OK, no argument from me. That said, the American consumer will have to understand that goods, whether from abroad (including tariffs) or made domesticly, will now cost considerably more.

It is a fairly simple truth that the US as a whole has long consumed quite a lot more products and services than they produce, the gap being made up by imports. If one assumes that this is not a good idea in the long term (note, not axoimatically true), it clearly follows that US consumption has to come down and/or production has to go up. The US is already one of the more productive economies in the world, and total factor productivity is notoriously hard to budge (ask any UK politician). So the remaining solution is to crush consumption: US folks consuming way fewer products and services overall. Falling standards of living, not import substitution.

It could fall into the category of "be careful what you wish for".

Berkshire is pretty resilient, overall, but owner earnings will follow real GDP in a lot of ways. If that takes a long term hit of whatever magnitude, so will Berkshire's real value per share.

Jim