Easy for them to say
When I hear rich dorks like Scott Bessent sneer about low-priced imports—“Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream”—I want to pull their $2,500 John Lobb oxfords off their soft little feet and shove them down their goddamned throats.
…
If you want that postwar, golden age standard of living, you can have it—cheap. You can buy a little house like the one my parents lived in—and both the houses on either side of it, too—for less than the price of a really nice pickup. If you want to eat like they ate, you can probably get by on less than $100 per head in the monthly food budget, and even have it delivered—Jeff Bezos is ready when you are. Cornmeal is about 80 cents a pound if you buy in bulk. You won’t need to add any oil–you’ll save the grease from your hamburgers and bacon in an old coffee can.