In what alternate universe is the Trump administration living? Isn't "Americans love to buy cheap stuff" our unofficial motto and on one of our coins or something?
Quote:
President Trump’s sweeping tariffs are expected to raise the cost of cars, electronics, metals, lumber, pharmaceuticals and other products that American consumers and businesses buy from overseas.
But Mr. Trump and his advisers are betting that it can sell an inflation-weary public on a provocative idea: Cheap stuff is not the American dream.
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I've had this conversation with a few people at work - essentially, we're a victim of our own success. We've raised the standard of living so high in this country that we've priced ourselves out of most jobs. Everyone wants to make 6-7 figures, but no one wants to pay for the goods or services at jacked up rates to afford to pay everyone well. This idea that I'm suddenly going to become the #1 fan of Ford/Chevrolet (does Chevy still make cars?) because of tariffs and some sense of national pride is ridiculous.
I read an article the other day putting an even finer point on how fucked we are - everyone is focused on overseas manufacturing and the easy targets like call centers being housed in other countries, but corporations are swiftly moving white collar jobs overseas as well. India, in particular, because they have a lot of smart people with better work ethic who are willing to work for much less than Americans. Some major corporations have entire finance teams based in India. No amount of tariff-raising is going to cure that.