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Eastern Phoebe
Keller, TX
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A bird from his perch contemplates and communicates. It observes how it will find and get its food to its family, it sings its location, and warns of looming dangers.
From my perch, I see things differently than most. For instance, I probe into the simplistic message that tariffs are going to solve our deficits and fund the extension of tax cuts. But my bird brain see's things as slightly more complicated. What I see is this, if things are more expensive because of tariffs, from my Colombo vantage point, I have to make my income go further. Assuming my income is not rising, I cut back on how much I am spending and what I am spending it on. If I spend less and consume less, state and municipalities also generate less sales tax revenues. If they generate less revenues then and they are also receiving less federal subsidies, then we have less for things like education and infrastructure unless we raise taxes. If this happens, then businesses lay people off because their costs go up while the demand for their goods go down. Municipalities will also struggle as their revenues decline.
Tariffs are a tax on consumption. If we reduce how we consume, there is no way that tariffs can ever pay for deficits incurred. In fact, we have less revenues not more. Our economy is healthiest when consumers spend and can afford to buy goods and services. New manufacturing job creation does not happen overnight and we need labor at the right price. Our demographics are both aging and our population is not replacing those who are retiring fast enough. So we suffer for a longer duration and its not longer just a minor discomfort and fewer dolls for everyone. The poor and middle classes will suffer the most.
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A Vigilent Eastern Phoebe
Keller, TX |
In the meantime, the farmer in Iowa, who has already invested capital in equipment, fertilizer, and planted his soybean seeds, loses markets to Brazil and Argentina. He loses his investment as we also cut agricultural aid to the rest of the world and our largest export markets close their doors to our exports of corn, soybeans, wheat, beef, and poultry.
This has been tried before. In 1928, the Smoot-Hawley Act, added to the problems of the Great Depression. Capitalism could not save us solely from the excesses which lead to the Great Depression. Tariffs made it worse. Since that time, most politicians have shunned tariffs as a source of protectionism and revenues.
Already, like he did in 2018, the President is backtracking trying to save face. But the price of everything has already gone up and will continue to increase for the remainder of the year. Oil companies cannot drill more when the price of energy is below $62 per bbl and the cost of steel pipe has gone up because their specs aren't made in the US. As my form of protest, I will spend less, I will not pay for the irresponsible tax cut extensions. We already have the lowest corporate tax rate within the G20. Let's reduce the deficit and eliminate the tax cuts. Let's figure out how to logically create a more efficient government. Let's think.
Yes we need to protect our national security and yes we need to have a viable supply chain for our national security, but these decisions need to be shaped by our Congress and not by two known convicted felons: Navarro and Trump. Seriously, we are being conned. In the meantime, the real issues are the attacks on democracy and the rule of law. Our fundamental civil rights are at stake. DEI includes: veterans, women and all minorities, including the disabled. We need to think and we need to sing loudly and communicate from our perches. "If I had a hammer..." You know the tune. Say something, do something.
