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Tariffs are back in the headlines, and "The Ramsey Show" co-host Ken Coleman isn't having it. In a recent episode, a caller's financial dilemma turned into a fiery discussion on trade wars, economic policy, and why tariffs hit everyday workers harder than politicians like to admit.
The caller, Isaiah from Grand Rapids, Michigan, had been steadily working his way out of debt—following Dave Ramsey's famous Baby Steps—when news of Mexico's retaliation tariffs threw a wrench into his financial plans. His employer, a medical supply company, had already moved production from China to Mexico, and now, with new tariffs in play, they were staring down "significant, significant losses." While leadership hadn't announced layoffs yet, the writing was on the wall.
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Isaiah and his wife were on their seventh or eighth week of Financial Peace University and had been making steady progress. They had $51,000 left in debt—a mix of student loans, medical debt, and an old refinance mistake—and were earning $120,000 a year. Their goal? Knock out the remaining balance in two to three years. But with potential job insecurity, Isaiah wasn't sure if they should keep throwing extra cash at debt or pause and build up savings as a safety net.
That's when Coleman jumped in, first digging into the details of the company's situation. Isaiah confirmed that roughly 17% to 18% of their business was affected by imports from Mexico. The problem? The company had fixed contracts in the medical industry—meaning they couldn't simply raise prices to offset the tariff costs. Instead, their profit margins were shrinking, which could lead to budget cuts, layoffs, or worse.
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Coleman, a longtime free-trade advocate, didn't hold back:
"That's why guys like me, free traders, I don't like tariffs. Never going to like tariffs. So don't @ me or send me hate email, I'm not going to read it. And I'm right. So we'll just leave it at that. Tariffs become taxes. It's just that simple."