F (19 °C)

- Game attendance: 59,403

- Referee: Shawn Smith

- TV announcers (Fox): Adam Amin, Mark Sanchez, and Kristina Pink

- Recap, Game Book

#### Week 2: vs. New York Jets

at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

- Date: September 15

- Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT

- Game weather: Mostly sunny, 83 °F (28 °C)

- Referee: Alan Eck

- TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, and Evan Washburn

- Preview

#### Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers

at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

- Date: September 22

- Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT

- TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Kugler, Daryl Johnston, and Laura Okmin

- Preview

### Standings


Circa Survive

# Circa Survive

## Abstract

Circa Survive is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that formed in 2004. Founded by singer Anthony Green and guitarist Colin Frangicetto, the band consists of former members from This Day Forward and Taken.

Circa Survive quickly made a name for themselves in the indie music scene in little over two years with their 2005 debut album, Juturna, and second album, On Letting Go, released in 2007. Both albums were released on Equal Vision Records. Their third album, Blue Sky Noise, was released via Atlantic Records in 2010. After parting ways with Atlantic Records, the band's fourth album, Violent Waves, was released independently in 2012. Their fifth album, Descensus, was released by Sumerian Records in 2014, and their sixth, The Amulet, with Hopeless Records in October 2017. The band would follow with two EPs on Rise Records: A Dream About Love in October 2021, and A Dream About Death in February 2022. The band would then announce an indefinite hiatus in October 2022.

## History

### Formation and The Inuit Sessions (2004 – 2005)

Vocalist Anthony Green left the band Saosin, in 2004, later noting "the big thing was that I was just scared. I was scared of committing". Green met up with Colin Frangicetto, a friend with whom he had "jammed" during his stay, and they decided to begin recording and recruiting. Thus, Circa Survive was born.

Frangicetto and Green, with full support from Equal Vision Records, then recruited Brendan Ekstrom. Ekstrom had been Frangicetto's bandmate in This Day Forward, which had recently disbanded. Both Ekstrom and Frangicetto had toured with Taken during their This Day Forward days, and procured Nick Beard, the previous bass guitarist of Taken, as Circa Survive's next member. The band met Stephen Clifford through Vadim Taver of the band Marigold (and also from This Day Forward); "Steve jammed with us for a week and from there it was on," said Frangicetto.

Circa Survive's first release was the EP, The Inuit Sessions, on March 18, 2005. It contained four tracks: "Act Appalled", "Handshakes at Sunrise", "The Great Golden Baby", and "Suspending Disbelief".

### Juturna (2005 – 2006)

Juturna, Circa Survive's first album, was released on April 19, 2005, in the United States and on January 31, 2006, in Japan on Equal Vision Records. It had been initially announced via the band's MySpace page in November 2004. Details as to its sound remained vague, although the band stated they would keep their fans posted via their website, MySpace page, PureVolume page, and YouTube page. Shortly before its official release, the album was posted on their MySpace page in its entirety. Juturna peaked at No. 183 on the Billboard 200. The album was produced by Brian McTernan at Salad Days Studios in Baltimore.

The band drew inspiration for the album from House of Leaves and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. During an online Q&A session on April 20, 2010, Brendan dismissed the claim that Juturna was a concept album based on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but did say that there is an underlying concept. That concept is speculated by fans to be vaguely about human memories. "Oh, Hello" exemplifies this with its lyrics. The decision to call the album's bonus track that appears after "Meet Me In Montauk" and the silence that follows it at 8:56, "House of Leaves" was more or less a joint one by the band and their fans. Various members of the band have stated that they have read at least some portion of the book over the years since its 2000 release.

The album's sound is characterized by its prominent utilization of effects-laden, dual guitar melodies over polyrhythmic percussion. The guitarists' approach to songwriting takes on characteristics of jazz and shoegaze music. The album has since gone on to be considered massively influential to the post-hardcore community. Members of the band have recently recognized King Crimson, Björk, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor as influences on the album's sound.

### On Letting Go (2007 – 2008)

On Letting Go is Circa Survive's second album. Released on May 29, 2007, by Equal Vision Records, the album entered the U.S. Billboard 200 at #24, selling about 24,000 copies in its first week. Up to July 11, 2007, it had sold 51,357 copies in the U.S. alone.

As with previous albums, Esao Andrews designed the artwork and Brian McTernan produced the album. The band's sound did not radically change with this release. It was still polished and refined, with guitars and drums much tighter (but still meandering when needed to) and bass more prominent. Lyrically, the band "...evokes an era when hazy lyricism and reckless introspection were prerequisites for legitimacy and timelessness."

