Aloha everyone and happy April to all! I hope you all were able to have a fantastic Easter full of great surprises from the Easter bunny possible including plenty of chocolates. This month has been a pretty interesting one for most of us I would say. As always, possibly full of both good and bad. Currently as we all may be aware the number one topic in most news cycles today are the tariffs being put in place by our country's administration. I figured this would be a good time to talk about this as the tariffs are impacting pretty much everything in my personal day to day life.
The first thing that I noticed when these tariffs first started was that I clearly did not learn correctly in school. I don’t think a textbook could fully relay the magnitude and the wide effect tariffs have on us all. Thus I’ve spent a lot of time recently trying to research (mostly through google and youtube university) the pros and the cons of what tariffs are. I am not here to condemn or promote the tariffs being put in place as I feel that is for individuals to formulate their own opinions on. I instead want to find whether the tariffs being proposed or put in place are a net positive or negative.
As is the case far too often now, it is hard to find an objective write up on the strategies being put into place. Upon a first google you will see for the first 5 or so links that pop up tell you that either our country and economy is doomed (run to the store and grab toilet paper) or that this is the best political move America has made in the past century. Are either of these true? I really don’t know yet, this is the first time I have experienced this in my lifetime as it may be for some of you. One good website I found on tariffs themselves is from Oxford Economics. What I personally appreciated is this article just goes over just the basics of what a tariff really is. What effects does a tariff have on domestic and foreign economies? Speaking for myself, before I formulate an opinion on something I would like to have a basic understanding on what it is I have an opinion on.
I will hyperlink the article here:
https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/resource/tariffs-101-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-work/
As a little insight as to how my own personal opinion forming process works, here is funny little example: I just imagine if I went to a car show. To give some background I know a little bit about cars, a basic idea really, but I couldn’t tell you why when you turn the key, or push the button and that thing just fires right up and can go from 0-60. If I went to this car show (and I have been to a few) I could tell which styles appeal to me, or if a certain paint color is alluring. If I look under the hood I would have no clue what I am even seeing. I wouldn’t know what kind of horsepower is being put out or whether this car was put together well or not. Thus I really would need to know how the car works to tell you which engine is my favorite or which year and model is the best. (But that sounds like a hobby I just don’t need right now).
On the positive side, one thing that I offer to you all is that we as a people are oftentimes a lot tougher and can make it through a lot more than we often give ourselves credit for. I am sure you all could share with me stories upon stories from yourself of tough times and trials that you’ve gone through or are going through right now. And guess what, you made it through that and you will continue to make it through whatever comes your way. Just ask Rocky Balboa.
Written by Nate Konecky R-S