If Trump's tariff plan goes into effect, how do you think it will impact businesses like Walmart and Amazon that thrive by selling low margin imported goods at high volume?
Prices on everyday goods will go up a lot, which I believe will make consumers not buy as much (lower the demand for high volume) and the things that they buy will be expected to last longer.
I feel that it hurts America's current idea of capitalism which is all about growth. Investors dont care if a company sells a few things at high margin, they want people buying goods that need to be replaced (planned obsolescence) so that sales can grow each year. I constantly hear about executives in trouble because their company is making a steady 50 billion in
PROFIT each year, rather than growing 10% each year
Will this change America's economic culture? Will common people be seen more as laborers rather than just consumers?
Also, will people start making more money to be able to buy the rising priced goods? As long as US companies are only interested in profit growth each quarter, the companies will refuse to pay workers more in order to protect margins.
I am all for buying American made (quality still comes first in my buying decisions though). But I feel this will be a tough transition for a lot of Americans. Americans living at the average income (and below) are dependent on cheap imported goods to live the quality of life they currently do. It is going to spread the inequality gap even further.
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What I think needs to happen is an economic culture shift. I know that goes against "free-market capitalism" though.
-Companies shift from focusing on profit growth each quarter, and instead be content with a steady "healthy" profit (I know that's subjective) that maintains the health of the overall national economy. Kind of like a company having ethics. That way employees earn enough money to have disposable income to buy good from local/national companies.
When you have an economic system set up where employers keep wages so low in order to keep profits high, you make it hard for those employees to be consumers.
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Anyway, what do you guys think will happen to companies like Walmart and Amazon?