In spring 2008, Circa Survive released an On Letting Go B-side, "1,000 Witnesses", to fans through the charity Invisible Children in an effort to raise money for the cause. In June 2008, they also released the B-side "The Most Dangerous Commercials" as a charity download to help support the relocation of local music shop Siren Records, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

### Blue Sky Noise and Appendage (2008 – 2010)

After supporting Thrice and Pelican for their spring 2008 tour, Circa Survive returned to Philadelphia to write for the then-untitled third album. A short leg of shows in the Eastern U.S. occurred in late 2008 and four shows were played in Southern California in February 2009. After that, the band did not tour again until the tentatively planned headlining tour for their forthcoming third album. Anthony Green's growth as a guitarist played a major role on Blue Sky Noise, which the band framed as an entirely "new chapter".

On August 3, Circa Survive stated that they had begun recording their third album in Toronto and had chosen David Bottrill and had signed with Atlantic Records.

On February 16, 2010, they announced their new album would be titled Blue Sky Noise, and would be released on April 20, 2010. The album could be pre-purchased, and those who did so received a digital copy of the album a week early, and the first single, "Get Out", instantly. The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 11, the band's highest position.

On October 18, 2010, Myspace Transmissions released a live EP of the band playing five tracks from Blue Sky Noise as well as a cover of the Nirvana song, "Scentless Apprentice".

Circa Survive's second EP, Appendage, was released on November 30, 2010. It contains five tracks: "Sleep Underground" (Demo), "Stare Like You'll Stay", "Everyway", "Backmask" and "Lazarus".

### Violent Waves (2012 – 2014)

On April 16, 2012, Circa Survive began recording their fourth record, " Violent Waves ". On June 25, 2012, Circa launched the Violent Waves Pre-Order webpage, officially announcing the album's title and release date, August 28, 2012, along with a new song titled "Suitcase". The band also confirmed that the album would be self-released.

On March 3, 2014, it was announced via Pitchfork that Circa Survive would be releasing a 7-inch vinyl record split with the band Sunny Day Real Estate for Record Store Day 2014 (April 19). The split features "Lipton Witch" by Sunny Day Real Estate - their first new song in 14 years - and "Bad Heart" by Circa Survive, a b-side that was recorded after the release of 2012's "Violent Waves" album.

### Descensus (2014 – 2016)

In mid April 2014, Circa Survive once again entered Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA to record their fifth album with producer/engineer Will Yip. They recorded 11 songs during the sessions and concluded recording by the end of May. On May 19, 2014, during a Saosin interview at Skate and Surf, Anthony Green stated that Circa Survive "have a new record coming out, hopefully in the fall, I mean I fucking shouldn't even say that, probably".

On April 19, 2014, the band released a split EP release with Sunny Day Real Estate titled Sunny Day Real Estate / Circa Survive Split 7".

On August 15, 2014, the band announced their signing to Sumerian Records for the release of the fifth album and also a reissue of their fourth album Violent Waves. "

The album, entitled Descensus was released on November 24, 2014.

The album art was once again made by Esao Andrews.On October 27, 2014, the band released the first single and music video from Descensus titled "Schema". The second single "Only the Sun" was shown on November 5, 2014. Its video features visuals used in the tour for the album with Title Fight, Tera Melos and Pianos Become the Teeth.

In January 2017 the band began a tour to celebrate ten years of 'On Letting Go' with support from MewithoutYou and Turnover.

### The Amulet (2017 – 2021)

The Amulet was released on September 22, 2017, through Hopeless Records. "Lustration" was released as a single.

On August 10, 2017, the band released its second music video single "Rites of Investiture". On August 30, 2017, they released their third and title track single "The Amulet". Shortly before the LP's release on September 14, 2017, the band released its final music video single "Premonition of the Hex".

The band announced a co-headlining tour with Thrice, accompanied by Balance and Composure and Chon, across North America beginning in San Jose on November 2.

In October 2018, the band released two songs called "Dark Pools" and "Indras Net" for the upcoming deluxe edition of "The Amulet" on November 2, 2018. As well as a video for the song "Flesh and Bone".

### Two Dreams and hiatus (2021 – 2022)

On June 4, 2021, the band teased a new single during the credits of the Live Sky Noise livestream. On October 8, the band would release the single as Imposter Syndrome and announced an EP coming later that month.

On October 22, 2021, the band released A Dream About Love, followed by A Dream About Death on February 4, 2022. These EPs represent a slight departure from the band's established sound, embracing a more electronic approach.

On August 30, 2022, the band announced that their members would be transitioning away from Circa Survive as their full-time job, leading to speculation on the band’s future. Green would clarify on his Twitter page that the group had not disbanded. However, on October 18, 2022, the band confirmed they were taking an indefinite hiatus.

