Trump is a fit-free zone, jawboning SCOTUS with his version of a smash-and-grab economy
Trump thinks he’s an American ‘folk herp’ because he can perform stick at public events. Similarly, Nixon’s legacy was being the Republican crook who believed Americans condone Iran-Contra style double-dealing with Fawn Hall hiding documents in her underwear.
Trump now thinks his public policy is “creative destruction” even as he doesn’t give a sh*t about the public and even thinks his tiny real estate ‘developer’ activity as POTUS* will be legendary despite all his tchotchke huckstering.
Trump's threatened tariffs echo a failed American trade policy of the 1930s Smoot-Hawley tariffs led to greatly diminished global trade — and, some experts argue, exacerbated the Great Depression.
The next Great Recession/Depression will have been exacerbated by Trump’
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed “tariff man,” campaigned on the promise of ratcheting import duties as high as 60 percent against all goods from China, and perhaps 20 percent on everything from everywhere else. And he might be able to do it—including by drawing on little-remembered authorities from the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, the previous nadir of U.S. trade policy.
Trump’s tariff plans are cheered by most of his economic advisers, who see them as a useful tool to rebalance an import-dependent U.S. economy. Most economists fear the inflationary impacts of sharply higher taxes on U.S. consumers and businesses, as well as the deliberate drag on economic growth that comes from making everything more expensive. Other countries are mostly confused, uncertain whether Trump’s tariff talk is just bluster to secure favorable trade deals for the United States, or if they’ll be more narrowly targeted or smaller than promised. Big economies, such as China and the European Union, are preparing their reprisals, just in case.
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"The Trump administration’s habit of buying ownership shares in companies it likes now involves $10 billion in taxpayer funds. Remember, kids: Government ownership of the means of production turns out to be good, but socialism is still bad."
- The post highlights a New York Times report detailing how, one month after the Commerce Department acquired a 9.9% stake in Intel for $8.9 billion to bolster U.S. semiconductor independence from China, President Trump personally bought $1-5 million in Intel corporate debt, per an Office of Government Ethics filing.
- This transaction raises potential conflict-of-interest questions, as it coincides with the administration's $10 billion+ investments in nine strategic firms across steel, minerals, and nuclear sectors, aimed at national security but risking taxpayer losses if ventures fail.
- Public reactions split along partisan lines, with supporters viewing the purchase as routine investing in a publicly traded asset, while critics decry it as emblematic of blurred lines between personal gain and policy decisions in Trump's second term.
DOGE workers who slashed thousands of federal jobs, allegedly stole Americans’ personal data, and reportedly opened back doors to Russia are now WHIMPERING that they fear prosecution after Elon abruptly abandoned them.
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act raised the United States’s already high tariff rates. In 1922 Congress had enacted the Fordney-McCumber Act, which was among the most punitive protectionist tariffs passed in the country’s history, raising the average import tax to some 40 percent. The Fordney-McCumber tariff prompted retaliation from European governments but did little to dampen U.S. prosperity. Throughout the 1920s, however, as European farmers recovered from World War I and their American counterparts faced intense competition and declining prices because of overproduction, U.S. agricultural interests lobbied the federal government for protection against agricultural imports. In his 1928 campaign for the presidency, Republican candidate Herbert Hoover promised to increase tariffs on agricultural goods, but after he took office lobbyists from other economic sectors encouraged him to support a broader increase. Although an increase in tariffs was supported by most Republicans, an effort to raise import duties failed in 1929, largely because of opposition from centrist Republicans in the U.S. Senate. In response to the stock market crash of 1929, however, protectionism gained strength, and, though the tariff legislation subsequently passed only by a narrow margin (44–42) in the Senate, it passed easily in the House of Representatives. Despite a petition from more than 1,000 economists urging him to veto the legislation, Hoover signed the bill into law on June 17, 1930.
