Buy less, pay more?

Make Me Smart

This week, President Trump acknowledged his tariffs were resulting in costlier items in the U.S., but maintained his position that China was taking the majority of the heat. If people can’t afford to buy as much, might that be a recipe for recession? We’ll discuss, and answer a listener’s question on what exactly is a recession. Plus, how uncertain economic conditions might make someone reconsider a luxury cheese purchase.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

- Recession defined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

- “Trump says US kids may get '2 dolls instead of 30,' but China will suffer more in a trade war” from the Associated Press

- WATCH: “Trump says kids may get '2 dolls instead of 30' because of trade war with China” from the Associated Press

- “Trump, on Tariffs, Says ‘Maybe the Children Will Have 2 Dolls Instead of 30’” from The New York Times

- “Spending by American companies on computers in Q1 grew at the fastest pace since 1983” by Marketplace

- Check out the Canadian cheese shop Kimberly mentions in this episode

Join us tomorrow for “Economics on Tap.” The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.