We're beginning to understand how tariffs ripple through our daily lives, driving up the cost of essential goods. I've written before about how Trump's trade war hit nurseries hard, driving up the cost of cribs, car seats, and other baby essentials. But the impact extends far beyond necessities, and the Trump administration’s dismissive rhetoric around this reality reveals something darker.
Remember Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's defense of tariffs a few months back, when he casually remarked that people can live with “fewer dolls?” This wasn't just economic policy talk, it was a calculated dismissal. As I pointed out then, framing dolls as frivolous while linking consumption to "feminine, childish desires" is part of a broader ploy to justify regressive taxation.
Image Credit: X
But I want to push this analysis further. Yes, it's devastating when our necessary goods become more expensive and face shortages. But there's something else growing here that will harm the middle class in a different way. Tariffs function as a regressive tax, and beyond necessities, they're mounting an attack on your hobbies.
The Quiet Collapse of Creative Pastimes
At the end of August, LEGO quietly halted shipments of individual bricks to customers in the U.S.. What used to be an easy (if pricey) way for enthusiasts to replace a missing piece or snag a rare part has now become impossible. LEGO’s Pick a Brick service pulled “more than 2,500 pieces” from availability in North America. Why? Because Trump ended the de minimis rule that let small orders (under $800) enter tariff-free. As of August 29, even a handful of tiny plastic bricks from Denmark would incur full tariffs and paperwork, making the whole program unfeasible. Many individual LEGO elements cost under $1, so the added fees would far exceed the product’s value. LEGO fans are left in the lurch, with the company calling the suspension temporary but admitting it’s due to the new shipping laws that rendered a vast portion of their catalog inaccessible. Unless you’re buying a bestseller set, you might be out of luck on that special part for your custom build.
LEGO builders are not alone. Across the country, knitters and crocheters have been hit with what one crafter calls “yarn-ageddon.” For decades, American fiber artists relied on unique wools and yarns from all over the world—soft merinos from Argentina, durable Norwegian wool, luxurious cashmere from Asia. Those imports were often small-batch and low-value, flying under the tariff radar. But the latest tariffs stripped away the duty-free status for low-cost imports, effectively cutting off U.S. crafters from their favorite yarn suppliers. International yarn brands began suspending shipments to the U.S., and panic rippled through online knitting forums as one beloved source after another announced a pause. And unlike with mass-produced goods, there’s no quick American substitute for these niche materials. The U.S. once had a thriving textile industry, but today fewer than 80 mills remain, most of them small and already at capacity. You can’t ramp up a domestic wool supply chain overnight just because tariffs slammed the door on imports.
The tariff squeeze extends to many other pastimes. Board game companies warn that the high import duties on components and finished games are an existential threat. Around 96% of American toy and game companies are small businesses, and nearly half say they could go under if the tariffs persist. In fact, a coalition of tabletop game makers is suing the Trump administration, calling the tariffs “unlawful” and detailing how this trade policy chaos is paralyzing their industry. Collectors of niche items, from vinyl records to model kits, have similarly reported confusion and spikes in cost. One U.S. record label noted that overseas vinyl shipments became so uncertain this summer that some retailers temporarily halted international sales rather than risk tariff hassles. I personally spend quite a good amount of money on Taylor Swift vinyls and do not want to see resale prices continue to grow thanks to limited shortage!
The Middle Class Deserves Hobbies Too!
The broader economic picture reinforces why this creeping hobby crisis matters. Tariffs function as a consumer tax, one that is “starkly regressive”, hitting poor and middle-income households hardest. Unlike income taxes, which scale with earnings, import taxes jack up the price of basic goods and leisure items alike, no matter who you are. A wealthy collector might shrug off a 30% hike on a $300 luxury item; a middle-class parent or hobbyist feels the squeeze on every $30 purchase. Over the summer, as Trump’s tariff regime took hold, consumer sentiment among middle-income Americans plummeted. People making $50k to $100k a year went from cautiously optimistic to deeply pessimistic about their financial outlook, even while higher earners remained relatively upbeat.
Image Credit: Wall Street Journal
At its core, this isn’t about dolls or bricks or balls of yarn, it’s about dignity and agency for everyday people. Hobbies are more than frivolities; they are coping mechanisms, side-hustles, communities, and passions.
These hobbyist headaches are symptoms of a larger economic strain hitting America’s middle class in 2025. After two years of growing inflation, rising interest rates, and now tariff-induced price hikes, many households that once felt financially stable are feeling a squeeze. In fact, consumer sentiment data over the summer showed a sharp downturn in confidence among middle-income Americans. The University of Michigan’s August survey recorded a nearly 6% drop in overall sentiment, erasing gains seen in June and July.
To many people, it feels like everything is on fire right now. People want an escape from the constant headlines, and I cannot blame them for that. The Trump administration is repeating the Biden administration's fatal error: forgetting that voters are consumers first. No abstract policy goal, regardless of the intention, is worth making ordinary people's daily lives measurably harder. When you tax joy, you erode the small pleasures that make economic struggle bearable, and eventually, that backlash comes for you. Congress can and should put a stop to this. Come November, there will be a Supreme Court hearing on the validity of many of these tariff policies (not all, steel, aluminum and others would be exempted) can remain in place, but until then we are living in a pit of uncertainty, that the majority of the GOP has decided to remain silent on.
One can only hope the "MAGA grandmas" who now have to pay double for yarn will learn their lesson. Tariffs are a poor policy tool that will mostly harm Americans. If the goal is to manufacture more products in the US, tariffs don't lead us to the promised land.
"When you tax joy, you erode the small pleasures that make economic struggle bearable, and eventually, that backlash comes for you."
Accurate!!! Exhibit A: the Boston Tea Party 🇺🇸
I do wish that ordinary Americans were treated like citizens first and consumers second. Sigh.
In complicated news, LEGO is building a new factory and distribution center in the Richmond, Virginia area. While I do not know how long this has been in the works, or for what reasons, I can see how anyone could spin the new factory to tell any story about tariffs they want regardless of facts. Just a heads up, that's a thread you could pull on if you wanted to dive deeper into actual facts of tariff impacts on leisure products before someone else spins it!