ABOUT US
Tariff receipts
Vehicle price increases
Tariffs everywhere, even on uninhabited islands
This article gives us some insight into the US Treasury and a look at what revenue has been generated from the tariffs and what the national debt looks like so far. We can see that there is still a lot of debt, but the tariffs are starting to chip away at the interest accrued and they are starting to slow the national debt. This shows that tariffs aren't all bad, but they are helping to chip away at debt for one of the largest countries in the world. Having such a large countries default on a loan would be the start to a total economic collapse for the entire world, with the US acting as a bank of sorts, the countries would start to try to claim their money and it wouldn't be there, and that could spell the end for some countries along with the US. These tariffs are causing some political issues, but they are potentially helping to keep the world's economy afloat. Without the world economy, there is no way to buy or sell things, you have to trade or barter things that are worth value for other things that are worth equal or greater value. With the major impact the world stock market took, you can see just how big of an impact the us can make by defaulting on the debt, the NASDAQ and DEW Jones fell by 4% and they are some of the highest grossing and safest stock portfolios in the country, with the US stock market being impacted that badly, other countries were probably hit hard as well, because they have smaller industries and less people. Being unable to get out of a collapsing economy because of money issues is a major problem, especially if you feel threatened where you are, and having a superpower like the US fall would devastate the world economy. thankfully this source tells us that the US is recovering form the initial hit from the tariffs and is starting to chip away at the national debt.
Because of the tariffs being applied to car and car part imports the price of most vehicles are going up by up to $2,000 for some brands. While there are some exceptions to parts that are being double tariffed, most manufacturers are saying that there will be about 1 million less vehicles sold this year as compared to other years. This article tells us that cars will be more expensive and how wide ranging the tariffs will be/are. this could also mean that used cars will cost more because the average price of purchasing a car is more expensive. If tariffs like these stay in place, the us could start to restructure its cities and become more like Europe in its travel methods. this is useful to my project because it shows some of what products will be tariffed and what people need to start saving for. This article also shows what there are some ways to get around the tariffs when it comes to when they are already tariffed. With most of the world's car companies being outside of the us, most of their production is as well, meaning that they have to import the cars and they can be tariffed.
Tariffs are being put on islands that are uninhabited and claim to not even export things to the us. The United States supposedly imported $1.4 million in machinery and electronics from an island that is inhabited only by penguins. This source shows the tariffs being put on every country and how relentless the US government is. This also shows that prices will most likely go up everywhere because of it, no matter the product, and no matter the price, the US will tariff it if it has worth. Just because something is worth money doesn't mean that you should tax it, going to the grocery store and being taxed after you buy something is like being taxed for income, and sales tax, and buying tax, it makes it so that everything is more expensive for no other reason than "because I can". this could be relevant to my project because it shows where to expect the tariffs and where money is supposedly being spent by the US government. Spending $1.4 million on an uninhabited island is like spending $14 on a box of air, it isn't worth anything and your money is just gone. Having a representation of where tariff money is going and why areas are being tariffed is a great way to let people know about tariffs and a good way to inform people why their bills have gotten more expensive.
How tariffs will affect us
Tariffs are taxes applied by a government to a product before it enters a country from outside of it. These impact an economy because suppliers go for a cheaper product when possible and if that comes from outside of the country, then it takes jobs away from the people of the country. These tariffs help fuel the US government and are being applied to countries that have a lot of things going into the country. I learned that tariffs can destabilize the economy in this article and how they do so. The companies that buy products want the same quality or better for a cheaper price and when that source is inside the country it creates a bigger industry in the country, however if the cheaper source happens to change to outside of the country, then the industry collapses and it takes away the jobs of the people working for that industry. If people with the skill to run an industry lose their job, then the industry will truly collapse because of the lack of skilled workers. This source is important because it explains what tariffs are and the implications of them. This source tells of how tariffs can impact the economy when implemented and revoked.
Tariffs raising prices and undermining jobs
Tariffs are taxes applied to imported items to encourage items to be produced in country, but it normally ends up stunting the economy. Tariffs for industries like the steel industry where they have little competition inside the country but a lot outside of it, will thrive until the tariffs are lifted in which case they will go right back to where it once was. Tariffs stunt the growth of our innovation as well because opportunities might arise in other countries that might be too expensive to bring into the country because of the tariffs and the cost to consumers after the tax. This appears to be true with the recent price increases and the tariffs going in lockstep, causing people to reevaluate their finances to be able to buy fresh produce that is currently not of season and imported, or even laundry detergent, some of which comes from Canada. Having goods and ideas locked behind a paywall that some people can’t pay and restricting them from people who can’t afford said paywall, this oppresses people who can’t afford this by not giving them the appropriate materials. Historically tariffs have decreased the amount of people in the middle class because they either get richer or, the more likely scenario, they get poorer, this is especially true with marginalized communities. This impacts people because it makes everything more expensive and stunts their ability to save. People not being able to save takes/keeps them down and makes sure that they can’t make it in the world. I can use this in my project by presenting this information next to graphs about how much a non-marginalized person makes compared to a marginalized group.