I can’t afford this Trump economy

[fishonjazz]

Economist Jeffrey Sachs explains just how woefully stupid the American president is:



(Below is the complete text of Sach’s tweet)

“Tariffs are going to lower living standards.

They're going to wreck the US economy, and they're being put on for unbelievably bizarre and mistaken reasons that are completely fallacious.

Let me explain.

The United States runs a large deficit in its trade in goods and services — what's called the current account of the United States — and that deficit is about a trillion dollars.

Trump says, 'Oh, that's because other countries are ripping off the United States.'

I can't even begin to say how absurd that line is.

[The word is childish.]

Running a current account deficit means — and it means precisely — that the United States is spending more than it's producing. That's what leads to a deficit. You spend more than you produce.

And we spend more than we produce because we have very low saving in this country. We have an enormous budget deficit.

So the government is like the national credit card — it runs on credit.

It transfers money, pays for wars, pays for Israel’s wars, pays for military bases in 80 countries around the world, pays for that more than a trillion-dollar-a-year military establishment, and hundreds of billions more of associated spending on the military-industrial complex.

And it gives tax cuts for the richest Americans.

It allows for tax evasion by the richest Americans — and I mean evasion, because it doesn't do audits, and it guts enforcement of the tax laws.

So we hemorrhage deficits and have rising public debt.

And because of all that, the spending of our country is much larger than our national income.

It’s a trillion dollars more than national income.

It is exactly the imbalance of our imports of goods and services over our exports of goods and services.

All of this is to say that what Trump calls a 'ripoff' is just the absolute irresponsibility of the political class in Washington.

It's a corrupt, plutocratic gangsterism that gives away the taxes and tax cuts to the richest people and goes on war after war — on credit.

And that leads to these large deficits that Trump then blames on other countries.

Now he's going to correct these deficits, he thinks, by raising tariffs.

And of course, it's going to do nothing of the kind.

The deficits are going to continue because they come from the profligacy of Washington.

They don't come from the fact that other countries are ripping us off.

So he'll raise the tariffs. Americans will shift their spending, say, from an imported automobile to domestic automobiles. That's true. They'll pay higher prices for those domestic automobiles. And our auto industry will export less abroad.

So yes — there will be fewer imports and fewer exports, and the balance won’t budge.

And none of it's going to change the fiscal recklessness.

Because what's Trump’s highest aspiration? It is to continue tax cuts for the richest Americans, which is going to cost another $4 trillion over the next 10 years in the budget.

Because these tax cuts are supposed to end, but he says, 'No, no, no — these are taxes for my rich donors, so they're going to continue.'

So he's not going to solve the budget crisis.

He's not going to solve the trade deficit — because that comes from the budget crisis.

But what he's going to do is lower the living standards of our country and the world.

Because trade is beneficial in living standards — it's called gains from trade.

We buy more cheaply. We sell goods that we have a comparative advantage in. And both sides gain from trade.

Of course, we overdo it, because we overspend — but that’s a completely different thing.

No one’s ripping off the United States by these numbers.

I don’t know whether it's just rhetoric or ignorance or confusion, but it's unbelievably bad economic policy.

It will come to no good.

And incidentally, you mentioned rightly that tariffs are, of course, a tax. So who’s supposed to have authority over taxes?

[Congress.]

And Congress has nothing to say in this. This is a one-person show.

What did we become in this country? Even King George wouldn't levy taxes without the British Parliament in the 18th century.

So what happened to this country? Trump just says, 'Oh, it's an emergency,' and now we have one-person rule — and one-person rule on completely fallacious premises that don’t pass the first day of study of what a trade deficit is.

I taught that for more than 20 years at Harvard University — what is a trade deficit, how does it relate to the excess of spending over production, how does it relate to the excess of investment in a country over a low saving rate?

Well, none of this seems to register.

No one asks a question.

There isn’t a day of hearings.

There isn’t any analysis.

It’s a one-person show based on economic fallacies that are going to wreck our economy, wreck the world trading system.

