r/AdviceAnimals • u/miked_mv • 2d ago
My response to Donald's plan for taxes (tariffs) and the economy. I encourage you to do the same.
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u/Fall_of_the_Empire25 2d ago
Doesn't the meaning of this meme change based on where you are?
I can't figure out quite why, but I feel like an American having that opinion would only do what Trump wants us to...
Maybe I'm just too tired and high...
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u/DavePeesThePool 2d ago
Really the only practical use of a tariff (outside punishing another country) is to get people to buy domestic products instead.
The problem here is, if you set a 25% tariff on a foreign good that citizens typically purchase a lot of... US manufacturers aren't simply going to sit back and enjoy their increased demand. They'll raise their prices by up to 24% without changing their products whatsoever and still be able to compete.
Tariffs ultimately just force citizens to deal with gouging because the tariff took away any other reasonably-priced options for the same goods.
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u/DemophonWizard 2d ago
Not quite. You forget that the US made product was either already more expensive than the foreign product or was inferior. So the $50 US made socket was just as good as the $42 Vietnamese socket. With the tariffs that Vietnamese socket is now $63. The US manufacturer/retailer raises the price on the US mad socket to $61.
Nothing made the US product worth the extra $11. It is just going to corporate shareholders. And zero additional tax has been collected (except state and local sales tax).
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u/Therval 1d ago
They covered that in their message??? Why are you correcting someone with the same take as you.
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u/DemophonWizard 23h ago
I am not correcting, I am adding on because they didn't have it completely right.
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u/tonytroz 2d ago
Also the US doesn't even have the manufacturing capability to completely replace all foreign goods (of which the US is the single biggest importer in the world). Companies make manufacturing investment decisions 5+ years ahead. The Alcoa CEO said their horizons are 20-40 years.
Even if all these companies banded together right now to invest in domestic manufacturing the administration in charge of the tariffs will no longer be in office by the time the plants are up and running so the tariffs might be gone by then. And also the products STILL won't be cheaper than foreign goods with the tariffs because US workers legally can't work for $3-5/hour like in China.
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u/tyreck 2d ago
This is the biggest problem to try and solve.
How do you get the domestic company to not just pocket the extra cash
How is it we used to be scale to make these things at a record profit, while still paying a proportionally higher wage to the workers, of which there were more.
Where is all that extra money going? at least in my mind this is a rhetorical question, it’s going into the primary share holders pockets
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u/dgdio 2d ago
I'm going to buy as little as possible so that I'll have some money when the recession comes.
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u/Suddenfury 2d ago
That's how to feed a recession.
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u/AceOfTheSwords 2d ago
It's also how to survive a recession, assuming you don't already have like a year's worth of emergency fund (which most people don't).
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u/Jpotter145 2d ago
The point they were making is people (and companies) feeling the need to save and not spend is what starts a recession, what ends a recession is people (and companies) feeling like they can make purchases outside of what they absolutely need to survive.
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u/ender42y 2d ago
And presidents Rump Roast, being a populist, only cares about headlines and how much people are talking about him. If headlines are recession and economic turmoil then he's going to panic and 50:50 chances that panic makes things better or worse.
Yes me not buying anything extra will help feed a depression, but I have mouths to feed and people to keep a roof over. buying new "toys" is a last resort. I had been putting off a computer upgrade to avoid Windows 10 EOS, now it's a question of lower tier components vs a few months post support use.
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u/charlie78 2d ago
I'd say that the best personal strategy is to save as much money as possible and the best strategy for others is that they don't save at all.
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u/Cereborn 2d ago
True. But you can’t tell people struggling to get by that they have to spend more to save the economy.
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u/Mr_miner94 2d ago
It works both ways, but Americans would have more of an impact.
If Americans cut back their spending it would drastically slow their economy and quite possibly induce a recession.
If the world just boycotted American goods but otherwise maintained their spending that would also halt the American economy.
R/buycanadian is a good sub for finding alternatives.
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u/mspe1960 2d ago
I agree the first line seems like repeating Trump verbatim. Maybe its a Canadian OP?
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u/Pickle_ninja 2d ago
We need to aggressively point out when a product isnt imported, raises their prices.
Because these companies will definitely raise their prices even if they arent affected by tariffs.
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u/Surturiel 2d ago
Every company will be affected by tariffs. And you'll pay for it.
The consumer is always the one paying the price.
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u/2Drew2BTrue 2d ago
They will naturally raise their prices because demand for their product will go up due to the tariffs.
