“Tariffs don’t conjure consumer demand out of thin air. Americans were buying plenty of washing machines, clothing, and steel before the tariffs. What changes is where some things are made. Production shifts from foreign manufacturers with efficiency or cost advantages to more expensive domestic manufacturers. American producers stand to gain, except when they must pay tariffs to import the materials they need (as is often the case).
But everyone who buys the product pays more. The extra $100 a family spends on a washing machine won’t instead be spent at the restaurant next door, the repair shop, or the shoe store. Real wages—what your paycheck actually buys—fall when the prices of most things rise.
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When Americans buy less from China, it’s true, some of our overseas business competitors lose revenue. But what about the American households losing access to cheaper goods? Or the American producers losing access to cheaper materials and ingredients that make them more competitive?
Both countries take a hit. Serious analysts who favor targeted tariffs for strategic reasons generally acknowledge this tradeoff and argue that the benefits justify the costs. What they don’t claim is that such costs don’t exist.
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Even when firms do absorb some of the hit, the money doesn’t disappear. These companies instead hire fewer people, pay lower wages, invest less or, in industries where profit margins are already thin, hike future prices. The burden just takes a different route to your wallet.”
Ben Shapiro says that Trump is obviously corrupt, but supports him anyways. He admits that Conservatives are willfully blind and hypocritical on the issue because if Biden did this they would be screaming bloody murder. He defends Trump by stating false things about what Trump has done and by stating false things about the Democrats. Shapiro has been critical of Trump compared to other Trump voters, but he’s still amazingly blind about the truth of what Trump has done and what Democrats have done.
Shapiro acknowledges that Trump was immoral and undemocratic in claiming Biden stole the election and for Trump’s role in the Capitol riot, but because the guard rails held, he’s willing to give Trump another chance. Jessiah makes the analogy that if Shapiro’s kids were in a car with a drunk driver, and that driver crashed but no one was hurt because guard rails stopped the car from going over the side, Shapiro would give the keys of a new car to that driver and allow his kids to ride with him. Of course, Shapiro wouldn’t do that, but he’s willing to do it with US democracy.
“As Georgia’s top elections official, Raffensperger rebuked efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results, turning him into a target of attack from Trump and his allies for years. That has created a deep tear between the Georgia secretary of state and Republicans in his state, many of whom continue to echo the president’s false claims of widespread fraud.
Now, Raffensperger is running for governor — and Trump just made 2020 the top issue in the GOP primary again.”
“The Minnesota Star Tribune also visited all 10 facilities, and found children inside four of them when invited inside. Six other facilities were either closed or employees did not open their doors.
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Osman said the doors are always locked for safety, and the staff was on high alert following the president’s threats to deport Somali people and escalation of federal immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities.
He said Shirley’s unannounced drop-in was “not intended to be a sincere approach.””
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Director Ahmed Hasan said they’ve had similar visits from other “content creators,” but the others didn’t have enough followers to create the kind of chaos that Shirley did.
Hasan said Shirley, a man identified as “David” and a third man came to the front door while five more men waited in a van and car, some of them wearing masks.
Hasan said there were children inside, but they weren’t about to let strangers inside, given the recent immigration crackdown. They thought the masked men in the vehicles might be ICE agents.
Hasan said Shirley left soon after Hasan arrived, entering through a back door.
On Dec. 30, Hasan invited the Star Tribune and other media outlets into the facility, where about 30 children of varying ages were visible.
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A woman from a neighboring home health care agency showed the Star Tribune video footage of children coming and going on Dec. 16.
Kevin Brown, who lives two blocks away and owns a business next door to ABC Learning Center, said he often sees kids at the center.
He saw Shirley’s video and came over to the daycare Dec. 30 when he saw TV cameras there.
“I don’t like the idea of people coming from out of town, coming into our neighborhood and making assumptions without talking to people and getting the facts,” he said. “That’s the definition of fake news.”
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Part-owner Umi Hassan said she lived here right after 9/11 and didn’t feel as marginalized and fearful as she does today. She’s unable to sleep at night and carries her passport everywhere.
Tears running down her face, she asked, “What else can I do to be an American?””