Instrumental Tariffs

 The episode opens with the hosts noting there are no major announcements and moves directly into discussing the “word or phrase of the episode”: instrumental. The hosts observed that “instrumental” has come up frequently in their recent personal conversations, prompting them to explore its meanings and usage.
Etymology and Definitions
•Etymology: The word “instrumental” traces back to Latin instruere (construct or equip), then to instrumentum (implement or equipment), later entering Middle English as “instrument,” and finally “instrumental” as an adjective.
•Definitions:
•General Use: When someone or something is described as “instrumental,” it means they are crucial or highly influential in bringing about a particular outcome-essentially, they are indispensable to the process or event.
•Music: “Instrumental” also refers to music performed or written for instruments, without vocals.
•Measurement: An “instrument” can also mean a device used to measure or control something, such as in an airplane cockpit.
Usage and Connotations
•Frequency: The hosts note that “instrumental” is not a word commonly used in everyday conversation, but it is part of their vocabulary, especially in formal or significant contexts (e.g., describing someone’s influence at a graduation).
•Connotations: Describing someone as “instrumental” is generally positive, emphasizing their importance. However, calling someone an “instrument” can have a more impersonal or negative connotation, suggesting they are merely a tool rather than an individual.
Google Ngram Viewer Insights
•The hosts discuss trends in usage. The word “instrumental” has seen relatively stable usage since the 1800s, with a slight increase in the late 1900s, while “instrument” has declined since the 1950s, possibly due to changes in technology and cultural habits.
•They speculate about whether the increase in “instrumental” usage reflects a modern tendency to emphasize individual influence or role models.
Example and Discussion
•Biblical Reference: The hosts mention Paul’s use of “instrument” in Romans 6, highlighting how the term can be used for both positive and negative purposes.
•Personal Reflection: They agree that being called “instrumental” feels like a compliment, whereas being called an “instrument” feels less flattering.
Transition to Tariffs
•The hosts shift to discussing recent tariffs, explaining that tariffs are taxes on imported goods, intended to encourage domestic production and protect American jobs.
•They note the recent increase in tariffs on Chinese goods and the suspension of the de minimis rule, which has made even small packages subject to tariffs.
•Impact: The hosts discuss the economic and practical effects of tariffs, including higher prices for consumers, reduced imports, and potential delays or shortages.
•Intent: The stated goal of tariffs is to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., but the hosts acknowledge the short-term pain and uncertainty about long-term benefits.
•Personal Anecdotes: They share stories about the cost of imported goods and the challenges of supporting American-made products, especially for budget-conscious consumers.
Conclusion
•The episode wraps up with a lighthearted reflection on self-reliance and minimalism, joking about the need to repair or make things themselves if imported goods become too expensive.
•The hosts encourage listeners to share and subscribe, humorously noting that the episode has hopefully been “instrumental” in their understan

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Any views expressed on this podcast are those solely of the hosts and is for entertainment purposes only. None of the content is medical advice or financial advice.

Special thanks to Tim Wright aka CoLD SToRAGE for his permission to use the song Operatique.

