Donald Trump says he is going to put punishingly high tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China for non-economic reasons. Instead of actually tackling immigration and fentanyl head on, he imagines tariffs as a some kind of “magic bullet” that will force other countries to solve these problems for him.

Not only won’t it work, but it will raise prices on fruit and vegetables and meat, disrupt manufacturing supply chains and raise prices on cars, increase the cost of home construction by raising the cost of lumber, and overall tank the economy and put your savings at risk.

Trump supporters, is this what you really wanted? (Because it’s going to be what you get.) Everyone else: Buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride and we’ll be lucky if we don’t crash along with the American economy. Good luck to us all.

Peter Scotto

South Hadley