Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes

Words I like: People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou

Pablo’s Perspective:

In 1902, Hanoi had a rat problem. The French government offered a bounty for every rat tail turned in. Seemed smart—until bounty hunters cut off tails and let rats breed for more profit. Some even started rat farms. The program backfired, and the rat problem got worse.

Tariffs work the same way.

The idea? Tax imports so companies manufacture locally. The reality? Higher prices for consumers. Estimates say tariffs could cost U.S. households an extra $2,000–$4,000 a year.

And businesses find loopholes. When the U.S. imposed a 25% truck tariff, Ford shipped vans with seats (to classify as passenger vehicles with a lower tax) and ripped them out on arrival. Mercedes disassembled and reassembled cars to dodge tariffs.

Now, with new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, countries are hitting back. If this spirals, we could see a trade war—like in 2018, when tariffs cost the U.S. $300 billion.

What You Can Do:

✅ Keep a 3-6 month emergency fund
✅ Diversify investments—some industries will take big hits
✅ Stay invested—don’t panic sell
✅ Careful with debt & leverage—make only smart investments with multiple exit strategies.

Tariffs, like rat bounties, rarely go as planned. Loopholes happen, supply chains adjust, and retaliation makes things worse. Stay prepared.

What do you think? Have tariffs impacted your industry?

Drop a comment—I read them all.

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Pablo,