And I can tell you — all over the world, because I am talking with leaders all over the world, and recently in Asia — the words to describe this, you can’t say in polite company."

Wow.

 

[Deleted member 365]

It’s already becoming the new Qanon/covid. The cult is already setting the bar to prove one’s loyalty. This is the “reasoning” you’ll soon find your friends and family using to justify all of this economic pain. Let’s see how many continue with it once they lose their jobs, retirements, and are paying much more for everything.

Tariffs welcomed in Ohio's industrial Trump country

As economic uncertainty swirls and the markets take a hit, many in this deeply Republican area back the president's plan.

www.bbc.com

It’s depressing to see fellow human being just stuck in this cult. They’re just stuck. We’ve already had mass protests, a pandemic, and an attempted coup. We’re running out of catastrophes that might shake people from this mass psychosis. It seems that no matter what happens, these folks are going down with this ship rather than admit that empowering Trump was ever a mistake.

 

[Red]

‘Everyone Is Terrified’: Business Leaders and Republicans Mum on Tariffs as Markets Crater

President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs have sent markets around the world plummeting, but don't expect many business executives or Republican officials who oppose them to say so publicly.

www.mediaite.com

“There is zero incentive for any company or brand to be remotely critical of this administration,” said a public affairs operative, who, like others interviewed for this story, was granted anonymity to speak freely. “It destroys your ability to work with the White House and advance your policies, period.”

An official in the energy industry echoed that sense of fear. “Hearing angst and frustration from all quarters,” the official said via text message, “but no one wants to be first out of the box saying anything negative about Trump’s decision-making.”

“There is absolutely a sense that the administration is keeping a list, and no one on K Street wants to be on it,” said one executive at a trade group downtown.

“I think a lot of business leaders are very frustrated that the process of getting here was opaque, and that the decision points are so starkly black and white, and … that they’re not dealing with situations with more nuance,” one multi-client Republican lobbyist said, before adding: “I’m trying to say something profound without getting a call from the White House that, ‘You’re next.’”

“What’s the Japanese proverb? The nail sticking up gets hammered down,” the lobbyist added. “On K Street, there’s no value in being the nail sticking up right now.”

“People are smarter this time in dealing with the Trump administration,” the person said. “They know not to beat their chest and try to score points in The New York Times, but have conversations behind the scenes and try to make deals. I think it’s about making deals and not antagonizing the administration.”

“Everyone is terrified,” a senior GOP aide said. “But I don’t think anyone wants to cross the president right now.”

 

[Red]

It seems that no matter what happens, these folks are going down with this ship rather than admit that empowering Trump was ever a mistake.

‘He Doesn’t Give a F**k’: White House Official Tells Washington Post Trump Has Reached Peak ‘Not Giving a F**k’

Donald Trump has reached the "peak of not giving a ****," one White House official told The Washington Post for a report on what went into his tariff policy.

www.mediaite.com

President Donald Trump has reached the “peak of not giving a f***,” one White House official told The Washington Post for a lengthy report on what went on behind the scenes leading up to the president’s massive tariff announcement this week.

On Wednesday — or “Liberation Day,” as Trump calls it — the president announced massive tariffs on imports from a number of countries. He’s maintained that the massive shift in economic strategy will result in better trade deals and a boost in manufacturing for the United States.

The stock market has meanwhile taken major hits since Trump’s announcement as the tariffs have led to uncertainty among companies and investors.

“He’s at the peak of just not giving a f*** anymore,” a White House official familiar with Trump’s thinking told The Post. “Bad news stories? Doesn’t give a f***. He’s going to do what he’s going to do. He’s going to do what he promised to do on the campaign trail.”

The Post story — by Natalie Allison, Jeff Stein, Cat Zakrzewski, and Michael Birnbaum — cites other White House officials and paints an administration that is very different from the one Trump oversaw in his first term. Despite strategizing on tariff policy up to just three hours before the president’s official announcement in the Rose Garden, there was reportedly very little disagreement with Trump making the final decisions himself.

“In the first term everyone thought they were president,” a senior White House official said.

