Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced it was going to impose a 30 percent tariff on foreign imported solar panels in what the mainstream media called a major blow to the alternative energy industry.
This news prompted memes like the one you see here to infect the social media sphere like a cancer.
At the risk of repeating ourselves, we should clarify that the tariff — a specialized tax on foreign goods — applies to foreign imports only. In other words, companies making solar panels in the United States are completely unaffected by the administration’s decision.
It’s worth noting that conservatives are usually divided about tariffs. Free trade libertarians, for example, typically oppose them on the grounds that they restrict economic choice, and can make companies less competitive. More populist types, perhaps the backbone of President Donald Trump’s support base, tend to view tariffs more favorably.
This schism aside, it’s very hard to find any contradiction between Trump’s “America First” mantra and his decision to tax foreign solar panels more heavily. If anything, it falls perfectly in line with his populist agenda.
It’s actually surprising that liberals appear to take more of an issue with this than traditional conservatives do. Of course, that would imply that the left is ideologically consistent…
~ Facts Not Memes
