How does everyone see this?

[miamited]

I was reading today, and I would post the link, but it mentions political parties and such and I don't want this to be about politics. This is simply a question as to how everyone understands the collection of tariffs. So, I was reading today that our tariff collections are up some $15.4B. Where does that $15.4B come from? China sells a product to the U.S. Some guy at walmart thinks widgets are going to sell like hot cakes and buys 1,000 of them at .50 apiece. He sends a check to the Chinese manufacturer for $500. However, for the guy at Walmart to get them to his store, he has to pay a tariff to the government of the United States to bring those 1000 widgets off the boat. Well, let's say a 10% tariff. I don't want to be mean about this it's just an explanation. So the guy at Walmart has to write out another check for $50 to the U.S. Treasury. Then the retailer jacks up the price of each widget 10¢ to cover the cost of the tariff. So, a consumer comes along and says, "Oh, I need a widget." He carries the widget up to cashier and pays the price, which is 10¢ higher than it was last week.

Who paid the tariff?

 

[miamited]

If the American consumer pays the tariff, then isn't that $15.4B just extra taxes on us? I mean, I've still got to fill out my 1040 and pay my rightful taxes, right?

 

[Christ_empowered]

It’s more taxes on the masses so the billionaires can get their tax cuts.

 

[miamited]

Hey Christ_empowered

Well there is that way of looking at it. And what they do with all this extra revenue that we taxpayers are coughing into the coffers is another matter altogether. It would be nice if the powers that be would take all that tariff revenue and pay down some of our debt load. I mean, it's extra tax revenue that American taxpayers are paying into the general fund and it could be of some benefit to us, rather than just another burden of taxation to bear, if it was used to pay down the debt. Which, btw, was a platform of the recent winners agenda. Think there's any chance that'll happen?

 

[hawkman]

Who paid the tariff?

The guy at Walmart as you told us .

So the guy at Walmart has to write out another check for $50 to the U.S. Treasury.

Have you ever worked in retail sales miamited ? I have , it is a world of it's own .

 

[miamited]

Hey hawkman,

Have you ever worked in retail sales @miamited ? I have , it is a world of it's own .

Yes I have. I worked for Bell Telephone as a CSR (customer service rep.) and I sold keyboards, pianos and organs at a music retailer. I'm not sure what you mean, as to the point of this discussion about retail sales being a world of its own. Maybe you could expound on that a bit.

 

[Free]

Hey Christ_empowered

Well there is that way of looking at it. And what they do with all this extra revenue that we taxpayers are coughing into the coffers is another matter altogether. It would be nice if the powers that be would take all that tariff revenue and pay down some of our debt load. I mean, it's extra tax revenue that American taxpayers are paying into the general fund and it could be of some benefit to us, rather than just another burden of taxation to bear, if it was used to pay down the debt. Which, btw, was a platform of the recent winners agenda. Think there's any chance that'll happen?

I posted this video elsewhere, but I'll repost it here. I haven't finished it yet, but the first 28 minutes or so are worth watching. Tariffs are essentially a regressive tax, hitting the poorest the hardest, basically taking money from the poor and giving it to the rich.

 

[miamited]

HI Free

Yep, that's the way I understand the workings of tariffs. I just wanted to know if I was seeing it the way most others were. Thanks for your acknowledgment.

 

[miamited]

So basically, at the moment, the American consumer is being double taxed. We are taxed on our income and we are taxed on the goods that we buy with what's left of that income.

 

[hawkman]

I sold keyboards, pianos and organs at a music retailer

Great ! So you understand the price the store pays for an item has very little to do with price they will sell it for . Did you get to see the wholesale price of the MI and see how the pricing structure was ?
It is all about what is the competition selling theirs for and matching or undercutting as necessary to keep the doors open . Most of the retailer can absorb the tariff if it is 10% or even 20% like you said on the China goods because the margin is so great to begin with but will they , who knows .

 

[miamited]

So you understand the price the store pays for an item has very little to do with price they will sell it for

Well, in my experience in retail the consumer's cost was generally the costs to the retailer plus a percentage mark up. Now, maybe where you live retailers just guess at the price and wave a wand and make up a retail price, but that's not how I learned it. There's a process whereby a retailer has a certain percentage of his costs to determine his retail price. So, I would strongly disagree with any idea that what a store pays for an item has very little to do with the price it is sold for.

Now, I know that it can, especially in the market of high end goods and popular items. Then a lot of times demand has some consideration in retail price. But generally speaking, if you walk in any retail store in your town you'll find that they use a basic percentage markup to determine retail.

BTW I'm trying to figure out what that point, whether it be true or not, has to do with this discussion on tariffs and who pays them.

It is all about what is the competition selling theirs for and matching or undercutting as necessary to keep the doors open . Most of the retailer can absorb the tariff if it is 10% or even 20% like you said on the China goods because the margin is so great to begin with but will they , who knows .

No he doesn't. Don't fool yourself with such fables. They've got families to feed and take care of and they're going to get their markup point. Why would people work for less money just because of tariffs? You really believe that some importer is going to eat 10% of his profit margin every month? Why would he do that? Some sort of flag wavin' patriotism or something? Now if he's a nice guy he might eat 1-2% of his margins for a short time, but 10%? No way.

And I didn't say anything special about the margin on the China goods. I said that all goods have a retail price that is generally the retailers cost plus a percentage mark up. It doesn't matter if it's a Parisian dress or Outback Boogie Board. Where did you find that I said the China goods margins are so great. They're just margins. The same margins that every other manufacturer and retailer uses.

 

[hawkman]

And I didn't say anything special about the margin on the China goods. I said that all goods have a retail price that is generally the retailers cost plus a percentage mark up. It doesn't matter if it's a Parisian dress or Outback Boogie Board. Where did you find that I said the China goods margins are so great. They're just margins. The same margins that every other manufacturer and retailer uses.

I have seen the cost difference it makes buying a half dozen and then buying the same items by the shipping container from China . You will wait on the goods a few months for a container .

 

[miamited]

I have seen the difference it makes buying a half dozen and then buying the same items by the shipping container from China . You will wait on the goods a few months for a container .

Oh, absolutely it can take longer to fill orders if you're trying to buy direct from China. It can take up to a month or two sometimes to get something. It's amazing when we think of the trillions of items that are shipped all over the globe everyday. I was just down at the Canal watching a ship pass through. Stacks and stacks of connex containers in rows 12 stories tall. We're getting all of that stuff by the ship loads every day. We are the only country with storage buildings on practically every other street corner. Americans are born and bred consumers. We buy and we buy and we buy. And when we have too much stuff that we bought to keep in the house we go rent a storage unit and put the stuff that we'll never use again, or at least very rarely.