Today’s trade rhetoric, full of ‘historic deals,’ obscures the real question: are these policies making America richer or poorer?
Please consider The Daily Economy article Trump’s ‘Broken Windows’ Economy
Like the mayor in Bastiat’s tale, President Trump is a slick politician and a masterful spin artist. He’s exceptional at portraying his policy’s “success” by focusing our attention squarely on its visible beneficiaries. That’s why he often unveils his latest tariffs in made-for-TV spectacles where he’s encircled by jubilant workers at revived factories that directly benefit from his protectionist policies.
Thankfully, Bastiat’s parable exposes this clever marketing ploy for what it is: cheap sophistry. For every reshored job and “Made in America” product comes at the hidden cost of whatever else we could’ve made with those resources (where that “whatever else” is something more valuable to the economy). These costs are, by definition, difficult to measure. And unlike a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a newly opened factory, they’re impossible to showcase. But they’re very real, and very damaging to the economy. The late Henry Hazlitt aptly distilled Bastiat’s insight in his classic work, Economics in One Lesson: the art of economics consists in looking beyond the immediate, visible benefits of a policy on one group to consider its long-run, “unseen” consequences on the entire economy.
In May, Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick vowed to stick it to China by bringing iPhone assembly jobs “back” to America. “The army of millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones, that kind of thing is going to come to America!” he gushed.
Would this bolster our economy, as Trump and Lutnick argue? Quite the opposite. Hiring an “army of millions” of Americans to assemble iPhones means drawing them away from jobs we actually excel at, like designing iPhones, developing new software, and countless others.
Dave Chappelle is right: Americans want to buy iPhones, not make them.
In August, the president touted July’s tariff haul as a $30 billion windfall to our economy. To the untrained eye, this appears to be welcome news. But a messier image comes into focus when viewed through Bastiat’s lens. As any economist worth their salt can attest, tariffs are a tax borne by consumers in the form of higher prices. Higher prices mean consumers have less money to spend on other things, thus crowding out growth and destroying jobs in those sectors. That $30 billion in tariff revenue isn’t manna from heaven, as Trump often portrays it. It’s a hidden tax on US consumers.
What about the raft of “trade agreements” and investment deals the president loves to flaunt? In July, Trump touted his agreement with the EU as “the biggest deal ever made.” The EU, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, and the UAE pledged to invest $750 billion, $600 billion, $550 billion, $350 billion, and $200 billion, respectively. Corporations have also joined in. In May, Nvidia pledged to invest $500 billion in domestic chip manufacturing. In August, Apple affirmed its $600 billion investment in America. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg also vowed to invest $600 billion.
These headlines certainly seem propitious, even if these “commitments” are incredibly vague, and the numbers seemingly conjured out of thin air. (Lest we forget: what matters to the dealmaker-in-chief is eye-catching headlines, not empirical accuracy or sound economics.) But even if Trump’s tariffs succeed in reshoring some jobs, Bastiat’s question remains: at what cost? If other nations can manufacture iPhones and widgets more efficiently than we can, economics teaches us we’re better off importing those products. This frees our workers to specialize in higher-paying jobs they excel at – skilled craftsmen, artisans, high-skilled manufacturing, etc. – of which there’s no shortage.
Whether he’s defending his policies on crime or trade, he’s remarkably adept at drawing our attention where he wants. On crime, he tells harrowing tales of urban violence to justify federal incursions into local law enforcement. On trade, he hosts grand ribbon-cuttings at reopened factories in made-for-TV spectacles to justify taking autocratic control over trade policy.
It’s brilliant retail politics, to be sure. That said, there’s a stark difference between broken windows policing and his broken windows trade policy.
