When President Trump gets behind a podium and starts talking tariffs, you can almost hear the stock market tense up and the media hit DEFCON 1. But here’s the thing—behind the noise, tweets, and headlines, there’s a legitimate frustration driving Trump’s trade strategy: the American economy isn’t working for everyone anymore, and it hasn’t been for a long time.

He’s not wrong to notice that. The problem is, the fix he’s proposing—massive tariffs on foreign goods—is like using a chainsaw to do heart surgery. It might solve one issue in the short run, but long-term? You might be creating a whole lot more pain than progress.

Let’s take a deeper look, through a lens of economic sense, constitutional principle, and biblical wisdom.

The Real Cost: Tariffs Are a Tax—And You’re Paying It

First, let’s just say it plainly: Tariffs are taxes. They don’t get called that because “tariff” sounds more sophisticated than “we just made your groceries more expensive,” but at the end of the day, it’s the same thing.

Economists across the spectrum—left, right, and libertarian—have run the numbers. Groups like the Tax Foundation and the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimate the average U.S. household could be paying $4,000 to $5,000 more annually because of Trump’s tariffs.

That’s not just theoretical. That’s real dollars out of real wallets—mostly from middle-income families. You know, the folks trying to raise kids, save for college, keep their house in decent shape, and still afford Sunday lunch at Cracker Barrel.

And guess what? The working-class Americans who voted for Trump in the Rust Belt, hoping to get their factory jobs back? They’re the ones paying the most. The tariffs will hit them harder than anyone.

Tariffs Alone Can’t Revive American Manufacturing—Because We Don’t Have the Workers

Let’s imagine, best case scenario, that Trump’s tariffs do what they’re supposed to do: companies bring their factories home, stop outsourcing to China, and Made-in-USA labels flood the shelves again.

One small problem: we don’t have the people to run the machines.

As of late 2024, there were over 600,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in the U.S. That’s not a blip—that’s a labor crisis. Boomers are retiring, Gen Z is heading toward tech, not trades, and we haven’t been training welders, machinists, or fabricators nearly fast enough.

Companies are literally offering signing bonuses for people to screw bolts into bumpers, but the workers just aren’t there. We’ve got the blueprints, the capital, and the demand—but not the manpower.

And here’s the catch: Trump’s strict immigration policies don’t make this any easier. You can’t fill a labor gap by sealing the border tighter. Now don’t get me wrong—I support border security, legal immigration, and restoring law and order. Illegal immigration depresses wages and undermines American workers—especially in low-skilled industries.

But if we want to bring factories home, we either have to:

• Train more Americans (which takes time),
• Allow in more legal workers (carefully vetted), or
• Automate the jobs (which reduces the number of actual jobs created).

That’s the pickle: we can’t “reshore” without solving the labor puzzle.

Economic Nationalism Feels Good—Until Your Groceries Go Up

Trump’s message—“Let’s stop being suckers”—hit a nerve. Especially among folks who’ve seen their towns boarded up, their kids move away, and their way of life gutted by globalization.

But tariffs are a blunt instrument. They may protect some domestic industries, but they also raise prices across the board, provoke retaliation, and hurt downstream industries that rely on foreign parts or materials.

Take auto manufacturing: maybe we save some jobs in Detroit by taxing foreign steel. But what about the assembly plants that now face higher input costs? Or the car buyers who suddenly have to pay $3,000 more for a Ford?

That’s where the ripple effect comes in: less disposable income leads to weaker consumer spending, and suddenly we’re flirting with a slowdown. Tariffs don’t usually cause recessions, but if the economy’s already wobbly? They can be the shove that tips it.

Markets Hate Surprises—And Trump’s Tariff Moves Are… Surprising

Markets like stability. Certainty. Predictability.

Trump’s off-the-cuff tariff threats? Not so much. Every time he announces a new round of duties, the stock market dips, and investor confidence shakes.

Now look, I’m not saying we should let Wall Street run foreign policy. But let’s be honest: millions of Americans are invested in retirement accounts, pensions, and 401(k)s. They feel those market dips. Especially retirees. And while the loss may be “paper” today, it becomes very real if confidence continues to slide.

Sure, some Trump allies say, “Hey, if this works, the market could hit 50,000!” That’s… optimistic. Right now, we’re below 38,000. Predicting a 30% surge in six months? That’s not economics—that’s hope dressed up as forecasting.

Constitution Check: Who Really Has the Power to Set Tariffs?

Here’s a fun fact for your next church potluck: Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution gives the power to regulate foreign commerce (including tariffs) to Congress, not the president.

But over the past 100 years, Congress slowly handed that authority over to the executive branch—piece by piece. National security exceptions, emergency powers, retaliation authority—it’s all there in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Trade Act of 1974, and the IEEPA.

So technically, the president can do what Trump’s doing… legally. But constitutionally? It’s borrowed power. Congress has abdicated its role because it didn’t want to get its hands dirty. That’s a problem—not just on trade, but on war powers, spending, and more.

It’s time for Congress to take back its keys. Otherwise, we’re just letting presidents play economic roulette with our livelihoods.

Allies, Enemies, and Confusing Signals

Trump’s tough talk on China? Fine. They cheat, steal IP, and flood our markets. But slapping a 32% tariff on Taiwan—our democratic partner in the Pacific? That’s like giving your best friend the cold shoulder during a bar fight.

Same with Vietnam—they’ve been a key alternative to Chinese manufacturing, and we just hit them with a 46% tariff. Why are we punishing our allies while letting adversaries off the hook?

It’s hard to call that “strategic.” It feels more like economic whack-a-mole. And that kind of confusion doesn’t build confidence—it undermines alliances and sends mixed signals to the world.

The Big Picture: Debt, Deficits, and Direction

The U.S. is $34 trillion in debt. We’re running trillion-dollar deficits in peacetime. And our manufacturing base, once the backbone of this country, is now just 11% of GDP. That’s not sustainable.

Trump’s tariffs are a symptom of a deeper problem: we’ve hollowed out our productive economy and replaced it with debt, consumerism, and cheap imports.

We need to fix that. But tariffs aren’t the whole solution. We need:

• Workforce development (trade schools, apprenticeships)
• Targeted immigration reform (welcome legal, needed labor)
• Investment in domestic industries (without crony capitalism)
• Real fiscal discipline in Washington (stop mortgaging our kids’ future)

What If Trump Pulled a “Zero-for-Zero” Surprise?

Now here’s a fun twist: What if Trump got on TV tomorrow and said, “We’ll drop every tariff and subsidy if you do too”?

He actually floated that in 2018 at the G7. Nobody bit.

But doing it now would:

• Call out the EU, Canada, and China for their hypocrisy.
• Frame the U.S. as the true champion of fair trade.
• Force other nations to explain why they need protectionism.

That would be a bold, strategic, chess-not-checkers move. Problem is, that’s not really Trump’s style. He’s more a poker guy—leverage, bluff, raise the stakes. Not lectures and moral high ground.

Still, even suggesting it again might shine a spotlight on just how rigged the global trade game really is.

Final Thought: Count the Cost

Jesus said in Luke 14:28, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost?” That’s what we should be doing here.

Tariffs are a tool—not a theology. They can protect, yes. But they can also provoke, punish, and paralyze. Trump’s trying to rebuild America’s economic tower—but we’d better be honest about the price tag.

The road to rebuilding American industry is a long one. Let’s walk it with wisdom, with fairness, and with our eyes wide open—not just our fists clenched.

God bless, and may we pursue policies that strengthen our nation without weakening our people.