Trump is boxed in on agriculture and the War in Iran.
There is no grocery store price gouging. Prices at the store and prices you pay are rising lockstep with the Producer Price Index (PPI) for slaughter cows.
Trump is also investigating major meatpackers for collusion, but that’s nonsense as well. Ten meatpackers are not going to be more efficient than four.
And Trump needs to look into the mirror at deportation practices killing the labor supply of meatpackers forcing up wages.
But hey, deport them all, right? $12.99 per pound would be just another small price to pay, wouldn’t it?
The main culprit is cattle herd size. But deportations and labor supply played a role too.
Current Herd Situation (as of Jan 1, 2026)
- Total U.S. cattle and calves: 86.2 million head — the smallest inventory in 75 years (lowest since ~1951) and the 8th consecutive year of contraction. nass.usda.gov
- Beef cows: 27.6 million head, down 1% year-over-year, the smallest since 1961.
- 2025 calf crop: 32.9 million head, down ~1.6%, one of the smallest on record. Cattle Economics
- Modest increases in replacement heifers and dairy cows, but not enough for meaningful expansion yet. Analysts expect the herd bottom may be near, but significant rebuilding likely won’t occur until 2028 or later due to the biology of cattle cycles (gestation, time to market). fb.org
This tight supply — fewer breeding cows and calves entering the pipeline — directly constrains slaughter-ready cattle (fed steers/heifers + cull cows/bulls).
Trump Proposes Reducing Beef Tariffs
To alleviate rising beef prices, Trump is taking the politically popular price gouging meme.
Biden did this too, and Elizabeth Warren has been proposing this for decades, so it’s a uniparty blame game here.
The interesting thing is Trump’s proposal to lowing tariffs and quotas is a direct admission that tariffs raise prices!
So, yes, blame Trump for that, and Biden before Trump, and Trump before Biden, etc.
The Uniparty Loves Tariffs Too
Tariffs are politically popular. Made in America, save jobs, unfair trade, all sound great for a while.
Everyone pays a small bit more to make handouts to select industries (like autos, steel, aluminum, and agriculture).
This can, and did, go on for a long time. But at some point …
The Affordability Meme Takes Over
At some point (hint – right now), it all breaks down.
The prices of everything that includes steel, aluminum, electronics, and beef becomes more than a “small price to pay”.
Consumers get fed up. They blame politicians. Then politicians do what they always do.
Q: What’s that?
A: Blame the other political party, blame price gouging, insist that they know what they are doing, and claim it’s all temporary.
It’s Temporary, I’d Do It Again
Trump was confronted with his own quote, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,” and instead of walking it back… he DOUBLED DOWN. “I’d make it again.” Then, he defended skyrocketing costs and Americans struggling as “short-term pain.”
That reflects in the polls. Trump is now polling worse than Biden ever did on affordability. Drastic action is needed.
Drastic Action – Lower Beef Tariffs
A week ago. Trump proposed lowering tariffs on beef imports.
As noted above, it’s a direct admission that tariffs raise prices, because if they don’t why lower the tariffs.
But please recall that Trump and the administration has repeatedly claimed that exporters not consumers pay the tariffs.
So, if someone tells you tariffs don’t increase prices then have them explain the above contradictions.
Q: But what happened to lower tariffs?
A: Farmers screamed.
Those who want everyone else to pay a small price for their benefit always scream. And when farmers scream, it generally gets Trump’s attention. Which leads us to …
Trump Delays Move to Lower Tariffs on Beef Imports
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Delays Move to Lower Tariffs on Beef Imports
President Trump had planned to sign Monday a pair of executive orders to lower tariffs on beef and reduce regulations on American cattle producers. On Monday evening a White House official said the actions had been delayed as the administration finalizes details.
The delay followed outcry from some congressional Republicans and cattle ranchers, typically a solid part of Trump’s base. The Wall Street Journal earlier Monday reported Trump’s plans to sign the orders.
The administration had planned executive orders that would suspend the annual tariff-rate quota—which applies a higher tariff rate after a certain level of beef imports are reached—on all beef-exporting nations, enabling more of the product to enter the U.S. at lower tariff rates.
Opening the way for more imports risked angering cattle ranchers, a reliable constituency of the president’s. Trade groups representing U.S. cattlemen opposed the administration’s move to enable more beef imports from Argentina and on Monday criticized Trump’s planned tariff move, warning that an influx of cheap meat would hurt American ranchers.
No Winning Move
There is no winning move here.
Consumers are fed up with high prices and farmers want their tariffs.
Farmers are also upset over the price of diesel, now at $5.646, a mere 17 cents from a record. And by the way, I expect a new record price very soon, possibly this week.
Farmers are also upset over the price of fertilizer. Guess what. Trump’s proposed remedy is to lower tariffs. Fancy that.
Stupidest War in History
This is one of the stupidest wars in history. Trump did it at the request of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and warmongers like Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham.
Instead of blaming himself, or Cruz, or Netanyahu, Trump repeats his meme of “small price to pay”.
“I’d make it again,” said Trump when asked about starting the war.
That statement hits every person of common sense in the United States, including farmers. Many farmers now realize Trump sold them a bill of goods over exports, fertilizer, and diesel.
US Trade Rep on Soybeans
Soybean Fact Check
On May 15, 2026, I asked How Many Times Can China Agree to Buy the Same Soybeans from the US?
Heading into the summit in China, republicans had high hopes. Did anything happen?
Quite literally nothing happened other than the US sent over an entourage of 10+ CEOs for a China pony show with Trump as the dog.
Oh, I almost forgot. China agreed to buy the same soybeans it has agreed to buy for years.
Success!
Michael Pettis chimed in.
Trump’s Stated Goals
Trump wants to do two incompatible things, bring back manufacturing and increase exports.
Except in certain specialties, the US is a high cost producer. We are not going to bring back iPhone production here or aluminum production here without a tremendous increase in costs.
And if we have a tremendous increase in costs, consumers will pay more, and we will have fewer exports. Tariff revenue would collapse, by definition, if costs rise.
Yet, Trump proposes to produce more in the US, while increasing tariff revenue, without raising costs despite a guaranteed higher cost environment, and simultaneously increase exports on top of that.
Read that sentence above and tell me how it works. You can’t but that is what Trump says and MAGA believes.