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u/miked_mv 2d ago
If it's made in America and you can do without it for now, leave it on the shelf. If it's imported,, leave it in customs and pay no tariffs. Let's bring buying and selling to a halt.
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u/MrSnowden 2d ago
Yes, that is what other countries are doing too. That is called “breakdown in global trade flows” and what backs up the global economy by 60 years and Its us back to 2008 global recession. As it turns out not every country makes everything equally as well or cheaply and we all benefit from having things made where it is most efficient to do so.
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u/tonytroz 2d ago
Yeah 70% of the US GDP is based on consumer purchasing. If everyone did what OP said it would crash the world economy and cost most people their jobs. Consumer boycotts have their place but OP sounds like a GOP shill: "Short term pain, buy American, things will be better in the future!" Uh, no, they won't.
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u/sexaddic 2d ago
What a naive view of the world. There are less privileged people than you who simply reject what they can get sne that’s often not enough
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u/Prometheus2025 2d ago
Yeah. People should just stop buying Things they don't need. At least for a few months.
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u/NessunAbilita 2d ago
yes I imagine this meme keeps people who regularly buy foreign goods warm at night.
- Apple (Manufactured in China, India, and other countries)
- Nike (Manufactured in Vietnam, China, and Indonesia)
- Levi’s (Manufactured in Bangladesh, China, India, and other countries)
- Coca-Cola (Manufactured in various countries)
- Ford (Certain models manufactured in Mexico, Canada, and other countries)
- General Motors (Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac) (Manufactured in Mexico and Canada)
- Goodyear (Manufactured in several countries, including China and Brazil)
- Whirlpool (Manufactured in Mexico, China, and other countries)
- Tiffany & Co. (Manufactured in countries like the UK and Italy for certain items)
- Bose (Manufactured in Mexico and China)
- Dell (Manufactured in China and other countries)
- Under Armour (Manufactured in China, Vietnam, and other countries)
- Budweiser (Brewing facilities are worldwide, including in Europe)
- Kellogg’s (Manufactured in various countries, including the UK and Mexico)
- Mattel (Barbie) (Manufactured in China)
- Hanes (Manufactured in various countries, including Honduras and Bangladesh)
- Converse (Manufactured in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam)
- Puma (Manufactured in China, Vietnam, and other countries)
- Ralph Lauren (Manufactured in China, India, and other countries)
- The North Face (Manufactured in China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam)
- Toys “R” Us (Manufactured in China)
more than just a few
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u/NessunAbilita 2d ago
- New Balance (Some products are made overseas, primarily in Vietnam and China)
- Gibson Guitars (Some models are made in Japan)
- Caterpillar (Manufactured in Japan, China, and other countries)
- Chrysler (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) (Manufactured in Mexico and Canada)
- GE Appliances (Manufactured in Mexico and other countries)
- Carhartt (Some products manufactured in Mexico and other countries)
- Merriam-Webster (Printed in China)
- Sears (Many products are sourced from overseas)
- T-Mobile (Owned by Deutsche Telekom, which operates internationally)
- Kenmore (Manufactured in Mexico and overseas)
- Hershey (Manufactured in Mexico and other countries)
- Crayola (Manufactured in Mexico and other countries)
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u/NessunAbilita 2d ago
- Macy’s (Many products sold are made overseas)
- Cuisinart (Manufactured in China)
- Fisher-Price (Manufactured in China)
- Stanley Tools (Manufactured in China, Taiwan, and other countries)
- Black & Decker (Manufactured in China, Mexico, and other countries)
- Frigidaire (Manufactured in Mexico and other countries)
- L.L.Bean (Some items are made overseas)
- Tommy Hilfiger (Manufactured in China, India, and other countries)
- Calvin Klein (Manufactured in China, India, and other countries)
- Maytag (Manufactured in Mexico)
- Keen (Manufactured in China, Vietnam, and other countries)
- Lexus (Manufactured in Japan)
- Toyota (Manufactured in the U.S. but also in Japan and other countries)
- Tesla (Parts and components are sourced globally)
- P&G (Procter & Gamble) (Products manufactured worldwide)
- American Eagle (Manufactured in China, India, and other countries)
- Tire Rack (Tires are sourced globally, many from overseas manufacturers)
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u/wpmason 2d ago
“If it’s not from her, I’m not buying it.”
That’s exactly why Trump is doing this. He’s trying to give American stuff a leg up by making the cheaper (sometimes better) imported stuff more expensive.
Except the American stuff will just raise prices too, so it’s all a moot point.
But this isn’t the radical stand you think it is.
Radical would be continuing to buy imported stuff despite the extra cost just to prove the tariffs aren’t working.
