Tariffs

Trump has always been short on details, which makes him hard to attack. But at the Republican convention, he committed to one core platform that is easy to refute. He wants to roll back free trade. Of course he makes it sound so obvious. It will boost jobs for Americans. No doubt this is true. But there is a cost on the other side. Imports cost a lot more.

In the old days, only the rich could afford imports. Partly this was the result of the tariffs themselves, but mostly, importing stuff was expensive. So protectionism was popular. Nowadays, shipping is cheap and lots of the stuff ordinary people buy is imported. This is where Trump is vulnerable.

If you go to the store to buy a shirt made in the Philippines for $10, and a US manufacturer can only make a profit (and pay the CEO $20M/yr) if he can sell the same shirt for $20, then the CEO will ask Trump to impose a $10 tax on the imported shirts. Then to buy the shirt you have to pay the Philippines manufacturer $10 and pay the federal government $10. I guess if you are buying the US made shirt, the extra $10 goes to the CEO's salary. Either way the system is rigged.