Tariffs....an American-made moldy turd

I am a small business owner that makes all the products I sell myself. At this point, with the exception of greetings cards and calendars that I have printed by a third party, all of my work is produced by my own two hands. The cards and calendars I have printed are designed by me, feature my Art and are printed in the USA by American owned companies. I carry a wide range of items in a wide range of price ranges. There is something that fits into everyone's budget at 1UV, even if your budget is zero dollars. Yes, I even have a free gift for kids and other visitors with whom I have spontaneous and moving conversation. (And, of course, 1UV MOTHLY is free to the public.) This makes me an American manufacturer as well as an artist...and the gift shops that carry cheap foreign-made crap and galleries that ONLY carry foreign based artists leave me resentful frequently.

In business you can sell goods and/or services. Services are something you do for a client. Goods are physical items a client can use. A business can sell retail or wholesale. Retail sales are made directly to an individual consumer for intended personal use. Wholesale sales are made to a business for secondary sale to individual consumers for personal use, or use to make consumable goods for sale to individual consumers for personal use. At 1UV I offer both goods and services for sale. For the purposes of this article I am not speaking about services, only goods. There are three types of goods a business can sell:

1. raw materials - these are things like minerals and wild growing plants and animals, and seeds in their whole and natural forms that MUST be processed to be of practical use.

2. processed materials - these are things like most things you purchase at the grocery store, or anything that has been made from processing raw materials into an item to be used to make an item sold for consumption.

3. consumable goods - these are things like: tools, appliances, finished clothing, Art, furniture, jewelry, cars, etc. By this definition, fruits and vegetables that can be eaten raw out of hand can also be considered among consumable goods. Among consumable goods there are tiers of quality: basic, mid-grade, and luxury.

At 1UV Gallery Studio I am a manufacturer of mid-grade and luxury one of a kind consumable goods. I purchase both raw and processed materials to make my consumable goods. These materials come from a variety of places including but not only: antique dealers, stone dealers, online sellers, hardware stores, thrift stores, and individuals. These items come from all over the globe. Not all of them are available from American manufacturers in the United States. This is a link to the complete words of Ronald Regan that were used in a recent Canadian-made commercial criticizing Donald Trump's tariff policies. This is a link to a news story about the Canadian commercial. As a manufacturer of American made mid-grade and luxury goods I have some opinions about tariffs.

I am not anti-tariff. But wait...

I am not pro-tariff either.

Donald Trump has taken a one size fits all approach to business that is myopic, self centered and self absorbed. He doesn't care about anyone with pockets more shallow than his, let alone people walking around without any pockets at all. If he did he'd use a precision tool instead of a sledge hammer. I have no problem with tariffs on all types of goods when there are viable options available for Americans and American businesses to buy from American companies. But blanket tariffs harm everyone, foreigners, Americans and American businesses alike. Tariffs, first and foremost, are a punitive measure against the domestic consumer. When there is a viable American option available to the American consumer the tariff is a reasonable act. When there is no viable American option to the American consumer the tariff is an oppression. It does not drive competition or spark innovation. It is a barrier to these things because it inhibits the growth of business based on the depth of pockets...not to even mention those without pockets to begin with.

But Donald Trump doesn't care because he doesn't know or understand how things are made and he has never had to actually work to survive. He was born into financial privilege and has no respect for money itself. His disrespect for money and the working American is so rife companies he has owned have filed for bankruptcy at least six times while he, personally, has never had to. The lesson here is: Trump has no problem bankrupting the American populous to deepen his own pockets. I guess that's why he needs a new expensive ballroom to celebrate.

Shopping at 1UV Gallery Studio supports a woman owned, American business. Please support. Our Constitution depends on it.