The Economist magazine said the president had "committed the most profound, harmful and unnecessary economic error in the modern era. Almost everything he said—on history, economics and the technicalities of trade—was utterly deluded."
I got exactly the same message in exactly the same words, also about thirty years ago, but from an entirely different econ professor. They must've read the same paper or gone to the same conference or something
To be unreasonably fair to tariffs, they're very good in very, very specific instances, like when you're a small country attempting to nurture a new industry, or when you're a large company intentionally attempting to put sanctions on part of your own economy to stop it from doing something like
I think tariffs on and related to EVs is the only industry that would make sense for us…but that’s only because this country has put so many barriers in the way and refuses to invest properly.
"Tariffs are federal taxes set by Congress, applied to goods at the border and do not involve self-imposed penalties."
Wrong !! Even MAGA Congress has done nothing on these !
And after cleaning up the mess of GOP the Republican hardliners will state that the Democrats made mess of it and only GOP can save you.
And that’s what we’re witnessing now, I suppose….GOP to the rescue 😬
I had a macro Econ professor say in a class once that tariffs hurt us so bad in 1930 and the late 1800’s, that no President would be dumb enough to do that again. That statement always stuck with me…. I guess now I know why. It was while W. was in office.
If your opening move is, "I'm going to tax and burden my own people if you don't do what I want," I really, really want to play Texas Hold 'Em with you for real money.
I remember being told of a specific example where it was Protectionism to make sure US sugar wasn't undercut. A sentence in a lecture. That's all it was.
i had an international law prof and a military history prof at U of IL that were just outstanding. Looks like they’re both emeriti now, which is well-deserved. (Paul Diehl and John Lynn)
From what I learned in school and the rhetoric surrounding the initial NA fee trade agreement. Tariffs helped create more level playing fields in those industries being heavily subsidized by the government.
Thinking real hard about how Israel was able to pull off its exploding pager attack by co-opting the smuggling networks necessitated by sanctions, for no reason
I mean, there can be arguments made for maintaining domestic production competitiveness for national security, but that’s with the understanding that you’re accepting the tariff pain for a higher priority. This is just punching yourself in the dick because you can.
'TARIFF, n. A scale of taxes on imports, designed to protect the domestic producer against the greed of his consumer.' - Ambrose Bierce, _The Devil's Dictionary_ (1911)
Not tariff related but economics related but my 8th grade history teacher said to prepare for retirement as if social security doesn't exist and that stuck with me. That was in 2005/6
He seems to, very genuinely, believe that when he issues a tariff he's levying the tax on the exporting nation, not whatever firm is doing the importing.
And nobody challenges him or his minions on this.
One AP reporter tried it with the crazy Leavitt at a press conference , and she went nuts accusing him of trying to undermine her understanding of tariffs 🤦♂️🤦♂️. When he said these are tax hikes.
To me, it seems like a shakedown. He expects the phones to light up with foreign ministers offering goodies in exchange for preferential treatment / rescinding the tariffs.
Correct. Rich foreign comprador politicians will now quietly begin cutting sweetheart deals to permit rich U.S. ruling class “investment” and ownership of formerly prohibited industries. Promises of austerity by foreign governments. Promises to buy U.S. military hardware, etc.
30 years ago I was still 5 years away from being born but thankfully that doesn't mean I won't get this.
It especially makes sense here. And sadly the gamers who whined about diversity in games wont blame Trump for their PCs getting more expensive to build.
Comments
This is not what these are for. That's not what these can do.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-speech-tariffs-fact-check-white-house-rcna199456
#Tariffs #TrumpTariffs #Sanctions #SelfHarmingSanctions #EconomicSanctions #MarketCrash #GlobalMarkets #Plummeted #TradeWar #FinancialCrisis #Recession
—Mike Pence
But when do I get my $1 million DOGE rebate check from the 50% Pentagon cuts now that there is peace in Ukraine and Palestine?
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/13/defense-stocks-drop-after-trump-says-defense-spending-could-be-halved.html
Wrong !! Even MAGA Congress has done nothing on these !
And that’s what we’re witnessing now, I suppose….GOP to the rescue 😬
Why that has stuck for 25+ years? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anyway, he’s a MAGA loser these days and gave up FB for lent so I can’t bug him about that shit. 😂
If your opening move is, "I'm going to tax and burden my own people if you don't do what I want," I really, really want to play Texas Hold 'Em with you for real money.
He wants to break up the EU because Putin wants it, he's now Putin's bitch. He's a small bully. We will bully him back & not buy US products.
One AP reporter tried it with the crazy Leavitt at a press conference , and she went nuts accusing him of trying to undermine her understanding of tariffs 🤦♂️🤦♂️. When he said these are tax hikes.
Yes, only a moron would think this, but here we are.
It especially makes sense here. And sadly the gamers who whined about diversity in games wont blame Trump for their PCs getting more expensive to build.