It’s hard to conceive of the American dream without access to affordable goods.
Consider how America’s middle class lives today. They own their own houses, have access to limitless entertainment options and have a diet which consists of food that comes from halfway around the world.
That we can access all that on a middle-class income, historically, has not been the norm. It’s a triumph that has only been made possible thanks to the complex supply chains that bring us these goods from far-away places and compete to keep costs low-enough for us to be able to afford them.
No matter what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent might think, access to cheap goods is a key building block upon which the American dream is built. And it is one the current administration now threatens with its crushing tariffs.
This is a preview of our full op-ed originally published in The Detroit News.
Stay informed on the tax policies impacting you.
Subscribe to get insights from our trusted experts delivered straight to your inbox.