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John --
In the last two weeks, we asked about how
economic policy affects your personal lives (think cost of living),
and your thoughts on the larger economic issues facing the country
(think national debt).
This week, we continued
our Controlling What You Can series
by taking a look one step further. With the tariffs the Trump
administration is implementing these past few months, trade has been
the main topic of nearly every political talk show, pundit, and news
program. So we asked you what you think American trade policy should
be.
Here's what you had to say:
In our most one sided set of opinions yet, Forwardists
overwhelmingly said that the current U.S. trade policies are hurting
their financial situation, with only 6% of our supporters claiming to
be helped by the current stances of the administration.
When we dove into the details, 83% of you wanted fully free or
mostly free trade, while only 17% of you thought that restrictive
repatriation tactics were the way to go.
You all sounded off in the comment sections on X and our
website and two core themes came to the forefront:
Tariffs Hurt The American Consumer And Crush Main
Street
- The tariff program in place currently is creating undue burden on
most of your lives. You noted that prices have gone up and with it,
your cost of living.
- You called for the openness of trade once more, claiming that open
markets lead to more wealth for all - though many of you noted that
this system is ripe for exploitation.
While These Tariffs Are Being Applied Poorly, A Smart
Tariff Policy Can Work
- Blanket tariffs without thought for why or how have hurt the
American consumer - on that you all seem to agree. But many of you
point out that there can be good uses for Tariffs. They can be used to
protect delicate and crucial American industries, or to play hardball
with foreign powers that utilize inhumane working conditions or
dishonest market practices to stake out their claim in the world
market.
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