With tariffs everywhere instead of free trade, everything becomes more expensive, purchasing power decreases, the impact of minimum wage stagnation is more acutely felt, and quality of life is diminished overall. But somehow people are convinced it helps us be more competitive.
I hate doing yard work, but if I have to pay someone $500 a month to do it, I'll do it myself. I'd much rather pay someone $150 a month, but with tariffs, I can't, because somebody with a lawnmower is buying the policy where it costs $500 a month, and the people that could stop it fancy themselves the lawn mower instead of the guy with the yard, when they really are net consumers.
Edit:
Trump’s tariffs on Canadian lumber are pricing Americans out of the U.S. housing market
The Trump administration’s tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber are pushing up the cost of wood, claims the U.S.-based National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), adding approximately USD $9,000 to the cost of single-family homes in the United States.
I noticed this myself when I requested a quote for some custom shelving from an amateur woodworker looking to become a professional woodworker. I personally can absorb the cost of increased wood prices, but most people would balk at the price he was forced to quote. Good news for Jimmy Rane. Bad news for everybody buying from him. I see a lot of older, crappier goods in the American future.