A statement from the band was shared:

Many of you have asked where things stand with us and to be totally transparent, our future is currently uncertain. For the time being, we're considering Circa on an indefinite hiatus. We want to thank you for all your love and support, especially over the last few years which were the hardest we have ever had to endure. Extra special thanks to the creatures.

On October 19, 2022, Circa Survive announced they would combine both "Dream" EPs and re-release them as the band's seventh studio album titled Two Dreams due out December 16, 2022. The album release will be accompanied by live session videos.

## Influences

According to lead singer Anthony Green, Circa Survive have been influenced by Deftones, Thrice, Paul Simon, dredg, and Björk. Green cites Nirvana as a major influence, with Circa Survive frequently performing covers of Nirvana songs. Green stated that one of his favorite albums is Mapping an Invisible World by Days Away.

Throughout their musical career, but particularly with respect to their first album Juturna, the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has been a large influence on Circa Survive. The album's hidden track is based on the Mark Z. Danielewski novel House of Leaves, lending it an unofficial title. Lyrically, their third album Blue Sky Noise is based on Green's struggles with mental illness, with many of the lyrics written during his voluntary three-week stay in a mental health facility.

## Band members

Current members

- Anthony Green - lead vocals

- Colin Frangicetto - rhythm guitar, backing vocals

- Brendan Ekstrom - lead guitar

- Nick Beard - bass, backing vocals

- Steve Clifford - drums, percussion

Session/touring members

- Keith Goodwin - keyboards (2021-2022)

## Touring and performing

Circa Survive has toured on several occasions, including national tours within the United States. They toured in winter 2005 with My Chemical Romance and Thrice. That summer they co-headlined a tour. Circa Survive has also opened for Mutemath, Mae and Dredg on each of their headlining tours.

Circa Survive played The Bamboozle festival in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011 in New Jersey.

The band played several dates on The Vans Warped Tour in 2005. In early 2006, they embarked on a tour of Europe with Coheed and Cambria and Thrice, after having previously completed a tour in September 2005 with Motion City Soundtrack.

The band toured with Saves The Day, Moneen and Pistolita. In summer 2006, they embarked on their first headlining tour, The Twilight Army Tour, with The Receiving End of Sirens, Days Away, Portugal. The Man, YouInSeries and Keating.

The band went on a fall tour with Thursday, Rise Against and Billy Talent.

The band played on the Rockstar Alternative Press Tour headlining with Cute Is What We Aim For, and with supporting act As Tall As Lions.

In April 2007, the band played at the Coachella arts and music festival in Indio, California.

In summer 2007, the band played the entire Vans Warped Tour alongside bands such as Coheed and Cambria, The Used, Anberlin and Bad Religion.

Circa Survive opened for My Chemical Romance's 2007 shows in Worcester and Australian and New Zealand shows as well.

Circa Survive opened as the main support for Thirty Seconds to Mars September 14, 2007, at the Brixton Academy. Circa Survive completed touring with Ours, Fear Before, with Dear and the Headlights and The Dear Hunter in November, 2007.

On New Year's Eve 2007 they had a coming home show with Thursday and The Gaslight Anthem played at The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey.

The band is in the Kerrang! 2008 Tour with Madina Lake, Coheed and Cambria and Fightstar.

It was announced on January 24, 2008, that Circa Survive would be going on a spring 2008 tour with Thrice and Pelican.

Circa Survive has been known to incorporate other visual elements to performances. Anthony Green frequently wore dresses to outdoor music festivals, most notably The Bamboozle in 2006 and The Vans Warped Tour in 2007. The band's on Letting Go tour included a silent film projected above the band.

In 2010, after mixing for Blue Sky Noise was completed in February, Circa Survive began performing shows in the midwest United States in March, often accompanied by Good Old War and The Christmas Lights.

The band performed at the annual SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, from March 18 to 24.

The band performed in Anaheim at the Hoodwink Festival on March 26 and at The Bamboozle on March 27.

Following the release of Blue Sky Noise on April 20, Circa Survive embarked on an extended tour with Coheed and Cambria and Torche, beginning in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 22 and ending on May 29 in Atlantic City.

On June 19, 2010, Circa Survive performed at Santa Monica Beach at the Pac Sun Beach Ballyhoo event, which was shut down early due to overcrowding before the band could perform their last two songs.

After an eleven-day U.S. west coast tour in late July, Circa Survive embarked on a September European tour with Middle Class Rut, beginning in Hamburg, Germany, on September 6 and ending in Nottingham, England, on September 18.

Their show in London on September 15 was streamed live over the Internet and attracted more than 43,000 viewers online.

