Political reporters and pundits don't understand tariffs any more than Trump does and it shows. They just report the story as one more "Trump is president and he does what he wants" story. Business and economic reporters have been screaming about how stupid and destructive the tariffs are for months and no one who could actually change the course of history cares. This is no longer on Trump, this is on every elected Republican in the House and Senate. They could put a stop to the tariffs...and frankly to Trump's reign of terror, today if the wanted to.
NYT & WaPo at least are pretty critical of Trump's tariff madness. Which is essentially a massive 10-20% national sales tax on every American citizen. Because if an imported good gets priced 10-20% higher, American producers of the same good will also increase their prices.
All the roughly $30bn in tariffs raised by Trump1 were paid out to US Midwest farmers hit by Chinese tariffs targeting corn, wheat & soy. Which is exactly what will happen in the very near future to US businesses and industries--especially those in Red districts and states--that will be surgically targeted by retaliatory tariffs from China, the EU, and the rest of the world.
To which I reply - GOOD - make the MAGA voters who elected Trump pay the price for their actions. They thought their Dear Leader would hurt the people they hate and not them. Well, let them learn the hard way that their Dear Leader hates them too.
Dean Baker said it best IMO. From his patreon, "Trump’s method of calculating tariffs is comparable to the doctor who assesses your proper weight by dividing your height by your birthday. Any doctor who did this is clearly batshit crazy and unfortunately so is our president. And apparently none of his economic advisors has the courage and integrity to set him straight or to resign". Also something to consider on the why. The trump & thugs regime may try to pick off individual manufacturers to make deals to lower tariffs in exchange for acts of loyalty or other benefits. His MO is pitting people/entities against each other. He has them all in a vise.
Or as British journalist Ian Dunt wrote: "It’s hard to state just how nonsensical that actually is. You might as well divide the numbers of apples in your kitchen by the number of bagels and use it to calculate your mortgage rate. To criticize it on political or economic grounds is too generous. It operates below the level of rational thought."
Thanks, Dan. Your compilation and some of the pithy descriptions of the inanity of Trump provided me with legit LOLs. Ian Dunt's description is also my favorite:
"It’s hard to state just how nonsensical that actually is. You might as well divide the numbers of apples in your kitchen by the number of bagels and use it to calculate your mortgage rate. To criticise it on political or economic grounds is too generous. It operates below the level of rational thought."
And, of course, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the other mainstream media outlets did no reporting, just stenography.
While I agree that we shouldn't view the tariffs as instruments to achieve any of Trump's stated aims (re-shore manufacturing, raise tax revenue, get access to foreign markets), that applies to anything Trump says. He almost always lies.
And tariffs certainly could be a means of extracting concessions--or just personal cash--from other nations, that seems more like a bonus than a primary aim.
In order to really transform the American system ala Project 2025, Trump needs to break it so badly that the population is no longer *able* to resist. Maybe the idea is to replace him with someone who promises to restore *some* of the benefits of the old system in the hopes that the population will be grateful for the porridge and not notice that they're living outdoors.
Now, this probably won't work simply because at that point the nation will be in such bad shape that scraps won't be enough. Trump has broken our alliances, and is in the process of destroying the full faith and credit of the United States.
The destruction of America can be stopped now, before we reach desperate straits. But every university, every law firm, every newspaper or broadcaster that caves makes it harder. And every American who thinks that they can get by because Trump is only after the liberals or the gays or the people of color or the abortionists or whoever the enemy of the day is just basting their own goose to be cooked.
Well done, Mr. Froomkin! The White House press has lazily adopted the idea that "reporting" means repeating everything the politician in question says, without interpretation. The problem is that in the case of Trump's tariffs, there is literally no logic involved. This isn't a partisan argument: it's been made by economists both right and left. Mainstream reportage on these tariffs is a huge abdication of duty by the mainstream press.
In his Substack, Paul Krugman described the tariffs as a dominance display. I wonder if he would have been able to say that in his former NYT column.
Probably not! Which is why I've subscribed to his Substack column.
It's still entertaining and pithy, but with more bite than before. (Not to mention the Musical Codas.)