This is one of the things I have been pointing out for years. It just doesn’t work. But Trump keeps upping the ante on tariffs, replacement tariffs, and now because of the war, even more deficit spending.
Lacy Hunt, a Bond Bull for 44 Years, Now Forecasts Higher Inflation
Yesterday, I commented Lacy Hunt, a Bond Bull for 44 Years, Now Forecasts Higher Inflation
“I did not have this on my bingo card,” quipped John Mauldin.
If you have not yet read the above post, please do so. It’s not easy changing a 44-year belief.
Lacy just did.
This post shows why we need a political and economic reset. However, Trump is heading in the wrong direction, unable to change.
And Warsh won’t change much at the Fed either. I believe this realization is behind the change by Lacy Hunt.
I await his next quarterly review.
Back and Forth with Grok
Trump desperately needs a deal. But he only issues demands. Meanwhile, the alleged crippling hold the blockade Trump put on Iran failed.
The blockade has been ongoing since April 13. Recall that it was supposed to make Iran fold in three days.
Farmers Patience Running Thin
Keeping Up With Inflation?
Totally Out of Touch With Priorities
I expect a Republican bloodbath in the midterms.
I would not at all be shocked if farmers get so upset that Iowa, Texas, or Ohio flips to the Democrats.
Ohio flipping is my base case actually. Iowa isn’t. But it’s on my radar. I don’t believe Iowa is on anyone else’s radar.
My rationale: farmers are getting killed by Trumps policies (exports, diesel, fertilizer, machinery tariffs).
I am not predicting Iowa, yet. Rather, I am saying that I would not be surprised, and it’s on my radar to watch.
You got it wrong – Trump doesn’t need to worry. He’s protecting himself. Do you think the guy who runs N Korea cares that people are starving? Only making money for himself and having it tucked away in case of an emergency (like needing to leave quick).
The April 1972 cover of “LIFE Magazine” was “Sky-High Meat Prices”. “Outrage at the checkout counter. Who gets all that money for the beef. How a family copes with food bills.”
Current beef prices are a result of the current hyper-inflationary economy, just like it was in the 70s.
The “LIFE” article had divided the cost of beef prices:
Rancher 54 percent
Supermarket 22 percent
Feed lot 20 percent
Packing house 2 percent
Trucker and agent 2 percent
Rancher’s expenditures have inflated like homeowners expenses. Higher electric utilities, water, taxes, insurance, rent, auto, repair, plus employees. These costs have been obfuscated in the BLS measure of inflation to allow the Fed to continue low-rate policies. Like unaffordable housing price, real inflation is reflected in unaffordable meat prices.
Percentages of those responsible for the price of meat may have changed slightly over the decades. The very small percentage related to the packing house isn’t worth the trade of 8M illegals utilizing social services for a lifetime.
Trump is too busy trying to get Thomas Massie out to deal with all the economic problems he created.
I have to say that we go to a local family farm and buy grass fed beef. We know the cows are well treated and well taken care of hell I even met the cow that would end up in my freezer. it was a happy healthy well fed animal . The farmer worked in enviromental sciences and quit because he worked in the livestock industry and saw the way animals were treated. HIs prices are close to the store prices because there are not so many middlemen. We do not eat a lot of beef but grocery store meat is a brutal industry. I would highly recommend establishing a relationship with a local family farm if at all possible.
This will not solve anything. It’s not a solution.
Personally, I fly to Japan and inspect my potential Kobe beef while it’s on the hoof. Then I monitor the slaughter and carefully watch the butchery. Some I have flash frozen, the rest I bring home fresh. This is a little extra trouble but it is worth it. Of course I have all the free time I need and virtually unlimited moneys (in stocks and bitcoin and gold miners and various currencies).
Trump Had to start the war because Epstein’s information is in the hands of Israel. He would have been exposed. The same reason he is fighting Massey so hard. We are all paying the price for the perverted billionaires that are being protected by this molester and thief. I really wonder sometimes if Putin does not also have files on him. I dont know if a president could intentionally destroy the USA faster than this. Is he fool or is he intentional. I am just not sure.
You phrase it as if the downfall of the US were from without. Interesting.
I thought that Republican logic says that increasing tariffs will reshore beef production, lower prices, and create jobs, all paid for by foreigners. The US should increase tariffs on beef, not lower tariifs.
Elon Musk is pleading with cows to have more calves.
Over 87 BILLION land animals are slaughtered every year for food.
Thank f*ck I am not a contributor, saw s/h’s and chicken ‘processing’ plants as a late teenager, ain’t eaten that shit since, 45yrs later feel much better for it.
“And Trump needs to look into the mirror at deportation practices killing the labor supply of meatpackers forcing up wages.”
Bulls**t.
Trump’s mouth is moving and the lies continue to spew. But the truth is he is not engaged in any meaningful deportation. The numbers show he is just puttering around.
He’s too busy murdering civilians on boats and noncombatant men, women and children in Gaza to bother with serious deportation.
Bullshit to your bullshit.
Trump raided two meat packers and they were shut down for a while.
But yes, he is also guilty of murdering civilians on boats.
Bullshit to your bullshit to my bullshit. 🙂 (lol)
So ….. you’re saying that two meat packers, out of how many(1), had enough illegal aliens employed that their removal caused the company to shut down? How many illegals were employed? 70%, 80%, 90% ….. more?
They knew damn well they hired illegals — just as the lumber mills in Florida know they are hiring illegals and displacing American workers.
(1) https://www.poidata.io/index.php/report/meat-packer/united-states
How many meat packers? 2 – 50 percent of them practically speaking.
So now you respond with bullshit “they knew what they were doing”
If you could think clearly, that is admission I was right!
And by the way at least one of the meat packers used e-verify. It has huge holes. e-verify has huge holes. Thus it is not clear they knew what they were doing.
Look – just admit it. You are a racist who would rather deport them all even if it means high prices.
With over 1000 meat packers in the US, how do you figure two companies is 50% of the meat packers? Is that new math? Who’s not thinking clearly?
I’ve seen first hand (front row seat) how the hiring goes and the corporation simply turn a blind eye. At least the operation I personally witnessed did that.
