US retail giants raise prices due to tariffs

Macroeconomic context (stagflation, Fed, deficits)

• Some see rising prices from tariffs plus weak real wage growth as edging toward stagflation; others think that’s overstated or at least not clearly established.
• One camp argues the Fed should be cutting rates while Congress raises broad-based taxes to cool demand, reduce deficits, and enable investment.
• Others reply middle-class effective tax burdens are already high (especially in high‑tax jurisdictions) and that the “capital class” should bear more of the load.

Who actually pays for tariffs? (tax incidence)

• Broad agreement that tariffs function like a consumption tax and are mostly passed to consumers through higher prices, similar to sales tax.
• A technical minority view stresses tax incidence depends on demand/supply elasticity; part of the burden can fall on foreign producers and domestic retailers.
• Several note rare cases where retailers or creators “eat” tariffs on pre‑sold items, but others counter this is temporary marketing or promise‑keeping and not sustainable at scale.
• Disagreement over whether tariffs are “sneaky” or obviously a consumer tax; some blame political messaging that “other countries will pay.”

Regressive vs. ‘good’ consumption taxes

• Many commenters highlight tariffs as regressive: they don’t scale with income and hit essentials and cheaper imports that poorer households rely on.
• Others cite economists’ preference for consumption taxes over income/capital taxes, arguing tariffs are one such tool—though critics note those models assume progressivity (exemptions, rebates, or luxury rates), which broad tariffs lack.

Domestic production, sectors, and investment

• Debate over impacts by sector: discretionary imports (electronics, furniture) are expected to be hit hardest; food is mostly domestic, but some argue domestic producers still raise prices when foreign competition is taxed.
• Concerns that unstable, broad, and reversible tariffs discourage long‑term investment in domestic supply chains; firms fear tariffs could be removed before investments pay off.
• Others see tariffs as necessary industrial policy and national‑security insurance, analogous to agricultural or steel protection in many countries—effective only if legal institutions remain predictable and non‑kleptocratic.

Inflation, definitions, and political blame

• One strand tries to distinguish “monetary inflation” (money supply) from price increases due to tariffs or supply shocks; others insist the policy mandate is stable prices, regardless of cause.
• Several link tariffs, higher construction costs, and higher rates to worsening housing affordability.
• Political discussion centers on tariffs as vote‑buying populism, shifting burdens onto consumers while sparing higher incomes, and on why business leaders and courts have not more forcefully resisted tariff‑driven, personalized trade policy.