It’s their money -this principle forms the foundation of property rights. Their income belongs neither to the state nor to any local producer of tomatoes. Yet protectionist and nationalist arguments rest on the premise that local tomato farmers have some positive claim a Trinbagonian's income.
If you are prohibited from buying foreign tomatoes or – disciplined with a tariff or duty for doing so, the state is insisting that local tomato growers have an ethical claim on part of your income.
Its about time these false arguments are abandoned. They are put forward not for the good of the farmer; but for the good of the state -who salivates at the notion of increasing gov't revenue while promising a voting constituent (in this case local farmers) something for nothing.