Conservative Admits Trump's Policies 'Would Result in Price Spikes' for Most Americans [View all]

Conservative Admits Trump’s Policies ‘Would Result in Price Spikes’ for Most Americans
by Carl Gibson | June 10, 2024 - 5:13am

— from Alternet

snip//

But according to the New York Times, Michael Strain — who is the director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute — said all signs point to higher prices if the policies Trump is running on become reality.



Strain pointed to the former president's promises to deport millions of immigrants and impose massive new double-digit tariffs on imported goods as reason to believe higher prices are likely if Trump is president again. He said many of the products Americans buy that line the shelves of big box retailers like Walmart and Target are imported from China and that those high tariffs would be passed down to consumers in the form of higher sticker prices.

Additionally, Strain said rounding up, detaining and deporting millions of immigrants would "cause a severe supply shock to the labor market," as many industries including agriculture, manufacturing, construction and educational and health services rely heavily on immigrant labor. He said that if jobs predominantly done by immigrants — many of whom work for very low wages with no benefits — suddenly became vacant, employers would have significant difficulty getting native-born Americans to fill those roles. Unemployment is still fairly low at approximately 4%, and Strain said Americans would almost certainly pass up those low-wage jobs for work that pays better, and that the plentiful job market would allow them that choice.

"Basic economics say the result would be higher prices, as production falls and labor costs go up. For example, if farmers could not find enough workers to pick all their crops, there would be a smaller supply of produce and it would get more expensive," wrote Times reporters Maggie Haberman, Charlie Savage and Jonathan Swan. "And businesses would be forced to offer higher wages to attract or retain workers — passing on some of their higher costs to consumers."

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http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/carl-gibson/110627/conservative-admits-trump-s-policies-would-result-in-price-spikes-for-most-americans