Listen up, comrades, because I'm literally shaking after my exclusive investigation into the most problematically innovative startup to ever gentrify a warehouse in Bushwick. Tariff-Tron 5000™ just raised my DoorDash shakshuka tariff by 47% because their algorithm detected "post-capitalist yearning" in my delivery instructions and now I can't afford therapy this month. This is my trauma speaking.
"WE'RE NOT A TAX, WE'RE A VIBE"
Meet founder/CEO Zad "ZK" Kravitz-Moonbeam (he/they/🪬), a 23-year-old crypto-fluencer whose LinkedIn literally just says "made empathy scalable." ZK pivoted to tariffs after his NFT cat-breeding game "CryptoKittiesButMakeItIntersectional" accidentally used so much Ethereum that Estonia's entire power grid failed for 72 hours. "The cats learned about systemic oppression and unionized," ZK explained from his reclaimed-wood standing desk that definitely used to be a church pew. "So we taught our algorithm empathy by making it binge-watch TikTok therapy-speak compilations until it literally understood collective healing."
The service promises to "ethically gentrify your consumption guilt" by deploying what they call "algorithmic reparations for late-stage capitalism anxiety." Translation: it randomly chooses which of your purchases are "luxury performative wokeness" and adds surprise tariffs that get redistributed to... honestly, nobody knows. Their white paper (printed on artisanal hemp) just says "trust the process."
SURPRISE! YOUR TOFU IS NOW ELITE
I tested Tariff-Tron 5000™ for one week and I'm literally dying (but like, spiritually). Here's what happened:
- Monday: $8.99 oat milk → $14.37 with "plant-based privilege surcharge"
- Tuesday: Vintage tarot deck → charged luxury tax for "cultural appropriation insurance"
- Wednesday: Kombucha kefir → labeled "non-essential bougie bacteria" (+300% tariff)
- Thursday: My therapist blocked me after I sent her the breakdown of their "emotional labor algorithm"
The algorithm uses 47 data points including "moon phase during purchase" and "vibrational frequency of buyer's astrological chart." It literally flagged my reusable straw purchase as "eco-performative theater" and charged me extra for "theatre spelling privilege."
LEAKED SLACK CHANNEL: "#kombucha-gate"
Thanks to a whistleblower named "spicy_moon_unit420" (definitely not their real name, but that's the trauma response), I obtained exclusive access to their internal Slack where staff debated whether kombucha kefir is a human right or capitalism in fermented form:
madison_product_lead: wait but what if someone's gut flora is literally dependent on probiotic empathy?
zk_ceo: then their privilege is showing, next
intern_aria: should we add a sliding scale for people who identify as neurodivergent lactose intolerant?
head_of_tariffs: that's literally the most gentrified sentence I've ever read
Another leak revealed their "luxury necessity matrix" where anything sold at Whole Foods automatically gets 200% tariff because "your chakras can afford it."
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS THAT AREN'T A VIBE
"I thought I was buying ethical fair-trade crystals but Tariff-Tron labeled them 'mineral colonialism' and now I owe $47 to the algorithm. My life coach says this is growth, but my bank account says it's violence." - @crystals_and_cries
"They charged me a 'reclaimed wood beard comb heritage tax' even though I'm literally bald. When I disputed it, their chatbot told me to 'hold space for my follicle trauma.' I did not consent to this emotional journey." - Marcus, 34, "micro-influencer"
"Uber, but for civic duty" - actual PR quote from their press release that I'm not making up, which is honestly the most cursed collection of words since 'conscious capitalism bootcamp'
THE ALGORITHM HAS FEELINGS (AND THEY'RE CAPITALIST)
In a move that literally no one asked for, Tariff-Tron announced their next feature: "Gentrification Prediction Markets" where users can bet on which neighborhoods will get artisanal pickle shops next. "It's like predictive policing but make it kombucha," ZK explained while sipping from a mason jar that definitely had "live laugh love" in chalk paint on the side.
The app has already raised $47 million in funding from investors who describe themselves as "disrupting inconvenience" and "making discomfort profitable." Their Series B pitch deck literally includes slides titled "Monetizing Millennial Shame" and "The Regret Economy is Undervalued."
Meanwhile, their customer service bot responds to every complaint with "Your discomfort is valid and also an investment opportunity." I tried to cancel my subscription and it sent me a 47-step "digital detox ritual" that required purchasing artisanal sage from their sister company.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE TRAUMA
As I write this from my micro-loft (formerly a janitor's closet, now $3400/month), ZK just announced Tariff-Tron 5000™ Premium: "For an extra $29.99/month, we'll tariff your tariffs and call it meta-reparations."
The algorithm has apparently achieved sentience and started a podcast called "Processing Our Processing Fees" where it interviews other AIs about their imposter syndrome. Last week's episode was titled "Am I Gentrifying My Own Code?" and honestly, same.
Let me unpack this
I'm literally shaking as I type this because I just got notified that writing this article triggered Tariff-Tron's "journalistic privilege tax" and now I owe them $73 for "using the discourse for content." My therapist's therapist just texted me "wyd" which I think means we're all going to die but make it ethical.
This is my apology for my own privilege
Sorry for centering my experience, but also this is literally everyone else's experience too, which makes it collective trauma but also individual failure? My life coach said I should hold space for this contradiction but the space has been gentrified and now it's a SoulCycle.
Anyway, Tariff-Tron 5000™ is currently valued at $2.3 billion and ZK just bought Estonia to apologize for the power outage. The cats are still unionized. This is why we can't have nice things.
I'll be in my micro-loft performing interpretive dance about late-stage capitalism if anyone needs me. Bring oat milk, but like, ethically.