They then went on their U.S. Blue Sky Noise tour with Animals as Leaders, Dredg and Codeseven. The tour began on October 15, 2010, in Hartford, Connecticut, and concluded on December 13 in Bakersfield, California. They begin touring with Anberlin and Foxy Shazam in January 2011. On February 17, 2011, Circa Survive performed with Timeout Jimmy at the Rutgers Student Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

The band opened for Linkin Park during the A Thousand Suns Tour for their shows in Dallas and Houston, Texas.

Circa Survive toured with My Chemical Romance as their opening act along with Architects. Both bands opened for My Chemical Romance for the North American leg of The World Contamination Tour.

Circa Survive went on their Violent Waves tour, which began on September 13, 2012, in New Haven, Connecticut, and ended on October 27, 2012, in Sayreville, New Jersey. Balance and Composure, O'Brother, and Touché Amoré went along as their opening acts.

In April 2013, Circa Survive toured Malaysia, Singapore and the Pulp Summer Slam XIII "Til Death Do Us Part" rock festival in Manila, Philippines, on April 27, 2013. The Manila concert featured Circa Survive along with Dragonforce, Amoral, Cannibal Corpse, Coheed and Cambria, As I Lay Dying, A Skylit Drive and 4 local Filipino bands.

On April 26, 2013, Circa Survive attended a press conference with Dragonforce and Amoral to promote the Manila rock festival.

Circa Survive announced that they would be co-headlining with Minus the Bear, along with opening act Now, Now, in the "Waves Overhead" tour. This tour began March 6, 2013, and ended March 30, 2013.

On October 16, 2013, Circa Survive announced a special end-of-the-year show on Saturday, December 28, 2013, at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

On January 6, 2015, it was announced that Circa Survive would perform on Day 3 (April 12 & 19) of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California.

On January 29, 2015, the band announced they would be touring in the Spring of 2015 with Balance and Composure again and Chon.

On October 11, 2016, the band announced their On Letting Go Ten Year Anniversary Tour with MewithoutYou and Turnover. On this tour, the band's setlist was composed of the songs from On Letting Go, in the same order as they are presented on the album, interspersed with B-sides and unreleased songs from the writing process.

## Discography

- Juturna (2005)

- On Letting Go (2007)

- Blue Sky Noise (2010)

- Violent Waves (2012)

- Descensus (2014)

- The Amulet (2017)

- Two Dreams (2022)

## Music videos

- "Act Appalled" (live montage) (2005) from Juturna

- "Act Appalled" (2006) from Juturna

- "In Fear And Faith" (live montage) (2006) from Juturna

- "The Difference Between Medicine and Poison Is in the Dose" (2007) from On Letting Go

- "Get Out" (Live Montage) (2010) from Blue Sky Noise

- "Imaginary Enemy" (2010) from Blue Sky Noise

- "Suitcase" (2012) from Violent Waves

- "Sharp Practice" (2012) from Violent Waves

- "Schema" (2014) from Descensus

- "Only the Sun" (2014) from "Descensus"

- "Child Of The Desert" (2015) from Descensus

- "Lustration" (2017) from The Amulet

- "Rites of Investiture" (2017) from The Amulet

- "The Amulet" (2017) from The Amulet

- "Premonition of the Hex" (2017) from The Amulet

- "Flesh and Bone" (2018) from The Amulet

- "Imposter Syndrome" (2021) from A Dream About Love EP

- "Electric Moose" (2022) from A Dream About Death EP

## Equipment

### Guitar Rig & Signal Flow

- Brendan Ekstrom plays Melancon hand made guitars which are located near New Orleans U.S.A.

- A detailed gear diagram of Brendan Ekstrom's 2011 Circa Survive guitar rig is well-documented.


Soilwork

# Soilwork

## Abstract

Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork (meaning "working from the ground up").

## History

### Early years (1995–2000)

The band was formed in late 1995, originally under the name Inferior Breed. Their sound, as explained by "Speed" was influenced by such bands as Pantera, Meshuggah, and Carcass. Upon changing their band name in late 1996 to Soilwork, they began to make more melodic music. Soilwork began work on a demo entitled In Dreams We Fall into the Eternal Lake. Before the recording ever took place, bassist Carl-Gustav Döös left the group, leaving guitarist Peter Wichers to handle the bass tracks on the demo. In a chance encounter, Soilwork met Michael Amott of Arch Enemy fame, who owned a record store in Helsingborg, and gave him a copy of their demo. This ultimately led to the band signing with Listenable Records. The band had huge changes which saw them change dramatically, giving rise to the guitar mastery of David Andersson.

