Trump Set to Whack US Working Class With Historic $3,000 Tax Hike | Common Dreams
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There is an old saying in Washington that if you want to understand politicians, look at what they do, not what they say. On that front there is no ambiguity. The Republican president is imposing big new taxes, and he is doing it in a way that does not require congressional approval.

Summary

Donald Trump is poised to impose massive import tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, effectively raising taxes on U.S. households by an estimated $3,000 annually.

Unlike past tax increases that targeted the wealthy, these tariffs disproportionately impact low- and middle-income workers.

While Trump claims the measures address immigration and fentanyl concerns, experts argue they serve as a revenue source to offset tax cuts for the rich.

Critics contend that Trump’s tariffs lack a clear industrial strategy and primarily burden American consumers.

  • @TheBeege
    10•18 hours ago

    I think you’re confusing Trump’s ill-informed theory with actually theory and practice.

    If foreign goods are taxed, those companies will not simply absorb the hit to their profits. They will instead increase their prices, which hurts the consumer.

    You may be thinking, “then won’t consumers buy other products?” If so, you need to think a step further. Are there other products that are just as cheap? Will other companies simply raise their prices to match and take advantage of the extra profit? Are there even locally made alternatives to the product, and, if so, are they cheaper than even the tariff price?

    In practice, tariffs are only effective if there are local competitors within the same price bracket, and your populace can absorb the difference in price without much pain.

    https://www.usimportdata.com/blogs/top-10-us-Imports-data-by-country-product-hs-code-database Electronics, vehicles, fuels, medicines, and plastics are among our top imports. Home built vehicles are usually expensive. For example, when you think cheap, you think of a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic something. We know fuel is important. Medicines are not an optional cost. Plastics are part of everything. Our economy relies a lot on imports. The US shifted away from manufacturing and towards a service economy a long time ago. We don’t have a many home-built goods as we used to.

    Tariffs will hurt the average citizen by corporations increasing their prices to absorb the profit losses imposed by the tariffs. There are often no comparable local alternatives, and many of these goods are not optional. Americans will pay this price. In effect, this makes it a tax on normal citizens

    Personally, I like the idea of restoring local manufacturing, and I think tariffs can play a role in this… but to do so without harming citizens requires subsidizing local industry to provide cheaper homemade alternatives along with a more gradual adjustment. We would also need to reduce the cost of living in order to make lower wages livable such that the labor cost of local manufacturing is lower. But we all know that’s not happening - we desperately need wages to go up right now to make the cost of living bearable. Slapping double-digit tariffs on goods suddenly is a great way to destabilize an economy. So uh… fuck Trump.