I’m not a racist and I resent the label. The illegal aliens came here …. illegally …… and they are displacing American workers. A significant number are committing crimes against Americans. A significant number of them are consuming government services. A significant number of them are involved in fraud (“Learing Centers”, vote fraud and BS foreign justice systems like Sharia, etc).
Why don’t you try to illegally enter another country and work or claim benefits? See what happens. Even though this invasion was UN, fedgov, corporate and NGO backed — I absolutely do not want these illegals here. If that makes me racist — I am a proud racist.
You a registered Demonrat by any chance? You mentioned the uniparty in other comments so I assumed an individual with open eyes …..
50 meat packers in the USA make up 98% of the slaughtering.
So …. two out of 50 (more or less) were shut down because they were slam full of illegal workers?
Keep in mind it’s also been reported that a number of children “disappeared” at the border were rescued when they were detected working in places like meat packers. Maybe the meat packers shut down were employing disappeared children? I dunno. Just speculating.
If some people could think – or read – they wouldn’t be clueless.
That would be you.
The top 4 beef packers control roughly 80% to 85% of the U.S. fed-cattle processing market. This concentrated group is often referred to as the “Big Four.”
One of the Trump investigations is four meat packers control most of the production.
So it was not 2 out of 50, it was more like 2 out of 4.
If someone could communicate effectively, that would be you, there would be no speculation or definition problems. Still, your point is weak or non-existent.
I should have known someone that defends illegal aliens would not have their act wired together. By your skipping over the Palestinian genocide by Bibi and Trump, I guess you defend the genocide too?
And bombing schools and hospitals in Iran.
Soon the rice crop in India will fall short because of the lack of fuel and fertilizer. 3 billion people depend on that crop.
Unlike oil, the world is not buying hug amounts of fertilizers from Canada or the US. Our fertilizer prices should not rise as high as the global market. Then again, with agribusiness seeing the chance to gouge gullible farmers? Prices are up 35 – 80%.
George W. Bush bragged about raiding Swift packing plants to deport undocumented workers. They took the media along on the raids. Swift was already in financial trouble and the raids forced them to seek out a buyer to avoid bankruptcy. A Brazilian company bought Swift. They solved their undocumented immigrant problem by hiring large numbers of Somali refugees. It’s like a never-ending comedy. Now the Federal government and some state governments are investigating the big four packing plants. The investigation is a farce. They will force them to hire all the Americans who are playing video games in their Mom’s basement while drawing welfare checks, and the price of two scrawny little thin T-Bones will go from $75 a pair to $100 plus.
Given the level of meat consumption in the world and especially the USA, it’s probably not bad to see a price increase that drives behaviour change. Meat is so cheap because the animal abuse is just appalling, all to keep the price as low as possible. Which we all know but pretend not to.
I’m part of the problem myself btw. And we do need to change our diet if we keep growing as a global population. Maybe this is a small start.
The American epoch of oil is collapsing. What comes next could be ugly
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/may/17/america-china-energy-oil-renewables
Excellent article.
Meanwhile these countries are willing to work with Iran on getting ships through the strait of Hormuz: Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Japan, and Iraq. So far. Not sure about toll rates. It will be interesting to see if the US tries to stop any of these ships.
Also, the UAE and Saudi say that the drone attacks on their facilities today came from Iraq.
As usual, Trump issued more threats today aimed at Iran to open the strait. Oil prices are up this evening as a result. I wonder if Monday morning he says that Iran called and begged for a deal and he is considering it.
And Iran can counter that the strait is open. But for those who cooperate with them.
July Brent at $111 and climbing. 30 year bond at 5.15 and climbing, Asia stocks down, Dow/Nasdaq/S&P futures down across the board.
Welcome to the Trumpocalypse.™
Going to go to bed now, going to be a busy Monday and probably week. Gotta rest up for massive profitgasms.
I just received a huge shipment of Mishelin star awards, let’s hope someone out there earns them this week. 😉
Do worry, Trump will find a way to make things worse.™
Another interesting week coming up.
Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times”.
Damn it I wanted to start the word Trumpocalypse and he trademarked it already 😑
Are your Michelin stars made in PRC and subject to extortionate tariffs?
Desperate countries will pay ransom to get the oil they need.
BUT the Strait is not open. The US blockade is not letting ships in/out of Iranian ports. As you should be aware, 4 or 5 ships have tried to leave over the last 10 days or so. They were all disabled.
So why anyone would pay Iran without a guarantee that they could actually exit the Persian Gulf is an open question.
You can’t have hyper stock market price without higher food, fuel, accomodation, utilities, computers, softwear, transportation Manufacturing tech costs and especially OUT OF WACK OUT OF CONTROLL CHIPS, without INFLATION.
Retailers HD. Costco, WM Dollar stores are selling all less products but at higher prices so the stock prices keep going up and Inflation keeps going UP and UP. To bring down inflation you have to bring down PRICES. Stock Market is out of hellium keeps going in a manipulated vacum.
45,000 Samsung workers on strike.
https://fortune.com/2026/05/17/labor-strike-samsung-ai-hbm-chips-dividend-revolution-memory/
Got chip inflation?
“To bring down inflation you have to bring down PRICES.”
Inflation is not rising prices. Inflation is an increase in the supply of money without a matching increase in the goods and services you can exchange the money for. Think of inflating money supply like an inflating balloon.
To bring down inflation you have to destroy money. All money is created from debt. So you have to set the FFR a few percentage points above inflation. And you have to be aggressive with it. Inflation can become like a runaway freight train if you’re not careful.
A Pound of Ground Beef Now Costs More Than the Federal Minimum Wage
https://money.com/federal-minimum-wage-vs-ground-beef-cost/
German foreign minister, Baerbock was speaking about the war in Ukraine and said:
She is no longer in German politics.
She was promoted to president of the UN General Assembly.
There has been a lot of chin music about what’s been done wrong over the past, but not a lot about how we fix the mess we are in. In my opinion, it is not possible to fix our mess without virtually everybody experiencing a lot of discomfort to the point of pain. That said, it would be wonderful if there were some serious ideas put forth by this community. Maybe folks in power will take notice of the collective wisdom represented on these pages.
My mantra over several posts has been congress needs to spend less than revenue or the problem only gets worse, maybe at a slower rate with accounting gimmicks, but it still gets worse. Our debt is the overriding reason the Fed is in a box and congress with the executive branch blessing has not been and now not even pretending to be responsible.
