We’re about to pay more for solar power and washing machines

I know in the land of perpetual cloud cover this subject might not resonate with everyone, but can we talk about solar power for a minute?

I bring it up because yesterday, the Trump White House announced that they are slapping a 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels and a 50 percent tariff on large washing machines (of all things). Because, clearly, these are the two most pressing categories that need the immediate attention from Washington DC. It’s not opioid addiction or homelessness. It’s not VA Hospitals or the CHIP program. It’s solar panels and oversized washing machines.

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When you look past the salacious headlines about Twitter threats with Rocket Man and romps with porn stars, there’s actual policy changes happening behind that thick smoke screen.

So with all due respect to the folks that lean more right than me — is this the kind of thing that you were hoping for when you chose the red team?

What’s the upside of moves like this? So people who want to install solar power now have to pay 30 percent more to buy the same panels? Or maybe they now choose to buy American-made solar panels?

Is this how we “Make America Great Again?” We pretend that we don’t live in a global marketplace anymore? We just act like it’s 1965 and that the United States can control the price of whatever it wants?

I’m not an economist, but this constant drumbeat that somehow we are all getting screwed by other countries with horrible deals is really starting to wear thin with me. We live and shop globally now more than ever.

Honestly, when you go to the grocery store, do you stop and think about a Mexican farmer that picked your avocado? When you’re at Target, do you check the tag of that $9 t-shirt to see if it was made in Indonesia?

Surely it doesn’t take an advanced degree to understand that arbitrarily raising prices on foreign made goods just makes everything more expensive for American citizens. Oh, and there’s also the chance that other countries like China will retaliate and put even bigger tariffs on US exports.

Obviously, there are legitimate reasons to place tariffs on imports. The reasoning on this one just seems thin and petty.

Help me out here, what am I missing?

You can hear “What are we talking about here?” everyday at 4:45 p.m. on 97.3 FM.

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