I think they’ll notice the rising costs of “everything” but not necessarily associate them with tariffs, especially since I’m sure Fox News will spin this as the fault of Democrats somehow.
Anecdotally, what I’ve noticed is that Trump voters have this kneejerk reaction to taxes. Any cost can be borne, as long as it’s not a tax that shows up on their paystub. I see this all the time with regards to the healthcare debate, which I just rehashed with my parents over the weekend. They abhor the thought of any sort of Canadian or European style healthcare because “their taxes must be outrageous” (No surprise, they’re both on Medicare and are big fans of it. Sigh.). I tried to explain that my paychecks are already being “taxed”, as is my employer. It just shows up under a different category. They stubbornly refuse to budge on anything, though. Taxes bad, end of line.
Yup, the rise of the progressive wing of the Republican Party, particularly the New York branch, and the rise of politicians like Teddy Roosevelt probably, in a very real sense, kept them from the guillotine.
Some of the wealthy of the day were foresighted enough to realize what ways the winds were blowing, and exercised some enlightened self interest.
The average family will probably only be paying an additional $5,000 to $10,000 per year (a), which is pocket change for the average American family (b).
(a) Completely made up figures
(b) From the viewpoint of rich elderly white men
My guess is not before the midterms. 10% on 50 billion is only $5 billion in duties. 25% of $500 billion starting in Jan is $125 billion. This will mean the $20 jeans at Walmart are now $25 and the $40 sheets are now $50 and the $1,000 iPhone is now $1,200 (Apple has the margins they’ll probably eat $50)
But Dems really need to start hammering (unintentional pun) on situations like Mid Continent Nail. Plus figure out who the biggest exporters are in the district, and talk about the potential job losses. The Republican CEOs are already bitching, which I don’t know if that’s good or bad for Democrats, but if you want to talk about job loss it can’t hurt to have the CEO and the Dems saying the same thing.