A few suggestions to start considering we need to cut at least $two trillion every year going forward:
Cut the defense budget by 2/3’s. An air force base near us looks more like a storage facility for RV.s and boats and rental housing than a military base and its main mission is catering to shopping and recreational needs/desires of retired military; all of which should be provided by the private sector. We do not need half the US installations and probably 3/4ths the foreign installations.
Put a moratorium on all federal funds for new and current construction until the budget is balanced to include roads, bridges, buildings, airport expansions, schools, and even ballrooms. Sell everything not currently being used and all partially used buildings optimized to at least 90% occupancy selling those vacated.
Eliminate all federal fuds for education. Education is not explicitly enumerated as a federal responsibility thus it is reserved for the states or lower-level government.
Push all social safety net expenditures to the states.
I will post about two home examples where the US cut its spending dramatically that led to rapid recovery: it can be done and we have as a country done it before.
As a country, we have been down this deficit spending road a couple times in the last century. First is the severe recession after WW1 and the Spanish Flu pandemic that ended with federal spending cuts from $18,493 million in 1919 to $6,358 million in 1920 to usher in the roaring 20’s. Also, in 1919 the deficit was $13,363 million and in 1920 the surplus was $291 million with annual surpluses through 1930. Another ongoing example is Argentina where drastic government spending cuts are leading to an astounding economic rebound.
The second American example is the great depression followed by WW2 where significant government deficits were the rule from 1931 through 1947. There was no recovery with deficit spending. These two examples would suggest the OBBBA is guaranteed to fail. Data for the above is taken from the following link:
https://stats.areppim.com/stats/stats_usxbudget_history.htm
The second point from our own history is this deficit and debt problem will not be solved by increasing taxes. The chart in the link ( Federal Receipts as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYFRGDA188S) | FRED | St. Louis Fed ) shows that federal receipts normally run around 17% to 17.5% never exceeding 20% of GDP no matter the tax policy. Changing tax policy will tweak the problem, but it will only be a rounding error given our massive problem. The only way to fix our problem is to drastically cut spending below revenue.
In summary, I find it interesting but not surprising that as a country we did well running fiscal surpluses during the 1920.s and miserably during the deficit years of the depression. Correlation is not causation, but it is a good place to start looking.
I know this means a recession or possibly worse, but we have history that shows cutting spending below revenues is a solution over a relatively short time period. On the other hand, doing nothing or trying to spend our way to a solution means a reset that includes a long recession or worse and possibly loss of our country as we know it.
Mish has posted his plan many times over the years. But he’s still not King (or President) yet, so we are stuck with two political parties that will only make things worse while blaming the other party.
This is the first time I’ve read this new blog post from Mish today, and it’s interesting the term “double down” was used. I just used that term in a reply post in another thread.
“… we need a political and economic reset…”
I can assure you this is coming from pressures both internally and externally, and it will most likely include violence (from both). And after this America wont look, or function the same again.
Ramen noodles ca be eaten or burnt for heat.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WXbMQgWRPOo
There was price gouging between Q3 ‘19 pre Covid and Q3 21 at a real net income increase of 42.4%, Q3 ‘22 increase from Q3 19 was 46.2%, Q3 ‘23 from Q3 ‘19 was 57.6%. In short there was oligopoly price gouging or greedflation.
But the MAGA crowd remain intensely loyal (Indiana/Alabama). Nothing seems to phase them.
Polls on that issue from a month ago were twisted because they defined “MAGA” as anyone loyal to Trump. So it was a tautology. Trump’s popularity has plummeted, so he’s lost a lot of his 2024 voters.
They’d sell their children to own the libs.
This is my Beef? Israel and America who both have Nuclear Weapons say they attacked Iran so that Iran could not also have Nuclear Weapons? But Israel and America have already themselves proven less than trustworthy on the Global War Front? So now everyone on the Planet faces increased prices on almost everything
including Beef because of an unneeded War. Now to my hamburger– minus the patty.
I hope you are feeling very hungry. I’m not!
Iran should demand that the US and Israel give up their nukes. They wouldn’t comply, but raising the issue would get people to think. Who the F is the US to dictate the kind of government another country has? Much of the world is rooting for the underdog and respects Iran for standing up against the Axis of Evil.
Trump’s talk about inflation (as so much else) was so cheap. I was pricing groceries today — potato chips, nuts — price spikes all around. (No junk food here, but it is for dear old mom.) This will sift through so many things. The electorate may remember its inflation fatigue, as it quickly turned on a war it was not consulted about. I fear that will catapult us into another frying pan, politically. The electorate overshoots all the time. Any centrist, please!
Centrists are what led us here
Do nothing middle of the road bull shit
Walnuts aren’t junk food. Very healthy (salt free and eaten in moderation).
But look at all the climate change we avoided by having a smaller cattle herd!
Almost enough to counter all that oil getting burned in the open air because of destroyed infrastructure!
As a species, we exhibit such miraculous intelligence. Hooray for humans!
I think there is a design flaw in the species. Our success at last surfaced it existentially. It is shared by all organisms, but they lack ability to wreck this place.
Not true all flora and fauna will ruin anywhere if overabundant.
Our problem is we think we are the smartest monkeys.
But we have 10 trillion gut bacteria which seem to act like a second brain.
From Moscow rules the spy advice everyone forgets about.
Never go against your gut. Your intuition is a vital operational antenna.
Fear not for we humans have created our replacement — AI and robots. We’ll be joining the dinosaurs soon enough.
Lol. The USA has a smaller herd because of global warming, but the globe has grown a much larger herd, so our smaller herd got erased by the globe’s bigger herd. Hence, no global warming was avoided.
We need a king!
Sorry, jester was the best they could do.
We passed enlightened monarch so fast on the way to surreal miscreant, I missed. it.
We are more like in the Magicians assistant phase.
Every phrase uttered is to misdirect the genpop from what is slowly happening in the background.
Ever wonder why all those strange laws were never repealed?
They remain on the books just in case they are necessary to bring the big hammer down.
Strangely Phantom Pain servers will no longer support Russia and Belarus starting June 15.
Strikes me as odd timing and overly specific nations.
What is being planned for that date?
Dude the WWE and MMA people are his crowd.
