This past week, the Republican majorities in the House and Senate codified the Trump tariffs, essentially relinquishing their Constitutional duty over trade tariffs to a president who clearly either doesn’t understand tariffs or wants to use tariffs for a nefarious purpose even if they tank our own economy. In fact, on threat of tariffs, the economy shrank by 0.3% for the first time since the pandemic era as companies stockpiled imported goods. The stock market is down, and prices are as high as ever. This isn’t Biden’s economy as Trump gaslights; it’s all him!
Economists, business executives, and political analysists can’t figure out his actual motives for starting this trade war against the world. They repeatedly warn that no one wins a trade war and that farmers, businesses, investors, and consumers all suffer under the weight of tariffs. They also agree that Trump’s disturbing rollout revealed deeply flawed tariff calculations, a lack of understanding about trade deficits, and an ill-conceived presentation that included a country with only penguins as residents.
Trump began his tariff debacle claiming that tariffs were necessary to stop the flow of fentanyl into the country from Mexico and Canada. The truth is American demand for the drug drives “Americans” to traffic the drugs across borders and very little of it is coming from Canada. Then he moved on to his desire to rectify our trade imbalance with other countries because they were “taking advantage of us”. This makes no sense either because less populace and poorer countries will never be able to establish a trade balance with the U.S. because they lack both the demand and the funds to purchase enough goods to create a balance. In fact, we may not even have goods to trade that they need or desire. And now he claims that he wants to bring manufacturing jobs back. The fact is that businesses have come to rely on the less expensive labor found in other countries and they source many of their manufacturing materials from around the globe. An iPhone made in the U.S. would cost about $4,000. Besides that, it would take years and huge capital investments to build manufacturing plants for everything Americans consume if businesses had the faith to even begin such a process. Under scrutiny, none of his stated reasons make much sense.
With this understanding most thinking adults are left scratching their heads. However, it seems to me that ego is at the root of these tariffs. Trump seems to have a deep-seated need to publicly dominate everyone, especially other world leaders, requiring them to “kiss his ass”. Many have noticed that Russia and North Korea were left off his list. Perhaps he kisses Putin’s ass and so admires Kim that he wouldn’t dare tariff either of them? According to Administration reports, many countries are humbly seeking exemptions or manageable concessions to avoid financial disaster. Even U.S. farmers, small businesses, and whole industries are begging for exemptions to avoid going out of business.
But some countries are turning away from the U.S. altogether and establishing alternative trade partnerships. And most notably, China isn’t playing his game. To punish China’s obstinance, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. China went as far as reciprocating with 125%, saying that rate will end imports into China, so they had no need to go any higher. And in a bold move, China has halted shipments to the U.S. and have called upon other countries to stop trading with the U.S. altogether because we are unreliable. Those buying goods directly from China are being slapped with huge tariffs bills from UPS and Fed Ex. Not surprisingly, our ports are reporting a dramatic slowdown of imported goods from China and people are being laid off. The trucking business is also taking a hit, and farmers are in panic mode as trade deals with China for corn and soybeans have been destroyed. I think panic among U.S. consumers will soon follow.
Most of the goods on store shelves come from China. Retailers estimate that shelves will begin to show signs of scarcity in about two weeks. Ahead of tariffs, many retailers, both big and small, stocked up, but the supply on hand will soon be diminished. Some retailers believe they will soon go out of business altogether. Scarcity means higher prices and lost jobs. It’s simple supply and demand. Remember how difficult it was to get toilet paper during the pandemic and how many people were out of work? Do you remember the long food lines?
This past week, Trump advised the American people to understand that they will need to cut back and endure some pain for a while. He told parents that they should only buy two dolls this Christmas instead of the usual thirty and expect to pay more for them. This from the same billionaire class Administration that told us that only fraudulent social security recipients would complain if their monthly check didn’t show up.
So, what do we do? First, we make sure our Republican representatives are more afraid of us than they are of Trump. We protest in the streets, we flood their offices with emails and phone calls, we show up at their offices, and we vote them out of office in 2026. Second, we financially support the many organizations that are bringing lawsuits against this Administration for their tariffs and their lawlessness. Third, we enthusiastically support businesses that openly defy Trump policies and boycott those businesses that cower under threat or openly support the Administration and its policies. And finally, we stock up sooner rather than later on the most necessary goods for the next year.
In previous posts, I shared how we expanded our vegetable garden, did any renovations, secured new cell phones, stocked our pantry and stored basic household necessities ahead of Trump taking office. Well, yesterday, I purchased Christmas toys for my grandsons in anticipation of the shortages. Everything was slightly more expensive, and each toy was made in China except for the Hot Wheels (which were from Canada).
My guess is that the true motive behind these tariffs is to help establish a Trumpian white male dominance across the entire world. It is pure arrogance driven ego. That is the common denominator among Trump, Musk, Vance, Mike Johnson and the Cabinet members (arrogance and big egos). However, at their core they are broken, insecure, empathy-lacking, sociopaths. They are real life evil villains hellbent on shaping and ruling the world.
But perhaps we should all breathe a sigh of relief that the rest of the world sees Trump and his Administration for the corrupt, incompetent, and sloppy group of egomaniacs that they are. Many aren’t buying what they are selling. In fact, the Trumpian candidates in both Canada and Australia lost their elections this week as backlash against Trump. And Americans are slowly waking up to the reality of who this man is. One hundred days in, he is now underwater in every poll on every issue. So, I’m keeping the faith that this kind of evil will once again be defeated by our united resistance. So, resist in every way you can.