To be clear, economists don’t claim free trade is a panacea. No profession is more fond of reminding people that every decision involves tradeoffs (hence Harry Truman’s Melvillian quest to find a “one-armed economist”). Are there tough tradeoffs that policymakers must weigh when conducting trade policy, like protecting crucial national security interests and fortifying strategically vital industries? Absolutely – though, to be fair, these concerns are often wildly overstated by lobbyists trying to hurt foreign competitors. Are there steps policymakers can take to make our economy more competitive? Sure – though, to be clear, we should start by slashing red tape, not clumsily cutting off trade. The Hippocratic Oath in medicine also applies to economic policy: “first, do no harm.” It’s one thing to attract investment with the carrot of simplifying taxes and surgically removing our most malignant policies. It’s quite another to compel it with the stick – nay, sledgehammer – of tariffs and trade barriers, with all their far-reaching negative consequences. One need not be a free trade absolutist to believe that we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to trade.
All this smoke and mirrors is a clever way for the president to distract Americans from the destructive effects of his trade war, as evidenced by the recent spate of weak jobs reports and anemic growth figures. Instead, heed Bastiat’s timeless wisdom: Behind every lofty tariff pronouncement lies a hidden cost. Like the politician in Bastiat’s tale, when Trump brags about “bringing back” jobs, all he’s really celebrating is a hefty bill for replacing windows he smashed with his tariffs.
Despite all the sound and fury emanating from the White House, Bastiat’s lesson rings as true as ever. Destroying trade doesn’t create prosperity any more than smashing windows creates wealth.
Mass Deportations
Sadly, Trump gave into to radicals on deportation after having at times proposed more sensible policies. There’s a spotlight on every criminal. No mention of US citizens illegally held or people deported in violation of the law.
Trump ignores the destruction caused by loss of construction jobs, hotel cleaning jobs, farm jobs, and meat packing jobs.
Assuming you can find US citizens to do these jobs, at what price? Aren’t homes, food, and hotel bills high enough?
In the steel and aluminum businesses, there are tens of thousands of users of steel and aluminum all paying higher prices for every steel or aluminum job saved.
Price Gouging Investigations
In addition to trade, Trump also sounds like Elizabeth Warren on price gouging.
Curiously, Trump denies inflation and calls it a hoax while on a witch hunt investigating grocery store price gouging.
DOGE Mixed Bag
Trump did reduce government jobs but it’s hard to know if DOGE was a success. From a claim of $2 trillion, then $1 trillion, actual verified savings are more like $50 billion.
If that’s an annual saving, call it a mild success. But some of that is one time savings. Regarding employment, let’s see how many get rehired over when the BLS and BEA, etc., find they are understaffed to do their jobs.
AI Boom
Trump has nothing to do with the AI boom that added greatly to GDP in 2025. But it happened on his watch so give Trump credit.
The downside is Trump will own the inevitable but, if and when that comes.
Government Shutdown Over Health Care
We had the longest government shutdown in history. It was primarily over health care subsidies.
Republicans own the health care mess now.
Instead of opting for a one year extension to Obamacare subsidies, the issue is going to surface again in January.
Expect sticker shock for over 20 million people on Obamacare.
Gold and Silver
Gold and silver surged to new record highs.
So did Bitcoin, but Bitcoin took a huge plunge and limped into 2026.
Foreign Policy
Trump is illegally blowing up boats in Venezuela. We launched a military strike in Nigeria.
Trump bombed Iran’s centrifuges.
Trump meddled in Greenland driving the country closer to Denmark in the process.
Relations with Canada soured.
Instead of cooperating with countries to counteract China, Trump managed to drive India closer to Russia and China, Canada closer to China, and South America closer to China.
The war between Ukraine and Russia lingers. Recall that Trump said the war woulkd end on his first day in office.
Epstein
Trump went from promising to release all the documents to denying there ever were documents.
He fought disclosure while calling Epstein a hoax. If Epstein was a hoax, releasing everything would prove it.
After fighting a bill on Epstein, Trump suddenly reversed course and signed a bill mandating full release.
However, Trump is now violating the actual letter of the law he signed.