Keep this in mind bad press is better than no press. He has people pissed off about every dumbass thing he says and does.
Free publicity and he doesn’t care how far he misdirects the genpop from the real agenda.
Dude a BENEVOLENT DESPOT!
A benevolent despot is an authoritarian leader who exercises absolute power, often for the intended benefit of their population rather than just themselves. Also known as “enlightened absolutism,” this form of government in the 18th century featured monarchs implementing reforms for societal improvement while maintaining total control.
There actually is some truth to that. In a system where power is concentrated at the top, everyone knows who makes the decisions and who is responsible for those decisions. Everyone knows who calls the shots and where the buck stops.
In a purported democracy, everyone in office claims to derive its authority from someone else, going eventually to “the people” who would find it difficult to exercise power, even if they were to get formal authority to do so.
The upshot is that a Lukshenko or a Xi cannot tell protesters that “Gee, I hear your concerns and I wish I could help but the Parliamentary Ombudsman says my hands are tied, pending a review by the subcommittee which then passes the matter on to the full committee for review and maybe a few rounds of hearings.”
The Chinese response to lockdown protests compared with the Canadian response is most instructive. The evil authoritarian Chinese regime responded to protests with something like “We think this is misguided, but you asked for it, so have it your way and let’er rip!”
The always law-abiding and oh-so-enlightened Canadian government slandered protesters, tried mass arrests, and ran roughshod over property and contractual rights of protesters in a series of actions which even the institutions of that same government admitted was illegal. But of course, nobody was punished, no heads rolled.
The US does not have the vocational education system required by modern manufacturing. To use Iran war language, it’s a choke point. Putting tariffs on imports just deepens the manufacturing malaise, as confirmed by manufacturing employment data since Liberation Day.
Beef has been $7-12/lb here in CA for at least a year! If beef is too expensive for your pocketbook, then try tree bark, as they do in North Korea.
Stop the incessant whining. Everyone is not destitute and living hardscrabble, hand-to-mouth!
But if you listen to the liberal media and this former Libertarian website, an extra $40-60/week in gas cost would seem to be pushing many over the brink of solvency. Who knew?
I love this for you. Midterms coming up and the right wing line is “stop crying” 😂
Their capacity for blissful unawareness is truly majestic.
I’m confident Dems will shoot themselves in both feet and will be placing my bets accordingly.
Conservatives in CA often think middle American will save the country from left wing excess. Columnist Kurt Sphincter usually exhibits this misapprehension. And then Kansas votes to preserve abortion. Trump is screwing up so badly, the GOP will lose in unexpected places. Also, Zionism is becoming electorally toxic.
I have not heard of this Sphincter character before , was he named after the muscle? and does he spout excrement.
Euell Theophilus Gibbons (September 8, 1911 – December 29, 1975)[2] was an outdoorsman and early health food advocate who promoted eating wild foods during the 1960s
…
Often mistaken for a survivalist, Gibbons was an advocate for nutritious but neglected plants, which he typically prepared in the kitchen with abundant use of spices, butter and garnishes.[25] Several of his books discuss what he called “wild parties”—dinner parties where guests were served dishes prepared from plants gathered in the wild. His favorite recommendations included lamb’s quarters, rose hips, young dandelion shoots, stinging nettle and cattails. He often pointed out that gardeners threw away the tastier, more healthful crop when they removed such “weeds” as purslane and amaranth from among their spinach plants.
Guy blissfully unaware of the much publicized fact that most Americans do not have $500 set aside for an emergency wonders why an extra couple grand for gas is a big deal
Life’s a bitch….
Farmers in my midwest area no longer raise livestock as they tend to focus on growing corn for the ethanol plants caused by governmental intervention.
This has been a long-term problem!
A lot less risk and bother for a steady check.
Better paycheck from not planting nor farming certain government mandated oversupply foods. I also think there was something about Wool, like way back in the 70’s a newscaster was paid not to raise sheep.
That can’t end soon enough. Corn uses too much water and we are running aquifers dry at ever increasing rates.
Around 85% of all ethanol produced is used to keep gasoline from exploding before you want it to explode. Used to be called knocking. So no, that is not why they sold off their about to die of starvation cattle herds.
“The main culprit is cattle herd size, but here’s a bunch of other shit that I’ll throw around like a feces-tossing Monkee.”
Not enough cattle, which take several years to grow to bring to market, is somehow Trump’s fault.
This was baked in LONG before now.
Democrats paid for egg prices in the election even though bird flu devastated flocks, outside anyone’s control. Voters don’t care about specifics beyond the general sense of out of control inflation in everyday goods. And there are plenty of trump policies that have added to that bottom line on beef prices, like rising feed costs and rising transport costs, both of which he stupidly and directly has set afire by clowning into Iran.
(reposting as I made a typo)
Last week at Aldi, there was a sale on organic grass fed 93% lean ground beef for around $6 a pound. A shopper there remarked to me how expensive it was. I told him the sale price is a great price by today’s standards and it is.
Like I said before, enjoy these “good times” while they last because they could get a lot worse to the point where you can’t even find beef in your local supermarket, even if you could afford it.
Eat chicken or turkey. Last week I bought 93% ground turkey at Costco for $3.83/lb. That’s at least half the price at many other stores.
Or try trout. Whole, farm raised is $4.49/lb at Costco.
Or Costco rotisserie chickens. 3lbs for $4.99, enough for at least two full meals for two people, minimum.
lol, maybe 85 year olds
Have you thought about getting on a GLP-1 program?
Yeah right around when I tell my two teenage boys that they need to make a 3lb chicken last two days, lol peepaw
LOL – yeah my teen boy who is very active in sports can easily put down a 2 lb steak along with fries/baked potato etc and be hungry again in a couple hours.
But for the misses and myself, not so much. We can make one of those rotisserie chickens last 2 meals when you add sides (potato and a veggie/salad).
I meant normal adults, not gluttonous teenagers!
Pigeon is squab.
I got the same Aldi 93% for 50% off or $3.25 / pound 2 weeks ago
Why? Was it expired? Or they just liked your looks?
Last week at Aldi, there was a sale on organic grass fed 93% lean ground beef for around $6 a pound. A shopper there remarked to me how expensive it was. I told him the sale price is a great price by today’s standards and it is.