In 1998, Soilwork added keyboardist Carlos Holmberg and bassist Ola Flink. The band recorded and released their debut album Steelbath Suicide in May of that year. Soon after, guitarist Ludvig Svartz and drummer Jimmy Persson left, citing "different musical opinions". Persson (now guitar and vocals in Faithful Darkness) was replaced by Henry Ranta, while Svartz was replaced by Peter Wichers' uncle, Ola Frenning. The band toured throughout Europe in support of the album with bands such as Darkane, Naglfar, and Krisiun.

In 1999, Soilwork recorded their second full-length album, The Chainheart Machine but it was released in 2000. The album received critical acclaim and eventually landed them a recording contract with label Nuclear Blast, allowing the band to tour with acts such as Defleshed, Cannibal Corpse, and even, briefly, with fellow melodic death metallers Dark Tranquillity.

### Rise to popularity (2000–2006)

In 2000, after exhausting themselves with touring, Soilwork returned to the studio to record their third full-length album, A Predator's Portrait. The release was well received and brought Soilwork to the forefront of the melodic death metal scene, alongside label mates In Flames. The band played at Wacken Open Air that year, and toured extensively with Annihilator and Nevermore.

Following up on their success, Soilwork entered the studio again in late 2001 to record the follow-up to A Predator's Portrait with Devin Townsend and Fredrik Nordström. Natural Born Chaos was released in early 2002, to much acclaim as well. Soilwork toured throughout Europe to support the album, and, for the first time, throughout the United States, first with bands Hypocrisy, Scar Culture, Chimaira, Unearth and Killswitch Engage during the summer, then alongside label mates In Flames during the fall. After touring, they started writing and recording their fifth album.

In December 2002, Soilwork entered the studio to begin recording their fifth album. After recording, the band began a European tour with Children of Bodom and Shadows Fall throughout April and May. That same month, Figure Number Five was released. In early June, drummer Henry Ranta left the band, to focus more on his personal life, and was replaced a week later by Richard Evensand. The band then embarked on another North American tour with In Flames, Chimaira, and Unearth. In September, Soilwork toured Japan with Children of Bodom. Merely days after a short mini-trek tour through Japan, Soilwork also toured Australia briefly. Later that year, they again toured North America with Chimaira, As I Lay Dying and Bleeding Through. After the tour, Richard Evensand left the band to replace drummer Andols Herrick who had recently left Chimaira. Soilwork initially announced his temporary replacement as Dirk Verbeuren of Scarve. Verbeuren would later become the full-time replacement. In early 2004, singer Björn "Speed" Strid laid down tracks with Italian melodic death metal band Disarmonia Mundi. During April, the band announced that it had extended its contract with record label Nuclear Blast Records. That same month the band again toured Australia alongside Anthrax, Embodiment 12:14, and Killswitch Engage. In mid-2004, Soilwork toured Japan for a second time alongside Dark Tranquillity.

Soilwork entered Dug Out Studios on 14 September 2004 to begin recording their sixth full-length album, Stabbing the Drama. A week later the band changed venues and recorded at Fascination Street Studios. Stabbing the Drama was released in early March 2005. The album entered the Finnish charts at number 19, and in Sweden at number 14. The band also began to gain minor commercial success in the United States. Stabbing the Drama reached No. 12 and No. 21 on the Billboard Heatseeker and Independent album charts, respectively. The band partook in the 2005 Ozzfest, performing on the second stage. In November the band toured stateside with Fear Factory. In late 2005, guitarist Peter Wichers left the band due to tour exhaustion and other personal issues. The same month, Strid announced he was working on a second album with Disarmomia Mundi. In May 2006, Daniel Antonsson was announced as the replacement for Peter Wichers. Soilwork spent the summer appearing at festivals throughout Europe. In September they toured throughout the UK and Turkey. The band later pulled out of the Turkish dates, due to terrorist attacks and bombings that had recently occurred to tourists there. In October the band trekked North America, this time with Darkest Hour, Mnemic and Threat Signal.

### Transitional period and continued popularity (2007–2015)

In early March 2007, Soilwork began laying down the tracks for their seventh album, Sworn to a Great Divide Late in June, Ola Frenning announced that the album was finished. Soilwork toured in the fall alongside Caliban, Sonic Syndicate, and Dark Tranquillity in a tour dubbed, ' Eastpak Antidote' tour. The album was released on 19 October 2007 through Nuclear Blast. The album sports a sound closer to thrash than their previous albums, though still backed by their trademark synth elements. The band took part on an American tour with co-headliners Lamb of God and Killswitch Engage, as well as DevilDriver. The tour began on 28 November 2007 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts, and ended at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico on 17 December 2007. The tour, dubbed The Clash of the Titans Tour 2007, appeared in Grand Prairie, TX at the Nokia Live Theatre on 8 December 2007 to play for the entire Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. On 12 February 2008, an official statement was posted on Soilwork's official website that Ola Frenning and Soilwork had decided to part ways, his replacement came in the form of Sylvain Coudret. In another statement on 18 September 2008, it was revealed that guitarist Daniel Antonsson would be replaced with the return of former guitarist and founding member Peter Wichers and also that Sylvain Coudret from the band Scarve who has been doing session work as second guitarist during 2008 Summer festivals became permanent guitar player for the band.

