Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything

Post by platevoltage » Sun, Aug 31, 2025, 5:36 PM UTC

ehnto wrote: post #364

platevoltage wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See this is what I don't understand. Everything you just said about China is a positive. Everything you said about China is achievable in the USA, and we at least HAD a head start on soft-power influence. Instead we should just have tariffs instead of actually making the lives of Americans better while FIGHTING affordable housing, high speed rail, and EVs. We've got an entire team of goons who would rather rack up pe…

I do think the state of progress in China is vastly underestimated by the west. It has been fast and messy, not evenly distributed, but it is staggering. The rhetoric around them is changing too, I think they are making significant soft power gains. I could easily see them filling the voids that US policy chaos is currently creating.

Post by infecto » Sun, Aug 31, 2025, 5:37 PM UTC

PeterStuer wrote: post #394

macintux wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m curious whether it’s more the tariffs, or the uncertainty. No one knows what will happen on a day-to-day basis: the chaotic (and illegal) decision-making leaves everyone wondering what’s next.

It is more the volatility for sure. Tarrifs have existed forever and business has always coped with them.

Post by platevoltage » Sun, Aug 31, 2025, 5:43 PM UTC

AlecSchueler wrote: post #420

lm28469 wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the whole "benevolent" dictatorship VS flawed democracy debate.

It might be an authoritarian one party state but China isn't a dictatorship right?

Post by hippo22 » Sun, Aug 31, 2025, 5:48 PM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #590

hippo22 wrote: post #574

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The worsening of the distribution of wealth is exactly the problem. Productivity is increasing faster than wages. That means labor is losing out on economic gains. Your argument is that labor should just accept this because “at least they’re better off than before.” Imagine you invest $1000 in the stock market and the market is growing at 10%. But when you open your brokerage account, you see only 5% growth, and it t…

> The worsening of the distribution of wealth is exactly the problem. That's literally what I said, and why the solution is to undo the things that produced that instead of undoing the things that fueled the aggregated growth while doubling down on the sources of inequality.

Post by judahmeek » Sun, Aug 31, 2025, 6:00 PM UTC

hippo22 wrote: post #487

goosedragons wrote: post #158

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Lunch eaten by whom? Who was eating the world's richest country's lunch? The only lunch eating going on is the American rich eating the poors', something that's only accelerated under Trump. The tariffs are a tax that is most disproportionate on the poor. And they are in no way, shape or form actually intelligently designed to help them. It's just stupid madness.

The American worker has had their lunch eaten by the American capitalist class in conjunction with countries providing cheaper labor. By allowing unfettered labor arbitrage (i.e. tariff-free trade) the US has allowed their working class to be completely gutted. Combined with with unfettered illegal immigration (another Democratic Party position), the assault on the American worker is immense.