Like I said before, enjoy these “good times” while they last because they could get a lot worse to the point where you can’t even find beef in your local supermarket, even if you could afford it.
So how much is that ground beef in Palestine?
It’s literally there on the street to pick up.
That’s rat meat 🙂
Cannibal tourism then?
I’m sure Israeli-killed Palestenian is kosher.
Excess production capacity, dumping, unfair competition, subsidizing manufactures.
These are all mythical things. If they worked, any affected nation would just retaliate by doing the same thing. They don’t, because they can’t [afford it]. China has built dozens of megapolises, unmatched port, highway, energy, railway, and high-speed infrastructure, and now sits on 50% of the manufacturing plant in the world, all within two generations. But they did this by giving products away for less than the costs of production? This makes no sense. It’s all incoherent lame coping for being less efficient than them.
Grocery stores put some items on sale as loss leaders to get shoppers in the door. China is using the same strategy, but using manufacturing as a weapon for global dominance. Getting countries to give up their manufacturing by force is difficult. Getting them to give up their manufacturing by selling them the same things at lower cost is much easier.
Capitalism at work.
Invasive species are actually those better adapted to exist in an environment than the native ones.
That and they only have one aircraft carrier, we have fourteen. China has less than a handful of military bases outside of their own country we have 800 or so. Where the govt puts the people’s money might give a clue.
A lot goes into the pockets of the CCP members.
I have a suspicion that China and Iran have figured out how to deal with aircraft carriers with something besides aircraft carriers. China definately has the technical and industrial capacity to build as many as the want. They haven’t.
Correct. In an actual naval engagement between major powers there are just submarines and targets.
Carriers are just used to bully lesser nations like Iran.
China will never be in alignment with the US in regards to Iran
China wants an Iran free of US control
China wants an Iran that has power and independent wealth even though it would be via the Hormuz tollbooth
China’s oil imports from Venezuela have been cut by a factor of 10 via US’s control of the VZ oil
A similar control of the Strait by the US cannot be allowed by China
And it would be foolish to turn the China petro state over entirely to Russia suppliers
Sen. Dave McCormick: “Putting troops on the ground is a whole new level of escalation, so I think the president is weighing that very carefully. If Iran in the coming days and weeks doesn’t make the choice for a path to peace, I’m afraid we’re gonna have to use our military.”
How drunk was he when he said that?
Just a little afternoon Vicodin buzz.
Spoken like a true AIPAC fundee.
Chian doesn’t give a crap about Iran. It just wants their oil.
China doesn’t want the US to control it’s access to oil
So China wants the US out of the Gulf
Iran wants the same
Hmmm, strategic alliance???
Ah yes. But your forgot to add in the foreign adversaries.
The whole rest of the world has ganged up on the good-hearted but naïve Americans
Please spare me the sap and blame the origin. Nixon enabled all of this.
After 1790’s M. Antoinette … ‘Let them eat Filet Mignon.'(Same response from the 2026 American citizenry masses – to the November 26 voting guillotines)
Historians consider the story to be political propaganda. It was used to portray the French monarchy as wildly out of touch with the starving peasantry during the French Revolution. [1, 2, 3]
Thank you for that fascinating tour of Bullshit Throughout the Ages.
I had a couple of punk Mormon elders visit yesterday. 20 year olds pissing away a half hour with me when they could be volunteering at a soup kitchen or nursing home selling their religion to those Jesus actually told people to deal with if they wanted to go to heaven.
After they left I Googled and found out about the sexual abuse payouts, the money funneling to the upper heirarchy and how their flock increase mainly comes from DRC and Ghana.
They only accepted Blacks as heaven worthy in 1978.
Even the Jehovah’s Witnesses went broke near me, so the Mormons must be desperate moving east.
Soup kitchen work doesn’t bring in new tithe payers. The Mormon Church is an MLM organization.
Mormons are every bit as crazy as Scientology.
The rank and file are generally solid, nice people despite that. Scientologists not so much.
Anyone here paying 6.90 or anything close for a pound of ground beef?
I was at BJ Wholesale yesterday and I got 4 pounds of 80/20 for 5.49 lb.
Until the US cattle herds increase in size the price is going to remain high. Allowing Argentina imports (we already allow Mexican imports because I can buy those at WinnDixie) makes sense especially for things like ground beef.
Nope…not even close. 80/20 on sale at ShopRite for $2.99/lb as I type
Hugely jealous. I just googled Shoprite 80/20 and I could only find prices similar to mine.
Where do you live?
80/20 beef is too fatty for my taste. I only buy 93/7 beef or 95/5 New Zealand venison. The 93/7 beef is generally available around me for $6-$7/lb. The venison is $9.99/lb.
You must live in a major city. Even in a mid size city like West Palm Beach I can easily get fresh venison from friends who hunt on the outskirts of the everglades a few miles away.
Fat = flavor! I don’t go lower than 80/20 but since it’s going to be used for taco’s it’s easy to strain out the fatty grease to just get lean cooked meat for the tacos. 90/10 is the highest I go because it starts to lose taste around that point.
Incidentally the 90/10 wasn’t much more expensive (25 cents a lb).
Finally, a culinary debate on this website. What’s Trump’s Social Truth take on the correct x/y beef? I am sure he has a view on this.
Trump absolutely LOVE’S MickeyD’s. Eats there a lot. Google AI seems to think MickeyDs uses 80/20 so if true, that’s the right content.
But even if true, it is cooked to the the texture of rawhide and all fat has been burned away!
80/20 worm to beef ratio? 😄
Seems like a good time to stop eating animal flesh, stop using tobacco and consuming alcohol. Improve your health and save some money at the same time.
Interesting strategy by Trump…make beef unaffordable thus making it harder to make TACOs….thus, no more TACOs….TRUMP always winning / 5D chess
“Trump was confronted with his own quote, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,” and instead of walking it back… he DOUBLED DOWN. “I’d make it again.” Then, he defended skyrocketing costs and Americans struggling as “short-term pain.” ”
The above was from your article and, MISH, you:
Wrote that twice – – – Wrote that twice.
That is an old joke from my ‘hood in Illinois as a young kid.
