Shifting Tariff Discourse: Suddenly, Higher Prices Are Good

Years ago, Eliezer Yudkowsky paraphrased Frank Herbert's Dune: "Politics is the mind-killer." The idea is on full display in the ongoing discussions of tariffs, the cratering stock market, and the rising probability of a recession. We were promised Donald Trump would Make America Great Again with lower prices and higher paychecks. All we've gotten so far is a trade war and a troubling rhetorical shift.

Suddenly, the people who elected Trump because of inflation under Biden are saying it's a good thing that tariffs will make goods and services more expensive. Convenience is decadence, and if we all leave our offices and ivory towers and march back to the mines, factories, and logging camps, it will be good for our souls. The Washington Post explains here how "MAGA Maoism is spreading through the populist right." It's an accurate description.

Fortunately, the webcomic XKCD hits a home run here and explains the tariff debate in a way economists have failed to make clear over the years. Enjoy.