Smoot-Hawley contributed to the early loss of confidence on Wall Street and signaled U.S. isolationism. By raising the average tariff by some 20 percent, it also prompted retaliation from foreign governments, and many overseas banks began to fail. (Because the legislation set both specific and ad valorem tariff rates [i.e., rates based on the value of the product], determining the precise percentage increase in tariff levels is difficult and a subject of debate among economists.) Within two years some two dozen countries adopted similar “beggar-thy-neighbour” duties, making worse an already beleaguered world economy and reducing global trade. U.S. imports from and exports to Europe fell by some two-thirds between 1929 and 1932, while overall global trade declined by similar levels in the four years that the legislation was in effect.
In 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act, reducing tariff levels and promoting trade liberalization and cooperation with foreign governments. Some observers have argued that the tariff, by deepening the Great Depression, may have contributed to the rise of political extremism, enabling leaders such as Adolf Hitler to increase their political strength and gain power.
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Trumponomics centres on four key pillars: tax cuts, deregulation, protectionism, and trade policy reform
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Trump's second administration has seen significant market volatility, particularly following tariff announcements in April 2025
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The S&P 500 experienced historic swings in 2025, with losses exceeding $6 trillion, followed by record single-day gains after a 90-day tariff pause
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US households face estimated additional costs of $1,300-$2,100 annually due to tariff policy
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Recession risks have increased for 2025, with major banks raising their forecasts amid concerns over stagflation
Trump's First-Term Economic Record: GDP, Jobs, Debt & Markets (2017–2021)
During the first Trump administration, several key economic indicators were affected:
Taxes: In 2017, Trump's administration passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which lowered individual and corporate tax rates. According to the Congressional Budget Office, whilst this spurred short-term economic growth, it primarily benefited higher-income households and contributed to the federal budget deficit, adding approximately $1.9 trillion to the national debt over ten years.
Government Spending: Trump increased government spending, notably on defense and the military. Despite his campaign promise to eliminate the national debt, it grew by 39%, reaching $27.75 trillion by the end of his term in January 2021.
Trade: Trump implemented protectionist trade measures, particularly through tariffs on Chinese imports exceeding $360 billion in goods. This formed part of his broader "America First" economic strategy, which aimed to reduce trade deficits and protect US manufacturing jobs. However, studies by the Federal Reserve indicated these tariffs had mixed economic effects, with costs largely passed on to American consumers.
Labour Market: Trump's presidency was marked by continued low unemployment, initially benefiting from the economic expansion inherited from the previous administration. The unemployment rate reached a 50-year low of 3.5% in February 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an economic downturn, with the unemployment rate rising sharply to 14.7% in April 2020.
COVID-19 Response: In response to the pandemic-induced recession, Trump signed the $2 trillion CARES Act in March 2020. This legislation provided economic relief, including direct payments to individuals and expanded unemployment benefits. However, this contributed to a budget deficit, with the fiscal year 2020 deficit reaching $3.1 trillion, triple the previous year's deficit.
Debt: The US national debt surged under Trump's policies, exacerbated by tax cuts and increased spending. The federal deficit grew to nearly $1 trillion in fiscal year 2019, nearly double earlier forecasts by the Office of Management and Budget.
Inflation: The Trump administration's first year saw relatively low inflation rates, averaging approximately 1.9% year-over-year, according to the Consumer Price Index.
Healthcare: Trump's administration attempted but failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act. However, the number of uninsured Americans increased by approximately 2.3 million during his term, partly due to policies that reduced Medicaid expansion and other healthcare provisions.
Economic Performance: According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, real GDP growth averaged 2.3% annually during Trump's pre-pandemic years (2017–2019), comparable to the 2.4% growth in the final three years of the previous administration. Job creation during Trump's pre-pandemic tenure averaged 191,000 per month, slightly lower than the 227,000 monthly average in the last administration's final three years.
Fiscal and Monetary Policies: Despite Trump's focus on deregulation and tax cuts, his fiscal policies resulted in higher deficits and an increased national debt. The Federal Reserve's monetary policies under Trump involved raising interest rates from 2017 to 2018, then cutting them three times in 2019 in response to global economic slowdown and trade tensions.
(Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis )
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