Welcome to May Day or the International Day of the Worker
I cannot believe that this needs repeating….but sadly it does.
But something of a conundrum….I see a lot of readers that are worried about their retirement with all the issues with DOGE and these same people when the topic of tariffs comes around they defend Donny’s tactics…they almost always reference the book “The Art Of The Deal” which at best is just bound toilet paper.
Onto the consequences of these damn silly tariffs….
For those that cannot quite grasp the reality of this pipe dream….the tariffs on a country like China or Canada is NOT…I repeat….I NOT paid by the country….NO it is paid by the US importers and is passed on to the consumer….that meaning YOU….at best it is just another tax that will be paid by the people of this nation.
Can you grasp the situation now?
No?
Tariffs cannot do certain things…(I try to keep it simple)
1. Tariffs can’t both create permanent domestic jobs and be a temporary negotiating tool.
2. Tariffs can’t both protect domestic industries and generate trillions of dollars in revenue.
Donny’s promise is that these tariffs will bring manufacturing and jobs back to the US….the estimates are that they will create about 100,000 jobs…good huh? Think again….while destroying about 500,000 jobs….destroying jobs and screwing the people is not a good trade off in my opinion.
As that dynamic plays out across the whole economy, the tariffs will create more losers than winners. A Goldman Sachs report published this week estimates that Trump’s tariffs will create about 100,000 new manufacturing jobs (a result of supply chains shifting to the U.S., as the president wants) but will destroy 500,000 other jobs in the process.
That would reflect what happened during Trump’s first term, when his tariffs cost about 245,000 American jobs, by one estimate.
More layoffs are almost certainly coming.
https://reason.com/2025/04/18/trumps-tariffs-are-starting-to-kill-jobs/
To illustrate…did you see where Mazda has shuttered its US operation because of the tariffs?
Following President Donald Trump’s introduction of the “Liberation Day” tariffs, the first major car manufacturer has announced plans to halt production in the United States.
The president, who initiated blanket tariffs of 10% on all countries except Canada, Mexico, and China, 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as on all automobiles, and a 125% tariff on China, has not backed down from his stance and has even issued threats to other countries.
…
While the president has stated that his tariffs will bring manufacturing back to the United States, one automaker seems to be leaving instead.
Mazda has confirmed it will halt production of CX-50 vehicles bound for Canada due to the tariffs in the U.S. and the corresponding retaliatory measures enacted in Canada.
The company confirmed that production at its Huntsville, Alabama, plant will be suspended beginning on May 12.
If tariff policies remain unchanged and the plant stays closed for an extended period, the price of the CX-50 in Canada could rise further.
(msn.com)
There is word that Mack, the builder of those semis, will be doing some hard thinking and making some very hard decisions soon….jobs included.
can consumers have been shielded from much of the impact. But as the world of international shipping adjusts to his policies, the president is facing a potential reckoning.
With the US-China trade war starting to gum up container traffic between the world’s two biggest economies, freight companies are warning of plunging bookings and a surge in “blank sailings” – where ports are skipped or voyages are called off altogether.
Earlier this week, America’s most powerful retail executives trooped into the White House to deliver a blunt prognosis: tariffs on Chinese goods risked causing “empty shelves” in two weeks without a change of course.
The three companies who attended the meeting – Walmart, Target and Home Depot – are among the most exposed to the president’s policies, which include tariffs of up to 145pc on Chinese goods and higher port fees for Chinese-made vessels.
Most Americans do not understand tariffs….most still believe that say China will be paying….which is completely wro9ng….this article explains the confusion somewhat….
One of the hot-button issues in US politics lately? Tariffs. President Donald Trump has gone back and forth on the controversial issue, announcing tariffs on imports from other countries before later imposing delays. The results have been nothing short of disastrous — from retaliatory tariffs to deep stock market declines to rising prices. Some of this has come as a shock to Trump supporters and conservatives, who seemed to think tariffs would A) force other countries to foot the bill and B) drive business back to America.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/31-americans-who-really-really-dont-understand-tariffs
I wish people would spend more time learning the mechanics of economics and less time worry about what some slutty bitch was wearing on Instagram….they would be better informed and better off in the lives.
Do I need to break it down further?
