Issue 145 – March 2025
Tariffs aren’t a Happy Meal and more analogies
“Analogies work because they make the unfamiliar familiar; they help the mind navigate new terrain by making it resemble terrain we already know.” – Steve Jobs
I’m back with another look at how to help readers, viewers and listeners make the connection between the unknown (or confusing) and the known: use analogies.
As Steve Jobs described them, “Analogies work because they make the unfamiliar familiar; they help the mind navigate new terrain by making it resemble terrain we already know.”
You’ll have seen and heard plenty about tariffs these days. But have you seen any explanations that give you a sense of tariffs and how they are used? I went down another online rabbit-hole and found these:
“While economists might say, ‘Yes, at times you need to use economic sanctions for geopolitical reasons,’ tariffs are much more of a blunt tool. …tariffs affect a whole economy or the global economy.” – Michael Stanitis, American University
“Trump’s tariff threats amount to a game of chicken with trading partners. …The expression…refers to two automobile drivers driving toward each other at high speeds, to see who will turn ‘chicken’ and swerve away first.” – Alan Wm. Wolff, Peterson Institute for International Economics
“Do you try to turn the ship very gradually by small steps or—to mix metaphors—do you start by flipping over the gameboard and scattering the pieces? In a lot of areas, Trump has shown a very strong inclination to take that latter course.” – Oren Cass, Understanding America
“This isn’t a Happy Meal. [Trump] doesn’t get more fries just because we get less. If the auto tariffs actually come into force, there will be fewer fries for everyone. – Richard Warnica, Toronto Star
“Trade wars are best viewed as a prisoner’s dilemma …prisoners are always tempted to testify against their partner in crime in exchange for a more lenient sentence. By doing so, however, they all end up in prison for longer. Similarly, [countries] have incentives to raise trade barriers, regardless of what the other countries do. [But] when they all do so, none of them succeed in making their imports cheaper and they all end up being poorer.” – UC Berkeley Letters & Science
“So the Great Depression caused the U.S. economy to basically flail in the water, drowning. And the passing of Smoot-Hawley [Tariff Act] was the equivalent of throwing it a brick to help.” – Kenny Malone, NPR
Have you seen any explanations about tariffs and their use (or other complicated topics) that do a good job of explaining? Please share.
Related reading:
Building bridges: Crafting analogies to help guide your readers
How to stretch your skills at using analogy and metaphor
In the Red Jacket Diaries:
Communication in the workplace: Links to helpful posts you might have missed
Assignment: How’s dating the second time around?
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