Trump Declares That iPhones Should Be More Expensive

“President Donald Trump threatened on Friday morning to raise prices on iPhones sold in the United States, as he threatened to slap a 25 percent tariff on Apple smartphones that aren’t built in the United States.

“I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s (sic) that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.”

In either outcome, consumers will have to pay more. A 25 percent tariff on iPhones built in other countries would, of course, artificially inflate prices. On the other hand, an American-made iPhone would likely be even more expensive: one estimate pegs the cost of an American-made iPhone at around $3,500.”

https://reason.com/2025/05/23/trump-declares-that-iphones-should-be-more-expensive/

More Government Intervention Won’t Make Concert Tickets Cheaper

“Antitrust laws can be enforced as rigorously as possible, but their enforcement will not change the fact that popular performances with limited runtimes, few seats, and many fans bidding for them means the market-clearing price is often above that set by artists, venues, and retailers.”

https://reason.com/2025/05/27/more-government-intervention-wont-make-concert-tickets-cheaper/

The Savings Expert: The Truth About America Collapsing! The Cost Of Living Is About To Skyrocket!

After WWII, the other manufacturing centers of the world were rebuilding from the war, leaving the U.S. as a manufacturing superpower. Post-war Americans had pent up demand and bought lots of goods. This allowed U.S. manufacturing to flourish. Later, those countries rebuilt and third world countries developed manufacturing. Allowing low-value manufacturing to be done in places like China allowed the U.S. to invest the money made into high-value things. Now, manufacturing is highly automated, so if low-value manufacturing returned, it would make everything more expensive and not bring many jobs because manufacturing doesn’t require many laborers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxu37dqVR90

The DOJ Is Doing Its Best To Make Google Unprofitable

“Google is not a charity; it’s a business. If it cannot generate revenue to make a profit through the combination of its advertising products, user data, and contracts with device manufacturers, it may have to raise prices on products that are presently enjoyed for free by consumers.”

https://reason.com/2025/04/23/the-doj-is-doing-its-best-to-make-google-unprofitable/

Trump’s Tariffs Are Already Raising Car Prices and Hurting Automakers

“Reuters reported this week that as a result of Trump’s tariffs, Ford Motor Co. will raise prices on three of its models by as much as $2,000 apiece. Days earlier, the company said it expected the tariffs to reduce annual earnings by $1.5 billion, even after making efforts to avoid U.S. import duties.

Rivian, which makes luxury electric vehicles from a single plant in Illinois, also announced this week that it expected to deliver fewer vehicles and spend more money this year as a result of the tariffs.

Then on Thursday, The New York Times reported that Toyota “predicted a $1.3 billion hit from President Trump’s tariffs in April and May alone.”

In a March executive order, Trump slapped a tariff of 25 percent on all imported automobiles, as well as automotive parts like engines, transmissions, and electrical components. The only exception was for those covered under the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), in which case the tariff only applied to the portion of the vehicle’s value not “attributable to parts wholly obtained, produced entirely, or substantially transformed in the United States.””

https://reason.com/2025/05/08/trumps-tariffs-are-already-raising-car-prices-and-hurting-automakers/

Why everyone is wrong about the economy | Jason Furman | The Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie

Biden ran as a relative moderate, but governed more to the left, creating inefficient policy and contributing to inflation.

Large and growing government debt reduces economic growth because that means the government is borrowing more money, which drives up interest rates, which drives down business investments and homebuilding. When borrowing from foreigners, you have to give some of your economic growth to them to repay them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KogDw5ZRcl0

Trump Is Wrong. Cheap Goods Are Awesome.

“Donald Trump doesn’t think Americans deserve stuff. The right number of pencils for a family? Five. The right number of dolls for a little girl? Two, maybe three. His comments in recent interviews bear a striking similarity to those of left-wing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.), who in 2015 famously bemoaned that consumers have too many deodorant options.

How did Trump—who campaigned on a promise of reducing inflation—become so eager to have Americans pay more for everyday commodities? While Trump may have made overtures to reducing prices, he’s long supported the kinds of economic interventions most likely to lead to inflation. And if you believe that protectionism is the path to prosperity for everyday Americans, your definition of prosperity starts to change pretty quickly.”

https://reason.com/2025/05/09/trump-is-wrong-cheap-goods-are-awesome/

J.D. Vance Blames Zoning, Immigrants for High Housing Costs

“Even in the relatively short term, developers will respond to higher demand by building more units, so long as land-use policy is permissive enough to allow additional supply.
Vance acknowledges this point himself in his speech in referencing Austin, Texas.

Said Vance, “In Austin, you saw this massive increase of people moving in. The cost of housing skyrocketed. But then, Austin implemented some pretty smart policies, and that brought down the cost of housing, and it’s one of the few major American cities where you see the cost of housing leveling off or even coming down.”

If new supply can mitigate the upward housing cost pressure created by population growth in Austin, it can do the same for the country as a whole. That’s true even if it’s immigrants creating the population growth.”

https://reason.com/2025/03/11/j-d-vance-blames-zoning-immigrants-for-high-housing-costs/

Egg prices increase to record high despite Trump’s predictions and bird flu outbreak slowing

“U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump’s predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/egg-prices-continue-increase-despite-124116007.html