Are we not entertained?

Are we having fun with the tariffs yet? With so many things that we buy being manufactured in China, it's about to get expensive really quickly. The proverbial death by a thousand cuts. The best position to be is not needing to buy anything beyond pure sustenance for the foreseeable future.

Or you had the foresight to buy the things before the tariffs hit. Anecdotally, I've heard of people buying new cars before foreign-produced vehicles get taxed. Another person bought the made-in-China MacBook Pro before Apple has to figure out how to pass along the cost of a 145% tariff on Chinese imports. I'm going to convince my dad to upgrade his iPhone 11 somewhat soon.

I myself bought a set of bumper weight plates from Rogue Fitness. The plates are made in China, of course. As of this writing - April 11th - the price for the same set has already increased $25. Surely it will go up even higher still when inventory gets replenished with shipments coming after the tariffs went into effect.

Or maybe not? The directive coming out of the White House is so inconsistent. Hard to predict how much inventory will cost in two weeks' time because tariffs might not be a thing anymore. And then a few days later, it may be back again!

The people who are truly getting fucked over are the small businesses with a Chinese supply chain. You can easily imagine the situation where an order was made before the tariffs, but it shipped after the tariffs. Congratulations, your cost of goods sold is so expensive that you no longer have a viable business.

Better move that supply chain to the States, am I right? (Sarcasm.)

Sweet little kitty.

Trump threatens Germany with car tariffs

People in the car forums I frequent are up in arms about President Trump potentially slapping a 20% tariff on German-made vehicles. Rightfully so because who would want to pay 20% more on already expensive German cars. Though I think if tariffs were enacted the situation won’t be that simple. 

Contrary to popular conjecture, people who can afford luxury vehicles are highly price sensitive. They haggle just the same as buyers of Toyota Camrys. Even the super rich would setup LLCs in Montana, register their vehicles under the company to avoid paying hefty license fees in their home State. Bottom line is that nobody wants to pay a penny more for a car than absolute necessary. 

Therefore if Trump imposes the 20% tariff, automakers like Mercedes, Audi, and BMW aren’t going to suddenly raise the MSRP of their cars by equal measure - doing so would crater sales (simple price elasticity). Not only will higher prices be a deterrent, but consumers know that it’s because of tariffs so one they aren’t going to pay extra for the President’s stupid trade-war and two they will simply wait it out until the two sides come to an agreement. 

I think the manufactures will raise the prices a bit just below what people are sensitive to, and then eat the rest of the costs for the time being - they’ve certainly made enough profits from selling SUVs the last few years to cover. Nevertheless it’s going to negatively affect the bottom line and the German government will be lobbied heavily to mediate. 

One thing is for sure: more people aren’t going to start buying Cadillac or Lincoln. 

A certified G, and a bona fide stud.