This week, Ali Velshi reintroduces us to our hypothetical American neighbor Betty, a busy, hardworking mother of a high schooler named Bobby. We are about to see how, tariff pause or no, everything in her life just got more expensive.
Groceries were already expensive, but the price of eggs hit an all-time high of $6.23 per dozen. Luckily, at 16, Bobby is too old to decorate Easter eggs. He is, unfortunately, in the market for a car, but Donald Trump‘s tariffs on cars and car parts have increased prices across the market. He could try and earn extra money helping fix up the house, but the price of goods like lumber, appliances, and drywall have also skyrocketed, making basic maintenance out of reach for Betty and her family.
Any hope of looking for a new home is also out of the question, as mortgage rates have spiked thanks to international investors’ concerns about U.S. economic stability. That instability is not a concern but a reality for the stock market, which also means Betty’s 401k is looking weak, as is her job security, since she works for a major corporation that’s seeing sales and stock prices sink and could turn to layoffs to offset lost profits.
As much as Betty would like to relax at the end of a long, hard day contemplating how to navigate this tough economic storm with a bottle of wine, the tariffs have also boosted the cost of her favorite French rosé. Sorry, Betty.
LISTEN: VELSHI EXPLAINS THE IMPACT OF TARIFFS ON THE AVERAGE AMERICAN
WATCH: VELSHI DISCUSSES OUR WORKING MOTHER “BETTY”
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