Debt
Republicans failed to do anything about debt or the deficit.
US Debt Now Grows by $1 Trillion Every 150 Days
Best Measure of 2025
The best measure of 2025 is how people feel. The answer is miserable.
Republicans were hammered in every special election in 2025.
And it shows up in the polls.
Despite Trump’s claims to have “created the greatest economy in history,” people are very unhappy. They are concerned about inflation, jobs, shelter, food, and insurance.
Trump sounds just like Joe Biden telling people they are wrong. He consistently overpromises and underdelivers.
If the economy was as good as Trump claimed, and inflation was nonexistent, people would not be miserable.
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December 15, 2025: How Much Did AI Spending Contribute to First-Half GDP? What About Q3?
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December 17, 2025: Trump Addresses the Nation, Blames Biden, Incessantly Praises Himself
Here’s a replay of Trump’s address to the nation.
Trump Sounds Defensive Like Biden
Trump moaned about Biden but the result was he sounded like Biden, just more forceful.
Instead of “aw shucks come on, things are improving” it was “I am the greatest.”
I suspect such arrogance will further hurt him at the polls.
Meanwhile, please note Only 56 Percent of Republicans Say the Economy Is Good
If you don’t understand why, please click on some of the preceding links.
There is no solution for the Fed or the Administration.
Later today I will post some predictions for 2026.
When you are an “eat what you kill” salesperson, you are only focused on the next sale and your immediate reward. How hard you sell depends on how “hungry” you are. Donald Trump is who he is primarily because he is obsessed with closing the sale and amassing the rewards. If you own a company and your company’s growth is driven by sales, you want to hire as many Donald Trumps as possible, but as the CEO, you must manage many aspects of the business, keep tabs on the competition, and continually evaluate the long-term strategy and whether your company is well-positioned to succeed over the long term. The CEO cannot have a transitional “eat what you kill” mentality, but he wants those types of people working for the business to drive near-term growth.
American voters put the “eat what you kill” salesman in the CEO chair. This is why the public is subjected to constant gaslighting and promoting. He is always selling and taking no time at all to think about strategy and the long-term pros and cons of his actions.
Broken Window economy is a gift from Barack Biden Yellen
And without the repeal of Glass-Steagall (Pelosi, Reid, frank, Clinton) financial system woes could not even approach where they are now
Anything bad during a GOP administration is obviously due to Democrat evils. Got it. 100% of the time.
SHOUT OUT TO FROSTY. SILVER MARGIN RAISED……………….SOME BIG BANK OR HEDGE FUND IS BUSTED……………..Shanghai moved lower to 80.00 from 83.00
Still much higher than the price in the USA
Which means there is significant arbitrage happening. Which further means silver is leaving COMEX for Shanghai, never to return, because most Shanghai buyers stand for delivery. This loss of COMEX inventory just drives the futures contracts to a higher ratio versus actual silver & as these cycles repeat (exactly what CME doesn’t want) at some point COMEX won’t have silver to deliver & the paper game will be up driving silver pricing through the roof if these CME margin changes don’t break the rall
US will ban export. That’s the only way out for COMEX.
CME can try to suppress the price all they want but they already know it’s game over once China starts export controls tomorrow.
force majure’ – close the comex – problem solved
warren buffet called them weapons of financial destruction for a reason
sounds like you are a marxist leninist communist. sounds like a sound plan, shut down exchanges and places where men want to meet to exchange metals, food commodities, and stocks and currencies. you might qualify for a undersecretary in pax dumbfuckistan empire under our fearless leader, mein fuhrer pedotus drumpf
we used force majure on our hotels in hawaii after 9.11.01. the japanese investors were easy to convince. my hometown of nyc resembled pearl harbor fear level.
Nobody is talking about deflation.
US Debt Now Grows by $1 Trillion Every 150 Days
38.5 trillions debt currently.
The whole world – 338 Trillions in debt.