Transcript

I Hate Talking: 0:29

Welcome to episode 57 of I Hate Talking. Hi everyone. So I don't think we have any announcements this episode. Mm. So I suppose we will jump right into our word or phrase of the episode. And this is a word that has come up numerous times in conversation over the last few weeks. So not a listener requested word or phrase at this point in time. But one that has come up in our own personal conversations. Yes. It's on the tip of my tongue. I know. I don't remember it though. Instrumental instrumental. Yes, OK. So this has been used multiple times lately in different conversations and I brought it to you like, this is weird, right? People don't usually use this word. It's not a common vernacular word, just in daily conversation. And that's when you were like, let's talk about it later. Correct. So I don't know if it is or is not an often used word, but like we said, it has come up in our own personal conversations a number of times over the last few weeks. So that's why we decided to talk about it. Right, but we can find out, right? You have that nifty app where you can see how often words are used. Correct, that is the Google Ngram viewer that we can take a look at. So we'll actually start with the etymology first before we get into the actual definition and the usage over time, and this particular word comes from the Latin exclusively and it comes from the Latin word instru ear and that means literally construct or equip. And then that became used as the another Latin word, instrumentum, and then that was meaning an implement or equipment and then in the Middle English came to be used as instrument and then obviously instrumental is just the modification of that root word instrument in the English. So does have certain things with equip and implement are some of the literal definitions of the word in the Latin. OK, but would it be the same word as you're listing all the parts of it, instrumental, is it the same thing as instrument? Like, I play an instrument? It is, so when someone or something is instrumental, that means that it is something that can do something that it actually is sort of the impetus behind something happening. So in terms of the definition when perhaps describing a person, it literally means from the Oxford language dictionary. And someone serves as a means of pursuing an aim or policy. So if there's somebody that's instrumental in something being accomplished, that means that they were well equipped to serve in that position and get something done. So that is a little bit of a callback to the equipped part of the literal meaning in the Latin. And then if you are playing an instrument, then that is of music where basically you are using instruments to Make that music and can even be used to describe songs where only instruments are used in order to generate that song and you would not have any vocals per se. Hm. And then you also can have instruments where it is some sort of measuring device. So if you're in the cockpit of an airplane, you will have instruments that display various things about the pitch and y'all of the aircraft where it's speed or elevation and things of that nature, or you might use an instrument to measure seismic activity. Things like that. So again, that is referencing back to the literal definition of equipment or implements where it is doing something and therefore goes back to that equipment sense of the word. So, what if he's saying, if something's instrumental, it is important to accomplish something or to get a task done, it must be instrumental. Yes, so when it comes to that particular pursuit of a certain goal, the Cambridge dictionary actually has maybe a better definition or more expansive definition for that use of the word where it describes someone or something is instrumental in a process plan or system if that person or thing is one of the most important influences in causing it to happen. Hm. OK, so I buy all that, but How often would you use it in a sentence? Not very often, maybe occasionally. So I don't think this is something that perhaps I would use in everyday conversation, but it is definitely part of my vocabulary. So if there is an opportunity to use that word where I feel that that is the best way to describe somebody's input or experience or influence, to use the Cambridge synonym here. That I will use that in a normal conversation. Yeah, I feel like I've probably only ever used it at like a graduation or someone passing, or that sort of thing where you're like, encompassing, like, The overarching what its individual has done, their influence or something. Yes, I suppose that's true. Now, when we look at the Ngram viewer, to look at that within printed material and its usage over time, the word instrumental is relatively flat from the early 1800s till about the 1950s. And then does have a steady increase from the late 1900s and then sort of peaks maybe around 2017, 2018 and then maybe declines a little bit, but pretty flat. So, overall, pretty flat usage compared to some of the other words that we've looked at when it comes to the Ngram viewer. Now something that is interesting to note is that the word instrument. Actually declines a little bit. So when we look at just the word instrument in the Ngram viewer over time, that actually again is relatively flat from the early 1800s through the 1950s and then actually declines from the 1950s to current day. I think that's cause people play less instruments? Like in your daily family life. I suppose it also may be indicative of just the amount of technology that came about in the late 1900s where maybe there were more instruments used in measurements of things in The early 1800s through the 1950s and then perhaps other words were used to describe some of these technological devices that measure things, so there may be gauges or charts or other things related to more advanced technology that then these instruments became less used in terms of measurement. Or describing the status of something. Interesting. And this could completely be wrong. So tell