Marie Gluesenkamp Perez

Thank you. Glad to be here.

Thank you. Glad to be here.

Well, you're talking to a lady that doesn't give my child toys. I'm a big believer in dirt and string and sticks. But at a broader level, tariffs are a tool. A tool can be used destructively or it can be used productively. And it depends on how it's wielded.

Well, you're talking to a lady that doesn't give my child toys. I'm a big believer in dirt and string and sticks. But at a broader level, tariffs are a tool. A tool can be used destructively or it can be used productively. And it depends on how it's wielded.

You know, talking to folks back home who really don't care at all about most politics, you know, they have very sophisticated views on Canadian lumber dumping practice. We've lost seven mills in my area. Last year, I think it's about seven. We want domestic manufacturing. We want self-sufficiency. We want the ability to make things ourselves.

You know, talking to folks back home who really don't care at all about most politics, you know, they have very sophisticated views on Canadian lumber dumping practice. We've lost seven mills in my area. Last year, I think it's about seven. We want domestic manufacturing. We want self-sufficiency. We want the ability to make things ourselves.

I think it's a mistake to sort of defend our identity around being just consumers and not producers as well. But these reciprocal trade deals, it's a backroom deal for multinationals. How it's used is what matters.

I think it's a mistake to sort of defend our identity around being just consumers and not producers as well. But these reciprocal trade deals, it's a backroom deal for multinationals. How it's used is what matters.

Well, I'm pretty focused on my community and what we want and what we believe. And yeah, I think people have pretty nuanced views. I mean, the specifics really matter. One thing that's weird is like watching the Democratic Party suddenly become the defenders of the stock market and like NASDAQ. That's a weird thing to me.

Well, I'm pretty focused on my community and what we want and what we believe. And yeah, I think people have pretty nuanced views. I mean, the specifics really matter. One thing that's weird is like watching the Democratic Party suddenly become the defenders of the stock market and like NASDAQ. That's a weird thing to me.

And I think the question is not like what the nominal picture of wealth in these terms are, but how much economic agency and self-determination we have. Do you have the power to stay home and spend time with your family? Or are you working three jobs? Are you able to own a home, to own land, own farmland? Or are you stuck in a cycle of perpetual running that you don't want to be in?

And I think the question is not like what the nominal picture of wealth in these terms are, but how much economic agency and self-determination we have. Do you have the power to stay home and spend time with your family? Or are you working three jobs? Are you able to own a home, to own land, own farmland? Or are you stuck in a cycle of perpetual running that you don't want to be in?

Do you have the right to make your own stuff? Do you have a level playing field to start your own business? Those are the questions. And so that's kind of the lens that I think about these bigger international arguments on trade through. It's like, what is worth having at the end of the day? What do people really want?

Do you have the right to make your own stuff? Do you have a level playing field to start your own business? Those are the questions. And so that's kind of the lens that I think about these bigger international arguments on trade through. It's like, what is worth having at the end of the day? What do people really want?

Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, under NAFTA, there's this argument presented to the American public of like, well, you're not going to have jobs anymore, but you have a bunch of cheap crap. And then when people don't have the cheap stuff and they don't have the jobs, it accelerates into a really profound anger. And I think kind of a righteous anger.

Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, under NAFTA, there's this argument presented to the American public of like, well, you're not going to have jobs anymore, but you have a bunch of cheap crap. And then when people don't have the cheap stuff and they don't have the jobs, it accelerates into a really profound anger. And I think kind of a righteous anger.

And so, you know, one point is like, we don't just want cheap stuff. We want stuff that will last, right? I mean, I think that was one of the issues with the CHIPS Act is it's like, well, what's driving the chip shortage? Like, do I want a washing machine that can play Tchaikovsky or do I want a washing machine that will last more than three years? My washing machine is from 1997.

And so, you know, one point is like, we don't just want cheap stuff. We want stuff that will last, right? I mean, I think that was one of the issues with the CHIPS Act is it's like, well, what's driving the chip shortage? Like, do I want a washing machine that can play Tchaikovsky or do I want a washing machine that will last more than three years? My washing machine is from 1997.

My stove is from 1954. And I think about how many times that has been bought and sold on Craigslist, like how much durable wealth that's created in the middle class. Not just because people were paid a living wage in America to make those things, but because then they held value and created value for the household who owned them. And then they were sold and bought and sold and bought and sold.

My stove is from 1954. And I think about how many times that has been bought and sold on Craigslist, like how much durable wealth that's created in the middle class. Not just because people were paid a living wage in America to make those things, but because then they held value and created value for the household who owned them. And then they were sold and bought and sold and bought and sold.