President Trump is raising tariffs 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, claiming that cheap steel from other countries has hurt the American steel industry.  His claim, that steel imported at lower prices hurts our steel industry, is certainly true.

But talk show host Mark Levin says Trump's tariffs are crony capitalist gifts for wealthy steel-owners that are bad for the economy as a whole.  On his talk show last night, he listed a number of reasons why:

1. Industries that depend heavily on steel, such as auto and airplane manufacturers, will take a big hit.  With the increase in the price of steel, they will have to increase the price of cars and planes, reducing sales and profits, and ultimately, these manufacturers will have to fire employees to compensate for the inevitable losses.

2. Industries that even peripherally rely on steel will be affected as well.  Just think of any business that needs anything made of steel, whether it be cars, refrigerators, trucks, stoves, computers, or any number of other things.  They will all have to raise prices to compensate.

3. The ultimate end purchasers of anything made of steel, or anything made with steel, will have to pay higher prices.  Levin frames this as a loss of liberty, which is correct, and, equally important, as a tax that punishes the American people.  Every time you pay more for a car or a boat or a can of beans or even a loaf of bread, which is made in an oven, which, guess what, is made of metal, you will have to pay more.  Because metal is so ubiquitous in manufacturing, Trump's tax will make you pay higher prices for nearly everything you buy.

4. Levin noted that the Dow dropped more than 400 points after Trump's tax was announced, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth to individuals as well as pension plans in an instant.  Obviously, companies see that this will be bad for business, and the stock market, which is often a predictor of future economic performance, immediately took a dive.

5. Countries that have tariffs slapped on them will retaliate with their own tariffs, reducing the ability of our own businesses to export products to them, resulting in even more layoffs.  Levin points out that a major cause of the Great Depression was tariffs, and this is the direction these tariffs are steering us to.

Levin says steel manufacturers cannot compete because their wages are not competitive.  Instead of becoming competitive, Levin says rich steel barons run to Trump for special favors.

Levin actually calls Trump's tariffs unpatriotic and un-American (at the 31:44 mark).  He says Trump is showing favoritism to steel workers over all other workers in all other industries who will lose jobs and have to pay higher prices.  He asks why steel workers are more virtuous and worthy than the rest of us, that we should be forced to subsidize them.

Exit question: Will you be happy paying higher prices caused by Trump's tariffs?  Will you mind paying $1,000 more for a car if you believe that President Trump's tariffs are wonderful?

Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com.