Amazing how quickly they pivoted from “Trump will bring down the price of groceries” to “It’s better if things get more expensive,” and his cultists just ate it up.
It’s because they have a very simple problem: they are inconsistent on their messaging on tariffs
Depending on who you talk to, it does one of two things and it can’t be both by definition: either they are a negotiating tactic to squeeze better deals out of nations that they (incorrectly) believe are taking advantage of us, OR it’s the new way of doing things because they want to stop globalism and make America self-sufficient (can’t put the genie back in the bottle but won’t stop them from trying).
Everyone in his admin/surrogate/etc. has a slightly different answer hinging on one of those two contradictory explanations.
Three actually. The admin has also consistently claimed that they’re a new source of revenue that will offset tax cuts (in some versions this removes income taxes entirely).
And yes, as you said (and I’ve made this point more than a few times on here myself), each version of what the tariffs do is mutually exclusive with the others. If they’re a bargaining tactic, they cannot be a source of revenue or a permanent change to manufacturing, because a bargaining tactic requires the offer of the tariffs being removed. Even if they’re not actually a bargaining tactic and are in fact intended to be permanent, they can’t be both a source of revenue and a way to rebuild American manufacturing. For the tariffs to be a source of revenue, imports have to continue at their existing levels. If manufacturing repatriates, the revenue disappears.
Very good point, though I kind of tied that up with “we’re making America self-sufficient.“ but you’re right it could be seen as a 3rd one
Also, high prices are cool, but it’s also because Biden left them such a terrible economy.
Very Orwellian. Never mind the objective data we could all see with our eyes about the fantastic economy Biden had. We could all see people complaining about high prices of eggs and the bitching they did about inflation. But nevermind all that, none of that is true because of what Pee-Wee here says.
You can tell someone hasn’t bought American in a while if they think it’s a sign of better quality
The exceptions being long-standing, privately owned, trade craft businesses, like Red Wing boots.
Yah there’s some notable exceptions for sure.
I grew up surrounded by shitty right-wingers who wore Red Wings like they were part of a uniform. 🤮
I’m… sorry they had decent taste in boots?
There’s a tone of nationalism with the pride of American made goods but fwiw Red Wing boots are really good. I think they sell other stuff to round out their offerings and I can’t speak to those, but they do make great work boots
Are they still good? I knew they were 30 years ago but Im not sure if they kept it up.
I’ll plug one because it’s local to me and they make really nice quality glasses: Randolph Engineering. If you like aviators, I think they’re one of the best out there. Made in Randolph, MA, just south of Boston. They’re not cheap, but they’re very well made.
Chinese made parts are generally worse. At least industrially. We buy a few things from China that we need in high volume and we have to go over every single part because inevitably 25% will be out of spec in one way or another. We’ve bought Chinese steel a few times and about half of that material was basically useless.
We avoid Chinese tooling, parts, and steel as much as we can. We will buy used Western made machinery before buying new Chinese machinery for the same reason. The two Chinese made presses we have have had to be rebuilt twice, and were only ever used for light duty stamping. Those presses, only about 20 years old are being decommissioned rather than repaired any further.
Most of what we use is American or German made. German parts generally hold tighter tolerances but they seem to last about as long. We have a few French made lasers that work really well until they don’t, and then they’re a nightmare to service.
None of that matters. Because we cannot function without these things coming in from overseas. I don’t know of any industrial building in my city that can. We make a lot of stuff in this town you need that you’d never think about. Conveyors, refrigerated trailers, the hydraulic fittings and irrigation systems that literally supply the entire agricultural sector, all of it depends on a vast intercontinental trade network that is actively collapsing. The latest order of punches and die inserts we ordered are sitting on a boat in Schenzhen and have been for weeks. Because even though we’re willing to pay the tariffs on the few things we order, the ten thousand other customers may not be. And until they can fill a boat with goods people are willing to pay a premium on, that boat isn’t going to leave harbor.
Empty shelves are only the beginning of how irrecoverably fucked we’re about to be.
Yeah, and I think everyone has forgotten that even the cheap, easily broken stuff helps us save money. I’ll happily buy the cheap 100 dollar Chinese tool to fumble with for an extra couple hours on a one-time car repair that saves me 500 dollars compared to the only American option, or 900 dollars going to a shop instead.
Things are just going to end up broken and unfixable in the non-industrial world too.
what I’m hearing is that the shelves themselves will fall apart and we won’t have the tools to repair them
Maybe I’m reading into this too much, but I think they picked dolls on purpose. Not just because of the phrase “China Doll”, but also to play into their alpha male bullshit. They are intentionally feminizing the opposition to keep the manosphere engaged.
That’s an interesting point. When I first read the quote from Trump about 2 dolls instead of 30, I thought he was just out of touch - I mean are dolls still a popular thing in today’s day and age? Is he just out of touch?
But no, there’s a reason for the usage of the term. Quite an interesting point, especially considering the demographic that largely voted for him this second election was younger men.
It reminds me of 1954. A happy family sitting around the christmas tree, young Barbara unwrapping her new porcelain doll … It might be to appeal to the boomer generation and their conservative romantic memories?
To me, it’s something my grandma might have said to me. So, yeah. Probably a choice of words to set the atmosphere 👵😊
Alt headline “Steven Miller wants YOU to buy dolls”
WTF is with these dumb bitches and fucking doll quotes? Do they have a secret Nazi dollhouse they play with?
“Show me on this doll where Der Gropenführer touched you…”
With what money?
They’re destroying the American consumer class, people won’t be able to buy shit, and Americans hate not being able to buy shit
And when MAGA Americans are angry, they double down on their support for the people that made them suffer.
What I don’t get is how capitalism itself is supposed to survive. No consumer spending means companies don’t make sales and then assets don’t generate enough value to justify already very expensive law enforcing cost to protect it, which would go up if every day a truck pulled into Walmart just like Black Friday
Bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see how it plays out with broke ass Americans.
Stephen Miller looks like he has a creepy ass collection of naked dolls in the attic.
Stephen Miller talking about dolls probably opened a door to hell somewhere.Stephen Miller looks like a dude who definitely wears leather heels and a ball gag at home.
Pee-wee Goebbels is here to tell everyone what they really believe, LOL.
Doesn’t matter what people really believe or what people said they believed yesterday - high prices are cool, because it will please their lord the god-emperor King Mierdas.
I can’t believe this man exists in the public spotlight in any capacity and it wasn’t the last straw for normal Americans who don’t want to live inside a stupid HBO drama with ridiculously written villains.
edit: I’ve been informed most Americans would rather live in a fantasy world than reality anyway and that’s why we’re in this mess.
I don’t want to hear anything Stephen Miller has to say unless it’s an apology for being Stephen Miller.
And unless that apology sounds like a self inflicted shot to the head I don’t wanna hear that shit either.
Hey man, nice shot.
I bet he’ll be very willing to pay Americans a lot of money for the privilege of staying alive. In fact, I bet he’d give it all away to avoid being at the business end of an American guillotine. (It’s a regular guillotine, but the blade is replaced with a 60lb rock, and the person on the business end has their head placed in a stockade, resting on an anvil)
I can’t wait until this Nasfaratu nazi goes back to his crypt
“US made” means… Diy dolls? Ffs
