Are Tariffs A Good Idea?

[Toddsterpatriot]

Yeah. Low unemployment, consistent GDP growth, and no recessions.

What could be worse?

All that good stuff, and he still added more to the debt than Trump. Weird.

 

[Robert W]

Yeah, and we never hear the left or their bought and paid for lefty media that Trump imposed a lot of tariffs in his first term and prices did NOT go up then. But, this time it's tariffs are going to make prices go up up up.

Time is the decider, not democrats.

 

[mikegriffith1]

SK and Taiwan were not industialized when the developed indstries, and the US presidental elections pitted the agrarians v. the urban

South Korea and Taiwan quickly became industrialized, and their industries were able to develop and then thrive because they protected them with high tariffs, just as we did for decades. We became the economic powerhouse of the world behind the protective walls of high tariffs.

A factory in El Salvador, for example, has few safety regulations to worry about and can pay its workers a fraction of what American factory workers usually make. Even with shipping costs, the dirt-wage factory's product will be cheaper in America than what an American factory can make the product for. So, you impose a tariff to protect American factories that make that product from being unfairly undercut by the Salvadoran product. You level the playing field for American factories, at the very least. If the product is vital, you might want to make the tariff prohibitive.

 

[Robert W]

South Korea and Taiwan quickly became industrialized, and their industries were able to develop and then thrive because they protected them with high tariffs, just as we did for decades. We became the economic powerhouse of the world behind the protective walls of high tariffs.

A factory in El Salvador, for example, has few safety regulations to worry about and can pay its workers a fraction of what American factory workers usually make. Even with shipping costs, the dirt-wage factory's product will be cheaper in America than what an American factory can make the product for. So, you impose a tariff to protect American factories that make that product from being unfairly undercut by the Salvadoran product. You level the playing field for American factories, at the very least. If the product is vital, you might want to make the tariff prohibitive.

Good thing the person you told that to is not in any section of Government.

 

[JoeB131]

When we start pumping our own oil and becoming less energy-dependent on other nations, prices will drop here in the USA.

No, they won't.

First, oil is an internationally traded commodity. the price will always be set globally. if you pull oil out the ground in Alaska, it's going to be cheaper to ship it to Japan than Florida.

Secondly, regardless of how much we produce, the world only has about 50 years of remaining reserves if consumption continues at current rates.

 

[JoeB131]

South Korea and Taiwan quickly became industrialized, and their industries were able to develop and then thrive because they protected them with high tariffs, just as we did for decades. We became the economic powerhouse of the world behind the protective walls of high tariffs.

Actually, they became industrialized because the US dumped a shitload of money into them propping up their corrupt, undemocratic regimes so their people might not start thinking, "Hey, maybe Communism IS cool!"

We tried to do the same in South Vietnam, but those guys were too corrupt to get with the program.

A factory in El Salvador, for example, has few safety regulations to worry about and can pay its workers a fraction of what American factory workers usually make. Even with shipping costs, the dirt-wage factory's product will be cheaper in America than what an American factory can make the product for. So, you impose a tariff to protect American factories that make that product from being unfairly undercut by the Salvadoran product. You level the playing field for American factories, at the very least. If the product is vital, you might want to make the tariff prohibitive.

Again, that would be stupid. Who do you think the major contributor to the illegal immigration "Crisis" is? Yup, Salvadoreans. Most of them aren't MS-13 gang members, they are coming here looking for those Jobs Americans don't want to do.

As someone who works in manufacturing environments as a buyer, I can tell you. I've never worked in a place where most of the workers didn't have accents. In one place I worked, they surveyed some 100 employees and found that no less than 19 languages were spoken by the employees. Most of them were green cards; others were citizens.

 

[Luckyone]

For the most part, I'm a Trump supporter and am generally happy with the direction he's taking the country. It's too soon to know what the long term effects of his executive orders and policies will be but I'm very happy with DOGE and very happy with sending illegals back to their crapholes.

By the same token, I believe in transparency and calling a spade a spade. I started out by saying that "for the most part" I'm happy with Trump but everyone has their flaws and/or weaknesses. I'm still on the fence where Tariffs are concerned. I sell welding supplies, gases, and equipment for a living. I just received this message from Lincoln Electric (a major manufacturer of welding machines and filler metals):

"February 12, 2025

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for your continued business and support of Lincoln Electric. We advised you in our December 5th, 2024 letter that we would continue to monitor the effects of potential tariffs and, if necessary, we would implement tariff-related price adjustments with short notice. As you are aware, the U.S. Government imposed additional tariffs on China that went into effect on February 4, 2025.
These short-notice tariff-related increases have had a dramatic impact on the input cost of many Lincoln Electric products. As a result, we will be implementing price increases on affected Lincoln Electric products. The affected product categories at this time are helmets, accessories, expendables and parts. Pricing for these products will increase by ten percent (10%).
In addition, effective February 12, 2025, the price for all Lincoln Electric products, including consumables and equipment, will be the price at the time of shipment. The prices on Lincoln Electric Order Acknowledgements dated on or after February 12, 2025, will be subject to change until the date of shipment.
We are working to mitigate changes while ensuring we continue to provide uninterrupted service and support to you and your customers. We will continue to monitor the volatile tariff dynamics closely and implement additional changes as necessary.
Distributor-specific price files will be available via the On-Demand Price File request tool on your 'My Lincoln' account by Thursday, February 13th, 2025.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding during these turbulent times. If you have any questions, please reach out to your local Lincoln representative.
Sincerely,

Albert L. Castillo
Vice President - Sales & Marketing, Americas"

Of course, this will translate into higher prices for my customers. A 5% or 10% increase on a $5000.00 or $12,000.00 or $20,000.00 welding machine is pretty significant. So I'm not too sure tariffs are going to be a good idea. At least not from my perspective.

 

[eagle1462010]

Smith shows Fox News how Alberta's taking border security seriously

Seems some are taking measures to try and stop the drugs.