How Trump's tariffs work to redistribute wealth up the food chain

CBC News quoted Veljko Fotak in a story about how the U.S. president's tariffs have transferred billions from working Americans to big corporations and the rich. “Tariffs effectively tax consumption, and lower-income households consume a bigger proportion of their paycheque,” Fotak explained. “Taxing consumption sounds fair, until you realize that Warren Buffett and Elon Musk ‘consume’ a minuscule proportion of their income and an even lower proportion of their wealth.” There’s a second, slightly more subtle mechanism at play, Fotak said. “Wealthy households tend to spend a bigger proportion of their paycheque on services and things like travel, which are less affected by tariffs than expenditures on manufactured goods. The things you buy at Walmart are impacted by tariffs. Your spa appointment or your kid's violin lessons, much less so.”