And for those who want higher wages to afford higher-priced products—we’ll have to raise product prices to pay higher wages, to pay for the higher… (you see the circle).

OK, I’ve been sitting back watching this shit show go down for a few months now. I once heard a great sailor say, “I’ve had all’s I can stands, I can’t stands no more!” Or something like that.

What a joke—this tariff crap that’s coming to a store near you. “But I don’t want to pay more for all the crap I have to buy.” Neither do I. At least I know why it’s happening and don’t blame the wrong people. Ever since the first stock was issued, people have fought to make more money trading goods. Otherwise you’d have socialism—then nobody cares who has what, since everyone owns nothing and the “state” lets you survive.

Capitalism and America’s setup let individuals influence the majority. Problem is, most folks forgot that we still have power—together. (Explicit warning: Carlin knew this part.) We’ve been convinced that how things are is how they’ll stay. Business 101: three competitors sell what you sell, profits drop, and your menu of pain shows up—make a better product at the same cost, cut wages, cheapen materials (hello, junk), take a short-term loss, sell out, or shut down. That’s not even the whole list.

Let’s dissect it.

If competition heats up, move to a less-saturated market or serve customers better. People have choices—vote with your wallet. Yeah, you may have to do more with less (we’ve been doing that for years). Shop elsewhere to signal your displeasure and force competitive pricing. Buy the better product even if it isn’t the “latest and greatest.” Most high-volume stuff is flimsy enough to break when you open the box. Buy for longevity, maintain it, and it might last years.
“But how do I show off something new and shiny?” Here’s a thought: after one of your many vacations you could afford because you didn’t buy new crap, show your friends the photos—and get back to a lower-stress life.

“There is no way I can survive making less money than I do now!”

True in today’s economy. But what if people actually shared those mansion-houses with 30 bedrooms, four kitchens, and 20 master baths?
“Are you serious? Give up my ‘own’ place (that I can’t afford) to live with other humans?” Maybe. Your housing cost drops, community goes up. Be honest: most folks use 3–4 rooms—bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, maybe a corner of the living room. If budgets are tight, is zoning-out in front of a wall-sized TV really living? Ditch the TV, buy a decent computer, learn things you care about, live a little. TV, alcohol, tobacco, drugs—four “coping tools” that quietly siphon your cash. Cut those four, and I bet you’ll have more money. The rest of your time? Work, driving to buy more crap, staring at your phone. Am I wrong?
Cut living expenses for three years, get out of debt, get outside (it helps), save money, and buy your own place. If fewer people needed to rent and big landlords lost their stranglehold, we might even see a housing-price correction.

Now, the main event—tariffs and inflation.

Honestly, you are both the cause and the solution.
“I call BS, Skinny! How dare you say I’m the cause?”
I also said you’re the solution.

What do you spend most of your money on—U.S. products or imports? If you didn’t say “mostly U.S.,” then yeah, you’re part of the circle.
“Dammit, I can’t afford U.S.-made stuff.”
Then spend on actual necessities, buy local where you can, and stop chasing “new and shiny” like it’s oxygen.

Reality check (tariffs): Tariffs are taxes on imports. Somebody in the chain pays—and a chunk often lands in the sticker price you see. When sellers use tariffs as cover to jack everything higher, that’s greed, not policy doing you dirty. Tariffs are supposed to spotlight that your bargain comes from places with dirt-cheap, often unsafe labor. If you say, “I wouldn’t work like that,” congratulations—you just met the point.

So yeah—no simple path to lower inflation unless Americans are working, at all levels. Too many won’t touch “crappy” jobs because it’s “beneath them.” Meanwhile others work and carry the load, then get told prices are their fault. Until companies actually lower costs (which usually means tough choices), we source energy that doesn’t enrich hostile states, and we build products that last, the landfill wins. If a widget lasts five years instead of twenty, you’ll buy four instead of one—bigger profits, bigger trash heaps, more pollution. That’s the math.

There is a way out—but a lot of people are too “proud,” too lazy, or just unskilled for today’s marketplace beyond consuming until they die. Fun, huh?

Conclusion.

If people:

demand products that last (not disposable trends),
live on less (money and stuff),
choose smaller homes (less to heat, furnish, maintain),
drive truly fuel-efficient vehicles (bigger isn’t better—batteries have mining/processing impacts; gas has ongoing emissions—pick what’s cleaner in your grid and lasts longer),
demand better food,
talk to humans face-to-face (social apps aren’t connection),
stop trashing the place (rivers and lakes count),
stop pretending recycling erases waste (reduce/reuse usually beats “recycle and forget”),
quit obsessing over “global warming” while buying junk that fails fast, and
accept that constant raises often boomerang into higher prices unless productivity keeps up…

…then maybe we finally bend the curve. Have you noticed that when wages jump without the work getting faster or better, basics often jump too? That’s not a coincidence—it’s a loop.

There is No End to a Circle

This Disillusion is Almost Embarrassing

Gen Z’rs. Wow, just Wow….