me what you think. I can see how, like you said, we have a lot more tools and other equipment, and also just people typically don't play as many instruments, uh, like piano and violin. As they used to. So all that's going down, but the word instrumental is going up, or it was for a long while in the late 1900s. Do you think that before then, I feel like that might have been a really big period of time where people looked at other people as instrumental, as Role models or people to look up to. I wonder if in the past, they, I hate the word idolize, but kind of like idolize people that often in like the 17, 1800s, or if it's more of a modern thing to look at people and hold them to a higher standard. Well, it's a little bit hard to ascertain from the Google Ngram viewer if perhaps those words are used in reference to musical devices with both the words instrumental and instrument being Perhaps within that musical category versus the other two categories that we were talking about with if a person or thing is instrumental and has great influence or if it's simply an instrument to measure things, so. I don't feel like the musical stuff has perhaps changed all that much. I think people have been playing instruments for a very long time and still continue to do so. So that's why I think in my mind, I sort of remove that and perhaps look at just the measurement devices and the description of a person. As sort of what may be changing over time. OK. And um here's a question I was thinking about when you were talking. I'll pose it, I'm trying to think of how to pose it without uh leading the witness kind of idea, but would you consider it positive or negative if someone says you are an instrument? So, You could actually describe parts of your body as instruments, so your fingers could be instruments for playing a piano, so that would be instruments used to perform on an instrument or, you know, something within your own physical domain that you can accomplish something as an instrument. When you describe sort of the whole person as being an instrument. It doesn't call very many positive connotations to my mind it sounds sort of negative because I think you're perhaps equating a person with simply a tool. And That seems maybe a little bit negatively connotated. However, I think actually Paul in Romans 6 describes people of the church as instruments. So he actually uses that literal language to describe people of a larger group. Right. Are you talking about when you say some people are eyes or hands or like, as the whole body? So, no, actually that particular example that you gave with the different parts of the body serving different functions is from 1 Corinthians 12. What I was thinking of is Romans 6-13 where Paul says, neither yield ye members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. So. He is describing basically that you can use your own personal life either as an instrument of wrongdoing or an instrument of good. OK, well, I'm glad you finished the verse too, because at first it's like, oh well, that an instrument is bad, see, but it can be used as a good thing, cause in my head, just hearing it. If someone told me you're instrumental, I think, oh, thank you, like, I guess that's a compliment. But if they said you are an instrument for this group, I'd be, oh, like I would feel used, like, I feel like I'm just, yeah, a theme in the group and being used for a purpose, not as a person. Yes, and I think that is sort of what I thought of as well when you asked the original question, where if somebody describes me as an instrument that is not necessarily very flattering, but on the flip side, if you describe me as instrumental, then that actually would perhaps be a bit of a compliment in my mind. So the word instrument is not what we were using in our particular conversations over the last few weeks. It was the exact word instrumental. Right, which I still think, I don't hear that often, so it's just so weird to hear. I even asked you the few people that had said it, like, I was like, did they talk before this to each other because it was just weird to hear it so many times. Perhaps so. Maybe we're just instrumental. Maybe. So that is our word or phrase of the episode. We've covered some of the Latin roots and some of the variety of usages that I think again did come from the same root word but can actually have a wide variety of definitions within the English language as well as perhaps some of the positive and or negative connotations associated with those things. Mhm. So I guess one of the things that we've seen perhaps politicians be. Instrumental in bringing about. And again, perhaps for the good, perhaps for the not so good is the recent tariffs. That have been applied to a variety of foreign countries for goods coming into the United States. OK, yeah, teach me about that, because I hear the headlines and I have uh heard a bunch of jokes about it, but overall, I've chosen to stay ignorant. So you can teach me now. I don't know if I know the exact definition of tariff. Maybe we'll save that for next time, but as I understand it, it's basically a tax on foreign goods, particularly on the import of foreign goods where the country that is receiving those goods charges an additional tax on top of any of the other quote unquote normal taxes. It's basically just an additional surcharge placed on top. Of any of the fees, as well as any of the existing costs on the manufacturing and shipment of those goods. And I don't know if it's actually been a big part of conversations and people may or may not really be aware of what's happening. I think it may be a little bit more of a conversation in my line of work where it comes up more frequently. But essentially that is the basic definition of a tariff. And the reason that this has come up recently is President Trump and his political cabinet have instituted a number of tariffs over the last few months and actually some of them went into effect this very week or maybe this past week. Uh, so I think May 2nd is when a lot of those went into