Timothy Smeeding, professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs, similarly believes that tariffs will influence poverty rates primarily through their effect on prices. The industries most vulnerable, he said, are those dependent on sales, with grocery workers, retail workers and other blue collar professions likely to be hardest hit.
“When the SNAP cuts and Medicaid cuts go into effect, the same people will be hurt as grocery stores sell less and health care costs rise, closing some stores and maybe some rural hospitals and clinics,” he added.