Those internal disagreements are apparently a thing of the past now with Trump’s cabinet fully behind his trade war. Officials reportedly offered a variety of options on tariffs for each country and the president went through himself and pick and chose what he preferred.

The final meeting on tariffs included officials like Vice President JD Vance and senior trade advisor Peter Navarro.

“In their recruiting process, they made sure it would only be people who were totally Trumpers, because in the first administration there was a lot of trouble with people quitting, writing bad books, things like that,” Wilbur Ross, commerce secretary in Trump’s first administration, said. “The people now have been confirmed as true Trumpers.”

 

[fishonjazz]

Checked the ol 401k today. Oof. Rate of return year to date is negative 8.8% And that includes the first few months when it was a positive.

 

[Red]

The Trump slump has handed China a golden opportunity

Western investors are looking beyond the US as the Maga playbook rattles stock markets

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Deleted member 365]

‘Everyone Is Terrified’: Business Leaders and Republicans Mum on Tariffs as Markets Crater

President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs have sent markets around the world plummeting, but don't expect many business executives or Republican officials who oppose them to say so publicly.

www.mediaite.com

“There is zero incentive for any company or brand to be remotely critical of this administration,” said a public affairs operative, who, like others interviewed for this story, was granted anonymity to speak freely. “It destroys your ability to work with the White House and advance your policies, period.”

An official in the energy industry echoed that sense of fear. “Hearing angst and frustration from all quarters,” the official said via text message, “but no one wants to be first out of the box saying anything negative about Trump’s decision-making.”

“There is absolutely a sense that the administration is keeping a list, and no one on K Street wants to be on it,” said one executive at a trade group downtown.

“I think a lot of business leaders are very frustrated that the process of getting here was opaque, and that the decision points are so starkly black and white, and … that they’re not dealing with situations with more nuance,” one multi-client Republican lobbyist said, before adding: “I’m trying to say something profound without getting a call from the White House that, ‘You’re next.’”

“What’s the Japanese proverb? The nail sticking up gets hammered down,” the lobbyist added. “On K Street, there’s no value in being the nail sticking up right now.”

“People are smarter this time in dealing with the Trump administration,” the person said. “They know not to beat their chest and try to score points in The New York Times, but have conversations behind the scenes and try to make deals. I think it’s about making deals and not antagonizing the administration.”

“Everyone is terrified,” a senior GOP aide said. “But I don’t think anyone wants to cross the president right now.”

Annnnddd that’s exactly what happens in a fascist authoritarian takeover of a country. Now everyone is too afraid to speak out. This is how Hitler, Putin, Orban, etc have taken over. If Trump ordered our country to invade Canada, why would anyone speak out? If he ordered mass arrests of Haitian immigrants, why would any business leader or elite speak out? If he ordered the liquidation of the Democratic party, what would stop him? Certainly not law enforcement.

This is why it blew my mind why moron Americans voted this degenerate back to the White House. He made it clear the last time that he wasn’t going to be bound by laws. He was an aspiring dictator and we welcomed him back to the White House and gave him the keys.

Now we’re in for it.

 

[BabyPeterzz]

#LeftiesSoRacist

You got balls, son. In case you’re not paying attention, now is when you shut the **** up and listen. Unless you would like to tell us you’ve learned your lesson and you’re ready to join the human race.

Otherwise? Kennel!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Deleted member 365]

 

[Deleted member 365]

You got balls, son. In case you’re not paying attention, now is when you shut the **** up and listen. Unless you would like to tell us you’ve learned your lesson and you’re ready to join the human race.

Otherwise? Kennel!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He’s just a troll. Block and move on. It’s been months and months since I last read any of his junk.

 

[fishonjazz]

Let’s get one thing straight: America wants its manufacturing back. Like a long-lost lover who left for China, Mexico, Vietnam, and India with promises of cheaper labor and more affordable gadgets, we now want it all to come home. And what better way to do that than by slapping some juicy tariffs on imported goods? Now tariff on our friends like Canada and EU too?

Trade wars, we are told, are like that tough love intervention. The goal? Two-fold:
1. Bring back factories to the USA.
2. Fix the trade imbalance, so we’re not always the one picking up the tab at the global dinner table.

