American Consumers Fund Lavish Lifetyle

 

by Pa Rock

Citizem Journalist

On his made-up "liberation Day" (April 2, 2025) as he announced his plans to impose tariffs on goods from most of the countries in the world, Donald Trump intentionally led some Americans to believe that the tariffs would be paid by the nations sending their goods into the United States, and that the US Treasury would be rolling in the dough provided by those foreign governments.  To his credit, Trump may have actually believed that was true because he isn't very smart - and his closest aides are smart enough to never tell him anything that he does not want to hear.

The truth is, of course, that tariffs are paid by the importers, those purchasing the goods from abroad and then bringing them into the country - and because the importers pay more for the merchandise, higher costs ultimately get passed on to consumers.

Trump proceeded to peddle his baloney for several weeks, but now he seems to have reversed course and is trying another subtrefuge.

Walmart CEO and President Doug McMillion told investors while on a quarterly earnings call last week that his company, the largest retailer in the United States, would likely be raising prices due to the tariffs.  McMillion, himself an Arkansas native, didn't mince words.  The price of goods from overseas was increasing due to Trump's new tariffs, and Walmart, where millions of Americans, many of whom are Trump supporters, go to shop and socialize, would be forced to raise prices accordingly.

Trump was not amused.  In one of his infamous late-night rants on social media he roared that Walmart should "eat the costs of the tariffs" and not pass them along to consumers (an admission that the tariffs are actually paid on the American end of the transaction).   In a subsequent phone call, McMillion acquiesced, to a point, and told the bellicose President that Walmart would absorb some of the costs added by the tariffs.  Trump, ever the bully, warned that he would be watching and so would Walmart's customers.  Then he headed for the golf course.

But Doug McMillion, who has been in charge of Walmart for over a decade, is no fool, and neither are the CEOs of the other corporate giants in northwest Arkansas, companies with enormous national footprints such as Tyson Foods and Jones Truck Lines -  and neither are the rest of America's corporate giants - even Tesla.  They will not be absorbing any consequential amounts of the tariff price increases.  If Americans want goods produced overseas, or composed of parts made overseas, they will be paying more - regardless of what the CEOs tell the buffoon in the White House.

Trump's economics are voodoo and his concern for the pocketbooks of real Americans non-existent.  He's no more honest about those things than he is about his golf scores.

Attention Walmart shoppers - you are about to have your pockets picked.  But the good news is that with the new tariff revenue - straight from your pockets - Trump will be able to afford his $92 million birthday parade and the $500 million to $1 billion in security upgrades for his new passenger jet gift from the Qatari royal family - and the weekly golf outings to his own private golf clubs will also be able to continue.

Suck it up, America.  Your sacrifices are funding a lavish lifestyle worthy causes!