Grocery Prices, Tariffs, and the Stupidity of Repeating History
If you think groceries are expensive now, just wait—this winter they could double.
Back in March, we posted about McKinley’s tariffs and how history showed us exactly what happens when governments play with trade barriers. You can revisit that post here:
McKinley’s Tariffs: A Lesson from History.
Fast forward to September, and here we are—on the edge of repeating the same mistakes.
Raymond Robertson, an economist at Texas A&M, recently predicted that produce prices could rise 50 to 100% this winter (Fortune). At my house, groceries are already our single biggest expense. They’re downright asinine, and yet we’re being told to brace for potentially doubling produce costs—which will inevitably ripple into the rest of the grocery store.
Robertson points to two reasons:
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Expelling the immigrants who actually harvest the food.
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Tariffs.
Now, we already know what tariffs do—we’ve seen this movie before. They choke supply chains, drive up costs, and hammer everyday folks the hardest. McKinley tried it in the late 1800s. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now. Somebody in D.C. has to know this. But instead of learning from history, we repeat it.
And here’s the kicker: our lawmakers—millionaires and billionaires, insulated from the cost of a gallon of milk or a pound of beef—don’t feel what you and I feel at the checkout line. Everyday people just want to send their kids to decent schools and put food on the table. Instead, they’re getting squeezed harder and harder.
So, is this stupidity—or is it intentional? At some point you wonder if the real aim is to keep the lower and middle classes subdued, dependent, and tired. Either way, the refusal to learn from our past is staggering. If anything, I’d argue today’s leaders are dumber than the ones who walked these halls a hundred years ago.
Something has to change. That starts with us educating ourselves and stopping the cycle of voting the same boneheads back into office over and over again. In the 2024 elections, 95% of incumbents were re-elected (Ballotpedia). That number should make you sick.
Predictably, the midterms next year will swing power to the other party, and the pendulum will just keep swinging. Same mistakes, different faces.
If you’ve read this far and you disagree—convince me otherwise. I’d love to hear it.
Seth Tandett
Seth Tandett is as solid as the concrete he works with. Based in Richmond, Virginia, he’s been part of teams delivering top-notch structural concrete work across central and southern Virginia—everything from multi-level frames to data centers and federal facilities.
These days, Seth drives business development at Baker Construction while hosting the Concrete Logic Podcast, where he cuts through the noise and gets to the truth about what’s really happening in the concrete industry.
When he’s not chasing projects or hosting the show, you’ll find him studying economics, digging into American history, or sitting in a duck blind waiting on the next flight of birds.
Tune in to the Concrete Logic Podcast and you’ll get exactly what Seth’s known for: sharp questions, blunt commentary, and real conversations about concrete. No spin. No fluff. Just the stuff that matters.
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