When it comes to economic literacy, Rep. Jay Obernolte is auditioning for the role of Sloth from Goonies. He champions tariffs and refusal to admit they hurt consumers, is now showing up not just in obscure economic charts, but in the sticker price of your next Xbox , PlayStation, or Nintendo system. Obernolte and his fellow tariff enthusiasts like to pretend that import duties are magically absorbed by foreign exporters. In his public musings, Obernolte claims that tariffs are paid only by foreign countries, not by domestic consumers. That would be a fascinating spell, if it existed in real economics. Spoiler Alert: it doesn’t. In reality, when the U.S. imposes heavy tariffs on electronics components or finished goods, importers and manufacturers absorb higher costs and then pass them directly to the end user. In other words, you pay. The narrative that tariffs are free money or pure leverage against foreign companies is just political soap opera, not serious policy. Just this ye...
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