I know China recently started flat out rejecting a lot of US recyclable material in many cases, or in the very least drastically increasing the cost of sending it there. I’m not where covers scrap metal falls in there, but I do know this whole recycling issue in general has put a huge strain on local governments who…

Not that you don’t have enough replies telling you the same thing already , but a 25% increase in foreign steel is a 24% increase in domestic steel

That kind of thing really bothers me. So many things end up in a landfill that can be recycled and reused.

Ford is complaining that their buying steel at higher prices, yet in my neck of the woods, the local government yanked the free scrap metal bins and all that metal is now going into a hole in the ground because the local scrap yard said it was “expensive” to ship the metal out.

If you eliminate the cheapest source of a product artificially everyone else can raise their prices.

US Steel Companies: “Sweet, competition is out, we can raise our prices and suffer no loss in demand.  Yay, profits!”

Other companies that used imported steel are going to buy more US steel, increasing the demand for US steel (and therefore the price)

The price of steel has gone up and the prices for steel are cheaper from Chine but, they have also gone up. Prices are just now calming down but where extremely high for the last 6 months.

Lack of competition from steel imported from other countries means that US steel producers can raise prices. But free markets, right?

Have you shopped for steel lately?

American steel producers have raised prices to match those of imported steel.

The tariffs protect pricing for domestic steel manufacturers. So, by making the Chinese steel more expensive to purchase, it allows domestic manufacturers to raise their prices.

Hey, everybody! Look! It’s a bootlicker!

Ok, we get it, you are fiscally responsible. Go brag about it somewhere else. 

There’s your problem. We have never, ever in the history of our country had a “free system”. It’s a protected system. We just chose to protect the people with the money and tell everyone else you’re on your own.

People operating within a free system can make their own choices.

Here’s a better idea - regulate interest rates. Look, if you can’t handle the risk, maybe get out of the sub-prime loan business...? Tag it to a simple multiple of the prime rate - say 5 times at most. Borrowing at one rate and getting 5x that ain’t a bad ROI.

Shit, you commit manslaughter and you probably don’t serve 20 years.  Why the hell should one bad financial decision haunt you for more than that?

I’ve got bad news then. The spread on his rate seems feasible/in line with rates today.

+1 for the more financial education in schools piece.