Just curious about how this works out. At scale, would either decision make any sort of impact? I know most people, including me, will end up avoiding heavily tariffed products out of personal financial reasons. But in theory, would US residents buying or not buying tariffed products be the larger anti-tariff statement? I feel like the obvious answer is “only buy tariffed products” which is why I chose this community but I’m not entirely certain.
I would like to stress again that I am asking this hypothetically, and specifically and only in the context of political statements regarding tariffs. I am of course aware that no single person will have any impact on their own, and I am similarly aware that almost everyone will be avoiding highly tariffed products for non-political reasons either way.
As an individual? Don’t worry about it; show up at your local protest on the 19th.
I saw a post saying to show up at your biggest local post office in the afternoon/evening of the 15th (when news channels are covering last-minute filers), with signs to Tax The Billionaires.
Wasn’t that more of a thing 20+ years ago? Are people really rushing to physically chuck their tax return into the post office like the Simpsons gag?
Honestly, as an individual there really isn’t much you can do with your purchasing power about it.
Next national day of protest in April 19. Find the largest one you are able to attend and join in.
That link is just awful. Very difficult to tell where events are or how big they will be.
As an individual, you take your purchasing power and can go to that other country and spend your money on services and consumables there, and not bring any goods back. That would be tariff free.
Because that’s realistic advice. You have money for be to buy a plane ticket every time I need groceries? Who’s going to fund everyone moving to another country? You got that kind of money? Because I don’t.
Not to mention the danger of being arrested or deported on your way back into the US.
Yes this is realistic advice. Two scenarios you may not have considered:
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Vacation - you can still take this advice when you make occasional vacations which frequently required air travel except choose an international destination instead of a domestic one.
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Home geography - A whole bunch of people live right on the boarder with another country and can drive or walk across without needing a plane ticket. Just because this may not apply to you doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply to anyone.
Again, you got that kind of money? I live outside DC, so not close to an international border. In fact, most Americans don’t live somewhere they can travel across the border easily. And with the way the government is denying entry to people with the wrong level of melatonin, I don’t think it’s particularly safe advice to tell people to start crossing the border regularly.
And most people in the US do not fly for vacations. It’s very expensive to fly, and most of us have cars we can take. I’m planning a family vacation later this year to visit my grandparents ~700 miles away. We priced it out and discovered it’s actually cheaper for us to rent an RV and drive than to fly. Flying, especially internationally for a shopping trip, is an extreme luxury for most of us.
melatonin helps you stay asleep, melanin is what causes skin, hair, eyes to darken
My bad. Thanks.
I don’t think we’re communicating with each other. I’m reading your posts and it looks like you’re responding things I never said, some even contradicting things I did say.
My advice applies to some, and it doesn’t sound like it applies to you. I hope you have a great RV trip. Drive safe!
Your advice is shit for the large majority of people reading. Just stop already.
Are you having trouble with reading comprehension? Look what you posted to. I had stopped that conversation.
You had to throw your little dig in here though. I was initially concerned, then I saw your post history and see this is just your regular habit. I hope your got your desperately needed dopamine hit.
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Always buy local if you can. It has the lowest climate impact.
Even buying a less-green local product vs. a more eco-friendly import might have less climate impact due to resource extraction, production in areas with possibly less environmental protection regulations, and above all shipping.
Climate cost-benefit outweighs all other arguments for rational people.
I don’t see how buying or not buying is going to hit the guy who is doing this.
As long as you aren’t buying trump-coins or whatever they are called, or a Tesla.
Buy used. You can’t put tariffs on used goods.
I’m just trying to keep my spending minimal in general
Full economic boycott to teach these mooks a hard lesson. Buy used, including car parts and cars. Switch to a local credit union. Pay cash whenever possible so the cc companies don’t get their cut. Buy from locally owned places, but they could be owned by one of the nutters. Sell your unwanted items or give them to worthwhile charities or directly. Go to your library and cancel streaming services.
this is what I’m doing. I’ve canceled every account I have except Costco. No amazon, no walmart, no microsoft, no netflix. I can sew so I’m fixing my clothes instead of buying. Keeping my 2009 car. I buy food, beer, and gas. Cash only. Vote with your wallet.
Your personal budget is the best reason to avoid heavily tariffed items. But if you really want to make a political statement with your buying habits, the responsible thing would be to research which companies are throwing money at MAGA to encourage tariffs to make their own products cheaper than foreign goods, and avoid buying from those companies. But most people are going to follow straight-line meme-brain logic and go, “Tariffs bad, boycott stuff with tariffs!” as if the tariffs make the seller evil.
I’m buying local as much as I can, and am avoiding buying stuff from red states as much as I can.
I don’t think you have the choice. Products that aren’t imported are made with parts that are imported. In fact, there will be products that have several layers of
productstariffs in them, for example cars. Parts are made, assembled into bigger parts and ever bigger parts, and may cross the Mexican or Canadian border each time.These tariffs are a monumental act of economic self harm. That’s what the stock market is saying. Stocks have (rational) value because you are entitled to a share of future profits. The stock market crashing tells you that the pros expects that a lot of value is not going to be created. Trillions of dollars will not be paid out to stock-owners, and further trillions will not be paid out as wages. The real wealth that is the other side of that money - all these new goods, cars, phones, TVs, dishwashers … - will not exist in the USA.
So, don’t worry about hitting them in the wallet.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on an American ball sack—for ever.
Maybe watch out for products from Russia and Belarus, as they are not included in the tariffs. This may start a new era of economic cooperation; putting the US in USSR. Ironically, Russia is still hit hard because of oil taking a nosedive.
If you have an option that doesn’t involve giving money to the US government you should probably do that. You’re not going to own them by giving them cash.
Don’t buy anything just go to local markets
Ah yes, local markets, where nobody is trying to sell anything
😒 I’ll sell you a heated blanket out of my trunk for 35$
Neither. Nobody selling a product is to blame for tariffs on the product, and selling it isn’t a political statement. Shop according to your budget like always. Tariffs might mean you have to do without some of your preferred things for a while, like war rationing did in WWII. Just hang in there, neither tariffs nor MAGA will last forever.
If you buy products subject to tariffs, on the one hand that puts money into the hands of the federal government to mismanage. On the other hand, it helps out Americans and foreigners who are being negatively affected by the government’s antics.
Personally, I’d recommend just ignoring them where possible and avoiding them where necessary.
For people outside the US: find alternatives, especially to products produced in Republican states.
Good luck being naked and starving.
Those two are easy. Thrift stores and farmers markets.
You get thrown out of a farmer’s market if you show up naked, though. Probably thrift stores, too.
Not the fun ones!
Why would I need to go to a clothing store if I already had clothes?