Sounds brilliant, right? Like a rom-com script with a happy ending and manufacturing jobs dancing back into Detroit. But wait, before we roll out the red carpet and rename ourselves the United States of Assembly Lines, let’s ask a few questions that no one seemed to answer before starting this global economic drama.

Question #1: Do we even have the factories?
Short answer: Nope. Long answer: NOPE.
China currently does $7.0 trillion worth of manufacturing a year. The U.S.? About $2.5 trillion. That gap is not a pothole—it’s the Grand Canyon. And no, you can’t leap over it with a good ol’ American high five and a patriotic playlist. Do we even need to make these low cost items?

Question #2: Do we have the workers?
Also, not really. Remember when everyone was told to go into tech, finance, or become a YouTuber? Yeah, that didn’t create many machinists or great engineers. But here’s where it gets interesting: robots and AI are catching up. In a few years, we could build smart factories. The question is, are we investing in that? Or just raising prices on toaster ovens and pretending it’s progress?

Meanwhile, back at the checkout counter…
Here’s what actually happens with tariffs:
A product from abroad gets taxed. The government says, “Oh, only 30-60% of that will be passed on to the consumer.” That’s a cute way of saying, “You’re going to pay more for literally everything, but we’ll pretend it’s for your own good.”

Exporters might lower their prices. Importers might cut profits. But let’s be real—neither of those groups like doing that. So guess who ends up holding the bag (or, more accurately, the overpriced bag of rice)? You, dear citizen.

Now, the government collects some of that sweet tariff money. Victory? Sort of. It’s like winning a game of Monopoly by taxing everyone out of the game—then using the money to fund wars or give billionaires a tax cut so they can buy another yacht with a built-in helipad.

Meanwhile, the American middle class is just trying to afford a roll of toilet paper.

Yes, the idea of “Make America Great Again” is noble. But maybe let’s not bulldoze what’s already working just to rebuild it with more expensive bricks. We already dominate in innovation, services, military, AI, and… uh… streaming TV shows. Let’s play to our strengths!

Instead of trade wars, how about trade smarts?
• Invest in smart factories and robot-assisted production.
• Educate the workforce so they’re ready for the jobs of the future, not the 1950s.
• Use AI to make healthcare better (and actually affordable).
• And for the love of all things decent—let people buy affordable toilet paper again.

Let’s not forget—we the USA helped build China’s factories. We trained them, supplied them, outsourced to them, and then got mad when they got good at it. That’s like training someone to play chess, losing, and flipping the board.

Bottom line: No country is richer, nicer or better than America. We send billions and billions of dollars to the world over the years and continue to do so with our tax money! But other countries are all developing; But that doesn’t mean we act like the jealous ex throwing tariffs like tantrums. Let’s not sink our own economy out of spite.

This isn’t just economics. This is therapy. And America needs to talk it out, not tariff it out.

Signed,
A Concerned Citizen with a Receipt from a store That’s 30% More Expensive Than Last Year, 15% down in 401k and watching the world brazen for more financial storms! Love you America just don’t lose your cool image!

 

[Al-O-Meter]

You got balls, son. In case you’re not paying attention, now is when you shut the **** up and listen. Unless you would like to tell us you’ve learned your lesson and you’re ready to join the human race.

I never stop learning lessons, but I'm also consistent in what I believe. From my very earliest posts on JF, I identified myself as economically neo-liberal. I didn't like tariffs. Now that Trump is the one imposing them, I still don't like tariffs. My dislike of tariffs, or any of the issues I champion, has nothing to do with how I feel about any particular person. I don't have any difficulty using my own words to say why I support a thing. I don't need articles written by other people to speak for me, and I certainly don't feel the need to resort to hurling insults or using block lists.

That I am as blocked by as many as I am isn't because I'm not part of the human race. I think differently from how most on this forum think, and my points are backstopped by deep ideological underpinnings. That won't change, and so I don't predict any change in the way I am treated by those whose own ideas are challenged by what I have to say.