TARIFF UPDATES!

[Dukasaur]

Imagine if Trump won as a anti-war, blue collar supporting Democrat.

Imagine if Trump was Bernie Sanders? Then you wouldn't vote for him, and he wouldn't win of ever come to power because Fox would call him a communist/athiest who wanted to take the hard earned money of billionaires and reinvest it in higher paying jobs and infrastructure for the lower/middle class, which would most likely mean growing the monetary size of gov't. This is the fundamental reason why america is failing, it's not because we import more than we export... it's because wealth inequality is eroding the middle class and instead of trickling down, wealth his consistently trickled up for 50+ years. Seems like basically everyone agrees that this has happened, we just don't all agree that it's a problem and in what a solution would look like... in part because billionaires funnel tons of money into influencing us and keep us divided by talking about some trans kid in Kansas who wants to run track and field with the women.

You’re not wrong… but the extremes exist on both sides.

If the Democrats want to win at the midterms they need to move to the middle and not drink the koolaid of the extreme Left. I believe the Dems lost in 2024 for three reasons which Trump and Co. were successfully able to weaponize…
1) Biden was a zombie and should have stepped aside earlier.
2) They were weak (or at least were perceived to be weak) on immigration. I don’t think the actually policies were far off from what “Middle America” would want… but they failed to message properly. Also, in failing to message the US was portrayed in a manner which encouraged even more migration. Even if the end-policies aren;t much different… if you message more harshly the messaging alone can slow immigration.
3) They were and are weak on the Trans issue. It’s obviously NOT an issue that directly affects most Americans… but it’s extremely divisive. As a father of two girls who are both athletes I am FUNDAMENTALLY opposed to the idea that a biological man should compete as a woman. The whole Trans-Idealogy is contradictory (and if we wanna talk about it, it should have a separate thread)… but at the end of the day the Dems bowed to a tiny tiny fraction of their extreme Left, and in doing so they lost the middle.

The Republicans have also bowed to their Right… or maybe just to the “Always Trump” wing of the Party. However, because of the messaging on the three points above they were able to grab the White House and secure control of Congress.

Pretty much.

[Dukasaur]

Anyway, on to what I came here to post...


Back in my Libertarian days, there was a guy named Michael Emerling who went around to Libertarian conventions as a motivational speaker. I'll admit, I hero-worshipped him, possibly to an unhealthy degree. Nonetheless, some of his arguments are still valid.

One of the lines Emerling used a lot was, "Everybody's worried about the trade deficit. I love the trade deficit! It means Japan sends us useful things like VCRs and microwave ovens, and all we have to do is send them these worthless pieces of paper!" Sometimes he'd add the visual, and throw a handful of dollars into the air with a contemptuous look. Most of the time he just delivered the line dry.

(I'm dating myself, I guess. Nowadays it's China we're worried about rather than Japan. But the point stands.)

A trade deficit basically means we live a life of leisure. Most people in the G7 do useless white-collar jobs, sitting on their ass and pushing pieces of paper around, while people in Bangladesh and Vietnam and Cote d'Ivoire do the hard work of sewing our clothes and growing our coffee and shelling our cashews so that we don't even need nutcrackers any more. What the f*ck are you people whining about?

[jimboston]

Anyway, on to what I came here to post...


Back in my Libertarian days, there was a guy named Michael Emerling who went around to Libertarian conventions as a motivational speaker. I'll admit, I hero-worshipped him, possibly to an unhealthy degree. Nonetheless, some of his arguments are still valid.

One of the lines Emerling used a lot was, "Everybody's worried about the trade deficit. I love the trade deficit! It means Japan sends us useful things like VCRs and microwave ovens, and all we have to do is send them these worthless pieces of paper!" Sometimes he'd add the visual, and throw a handful of dollars into the air with a contemptuous look. Most of the time he just delivered the line dry.

(I'm dating myself, I guess. Nowadays it's China we're worried about rather than Japan. But the point stands.)

A trade deficit basically means we live a life of leisure. Most people in the G7 do useless white-collar jobs, sitting on their ass and pushing pieces of paper around, while people in Bangladesh and Vietnam and Cote d'Ivoire do the hard work of sewing our clothes and growing our coffee and shelling our cashews so that we don't even need nutcrackers any more. What the f*ck are you people whining about?

I mean… Rome fell because it outsourced its’ defense.

We’ve outsourced our manufacturing.

I don’t how much the machines and electronics our military uses relies on stuff made abroad… but that’s MY fear. It’s not really something that keeps me up at night because we still got nukes. We haven’t outsourced our military like Rome either… so the analogy is NOT perfect. Just would be interesting to see someone talk about how long we could defend ourselves (and our interests abroad) if we couldn’t get all the shit we currently get from China and elsewhere.