Debt is deflationary. AI is deflationary.
4 Trillions more debt a year. Without this deficit spending, US will fall into deflation.
China is pushing the world into deflation.
Look at the cars produced by China. About 25% cheaper.
How can the world raise the prices of their cars? And others products?
And AI products and China’s cheap products will bankrupt the West’s companies.
Very deflationary.
How can the world pay back this 338 trillion debt?
USD, Euro, Yen and others have to be printed massively to overcome these deflationary crisis trap which is coming.
It will be worse than Great Depression 100 years ago.
The more the world fall into deflation there will be bounce back leads to massive
inflation.
DEAD ON CORRECT IMHO
deflation works great for most people, not banks – let a bunch fail (especially big ones), go bankrupt, and let better managed banks take over, as it should be
Name a period of time in our nation when deflation worked for most people.
An excess of savings over real investment outlets is deflationary.
Trump, to be fair, has achieved some results…..perhaps notably in the DEI area and the immigration area. But to be fair again, the results, as with Trump are always less that he claims.
He falls down seriously with the economy, inflation, housing, and many of the other area where good government can make a difference.
He also falls down as a person….his shameless vulgarity in seeking the Peace prize, while claiming success he hasn’t achieved and staring wars with Venezuela and Iran.
Overall for MAGA supporters showmanship beats results every day and Trump is a vulgar showman. I can’t see any improvement next year because Trump low IQ and TACO mentality does not bode well for any long term investments in the economy.
crumbling evil empire 101. we have hundreds of thousands of amerikan military armed to the teeth in hunreds of bases across the globe. at a cost of 1 trillion per annum including VA system this is just the most obvious example of how evil empires drag down the entire country of humans living inside the mess. trump is amerika. democracy works. always has. since plato and socrates penned “the republic”. amerikans are assholes so we elect assholes. it is quite simple.
I’ve met regular every-day Americans (mine is spelled with a C, so I am NOT sure you are talking about US Citizens – – please clarify for us). BMCC, which states have you visited? Have you been to LA or Arkansas, or Kansas, Texas, or?? OH, you have never BEEN THERE? You can only speak with authority if you have met AmeriCans. Otherwise, kindly STFU.
aw sweetie. i didn’t mean to trigger you. apologies in this glorious new year. i’ve lived in SC and AZ as well as CA and NY and also still vote in 2 states. i also vote in the EU. i won’t stfu, as i’m incapable of voice while typing. have a lovely healthy and happy new year, honey. i’m making an assumption you are a tween gal.
Americans are fat sick and dumb. That’s what the data tells us, 45% obese, the majority overweight or obese, only 20% of high school seniors have acceptable math skills and many college grads are illiterate. Facts are facts!
The number of the naive among us is falling sharply as taco’s bs is wearing on them as well. Thank goodness the US survived the deranged politician’s first year reign of disruption and numerous embarrassing moments.
We will never run out of naive dumb Americans
Trump brags a lot, but it is typically a bunch of self-serving lies that have no basis in reality.
Some examples:
He had the “greatest economy in US history” during his first term.
The reality: He was the first President in over 100 years to leave office with fewer people working than when he started. His “greatest ever” economy lost 2.9 million jobs.
He complains that he is trying to fix all the damage that Biden did to the economy.
The reality: After Biden’s four years, the economy had added over 16 million jobs vs Trump losing 2.9 million.
Trump claims his tariffs collected over $1 trillion this year. Then he said, trillions and trillions. Then it was $18 trillion!
The reality: $200 billion collected in 2025.
Trump claims he dropped drug prices by 1500%. A mathematical impossibility.
The reality. You cannot believe anything he says.
As far as the economy goes, I expect a recession at some point during Trump’s second term. Just like in his first term.