The band returned to the studio in early 2010 to write and record their eighth album, later on with Strid announcing on 22 January 2010 in a MySpace bulletin that the new album would be entitled The Panic Broadcast. On 30 June 2010, The Sledgehammer Files: The Best of Soilwork 1998–2008 greatest hits comlilation album was released, followed shortly by the band's new album The Panic Broadcast on 2 July in Europe, and 13 July in North America.

Soilwork announced on 26 June 2012 that Peter Wichers has left Soilwork for the second time. Following the departure, Peter was replaced by David Andersson.

Strid began to think of the band's next album as a double album during a 2011 tour. He wanted to challenge himself, instead of releasing a single album after Wicher's departure. He also wanted to show that the band could release a great album with one of their main composers gone. He wrote two songs by the end of the year, and began writing with the band in March 2012. Soilwork announced they would begin recording 23 August 2012.

The album, titled The Living Infinite, was released on 27 February 2013 in Asia, 1 March in Europe, 4 March in the UK and 5 March in North America.

On 24 September 2014, Soilwork released an EP, Beyond the Infinite only in Asia. The EP consists of 5 unreleased tracks from the band's The Living Infinite album sessions.

On 5 December 2014, Soilwork frontman Strid confirmed that work had begun on a new album when he posted a picture on Facebook of him listening to new demos. Strid also stated that Soilwork are sounding "better than ever". It was also confirmed that Soilwork had teamed up with Testament frontman Chuck Billy 's Breaking Bands LLC management company for the album.

In June 2015, Soilwork announced that longtime bassist Ola Flink and the band had parted ways and that he would be replaced by new bassist Markus Wibom.

Soilwork supported Soulfly on their 2015 We Sold Our Souls To Metal Tour. Decapitated and Shattered Sun also joins the tour, scheduled for a 27 concert trek starting on 30 September and ending in Albuquerque, NM on 30 October. Then, Soilwork goes on a European tour as headliner with HateSphere and French band T.A.N.K.

### Departure of Dirk Verbeuren, death of David Andersson and more albums (2016–present)

On 15 July 2016, it was announced that long time drummer Dirk Verbeuren had left the band to join Megadeth.

On 19 August 2016, Soilwork released a compilation album, Death Resonance, which featured a number of B-sides and rarities from five of their previous albums in addition to two new songs.

On 11 January 2019, Soilwork released Verkligheten, their first album with new drummer Bastian Thusgaard, and their first album in nearly four years. On 14 June 2019, the band officially released the Underworld EP, which consists of bonus tracks originally previously only available on physical editions of the band's recent Verkligheten album.

On 4 December 2020, Soilwork released an EP A Whisp of the Atlantic, which is composed of songs the band recorded and released from late 2019 to mid 2020, along with the ambitious 16-minute title-piece that opens the EP.

Soilwork announced in early 2022 that bassist Rasmus Ehrnborn had joined the band officially and contributed to the band's twelfth studio album, Övergivenheten, which was released on 19 August 2022.

On 14 September 2022, it was announced that guitarist and songwriter David Andersson, who had been in the band for 10 years, died at the age of 47. Touring guitarist Simon Johansson who had been touring with the band since 2019 was made a permanent member on 13 March 2023.

## Band members

Current members

- Björn "Speed" Strid – vocals (1995–present)

- Sven Karlsson – keyboards (2001–present)

- Sylvain Coudret – guitars (2008–present)

- Bastian Thusgaard – drums (2016–present)

- Rasmus Ehrnborn – bass (2022–present; touring 2019–2022)

- Simon Johansson – guitars (2023–present; touring 2019–2023)

## Discography

Studio albums

- Steelbath Suicide (1998)

- The Chainheart Machine (2000)

- A Predator's Portrait (2001)

- Natural Born Chaos (2002)

- Figure Number Five (2003)

- Stabbing the Drama (2005)

- Sworn to a Great Divide (2007)

- The Panic Broadcast (2010)

- The Living Infinite (2013)

- The Ride Majestic (2015)

- Verkligheten (2019)

- Övergivenheten (2022)


Omni William Penn Hotel

# Omni William Penn Hotel

## Abstract

The Omni William Penn Hotel is a 23 floor (3 underground) hotel located at 530 William Penn Place on Mellon Square in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A variety of luminaries have stayed at the hotel, including John F. Kennedy. The hotel staff innovated Lawrence Welk 's now famous bubble machine, and it was the site of Bob Hope 's marriage proposal in 1934. The hotel has won numerous awards including being named to the "Best of Weddings 2009" list by The Knot and receiving the Editor's Choice Award in the Business Hotels category on Suite101.com.

Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The hotel also features a restaurant that dates from 1916, the Terrace Room, featuring among other amenities a wall long mural entitled "The taking of Fort Pitt".

## History

Built from 1915 to 1916, the $6 million William Penn opened on March 11, 1916, in what newspapers hailed as the Grandest Hotel in the nation, its first night it hosted the annual Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce Gala and was recorded as the largest gala in city history up to that time with U.S. Secretary of State Philander Knox hosting the event. The original hotel covered the western half of the block, facing Mellon Square.

### Ownership history

The hotel was bought from its original owners, the Pittsburgh Hotel Company, in 1928 by the Eppley Hotel Company. Eugene Eppley financed a major expansion in 1929, filling the remaining eastern half of the block, that made the William Penn the second largest hotel in the world. The expansion brought the number of rooms to 1600 and included an Art Deco ballroom atop the hotel conceived by noted designer Joseph Urban. However Eppley lost control of the hotel during the Great Depression and the new owners brought in Statler Hotels, which managed the hotel from 1940-1951.

Eppley regained controlling interest between 1950-1954, assuming management of the hotel back from Statler on January 1, 1952. The hotel's sale on June 4, 1956 from the Eppley Hotel Company to the Sheraton Corporation was part of the second largest hotel sale in United States history. The hotel was renamed the Penn-Sheraton Hotel.

Sheraton sold the hotel on May 22, 1968 to Nomarl, a group of local investors, for $7.75 million and the William Penn returned to its original name. With less demand for hotels in the city, Nomarl reduced the number of rooms from 1300 to 900, with the unused rooms turned to dorms for Duquesne University. Nomarl, in turn, sold the hotel to Alcoa in 1971.

In 1984, Alcoa brought in Westin Hotels to manage the hotel, which became the Westin William Penn, following $20 million in renovations which reduced the hotel from 840 to 650 rooms within the enormous building. Finally, the hotel was acquired by Omni Hotels & Resorts and was renamed Omni William Penn on January 31, 2001.

### Events & notable guests

Among the major events that the hotel has hosted:

- November 10, 1921: A banquet in Marshal Foch 's honor hosted by the governor and mayor.

- April 28, 1930: The Gideons International holds its 50th annual convention at the hotel, passing out over 500 bibles.

- October 2, 1930: The Institute of Transportation Engineers was formed in a meeting at the hotel.

- October 17, 1930: A Gala for the governors of the Pittsburgh Tri-State (Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) celebrated with speeches and presentations on the opening of the Lincoln Highway in their respective states.

- November 3, 1930: A statement from President Herbert Hoover is released at the gala celebrating the 10th anniversary of KDKA-AM and the world's radio industry.

- January to February, 1937: Count Basie and His Orchestra play the "Chatterbox." Live broadcast recorded and issued in 1974 by Jazz Archives Recordings (JA-16). First known recording of Basie band with Lester Young, Hershel Evans, Buck Clayton, et al.

- March 26, 1938: The formation of Point State Park and what would become the Pittsburgh Renaissance is announced in the ballroom to 600 invited local leaders and dignitaries.

- July 17, 1942: The United Steelworkers hold a major conference in response to wartime steel needs and accepted the 44 cents wage proposed by the War Labor Board.

- November 2, 1944: Address by Vice President Harry S Truman.

- January 15, 1948: Secretary of State and retired General of the Army and Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall delivers a nationally aired address to the 74th annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. He also made world news ending speculation that he would run for president.

- February 15, 1950: The first annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy is held in the hotel.

- December 6, 1954: 118 businesses, schools & hospitals, all 80 years or older, are honored at the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce 's 80th anniversary gala, hosted by William Block of the Post-Gazette's William Block & Scaife Co.'s Alan Scaife, the 2 oldest firms.

- October 8–9, 1956: Presidents Harry S Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower both stay at the hotel in the heat of their campaigns as Eisenhower gives a major speech in the hotel's ballroom.

- November 1, 1956: Adlai Stevenson, Richard Nixon & Pat Nixon stay the night at the hotel.

- September 3–5, 1960: The 18th World Science Fiction Convention is held at the hotel.

- September 21, 1963: Lyndon B. Johnson hosts a major speech at the hotel and stays the night in the presidential suite.

- April 3, 1970: Zoo president Edward Magee addresses a Rotary conference along with Rani the 8-month-old elephant, 2 lambs, a snapping turtle, donkey, llama & eagle.

