Tariffs, Taxes, and the Great American Tug-of-War

If a man keeps slapping you every time you walk past his porch, maybe you ought to quit walkin’ that way—or at least start carryin’ a big stick of your own.

The American public is in the middle of a National game of tug-of-war once again, where one end’s hollerin’ “tariffs for strength” and the other shoutin’ “tariffs for ruin.” And in between stands the humble citizen, lookin’ mighty bruised and quite a bit poorer, with a busted wallet and a confused head.

Representative Mark Amodei, a fellow who’s spent enough time in Congress to know what’s broken and poorly painted, had a few thoughts to share. He reckons our dependence on other nations—particularly ones that don’t send us Christmas cards, like China—is dangerous.

“This is a fundamental flaw in our trading system,” says he, with all the solemnity of a preacher on Sunday. “We’ve let adversaries control too many key resources—pharmaceuticals, rare earth minerals, even the stuff that goes into building our defenses.”

Amodei went on to point out that while Wall Street’s having a conniption, we won’t see results for a while.

“We’re dealing with a very sick patient,” he quoted President Donald Trump as saying, which is fitting since we all seem to be payin’ hospital prices these days—without the benefit of any healing.

On the flip side, Nevada’s senators—Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen—are fit to be tied. They say Trump’s tariffs are as helpful as a rattlesnake in a sleeping bag.

“Instead of lowering costs,” says Cortez Masto, “He’s raising taxes on hardworking American families.”

She’s worried about travel and tourism, which is mighty important to Nevada folks.

Rosen also jumped in, calling Trump’s tariffs “A slap in the face,” as she called it.

That makes it two slaps now—one from overseas and one from home. But here’s the riddle that keeps tappin’ at the skull like a woodpecker with insomnia–if tariffs don’t work, why do so many countries impose them on us?

It seems folks abroad like protecting their own but raise Cain when we do the same. That’s the trouble with playing fair in an unfair game. Everybody else is hidin’ an ace up their sleeve, and we’re sittin’ at the table with our cards face-up, whistlin’ Dixie.

Tariffs may not be the cure-all, but neither is surrender. And if we’re as sick as Trump says, then maybe it’s time we started treatin’ the cause instead of just the symptoms. Now–if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to see if my made-in-China boots have any American left in ’em.