Donald Trump and his corrupt administration are once again reshaping the world’s economy with dangerous, authoritarian policies–and it’s women, working families, and communities of color who will pay the price.
The Trump administration promised that massive tariffs would add large amounts to everything we buy, from diapers to cars. Just as we braced for them to begin they were lessened, except for items imported from China which have changed several times during the writing of this piece. But one thing remains true: Tariffs place an undue burden on working women of color whose budgets are already stretched thin, who already make less due to the racism and sexism of the pay gap, and who already use more of their paychecks to pay for necessities.
Even after walking back the original plan, this tax on working people will cost, on average, $4,600 a year. That’s nearly $400 a month. When working people can’t afford a $500 emergency, or make difficult choices about affording gas or medication, or going to work sick or making rent, I just don’t know where working people are going to come up with the money to cover the cost of the games of the rich and powerful.
And as we’re watching our paychecks and hard-earned savings circle the drain, the rich are getting richer. Just before announcing a change in this policy on April 9th, Trump tipped off that it was a “Great time to buy!” and investors were able to buy before the stock market bounced up at the news and they made millions. This is insider training and market manipulation and at any other time, the players would be facing charges.
These wealthy men–completely disconnected from the realities of everyday life–are doubling down on economic decisions that systematically exclude women and nonbinary people of color from any chance at real economic security. Their so-called strategies aren’t new, they echo the same failed playbook of Reaganomics and the “war on drugs”. Policies that devastated Black and Brown communities.
During the Reagan era, trickle-down economics widened the racial wealth gap. While the war on drugs tore families apart and targeted communities of color, laying the foundation for mass incarceration of Black Americans. They were both bad policies and deliberate attacks with generational consequences.
Tariffs are just the newest chapter in that long history. Everyday essentials like groceries, diapers, and school clothes, are going to cost workers thousands per year. For working women who are already carefully budgeting their paychecks for rent and child care, that’s not just a strain–it’s a crisis. For Black and Brown women entrepreneurs who work tirelessly to build businesses and carve our space in the middle class, this is a direct threat to everything they’ve built.
Meanwhile, the people writing these policies don’t understand the real effect of the high cost of that “old-fashioned term” we use daily, groceries. But the working mothers I know? They feel every extra dollar at the checkout line. They’re already forced to make impossible decisions, like choosing between taking unpaid leave to recover from childbirth or returning to work too soon just to afford medication.
But it’s more than the cost of things. The stress of making ends meet, going without essentials, and living in constant uncertainty takes a real toll on our health. Economic inequality is a public health crisis. Research shows that communities with limited access to resources face higher rates of chronic illness, mental health challenges, and shorter life expectancy. Children growing up in these conditions face toxic stress, developmental delays, and long-term health issues that carry into adulthood.
At the same time, our 401Ks–if we’re lucky to have one–are shrinking. For women, and more drastically for women of color, watching those balances they have scraped together drop means the less money they will have to survive in retirement. The average Black woman in 2018 was surviving on just $21,900. This reality is a direct result of pay gaps, caregiving responsibilities, and policies that undervalue our labor and our lives.
This is part of a bigger pattern. Women make less across the board. We’re more likely to be in jobs that are underpaid and often viewed as “women’s work,” like child care. That’s called occupational segregation.
9to5 works with child care providers in Savannah, Georgia and just like providers all over the country, they’re working with razor-thin margins. We know providers don’t want to increase their rates so parents can still afford to work. But tariffs are going to affect their bottom lines– the cost of food, and supplies, and everything is bound to go up. That means that ultimately the cost of child care is going up and it is going to cost families more.
Let’s be clear– whether it is tariffs, targeting Medicaid and Social Security for elimination, or putting barriers up to voting– the goal is the same. Keep the rich richer and keep working people struggling. With racism and sexism used as the tools to keep people down– because they would rather watch the world burn than share with working women of color.
But here’s the truth they can’t erase: we’ve been through worse, and we are still here.
Women of color have repeatedly endured the worst this country has thrown at us, and we still push forward and continue to work toward an economy where all working women and nonbinary people of color can thrive in a world without the racism, sexism, and classism that prevents us from living authentically. We can build an economy that works for everyone. One where care work is valued. Where people can access the health care they need without risking bankruptcy or prison. Where women earn the same as men. Where we have affordable and safe homes. And where we have dismantled white supremacy, patriarchy, and economic exploitation.