- October 26, 1976. President Ford participated in a Pittsburgh Economic Club question-and-answer session in the hotel's grand ballroom.

- September 3, 1980: Maureen Reagan on the campaign trail for her father, Ronald Reagan, who speaks at a fundraiser at the hotel.

- October 31, 1980: Ronald Reagan visits for a speech.

- April 5, 1984: Walter Mondale speaks at a reception held in his honor at the hotel.

- June 20–22, 1999: The 2nd annual International Trails & Greenways Conference.

From 1939 until the 1960s the hotel was the annual host for the region's Dapper Dan Sports Awards Banquet.


Freddy Goes to the North Pole

# Freddy Goes to the North Pole

## Abstract

Freddy goes to the North Pole (1930) (formerly published as More To and Again) is the second of the Freddy the Pig books written by Walter R. Brooks. It tells of how the animals of the Bean Farm went to rescue some of their animals friends who went on an expedition to the North Pole.

## Plot summary

In the beginning, Freddy had the idea to establish a tourism company called Barnyard Tours Inc.The animals agreed, and the company was formed. Animals could pay for a tour with food, or by doing work for Mr. Bean. Soon, however, Freddy and Jinx, the cat, were sick and tired of conducting the tours. Freddy suggested a trip to the North Pole. So they and four other animals set off.

A year passed, and the animals left began to worry. A mob formed in the barnyard triggered by a speech by Charles, the rooster. Then, Ferdinand, a crow from the expedition, came back and organized a rescue party. He said they had gone on a ship and crew were planning to eat Freddy. The sailors had said that they might try going to Santa Claus’ house.

Later, in the woods of Canada, two children and a bear joined the rescue party. However, it soon was discovered that Ferdinand forgot to bring food and clothing for the animals. Everything looked grim for Ferdinand for a minute, but he suddenly came up with the idea for a lecture tour. The animals of the woods brought in food and clothing they found in the woods.

Also, a few weeks later Charles and Jack, a dog, wandered away and were captured by some wolves. The animals, Charles and Jack, managed to drive the wolves away with the help of some ants. They finally arrived at Santa Claus’ house. The animals found Freddy there and also found a problem: The sailors were trying to turn Santa Claus's irregular workshop into an ordinary, assembly line factory.

The animals tried to make the sailors leave. They played ghosts, but one sailor wasn't scared. Then, Freddy sent the captain, Mr. Hooker, a treasure map. He thought all the sailors would go with him, but instead, he tried to get all of it for himself. Freddy and Jinx chased after him and took it back. Later, the whole crew of the ship was shown the map.

The sailors left and Santa Claus's workshop went back to normal. Santa Claus took the animals and the two children to the Bean Farm.


Carl Fischer (baseball)

# Carl Fischer (baseball)

## Abstract

Charles William "Carl" Fischer (November 5, 1905 – December 10, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played seven years in Major League Baseball between 1930 and 1937. He played for the Washington Senators (1930–1932, 1937), St. Louis Browns (1932), Detroit Tigers (1933–1935), Chicago White Sox (1935), and Cleveland Indians (1937).

## Early years

Fischer was born in Medina, New York, in 1905 and attended Medina High School.

## Professional baseball

Fischer began his career in professional baseball in 1925 at age 19 with the Cambridge Canners of the Eastern Shore League. He spent parts of six seasons in the minor leagues, including stints with the Scranton Miners, Manchester Blue Sox, and Johnstown Johnnies. He was with the Newark Bears of the International League for three years from 1928 to 1930. He compiled an 18–13 record for the Bears in 1929.

Fischer played seven years in Major League Baseball between 1930 and 1937. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Browns. He appeared in 191 major league games, 105 as a starter, and compiled a 46–50 record with a 4.63 ERA and 376 strikeouts in 823 innings pitched.

Although his major league career ended in 1937, Fischer continued to play professional baseball for another 10 year in the minor leagues. He played for four years in the International League for the Baltimore Orioles from 1938 to 1939 and for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1939 to 1941. He next played five years in the Pacific Coast League for the Seattle Rainiers from 1942 to 1946 and for the Portland Beavers in 1946. He concluded his playing career in 1947 with the Pensacola Fliers of the Southeastern League. He also served as manager of the Selma Cloverleafs of the Southeastern League for a portion of the 1947 season. He then coached a Junior Canadian Legion team in Kitchener, Ontario.

## Later years

In 1949, after retiring from baseball, Fischer purchased a newsroom and went into business in Albion, New York. He and his wife, Grace, lived in Medina, New York. Fischer died following a heart attack at his home in Medina in 1963 at age 58.