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I'm only gonna say this once - Tariffs hurt the lower and middle class

I saw Trump on this Bloomberg interview in Chicago today and realized he does not understand economics.


And here's a simple example -

Solar panels

They are made very cheap and sent to the US. Here's the impact:

1) Panels are made elsewhere - so the factories that were never built and employees that were never hired stay that way.

2) They are so cheap that they make economic sense for homeowners and commercial users to install them and save money on energy and help the environment.

3) Many new jobs a created - which includes the importers, distributers, installers and yes, financers that create the lease agreements that help make economic sense of panel use to generate electric.


Impose tariffs - the contractors that install them lose all that work, the homeowners pay more for electric, the power companies have to add capacity to their networks...

Other stuff -

Increasing the costs of things to consumers costs them more - building factories that people in the US are not willing to work in will not elevate the American Worker - only education will do that.

Nobody is raising there kid to work in a factory. Nobody. We are just going to pay more and alienate our suppliers...

Where it could work:

If there are producers in place here, we can protect them, but should be on a sliding scale based on what we can export
You know what hurts the working class….. importing cheap labor.
@fun4us2b The tariffs Biden has in place now make sense because those products have an American alternative. Whereas Trump wants random tariffs, which will definitely hurt American workers, like they did the last time.
Tariffs are like any other government regulation. Sometimes they're good, depending on context, but they're never good when done across the board.
fun4us2b · M
@BohemianBabe I agree - there should be a method. Many building materials and components are imported. If tariffs are imposed too quickly there will be a reduction in the number of viable projects since more money is needed to buy products, which will put tradespeople out of work immediately..
Strictmichael75 · 61-69, M
@YourMomsSecretCrush @YourMomsSecretCrush So no what happened when orange man said he would have the cars assembled in the US rather than in Mexico?
Rhe car companies built factories that use machines to assemble rhe cars and didn’t create jobs expected!
And the tariffs are paid by the Americans where orange man has said it will be paid by the exporters!
SunshineGirl · 36-40, F
When Trump talks of tariffs he envisages repatriating a relatively small number of jobs in a handful of high value industries. Some people will benefit very nicely from government protecting their high paying jobs. But a larger number of people will be hit by higher prices and reduced choice. Tariffs work both ways and major trading blocs such as the EU can and will retaliate with taxes against American imports.
SunshineGirl · 36-40, F
@NativePortlander1970 Nothing wrong with factory work, but it is generally physically more demanding and perhaps more difficult for those without a personal work ethic.
@SunshineGirl The perfect exercise program, and getting paid to do so is a massive benefit
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
@SunshineGirl So illegal aliens are only good for slave labor in the fields, eh?
tindrummer · M
He doesn't understand much of anything except hate
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
The New York Times

Published Aug. 27, 2024
Updated Aug. 28, 2024

Harris and Trump Embrace Tariffs, Though Their Approaches Differ

Both Democrats and Republicans are expressing support for tariffs to protect American industry, reversing decades of trade thinking in Washington.

While Mr. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, differ greatly in their campaign proposals, both of their parties are increasingly embracing tariffs as an essential tool in protecting American manufacturers from Chinese and other global competitors.
Reason10 · 70-79, M
No they don't.
Because of the TRUMP tariffs (and the corporate tax cuts) MORE MANUFACTURING JOBS came back to America than at any other time in history.
Trump was smart in how he handled tariffs. He did so to prevent China from ripping us off.
@Reason10
MORE MANUFACTURING JOBS came back to America than at any other time in history.

Source?
Reason10 · 70-79, M
@BohemianBabe https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/articles/new-economic-comeback-president-trump-breaks-70-year-record/

News broke this morning that real GDP grew at an annualized rate of 33.1% in the third quarter of 2020—beating expectations and setting an all-time record.

This jump in GDP is nearly double the previous record set 70 years ago.

Thanks to President Trump’s policies, the American economy is weathering the global pandemic better than any other major Western country, including those of Europe. As the Council of Economic Advisers wrote this morning:

While the pandemic hit every major economy around the world, the United States experienced the least severe economic contraction of any major Western economy in the first half of 2020, with the Euro Area economy’s contraction being 1.5 times as severe as the contraction of the U.S. economy.

Since April, America has gained over 11.4 million jobs, recovering more than half of those lost because of lockdowns. Retail sales are already above pre-pandemic levels, many construction and manufacturing jobs have returned, business activity is at a 20-month high, and new jobless claims fell to their lowest level this week since the beginning of the pandemic.

This “V-shaped” recovery is beating economist predictions and outpacing the slow recovery under former President Obama. After the 2008-09 recession, it took the Obama Administration 4 times as long to regain the same share of lost economic output.
@Reason10 So the source is a website that was made by the Trump-Pence administration, which lied constantly to make Trump look good. Fantastic.

Here's the truth.

HobNoblin · 36-40, M
Manufacturering at home strengthens our nation and fights globalization. That's the main thing. Borders, language and culture. Make America great again, not China.
Patriot96 · 56-60, C
When we are energy independent again we wont need panels or windmills.
Nothing wrong with working in a factory. Thats opinion of elitists
Carla · 61-69, F
Trump wishes to enact sweeping tariffs because, as potus, he would have almost total control to do so. Full stop.
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
@Carla harris wishes to enact sweeping tariffs because, as potus, she would have almost total control to do so. full stop
fun4us2b · M
@sunsporter1649 @Carla They both lack the fortitude to develop a comprehensive policy that doesn't pander to how it will be received by their constituents...

This is nothing new - but seems to be getting worse every year.
Reason10 · 70-79, M
@Carla That's a lie.
Trump's use of tariffs is a way of enforcing international law. If rogue nations like China want to violate international law and rip off the United States, the threat of a tariff keeps them from going through with it.
And of course, we're in the WORST ECONOMY OF ALL TIME, because the Unelected Pedophile reversed all of Trump's brilliant policies.
Most people still don't know how tariffs work.

[media=https://youtu.be/bf3sLnZ0S04]
Maybe, just maybe, IF we brought ALL of the jobs back we won't have to worry about tariffs anymore 🤔
fun4us2b · M
@NativePortlander1970 We have to do it in steps and over time, otherwise we'll choke off the economy. The Chips act is a start...we need an actual plan made by smart people.
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