Ah beef prices….take me back to the old posts about Mish working in the meat dept during high school/college
From January 2022: Biden Goes After the 4 Top Meatpackers, Blaming Them for Inflation
https://mishtalk.com/economics/biden-goes-after-the-4-top-meatpackers-blaming-them-for-inflation/
Every politician talks about fixing problems and in the end they do nothing. That link is from January 2022, that was 4 years ago and here we are in the exact same situation under a different clown.
I can tell you by 2030, 1 lb of beef will likely be $20 so what are you going to do about that NOW, today.
The only solution to everyone’s meat problems are more profits in your pocketbook, not Trump, not Biden, not JD Vance or whatever clown you think is going to save you next.
Any questions?
None of the Big 5 meat processors have raided by ICE.
Pay to play?
Per the law of supply and demand, if more suppliers enter into the marketplace and demand remains the same prices ought to go down ceteris paribus.
Maybe you missed it then:
Yes. ICE has raided multiple U.S. meat‑packing plants, including a major, well‑documented raid in Omaha, Nebraska, where 75 workers were arrested and production collapsed by 80% within 24 hours.
What the evidence shows
🟥 1. Omaha, Nebraska — Glenn Valley Foods
• 75 workers arrested in an ICE worksite raid.
• Described as the largest worksite enforcement operation in Nebraska during Trump’s presidency. USA Today
• The plant’s output fell by 80% in a single day, triggering supply‑chain disruptions and worker walkouts. La Voce di N…
• The facility supplies beef and chicken to restaurants and grocery chains, so the impact spread beyond the plant itself.
🟥 2. Nationwide pattern of raids
• Reporting indicates months of ICE targeting meat‑packing companies accused of hiring undocumented workers.
• One major plant (not named in the snippet but described as a high‑output national supplier) shut down entirely after a raid, causing layoffs and supply‑chain disruptions. Mike and Jon…
• Industry groups note that over half of U.S. slaughterhouse and meat‑packing workers are immigrants, many undocumented, making the sector highly vulnerable to enforcement actions.
🟥 3. Broader consequences
• Beef prices were already at historic highs, and cattle herds at 70‑year lows — the raids worsened market volatility. La Voce di N…
• Protests occurred in Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, and Chicago in response to the raids.
• Analysts warned of a domino effect: fewer workers → reduced processing → supply bottlenecks → higher prices.
Missed the C-Suite arrests.
This is why China agreed to buy US beef,
and oil while Trump was there. They know it will only suck supply from the US and force prices even higher for US consumers. As I said yesterday, a brilliant move on their part. And Trump is dumb enough to claim this as a positive!
On a related topic: Something else I saw yesterday. Because Canada recently announced that they would allow 49,000 imported cars from China this year at a modest 6% tariff, Tesla is attempting to front run the Chinese automakers and is offering discounts of up to 50% on some of their models that are made in China.
For example a Tesla Model 3 Premium RWD that normally sells for $80,000 Canadian is now $40,000. That’s $29,000 US. The same car in the US is $43,000.
Meanwhile, Chinese automakers are currently lining up existing Canadian dealerships to sell and service their cars as well. I suspect that the response from Canadians will be so strong for these bargains from China that the Canadian government will eventually raise the number of imports allowed in exchange for Chinese manufacturers committing to build in Canada.
Canada’s current auto industry is toast. Thanks to the standoff with the USA and the difference in opinion on emissions (Canada still clings to impossible to meet standards) it’s not going to be profitable to build anything in Canada because economies of scale don’t make sense even for Chinese EVs (Ford already no longer makes any cars in Canada, GM and Chrysler may soon follow suit leaving just a couple of Japanese car makers).
Unless the Canadian government changes things eventually 100% of cars in Canada will have to be imported from some other country.
Ford cancelled their EV plans for Canadian production, but they are about to start producing the F150 Superduty truck in Oakville Ontario .
“ Production of gas- and diesel-powered Ford F-Series Super Duty trucks (F-250 through F-550) is expected to ramp up, eventually producing up to 100,000 units annually.”
Canada manufactures around 1.1 million vehicles per year from Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford and Stellantis. I expect Korea and China to start manufacturing there eventually, since Trump is threatening to “end” Canada’s auto industry. They need to attract alternatives to the big 3.
Regarding emissions standards, Canada has historically simply followed US EPA standards because their auto industry is so integrated with ours and stricter standards would be counterproductive.
The problem is most of those 1.1 million get exported to the USA. If Trumps tariffs remain on Canadian production they won’t be able to make them in Canada for long and all that production will shift to the USA as Trump wants.
I agree Canada needs to move to the US emission standards. But Carney is still stubbornly refusing to move the standard. Hence to make cars for the Canadian market means auto manufacturers have to build small batches of special cars for Canada and that’s not profitable.
I’ll be curious to how long the Ford production lasts. It’s been many years since Ford made vehicles of any kind in Canada. Especially if the tariffs remain on the vehicles being exported back into the US (which is exactly where most of those F150s will be going). At least the governments only gave Ford 450 million to do this as opposed to the billions they wasted on Chrysler and others in EV fiascos.
You misread what I said. Canada does NOT have stricter emissions standards than the US. Where do you get this idea? They always copy our emissions standards because of their integration with our auto industry.
Canadians produce 1.1 million cars per year and buy 1.9 million per year. Yes, the majority of their production is sold in the US. That is because all the automakers in Canada are focused on the US market. However, if forced to change, the automakers will instead focus on the Canadian market. 1.9 million is a good sized market. This also presents a big opportunity for Chinese manufacturers to make inroads in Canada at the expense of US manufacturers.
“ It’s been many years since Ford made vehicles of any kind in Canada.”
Again. Where do you get these ideas? The Ford plant in Oakville has been producing vehicles in Canada since 1953. It was most recently producing the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus up till 2024, when the plant was shut for retooling for EVs. Ford then scrapped their EV plans last year and decided to retool for the F series trucks instead. So the plant was shut down a bit longer than expected.
The reality is that Ford has been making vehicles in Canada for 73 years and has never stopped (other than for retooling).
As you noted, they stopped making them in 2024. In theory they are slated to make more in 2027. That’s a 3 year gap of no vehicles made in Canada. That’s assuming they do get made in 2027. And Ford used to make cars at a lot more places in Canada than Oakville.