effect, particularly for China. It's pretty high amount, so I believe some of the countries were in the 50 to 60% range and I believe China started out at 100% and then went to 125%. I believe it's sitting right now at the time of this recording at 150%. Oh my. Yeah. So, I'll mess up the numbers slightly, but I did hear somebody talking, and he was talking about his business, and he's like, so where we order our products from, say I spend $100 for the product. He's like, I'm giving the US I think he, I felt like he said 110%. That was a while ago, so maybe it's up like you said, or I don't know. But he's like, I'm giving 110% to the US government to pay it. And he's like, so then I'm having to turn around and sell it for 3000% to make a profit. It's like and the customer can't afford that. So he was saying that his business is not going to last very long in this situation. Is that true? Is that what a tariff is? Essentially, yes, the government is collecting those additional fees on the import of those goods at whatever their defined value is. And so yes, that probably is a example that was accurate at the time that you heard it, but I think it would be even higher now if the particular person was getting those goods from China. So, if he's giving 110% or even more to the US government, He's given $100 to China for that product, and he's given $110 to the US. What is the US doing with that money? Are they paying back all of our trillions of dollars of debt? I think that remains yet to be seen. I think actually the effect that it is having is that a lot of import has slowed significantly. So you can see on some of the news articles and headlines that Perhaps there's a lot of ports, especially on the West Coast, that have significantly less volume because of these particular tariffs. The other thing that was instituted is a suspension of a rule called the de minimis rule, and I believe that literally means just the minimum. And essentially that would be that if a product or good was less than a certain amount, it would not be subject to these tariffs. And I believe that threshold was $800 originally. I'm not sure if that applies to the entire shipment. I think it does, not necessarily the individual unit that is coming over. So if there was a small package that was only $200 worth of material, then that would not be subject to the tariff. But if there was an entire container that was worth $20,000 that would obviously be above the $100 threshold and be subject to the tariff, but that rule, the de minimis rule has been suspended. So basically, even if there is a $2 package coming over from China, that would be subject to the tariff now. So you understand we have a child who is waiting for a package from overseas. He's obsessed over it. Do you think it's gonna get delayed? Because the window was, I don't know, like a two-week window of delivery, and he's obsessing over it, and we're getting close to the end of the window. Is it being delayed because of tariffs? No, I don't think so. I think actually it probably has a higher chance of arriving early because there's probably less volume flowing through all of the entry points to the US for imported goods. What is happening is There's just less stuff coming in, so. Whatever people are buying, perhaps they are no longer buying it because prices have already been raised, or there's companies that are bringing in raw materials or finished goods, and they are just not buying things and perhaps relying more on the inventory that exists within the US to fulfill current demand. And then I believe it's somewhat of a waiting game to see if Trump is going to remove the tariffs or reduce them, or if they will stay in place for a longer period of time. OK, so two questions. One, Is this so that we, as Americans buy American products? And 2, Is this just to hurt the other countries, because then they're gonna get less income. I feel like we're getting hurt more than they are. So I do believe that the stated intention of President Trump and his political machine that it is for the benefit of bringing more manufacturing and jobs on shore to the US. And probably to some degree also taking a shot at whatever particular country is being burdened with these tariffs to perhaps try to differentiate the economies there where The US will probably endure a lot of short term pain in terms of some of these particular costs going up, and I think there's going to be some issues with the inventory levels at some point. But the long term goal would be again that onshoring of manufacturing and jobs and then therefore greater stability with our own manufacturing and Production of goods, so we don't have to rely on foreign countries for those particular things. So, again, that's the stated position of the political powers that be, not sure if it's going to work or not, but that I think is sort of their intent. OK, well, you're saying it's possibly playing the lawn game to making the US self-sufficient. Is this in a part, the kind of similar concept we have extended family that were US product only people? Is this the kind of thing that they would like then to force us to become US only product people? Because I remember we were newlyweds way back when, but I remember them saying something about it and asking me, pointedly. I'm not a controversial person. I don't like being pointed at. I remember them in like, well, what do you think? And I was like, well, honestly, and especially cause we were newlyweds fresh out of college, we didn't have money. I remember being like, I'm gonna buy whatever is cheapest, cause that's what I can afford. And if it's cheaper over there, that's where I'm ordering it from. They wanted me to back the US only, US made. But I can't afford, if it's back then especially, when we were barely paying our bills. If it was $4 for this product, or $16 for US made product, I went for the $4 because that's what we could afford. Yes, I suppose that if they are truly holding to the American made that this actually should help that because now that $4 product is going to be $10 versus the existing $16 US made product, so still maybe cheaper in the long run, but If the difference is only going to be $6 versus the $12 maybe somebody will change over to buy it in the US made category. Now the The thing that perhaps is not considered in all of that is where the raw materials are coming from. So even though there may be something that is assembled or quote unquote made in the US that probably a lot of those raw materials are still coming from overseas. So, for example, we get a ton of our aluminum from Canada. Which we did have tariffs with them at some point in time, that might have lasted like a day or two. I don't have it anymore. I'm not certain it's either gone or a very low amount. So the one that everybody is focused on right now is the Chinese tariff. So yeah, so a lot of raw materials, even though they are quote unquote, made in the US. May actually be using materials that are sourced from overseas, and again, a lot of those things are going to be subject to the tariffs nonetheless. Is it because we don't have a lot of natural resources here? It could be, or that wherever they are mining those particular resources do not have safety measures in place or maybe people oriented safety things or even freedom. To come right down to it in terms of. Who is doing that mining. So if you have a slave laborer, obviously that's gonna be much cheaper to mine and produce versus in the US where we have safety standards and minimum wage and things like that. Yeah, OK, I heard something recently was in reference to California and maybe larger than that though. Was, um, there's like a bill or a discussion right now about, quote unquote, child labor, that they want to outlaw. Young, like kids working, not young kids, but like teenagers. They don't want teenagers doing a lot of jobs. So I was hearing people go back and forth in discussion about this. One person's like a teenager shouldn't be using heavy equipment. And they're like, well, hasn't a teenager mowed a lawn when you were a teenager? And, you know, they're going back and forth and then they kind of reference, like, other countries, like, young kids work there. We're not asking a 5 year old to get on a lawnmower, we're telling a 15-year old to get on a lawnmower, and that's very different. Yeah, that's interesting. I have not heard of that particular thing, so that must be states away, but. I think that to some degree, there may be a little bit of wisdom in that in terms of perhaps not having children operate, like you said, heavy or dangerous equipment, but I think that there is a value in learning. Hard work and the value of hard work when it comes to earning a paycheck, that can begin at a young age. But I think that, you know, all those things have to be considered with safety standards and the danger of the work and things of that nature. The other thing that It calls to mind is just the fact that a lot of these entry level jobs like working at a fast food restaurant, used to be entry level jobs and really you would only work there. As a teenager or child, quote unquote, and then you would move on to. A career. But I think that also has changed in this economy where you have people that are working these quote unquote entry level jobs for a much longer period of time. So maybe. There's some aspect where they want to remove the children from the labor force so that Adults can have those quote unquote entry level jobs and there's less competition by law. Maybe, yeah. Well, hopefully, we will take care of our things because probably our microphones and our headphones and our recording equipment were manufactured in China. So hopefully we will not break anything because perhaps in the future. These devices or anything that you buy. From China or overseas may. Double in price. Oh my goodness. We're gonna become minimalists, my dream come true. Perhaps, and maybe we will become self-repairers and repair our own equipment. That's not my dream come true. I know, uh, you used to really want me to sew clothing. This is a side note, but you have this like vision when we got married and stuff that I sew our clothing. And I do, I know how to sew, I don't enjoy it. I can do it. And I obviously do repairs or buttons and patches. Uh, it took you a while, and you had to go to the store and see how expensive fabric was. Like, oh, it's not cheaper. It's like, no, it's much more expensive to make a shirt. Then just go to the store and buy a shirt. But not anymore, maybe. Not anymore. Maybe this will generate some new discussion on the right to self-repair. On particularly. Electronics and things like that. Well this really last long. I'm, I'm OK not buying stuff for a few months. We're good, but how long is this gonna last, really? Yeah, I think the economy is probably betting on a 1 to 2 months. Duration and then it will probably let up, but who knows, maybe it will be around longer and we'll see. So you're telling everyone to go out and buy toilet paper. Like, go to Costco, stack up. No, I'm not. Not, not inducing fear buying or panic buying on toilet paper, but 2 months' worth, and then you're good to go. It might not be a bad idea to increase your safety stock by one unit, unit may be, because I think like we talked about, finished goods are already starting to increase, but we do get a lot of grain and things for cereal based product from China and overseas in general. So again, if these tariffs stick around, we might even see. Finished products that are finished in the US but rely on raw materials from overseas, increase in price as well. And if it's grain products, we can just Spend the same amount of money and just go keto, your dream come true, the whole family keto, once again. Or just make our own sourdough bread. Yeah. All right, so hopefully you have found this episode instrumental in your understanding of Latin as well as some basics on tariffs. So if you did, like, share and subscribe. So from your friends at I hate talking, until next time, remember, it is only through talking that we begin the journey to understanding.