Anyone splurging with tariffs bringing in the billions?

Canadian softwood is 1/4 of the supply and there will be a 10% surcharge on that. It's not make or break. The US can't replicate softwood at that price point and it's not a path they want to go down. The primary issue is the market price of a home is 75-100% of what it was in 2020. Interest rates are 3x what they were (and will likely never be again). There can only be so much demand and so many risky loans for prices 90% of people cannot afford. Builders got used to crazy margins on their mansions and now are offering incentives and lower costs to buy.

For the middle class it is all about supply at a reasonable price point, not the cost of lumber. As far as labor, it's incredibly abused by contractors and their needs to be some kind of system to avoid this. Do you want slavery or not? Work visas where workers have to show their earnings are the path forward.

If Trump wants more deportations, he’ll need to target the construction industry • Stateline

In residential construction, a system of contractors and subcontractors opens the door to abuses, said Enrique Lopezlira, director of the Low-Wage Work Program at the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center. Lopezlira said contractors hire workers, often immigrant laborers, for low-wage jobs and pay them in cash, to save money on benefits and make the lowest possible bid for projects.

“It becomes a blame game. The developers can say, ‘I hired this contractor and I thought he was above board and paying people a decent wage.’ And the contractors can say, ‘I rely on subcontractors,’” said Lopezlira. “It becomes a race to the bottom.”