[saxitoxin]

OP updated with Japan

[kennyp72]

OP updated with Japan

All well out of date now.

It seems it was mostly a ruse to short the markets?

The US appears to be an oligarchy?

[bigtoughralf]

Personally I think they just realised they'd overplayed their hand and are now making excuses to justify their u-turn, but it doesn't particularly matter because literally any explanation you can dream up makes them look like incompetent fools.

China's takeover just moved up the timeline by about 5 years.

[aad0906]

I have a chronic trade deficit with Walmart. I keep buying their stuff, yet they won't buy my horse manure. So unfair! I should tariff them.

[mookiemcgee]

I have a chronic trade deficit with Walmart. I keep buying their stuff, yet they won't buy my horse manure. So unfair! I should tariff them.

DOOOO ITTTT, just walk in there and insist on paying 10% above the sticker price and go full Karen when they refuse and make it a tiktok! Tell them you are either paying more for their products or they need to start buying stuff from you. I love this for you, if your account takes off maybe you can hire jimboston, he's looking for a retirement career

[Pack Rat]

I need a market for my 2 donkeys. They produce a full wheel barrel of manure each day.

Jim could sell the manure for me and I will give him 20% of the profits.

[DirtyDishSoap]

Every time i tip a stripper, i expect a BJ. That's my new tarrif.

[Dukasaur]

Every time i tip a stripper, i expect a BJ. That's my new tarrif.

Every time I strip a tipper, I expect a JB. That will be my new tariff.

[mookiemcgee]

Aren't you guys working backwards here? If you've already slipped the tip in, why pull out for the BJ? Are we trying to avoid the babytrap angle?

[kennyp72]

I need a market for my 2 donkeys. They produce a full wheel barrel of manure each day.

Jim could sell the manure for me and I will give him 20% of the profits.

A wheel barrel you say...could take on.

[jimboston]

It seems it was mostly a ruse to short the markets?

It wouldn’t surprise me if some connected people made a LOT of money this week.

They kinda ‘tested’ the “90 day pause” idea earlier in the week to see how the market reacted… then implemented the scam yesterday. I don’t know if things have changed, but I recall that “Insider Trading” wasn’t a crime for Law Makers in Congress (trading on knowledge of upcoming laws). So it might not even technically be a “crime” if cabinet member or people in Trump’s Circle used knowledge to make some quick cash.

[DirtyDishSoap]

Aren't you guys working backwards here? If you've already slipped the tip in, why pull out for the BJ? Are we trying to avoid the babytrap angle?

[bigtoughralf]

It seems it was mostly a ruse to short the markets?

It wouldn’t surprise me if some connected people made a LOT of money this week.

There's a video of Trump in the Oval Office pointing at guys in there with him talking about how many hundreds of millions they made during the turmoil. They're not even trying to hide it.

[mookiemcgee]

WHY WON'T HE CALL ME???

[jusplay4fun]

Here are some facts and insights and NOT FANTASIES that are found in recent posts by others:

Economists Give Their Verdict on Trump's Tariff Pause
Published Apr 10, 2025 at 12:13 PM EDT

Economists have spoken to Newsweek about President Donald Trump's sudden decision to postpone his "reciprocal" tariffs for 90 days, offering their insights into the possible reasons for the pause and what it could mean for the future of global trade.

Why It Matters?
Economists told Newsweek that the U-turn was likely a response to the ongoing rout in the stock market, as well as the troubling selloff of U.S. government Treasurys. The administration has presented the reciprocal tariffs as a negotiation strategy which forced countries to the negotiating table in the hopes of avoiding duties on their exports.

Markets have launched a slight recovery following the announcement, while several nations have reportedly reached out to the administration already, welcoming the pause and stating their intention to engage with the U.S. on trade during the 90-day window.

https://www.newsweek.com/economists-give-verdict-trumps-tariff-pause-2057998

I have already read some things that in the piece that Trump Haters will love to quote going forward.

and:

[bigtoughralf]

[bigtoughralf]

Now Beijing has moved to block any and all export of rare earths and metals, a move which will rapidly cripple the US defense industry (100% reliant on China for such supplies):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1drqeev36qo.amp

The US is bleeding out already. The empire has fallen.

[bigtoughralf]

[jusplay4fun]

[muy_thaiguy]

Someone badly needs to learn how to use the BigImg tags, holy crap.

[Pack Rat]

But, he does know how to blanket the forum with cartoons to change the subject.

[muy_thaiguy]

Well, he tries to change the subject. And fails horribly by simply not answering.