In the States

Tariffs, Education, and Layoffs

Tariffs

Tariffs on, tariffs off, tariffs on hold. Day to day, the status of the Trump regime’s tariffs changes. That’s not good for global imports, not good for American consumers, and not good for business planning.

• In Fredericksburg, Virginia, pottery store owner Scarlett Pons has resigned herself to a substantial loss of business due to the Trump tariffs.

“Pons was keeping track of the tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration on goods from China—until they went past 30% earlier this month.

Once that happened, she thought, ‘What’s the point?’

‘I stopped listening to the news because the tariffs are up so high now that it’s ridiculous,’ Pons said. ‘It’s not even worth listening to.’

She’s now working off the baseline assumption that half of her business is gone.”

Indeed, tariffs are threatening businesses of all sizes:

• In Pennsylvania, 250 to 300 people are losing their jobs at a Mack Truck plant. The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported: “‘Mack Trucks will lay off between 250 and 350 workers at its Lehigh Valley Operations center outside Allentown over the next three months, due to economic uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs,” according to a company spokesperson. “Heavy-duty truck orders continue to be negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes, and the impact of tariffs.”

• In Kokomo, Indiana, more than 350 people are scheduled to lose their jobs at a Stellantis car plant.

• A ginger company in Marina, California, that supplies Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Whole Foods is laying off workers and raising prices.

• Last month, 1,400 steelworkers in the United States and Canada lost jobs because of tariffs. The cuts came in Michigan and Minnesota in the United States, and in Ontario and Quebec in Canada.

Meanwhile, these consumer taxes—real and threatened—are already hiking up prices:

• “Dame, a sexual wellness brand…has implemented a $5 ‘Trump tariff surcharge’ that is automatically added to customers’ online shopping carts at checkout.”

• Laptops, computer accessories, and other electronics are going up in price, too. Mashable has a list of known price increases on home goods, fashion, beauty, toys, and more, as does New York Magazine.

Want to learn more about why tariffs are a terrible move for a president to make? This 2018 essay by Matthew Rooney from the George W. Bush Institute is worth a read.

Education

Speaking of reading, and the apparent lack of concern this administration is showing toward encouraging literacy: The school year is winding down for most students, but teachers and administrators are planning for next year with rising, unfortunately legitimate dread—as that could be difficult for many schools and school districts across the country that are facing drastic federal funding cuts.

• In Colorado, where about 11 percent of school funding comes from the federal government, schools are being warned about dramatic cuts to come.

  Sarah Newman, who was furloughed recently from her job with the Colorado’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, told Colorado Newsline, “Since January 20, the current administration has taken numerous actions that have threatened the operations of (the Education Department), as well as the sustainability of the funding and services Colorado currently receives. I stand before you today concerned that, beginning with this next fiscal year, the federal funds Colorado schools have come to rely on will not be there.”

• Federal education cuts will have a disastrous effect on Minnesota, where federal funding makes up as much as 40 percent of school budgets in low-income districts in and near tribal nations. “A cut to federal funding, even those schools that receive about 10% of federal funds, would require districts to lay off teachers and staff and make other difficult budget decisions. Or, they will go to voters in their districts and ask them to approve a property tax hike,” the Minnesota Reformer reported.

• Policy Matters Ohio looked deeply at how federal education cuts will affect that state’s schools. “Anyone who cares for a child who has struggled in school because of a disability or had to advocate for access to school services or opportunities should be concerned with the actions of the federal and state governments, regardless of political affiliation or how one voted in the last election,” said the non-profit policy research institute’s executive director, Hannah Halbert.

• Some college students, meanwhile, are facing a double-whammy: a reduction in federal funding for their schools, and the ongoing threat of deportation. The Trump regime is now targeting international students at colleges across the country. The administration revoked about 1,000 student visas—with little or no explanation or notice.

• Some students are fighting back. In California, at least one student is suing the Trump administration over her revoked student visa. The student, Zhuoer Chen, is set to graduate next month with a master’s degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. “Chen wrote in a declaration filed in court that she believes the termination means that she needs to immediately leave the U.S. — something that ‘will completely ruin my education and life that I have built here.’”

Layoffs

Overwhelming disregard for ruining lives has become a central feature of this regime. As more and more federal agencies and departments come under DOGE scrutiny, it is overwhelming to keep track of who is being laid off or fired and where. The Impact Project is keeping tabs. Its interactive map allows users to zoom in on industries or geographic areas. It’s a sobering reminder that the federal government isn’t in Washington, D.C. It’s all over America. It makes crucial determinations on the livelihoods of your friends, neighbors, and family. Check out their map here to help you appreciate the chaos this regime is stoking, coast to coast and everywhere in between.