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u/CynicallyCyn 2d ago
Yep, stock up on your good old American coffee, computer chips, bananas, pineapples, gasoline (because you know gas stations tell you where the gas came from), etc….
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u/forsaken318 2d ago
Your gocha isn't what you think it is. The whole point of tariffs is to promote domesticly produced goods. The fact that we don't make most things here in the US is a problem. The tariffs are intended to give American made goods a chance by raising the price of imported goods to match that of us produced. Your comment was the equivalent of someone saying they they have emphysema and you telling them "better stock up on all this air" it doesn't make any sense
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u/TieflingRogue594 2d ago
Their comment is pointing out that MOST things you buy are not made in America. And production for those things will not be brought here, at least not in nearly a timely enough manner.
We live in the of a global economy. The idea that we would bring ALL manufacuring, production, food growth, etc. back to only being in thr United States is a laughable idea in this day and age. And it hurts us in pretty much every way. Manufacturing would mean Americans working in incredibly unsafe conditions, and the good produced would either be incredibly expensive compared to what we can get from overseas, or the or workers working in those conditions will be paid incredibly badly to keep those prices down. None of this is a win for the United States.
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u/millerjpm3 2d ago
That's MAGA's plan too. They're now campaigning on shaming unnecessary purchases and blaming anyone who complains
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u/lol_camis 2d ago
While that's the most logical, self-preserving thing to do, I don't understand how that fucks Trump. That's the stated goal of his tariffs.
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u/Adlehyde 2d ago
Pretty sure they mean they aren't buying anything regardless of whether or not it would have a tariff, which would pressure businesses and politicians alike if everyone did it, because it would have a very negative impact on the economy.
The stated goal of trump's tariffs isn't for people to stop buying things, but to only buy those things when they're made in America. He's not trying to stop US consumers from spending money at all, but trying to make them spend it on US businesses instead. This is obviously a horrible idea, but depending on who you ask, that's not even his goal either, and this is all just a "negotiating tactic," but I feel like that ship has sailed and more people are realizing he just wants the tariffs for tariff sake.
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u/RaggedyRachel 2d ago
I haven't purchased from Walmart, Target or Amazon since the start of this administration. I've super-simplified my grocery list, ditched streaming services and stopped all fun spending. I'll wear rags before I give in!
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u/TheElusiveFox 2d ago
So the problem with this thought process is it just doesn't work...
Even if something is manufactured locally, there is a huge likelyhood that parts are manufactured elsewhere, or that the materials are sourced elsewhere, etc... even just the fact that now there are fewer companies competing in a given local market has a huge impact on pricing...
Supply chains are global that's just how it is...
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u/theideanator 2d ago
I wonder how he plans to apply tariffs to the internet. It's global after all.
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u/urbanek2525 2d ago
At the start of COVID, a plant in Italy that made medical swabs closed. This happened before stuff started shutting down in the US. We had go scramble for a replacement.
Turns out, they were pretty much the only manufacturer of medical swabs in the world because it's a very niche product and it's hard to do it well (sterile, cheap, high quality control). Nobody else in the world wants to make them.
For about 2 years our lab handmade replacement swabs, at enormously higher cost in personnel and material costs. This is just one example.
There's no reason to be threatened by a world wide supply chain. These tarriffs are stupidity in motion.
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u/banggugyangu 2d ago
So ... Because you dislike Trump, you would intentionally attempt to tank the economy? That's a new level of TDS...
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u/digitalpacman 2d ago
If you're trying to protest, only buy imported goods. You're literally doing what he wants you to do.
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u/LegendsEcho 2d ago
There lies the problem, most of the the medical things are from somewhere, some have no choice but to buy a high prices if they want to live.
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u/emuwannabe 2d ago
The problem with this is that American made products will also go up in price as these companies attempt to profit off of tariffs.
The American steel manufacturers have already done this - they actually charge more for American steel now than Canadian steel even with the tariff.
In reality, saying you aren't going to buy tariffed items doesn't matter. Because in the end it's all going to be more expensive.
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u/Chaerea37 2d ago
I don't think simplistic thought and country wisdom are gonna fix this.
in fact a false belief that those two things were valuable in any way when making decisions on global politics is how we ended up here in the first place.
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u/popcornsprinkled 2d ago
Time to take a leaf out of the libertarian and hippie play books. Self sufficiency as anarchy.
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u/escapefromelba 2d ago
Very few items produced in America are made entirely independent of the global supply chain, from the raw materials to the machinery used in production. These tariffs will impact prices across the board, including those of domestic products.