Political reporters and pundits don't understand tariffs any more than Trump does and it shows. They just report the story as one more "Trump is president and he does what he wants" story. Business and economic reporters have been screaming about how stupid and destructive the tariffs are for months and no one who could actually change the course of history cares. This is no longer on Trump, this is on every elected Republican in the House and Senate. They could put a stop to the tariffs...and frankly to Trump's reign of terror, today if the wanted to.
NYT & WaPo at least are pretty critical of Trump's tariff madness. Which is essentially a massive 10-20% national sales tax on every American citizen. Because if an imported good gets priced 10-20% higher, American producers of the same good will also increase their prices.
All the roughly $30bn in tariffs raised by Trump1 were paid out to US Midwest farmers hit by Chinese tariffs targeting corn, wheat & soy. Which is exactly what will happen in the very near future to US businesses and industries--especially those in Red districts and states--that will be surgically targeted by retaliatory tariffs from China, the EU, and the rest of the world.
To which I reply - GOOD - make the MAGA voters who elected Trump pay the price for their actions. They thought their Dear Leader would hurt the people they hate and not them. Well, let them learn the hard way that their Dear Leader hates them too.
They also thought he’d make them rich, like winning the f*cking lottery. Americans are woefully ignorant about how the economy functions and why.
Dean Baker said it best IMO. From his patreon, "Trump’s method of calculating tariffs is comparable to the doctor who assesses your proper weight by dividing your height by your birthday. Any doctor who did this is clearly batshit crazy and unfortunately so is our president. And apparently none of his economic advisors has the courage and integrity to set him straight or to resign". Also something to consider on the why. The trump & thugs regime may try to pick off individual manufacturers to make deals to lower tariffs in exchange for acts of loyalty or other benefits. His MO is pitting people/entities against each other. He has them all in a vise.
Or as British journalist Ian Dunt wrote: "It’s hard to state just how nonsensical that actually is. You might as well divide the numbers of apples in your kitchen by the number of bagels and use it to calculate your mortgage rate. To criticize it on political or economic grounds is too generous. It operates below the level of rational thought."
Dean Baker’s substack is free to everyone. I tried to pay and he said he’s doing it to get the word out. (Not a quote.)
Doesn't surprise me. He's the best. His Patreon site is a buck a month.
Thanks, Dan. Your compilation and some of the pithy descriptions of the inanity of Trump provided me with legit LOLs. Ian Dunt's description is also my favorite:
"It’s hard to state just how nonsensical that actually is. You might as well divide the numbers of apples in your kitchen by the number of bagels and use it to calculate your mortgage rate. To criticise it on political or economic grounds is too generous. It operates below the level of rational thought."
And, of course, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the other mainstream media outlets did no reporting, just stenography.
While I agree that we shouldn't view the tariffs as instruments to achieve any of Trump's stated aims (re-shore manufacturing, raise tax revenue, get access to foreign markets), that applies to anything Trump says. He almost always lies.
And tariffs certainly could be a means of extracting concessions--or just personal cash--from other nations, that seems more like a bonus than a primary aim.
In order to really transform the American system ala Project 2025, Trump needs to break it so badly that the population is no longer *able* to resist. Maybe the idea is to replace him with someone who promises to restore *some* of the benefits of the old system in the hopes that the population will be grateful for the porridge and not notice that they're living outdoors.
Now, this probably won't work simply because at that point the nation will be in such bad shape that scraps won't be enough. Trump has broken our alliances, and is in the process of destroying the full faith and credit of the United States.
The destruction of America can be stopped now, before we reach desperate straits. But every university, every law firm, every newspaper or broadcaster that caves makes it harder. And every American who thinks that they can get by because Trump is only after the liberals or the gays or the people of color or the abortionists or whoever the enemy of the day is just basting their own goose to be cooked.
Thank-you for your reporting! The felon is intent on becoming mob boss of the world.
Well done, Mr. Froomkin! The White House press has lazily adopted the idea that "reporting" means repeating everything the politician in question says, without interpretation. The problem is that in the case of Trump's tariffs, there is literally no logic involved. This isn't a partisan argument: it's been made by economists both right and left. Mainstream reportage on these tariffs is a huge abdication of duty by the mainstream press.
He's not well. Everyone knows it. What exactly is the problem again? Clicks?
And then there's history of misleading reporting, too: https://www.the-sentinel-intelligence.com/p/the-week-after-the-1929-stock-market?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=492821&post_id=160514701&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=f0k7&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email