1.9 million sounds like a lot of cars. But that’s across ALL makes and models. Given there are probably 50 models, that’s only 38000 of any given model. Now some will obviously be more popular than others (F150, Rav4 etc) but what it really means is that Canada would end up with only a handful of models that it could make at scale (200K plus vehicles) so Canadians would lose a lot of car choice if they don’t adopt US emission standards. Canada no longer shares US emission standards.
https://driving.ca/column/motor-mouth/carney-trump-cusma-auto-industry-ev-electric-vehicles
This guy lays out the case for Chinese cars and talks about what you need in Canada to be profitable for any auto maker. The driving.ca site is the best site for what’s going on in the automotive industry in Canada.
https://driving.ca/column/motor-mouth/build-leapmotor-chinese-evs-chrysler-brampton-plant-canada-stellantis
Splitting into parts since you can’t include multiple links (sigh)
As you noted, they stopped making them in 2024. In theory they are slated to make more in 2027. That’s a 3 year gap of no vehicles made in Canada. That’s assuming they do get made in 2027. And Ford used to make cars at a lot more places in Canada than Oakville.
1.9 million sounds like a lot of cars. But that’s across ALL makes and models. Given there are probably 50 models, that’s only 38000 of any given model. Now some will obviously be more popular than others (F150, Rav4 etc) but what it really means is that Canada would end up with only a handful of models that it could make at scale (200K plus vehicles) so Canadians would lose a lot of car choice if they don’t adopt US emission standards. Canada no longer shares US emission standards.
https://driving.ca/column/motor-mouth/carney-trump-cusma-auto-industry-ev-electric-vehicles
This guy lays out the case for Chinese cars and talks about what you need in Canada to be profitable for any auto maker. The driving.ca site is the best site for what’s going on in the automotive industry in Canada.
https://driving.ca/column/motor-mouth/build-leapmotor-chinese-evs-chrysler-brampton-plant-canada-stellantis
You wrote: “And Trump is dumb enough to claim this as a positive!”
I wish that he was technically dumb (the other meaning).
MEANING??: MUTE! NO SOUNDS from him. JUST TOUGH LOOKS and so on.
I am fine with Political “Optics.” I just turn my head away from the TV every time a Congress Person (From either side) or at the REGAL LEVEL (Biden, or TRUMP.
Our REGALS (Kings) are simply as stupid as one another and as bad as Starmer is in the UK or that ECB CROOK, LEGARDE, etc.
EV’s have a lot less moving parts than IC engined cars. They should be significantly less costly to produce and sell.
Correct. And if Chinese manufacturers move to Canada, they will start to put Ford and GM out of business there.
And I neglected to mention: And yet, EV’s are often more expensive in the US than IC cars.
More taco insider trading tips:
Suspicious Betting in Washington Is on theRise—and Authorities Are Playing Catch-Up
Regulators are seeking information from Kalshi and Polymarket over wagerstied to political events and military operations
The very fact that Trump’s son Don Jr is on the board at Kalshi should tell you everything you need to know. Makes it easy to rig things so I would be very wary of wagering on that site.
via WSJ: 67% of the winnings went to 0.1% of the accounts
It’s a Black Sox world
Arnold Rothstein, not Joe Jackson.
Another tax payer funded asset for taco, one of many.
Trump’s Health Fears Grow as White House Builds Underground Hospital Inside $400m Ballroom
Court filing reveals underground medical facilities in Trump’s White House ballroomproject, intensifying scrutiny over his healthBy Bernadette B. TixonPublished 16 May 2026, 9:58 PM BST
That would make sense allowing for swift action in an emergent situation.
If someone could explain what Cheney built under the VP residence.
The “building” or “bunker” under the Vice President’s Residence refers to a classified underground facility constructed beneath Number One Observatory Circle during Dick Cheney’s tenure as Vice President. [1, 2, 3]
Details regarding the controversial project include:
Meth lab
Yes, they are planning to keep Trump’s greatest of all time brain alive when his body gives out to continue to rule. 😆
Looks like the herd has been shot around the world.
Clever.
JBS.NV a large international meat producer lost money on its US operations. Trump is an economic illiterate trying to bloviate populist bullshit.
Did you want beef on that Taco??? Maybe he should investigate with Elizabeth Warren. Oh wait, she’s a D. Checkmate. I guess he’s no better at 5D chess than 1D chess. Looks like checkers at the kids table for him when the next G7 comes around.
Trumpstien is the best thing to happen to solar energy and veganism in the past 30 years.
Magats are being forced by cost to become Soyboys.
Taco has said that he doesn’t care as his focus is on Iran and enriching himself and his family along with his cronies.
Taco also doesn’t care because he’s not running for re-election. What we are seeing is standard 2nd term behavior.
No, really far beyond that. Crazy far, totalitarian far.
If we assume half of what he says is distraction, we need to wonder what the real plan is.
ANGLETON of all people!
“A wilderness of mirrors” is a famous phrase describing a situation where truth is unknowable, deception is rampant, and every piece of information reflects an endless cycle of distortion. [1, 2]
Its origins and prominent uses span espionage, literature, music, and pop culture:
Origins in Espionage
The phrase was popularized by T.S. Eliot in his 1920 poem Gerontion, where he wrote: “History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors / And issues, dead with devious steps, / […] Think / Neither fear nor courage invades us. / Unnatural vices / Are fathered by our heroism. Virtues / Are forced upon us by our impudent crimes. / These are the talents, / These are the talents with which the creator / Provides our intellect, His whim with mysteries, and hides the whim / In complexities. / History has many cunning passages, contrived corridors, / And issues, dead with devious steps, / With some hint, then, not to be missed, / […] Think / Neither fear nor courage invades us. / Unnatural vices / Are fathered by our heroism. Virtues / Are forced upon us by our impudent crimes. / These are the talents / These are the talents with which the creator / Provides our intellect, / His whim with mysteries, and hides the whim / In complexities.”
In the 1960s, former CIA Chief of Counterintelligence James Jesus Angleton adopted the term to describe the labyrinthine world of counterintelligence and Soviet deception. In this realm, moles and double agents manufactured false realities, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe or fact from fiction
He said the 1st part, not the 2nd. Why put your words in Trump’s mouth? He already outright says enough dumb shit.
But yes, Iran is more import for world stability that whether Americans have to pay a bit more for stuff. I really didn’t expect Trump to have this enlightened perspective!
Actions speak louder than words