Op-Ed: This is what happens when you ask ChatGPT  how tariffs impact US cost of living\” /><script type=\"application/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph

Amid the Colossi of Competence and the non-existent search for truth in global media, I wondered if it was possible to get a neutral answer to tariff issues in the real world.

After trekking through the uninformative dung-mountains of utterly useless spin and misdirection on the subject of tariffs, I arrived at a venerable dialog box.

I asked ChatGPT a simple question which any grade schooler could ask, and our sainted mainstream media hasn’t:

“What is the long-term effect of US tariffs on the cost of living?”

The term cost of living has only one direct area of application – The real economy, aka Main Street, where people are frivolously living week to week in total euphoria.

Give AI credit for one thing; when it works properly, it’s not a cheerleader. I did not get a mindless formulaic recital of for and against, either. I got a simple layout of basic economics.

This is only an excerpt of Chat GPT’s answer. I kept most of it to maintain context. I recommend simply copying the question and asking ChatGPT for the full version.

Also, note that ChatGPT summarized this mess in a total of 383 words in the full version, not months of whimpering apologia.

ChatGPT response:

The long-term effect of U.S. tariffs on the cost of living depends on several factors, including how broadly the tariffs are applied, how other countries respond, and how domestic businesses and consumers adapt. But overall, tariffs tend to increase the cost of living over the long run for the following key reasons:

🔺 1. Higher Prices for Consumers

Tariffs are essentially taxes on imported goods. When companies import products with tariffs attached, they often pass the extra cost on to consumers.

➡️ Result: Persistent upward pressure on prices = higher cost of living.

🔁 2. Retaliatory Tariffs & Trade Wars

➡️ Result: Weakened economic output and purchasing power = potential for inflation without wage growth.

🏗️ 3. Higher Input Costs for Businesses

Tariffs on raw materials (like steel or semiconductors) increase production costs for U.S. manufacturers and construction firms.

• Companies might cut back hiring, reduce hours, or increase prices.
• Small businesses with thin margins may struggle to stay competitive.

➡️ Result: Higher prices on finished goods and services.

⌛ 4. Reduced Efficiency Over Time

Tariffs can protect inefficient domestic industries from competition, reducing the incentive to innovate or lower costs.

• Over the long term, this makes the U.S. economy less efficient and less productive.
• Consumers pay more for lower-quality or less innovative goods.

➡️ Result: Higher prices and less value for money.

🧮 Bottom Line:

In the long run, broad, sustained tariffs tend to:

• Increase prices for consumers.
• Reduce purchasing power, especially for low- and middle-income households.
• Slow economic growth by distorting trade and investment flows.

This also just happens to be what all economists have been saying since day one. Higher prices are the constant theme.

My point here is that this highly implausible ramshackle collection of bills, diseases, and fully justifiable paranoia formerly known as the US domestic economy can’t take such big hits. Double-digit price rises are likely to be disastrous.  

Which leads to a question, or so:

Why are none of the very obvious issues mentioned by ChatGPT being addressed by anybody?

What happens when higher prices equate to a universally unaffordable cost of living?

Who wins this demolition derby?

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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.