You're Paying for Those Tariffs, Sucker

And the Businesses That Import Your Goods Just Pocket Even More Profit

Let’s talk about tariffs—because apparently, a lot of people still don’t get it. You’ve been fed a load of garbage about how tariffs are some kind of masterstroke in punishing foreign businesses or even foreign countries, making them “pay their fair share.”

But guess what? That’s a lie. A stupid, obvious lie. And if you’ve ever fallen for it, congratulations—you’ve been scammed.

Take a simple pair of shoes. Before a tariff, the business importing them buys them for $80 from a foreign manufacturer. They slap on a 20% markup, bringing the price to $100, and that’s what you, the customer, pay.

Now enter a 25% tariff. What happens? Does the foreign business suddenly pay up? Does their country suddenly suffer? Nope. Not a damn thing changes for them. They still get their $80.

The importing business now has to pay an extra 25% on top of that to the U.S. government. That’s $20 straight into Uncle Sam’s pocket—and where do you think that $20 comes from?

You. The idiot consumer.

Now the importing business has an adjusted cost of $100. But since they’re keeping their same 20% markup, their profit also increases from $20 to $25. So, what do you, the proud American consumer, get out of all of this?

💰 A higher price—$125 instead of $100.
💰 More of your money handed over to the government.
💰 More profit handed over to the business selling you the shoes.
💰 Absolutely nothing taken from the foreign business or country.

Congratulations! You got played.

The Big Lie About Tariffs

☝️Karoline Leavitt, WH Press Secretary → Lying about how tariffs work.

The government wants you to believe tariffs are about punishing foreign countries. That’s the cover story. But in reality, it’s just another hidden tax on you—one that doesn’t show up as a tax on your paycheck but still robs you every time you buy something.

A tariff is just a sales tax on imports—except instead of it being called a tax, they tricked you into thinking it’s an act of patriotism. And while you’re waving your flag—which was probably made in China, so you’re also getting scammed into paying more for it thanks to a tariff—the government is collecting billions off of everyday goods, and businesses are marking up prices even higher, padding their own profits.

You think China or Mexico is suffering? They’re laughing. They’re still selling the same shoes for the same price. The only person paying the price for this trade war is you.

But What About Hurting Foreign Countries?

Maybe some bootlicking politician or pundit tells you, “Well, this isn’t just about businesses! It’s about hurting [insert foreign country here] and making them pay!”

Okay, let’s assume for a second that’s even remotely true. How does that actually happen?

A foreign country only "suffers" if YOU—the consumer—get so financially wrecked by higher prices that you can’t afford to buy their products anymore.

Their pain? It’s just YOUR pain, scaled up.

If China loses business, it’s because Americans stopped buying. And why did Americans stop buying? Because their own government screwed them so hard with price hikes that they couldn’t afford to keep up.

So yeah, China might take a hit—but only because you got hit first.

The foreign country doesn’t pay. The foreign business doesn’t pay. YOU PAY.

If You Believe in This Fight, Help Keep It Alive

There’s still more below, I just need a moment of your time.

The American Manifesto isn’t backed by corporations. There are no ads, no paywalls, no billionaires funding it.

It’s just one person, fighting like hell to expose the truth and give you the weapons to push back.

If you value this work—if you want this movement to keep growing, keep calling out fascism without fear, and keep fighting for the future we deserve—then I need your support.

Join the fight. Become a supporter. Every contribution keeps this mission alive.

Because silence is surrender. We do not surrender. We are #TheRelentless.

"Bringing Manufacturing Back" Is Even Dumber

And just when you think the nonsense couldn’t get any worse, someone chimes in with, "But this is about bringing manufacturing jobs back to America!"

Oh, is it? You think tariffs magically teleport factories onto American soil? You think workers just pop out of the ground like weeds?

Let’s talk reality first.

Factories don’t go up overnight. And even if they did, where exactly are we pulling the labor from?

We’re a nearly fully employed service economy. That means we’re the people who sell manufactured goods at a profit, not the ones who manufacture them. That’s an objectively better position to be in—because we inherently make more money than the manufacturers do.

If we were to shift into manufacturing, we would be switching from jobs that produce more money with less labor to jobs that produce less money with more labor. That’s demented.

And we can’t do both because we can’t pull labor out of a hat. Especially not when we’re simultaneously trying to deport millions of laborers.

So, here’s what happens instead:

🔺 Prices of American-made goods skyrocket to match the higher import prices because we can't ramp up production fast enough to meet demand.
🔺 The same businesses that just jacked up their profits on imports do the same thing with domestic goods.
🔺 You end up paying more for everything—whether it’s imported or not.

Now, let’s pretend for a second that we could magically fix all of that.

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that by some miracle, we actually could build all these new factories and staff them with enough American workers. Then what?

Then, the American worker just gets even more screwed than they are now.

Because the biggest problem for the American worker isn’t the industry they’re working in—it’s the fact that their bosses, right here in the U.S., the oligarchs running the Amazons and the Walmarts of the world, refuse to pay them a livable wage.

The same oligarchs that are going to make even more money per sale off of these tariffs.

Switching industries doesn’t magically fix wages. All it does is force more Americans into harder, more physically demanding jobs for the same crap pay.

If corporations are already squeezing every last penny out of workers in retail and warehouses, what makes you think they won’t do the exact same thing in manufacturing?

Congratulations, You're a Sucker

This is not some hypothetical scenario. This is exactly what happens every time a tariff is imposed. It’s what is happening right now with Trump’s trade war. Every politician who tells you tariffs will force other countries to “pay up” is lying to your face—or too stupid to understand how basic economics works.

The next time some talking head or politician tells you tariffs will “bring jobs back,” ask them:

1️⃣ Who is going to build the factories?
2️⃣ Where are we getting the labor to run them?
3️⃣ How does shifting from high-profit service jobs to low-profit manufacturing jobs make us richer?
4️⃣ How does switching industries solve the real issue—American bosses refusing to pay livable wages?
5️⃣ Why would U.S. manufacturing costs NOT rise, making American-made goods just as expensive as imports?

This is how they keep you running in circles—distracting you with fake enemies while they pick your pocket. So next time they sell you this garbage, don’t just take it. Call it what it is: a scam.

Join the Fight, Amplify the Truth

Because silence is surrender. We never surrender. We are #TheRelentless.