Trump’s tariffs harming poor Americans most

Let’s be clear about President “Empty Shirt” Trump’s tariff war with China. First, it is important to understand “tariffs” is just another code word for import taxes. These import taxes are not paid by China but are paid into Trump’s U.S. Treasury by those American individuals and companies who import Chinese goods.

Next, understand that most of America’s bigbox stores, like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Kohl’s purchase huge amounts of Chinese goods totaling in many billions of dollars each year.

Why do they do this? The goods manufactured in China are the least expensive items, of acceptable quality, for them to stock and offer at a price low enough and keep their customer base returning to their stores again and again.

Who is their customer base? The typical customer base for these “competitive priced” items is our country’s lower middle-income and lower-income workers who struggle every day to keep their families clothed, fed and housed. These companies that have to pay this Trump tariff-import tax have little option but to pass this added cost partially or totally on to these customer groups.

As a result the least able of us in the United States has been saddled with what can only be titled a “Trumpian Poor Tax” created by our president.

Shame on you, Mr. President. You have created an unfair tax burden for many people, many of them your own supporters in the so-called Rust Belt. In addition, you have claimed that your action is in the interest of the country. But it is really all in aide of you creating another meaningless “Trump Dog & Pony Show” dedicated to your personal greater glory.

One hopes that in the future everyone including Trump’s supporters will remember this “Trump Poor Tax” levied on their pocketbooks, and their lives, especially when they enter the voting booth in the next presidential election and send this “president” back to his golf course empire. TOM CLARK Fayetteville