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
basically the people who voted for him are mostly the clueless ones who never consider the man, but always vote straight ticket because it’s a family tradition, or some such. Ive even encountered people who are delighted that Kamala Harris is no longer president. sigh. And they support Trump because. He’s president, we voted for him, by jebus he must be right, right? And they place the blame on Biden. He’s a democrat…
When 15 million unvetted people are allowed to enter without any background checks that’s the most dangerous affront to the security of the United states in history. Seems to me the left is clueless about the serious effects of that. Left also seems clueless about the danger of releasing savage gang criminals back into the population and defending the “rights” of these monsters = clueless.
Carl that is a common conserv tagline….just wondering how many ‘real’ criminals have been arrested? I mean real numbers not the made crap from the government. chuq
Always remember, he has publically approved of the Klan. “Nice bunch a;’ fellas” he said in an interview. oooooookay…he played Nazi styled music for his early speeches, he and Elon both now and then smirk and use the Nazi salute, and something tells me there is more going on in that oval office than we know…
That is always a MAGA reaction blame someone else. chuq
I’ve read that because of China’s use of tariffs they are selling much less so they must lower production. This means factory closures and unemployment due to worker layoffs and seems to be affecting the regime quite negatively as the people react to these new unfavorable conditions and are becoming increasingly angry. Isn’t this tariff strategy of Trump to get China to modify its behavior ? We are at war with China. Any suggestions on how to fight back ? Why is the left oblivious to this war and more concerned with sex change for children and men in womans’ sports and protecting criminal immigrants ? They say Trump threatens free speech yet a republican, conservative, and Christians cannot speak at any public venues without the left rioting and causing the host to ‘stop the planned affair.
One way would be to use the State Department for what it was designed….Carl Derms are facing the same ‘rioting’…BTW free speech means able to voice an opinion without being accused of some silly conspiracy. chuq
Why does the left think “kill the Jews” and “incinerate Isreal” is a matter of free speech ?
The same reason the right thought 6 January was a peaceful protest. You know I am a member of this so-called Left AND I have not heard anyone utter those words except for Righties that lie. chuq
China has been at war with the US for two decades. Shall we fight back with unpleasant economic complications to get them to change their behavior or perhaps let lose a dozen nukes instead ?
Seems the Trump admin is preparing for the later. chuq
I hope not. Let loose just a dozen nukes contaminates atmosphere of entire planet, then contaminates all land and sea = Bible’s “End of times”.
Then why are we, the US, planning for them in space? Land and sea contamination means nothing to some. chuq
Pro Palestinian protesters (alleged students) have been uttering death to Jews for months on at Harvard and New York mobs and more for months and Trump attempt cut funds. This going on for months – you haven’t heard that ? Chuck, Hakeem and all the rest insist kill people is free speech protection. Re military weaponization in space – attack on satellites will the the enemy’s first strike Pearl Harbor. Our satellites gone nothing works, no transportation, no communication, no electricity and all military response disabled.
Carl just like all BLM protesters were not looters….not all pro-Palestine protesters are not shouting those disgusting slogans….but that is not what makes good copy now is it? All it will take is a EM blast and all electronics is gone….and that can be accomplished without nukes and the research is on-going. chuq
Trump will take advantage of one or two announcements that someone will opening a factory in the US to tout that tariffs were a success, but he has singlehandedly stopped out economic growth in its tracks and turned it south…jobless claims jumped and will rise more, and there is a headline that a Montana town, deeply red, was stunned to find out that most of heir government jobs were eliminated – throwing the town into a depression. Welcome to the future
That sounds like a reoccurring scenario for our future. chuq
Sadly true…as always your posts really dig into the issues and give context.
There are so many that do not understand what tariffs are or what they can do…..I try chuq
When layoffs start hitting the average Trump-supporting worker, maybe then they will recognize that all he writes with his Sharpie pen is not for their benefit.
We can hope but I will not hold my breath chuq
As you can tell even from Carl’s ‘reasonable’ responses, there is no point in arguing with the people who support Trump. You country is divided by huge idealogical differences based on racism and white American superiority in the world. (And in my opinion that division is permanent) No amount of argument is ever going to change that, no more than it did before 1861, leading to Fort Sumter being shelled. Even when the tariffs make people poor beyond their comprehension, they will still be sitting in poverty expecting Trump to save them with a ‘Master Plan’.
But he will be playing golf in Florida.
Best wishes, Pete.
I know you are right….but I feel I have shine some light into this darkness. chuq