Originally published by Christopher Elliott on LinkedIn: Donald Trump is Bad For American Consumers. Here's Why.
If you're a right-leaning reader or a fan of the current presidential administration, you probably won't make it past the headline of this story. And if you do, it will only be for the purposes of scrolling down to leave an angry comment at the end of the article.
But if by chance you made it this far, please remember last week's column on how the Trump administration could help consumers. And also, that there are at least two sides to every story -- especially this one.
You don't have to look far for evidence that the Trump administration will harm consumers. From its pledge to deregulate American businesses to its actions to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to its clumsy attempt to eviscerate the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it's hard to know where to begin a column like this.
Perhaps here: Even the administration's most full-throated cheerleaders would have some trouble making the case that Trump has been good for consumers. Take the promise of deregulation lowering prices, discussed at length last week.
"I have yet to see an example of consumer prices going down and market competition increasing after deregulation of a U.S. industry," says Prabir Chetia, head of business research and advisory for Aranca Research, a global research, analytics and advisory firm.
That might come eventually. If taxes on airline tickets are lowered, or "burdensome" regulations are lifted, those savings could be passed along to consumers. Or not. It's difficult to say, since consumers hold far more pricing power than one or two regulations in the airline industry -- but we'll have to wait and see.
"Consumers may win with lower prices in the near term as a result of deregulation because businesses can improve margins and pass the savings along to shoppers," says Jonas Sickler, marketing director for ConsumerSafety.org. "But, in the long run, I see the potential for consumers to take a hit from degrading safety standards on everything from food to products."
Sickler makes a valid point. Regulations exist to protect consumers, not companies. And if consumers feel safer, they're more likely to trust a brand and spend more money. So the argument about less regulation being better for everyone doesn't necessarily hold true.
"When consumers feel at risk," he adds, "everyone loses."
But that isn't the only way the Trump administration has hurt consumers. Last week, I discussed some of the less obvious ways the government's "laissez faire" approach to regulation had changed how consumers feel about the government and business, and how that change is good.