A Tariff Is Not a Time Machine
Standing in the middle of the road with a library card and a calculator, I find the tariff rescue plan has one logistical weakness: the factory is still closed. An import fee may change the price of goods, but it does not unlock the plant, replace the machinery, train the workforce, or reverse the boardroom decision that moved production elsewhere. That is not a rebuilding plan. It is an invoice wearing a hard hat.
Workers and communities deserve more than a promise that paperwork will bring back a vanished payroll. The same economic system that rewarded cheaper overseas production now offers a tariff as though it were a repair crew, complete with a ribbon-cutting calendar and no construction equipment. Prices may rise, jobs may not return, and the abandoned main street remains responsible for the arithmetic. A tariff is a tool. It is not a time machine, a hiring manager, or a key to the plant gate.