Tariffs are raising my costs, but that's not the whole story

Raven Young

I was in eighth grade when Carrier closed its plant here in McMinnville. Thirteen hundred jobs, gone. I didn’t fully understand it then, but I could feel the weight of it. The town just got ... quieter.

Cody, my husband, still talks about how the bowling alley used to stay full. Guys coming off third shift would head over and bowl a few frames. It wasn’t just fun — it was a rhythm, a way of life. Carrier pulled out, moved operations to Mexico, and it changed the town. You could see it and feel it, even if you weren’t old enough to put words to it yet.

That’s why I’ve been watching these new tariffs closely. I get it — nobody likes paying more. I’ve got a flooring order going in next week for Main Street Center (the old Fraley’s building), which we’re turning into luxury apartments and storefronts downtown. The LVP I’m using comes from China. A 25% federal tariff hits those imports, and my supplier, Shaw, is passing on about 14% of that to us. That adds up fast when you’re doing tens of thousands of square feet.

Now listen, I love a good deal. I’m always looking for ways to stretch the budget. I don’t want to pay more where I don’t have to. But sometimes, spending a little more up front is the cost of doing what’s right in the long run.

Shaw already makes all of its carpet in Dalton, Ga. They’re working on domestic manufacturing for vinyl plank now. That’s the goal. That’s what these tariffs are trying to encourage — getting companies to bring production back home.

And if you ask me, that’s worth a little extra.

This isn’t about picking political sides. People hear “Trump tariffs” and either cheer or shut down. But the idea of making more things here isn’t a Trump thing. It’s just common sense. In 2022, 144 countries were already slapping tariffs on goods from the U.S. So, let’s not act like we’re breaking some sacred rule by doing the same. We’re just finally deciding that if we need it here, maybe we should make it here.

Now, I get the hesitation. People say, “It’s not that easy,” or “Nobody wants to work anymore.” And they’re not wrong. We’ve got a labor issue - a motivation issue. But maybe part of the fix is giving people something to be proud of again — like building things that last, right here where we live.

I want to see McMinnville thriving again. I want bowling leagues packed on weeknights. I want our young people to have careers without having to leave town to find them.

Tariffs won’t do all that by themselves. But if they help bring even part of it back — if they get companies investing in American factories and workers again — I’m good with that.

We’ve got the buildings. We’ve got the people. We’ve got the know-how. What we need now is the will.

And if we find it, I think small towns like ours might just start humming again.