Unfortunately for our nation, the damage Trump is causing will manifest long after he is out of office. With over $1.5 trillion slated to be spent on AI infrastructure in the near term, the economic growth numbers should hold up reasonably well, as that spending and economic activity will mask broader weakness in employment and non-AI-related investment. The damage that he is doing to our relations with the rest of the world will be tough to mend. Currently, Alt-Right personas such as Steve Bannon are actively supporting and promoting similar Alt-Right factions in European nations. The damage that can be done during this second Trump President is frightening.
Anyone who listens to Trump’s praise of himself is a stupid fool. Listen to what others say about him. Right now, the right is basically silent. They themselves have little good to say about what he’s doing.
Your assessment of Trump is quite charitable to what mine would have been. Despite very reluctantly voting for him in 2016 and 2024 (I usually vote third party in the general over the past 30 years despite being a republican activist through the primaries) this time I am beyond disappointed. We may have created a new and far more powerful Frankenstein Monster. I have very little optimism for 2026– fear and dread seems to be my most prevalent emotion and expectation.
He did what anyone who paid the minimum level of attention should have expected.
I think he’s been even worse than I feared, and I pay a lot of attention and have voted third party at the Presidential level three straight times.
Do you still feel that things would be worse if Kamala had won? Do you still feel Trump was the better of two evils?
Yes things WOULD be a lot worse if Kamala had won. We would still have open borders will millions more illegals coming in and FREE benefits for them. Of course she would be taxing the middle class to pay for all these free benefits. The deficits would be a lot worse as she would spend, spend, spend.
Really, let’s dissect your statement. We certainly would not have the cruel intimidation tactics currently used to scare people away from trying to come here for a better life and work. Still, she would have continued to try to get Republicans on board with a comprehensive immigration reform bill that was most negotiated in 2024 before Donald Trump lobbied to kill it. The vast majority of immigrants who come here “illegally” get work papers to get a job, in which they pay state, local, and Federal taxes. Every Democratic tax proposal over the last 10 years has not increased Federal income taxes on those earning less than $400,000. Despite DOGE firings, the dissolution of USAID, and the cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal contracts and R&D spending, the deficit has not been cut under Trump 2.0.
I don’t care that people come to the US for a better life or possibly pay taxes. I’m against ALL illegals. If you want to come to US do it legally. I’m glad that Trump scares people to not come illegally and self deport. Yes Trump has increased the deficit but deficit would be worse under Kamala with all of her FREE benefits to illegals, poor, lazy and irresponsible people. You can have as many children as you want and spend your money on anything you want as long as tax payers don’t have to pay for your lifestyle.
You have a very jaded and highly cynical view of our world. I feel sorry for you that you live in such an “angry” and aggravated state of mind.
Yes, the abject Moe Rons still think that. Lol. They fervently believe the false things they believe in are true.
OK, you’ve proven your incompetence in voting twice, please never vote in an American election again. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
How hard is it for people like you to assess a person’s character, especially when that person’s life has played out for all to see? A person’s demonstrated character is the very best way to predict their behavior and actions. Were you unaware that, as a brash, born-with-a-silver-spoon-in-his-mouth real estate mogul in NYC in the 1980s, he aptly earned the nickname, Don the Con? Were you unaware that when his casino empire in Atlantic City fell on hard times, despite Trump’s personal wealth, he put those businesses into bankruptcy, throwing his employees out on the street, screwing over contractors, devastating the community, and sticking the banks with the task of disposing of the assets? During this time, Trump turned to his friends in Saudi Arabia to bolster his personal wealth and weather the storm. Are you unaware that on an individual level, he cheated on his first wife with his second wife and his second wife with his third wife, and cheated on his third wife with a porn star? Are you unaware that in the 2000’s he started a for-profit “University” to teach students real estate investing? After several years and lawsuits, a Judge shut down the University due to its fraudulent practices. Are you unaware that Donald Trump set up a “Charitable Trust” and accepted donations from non-family members, only to use Trust assets to buy personal luxury items? The court shut down this trust for misusing donations and barred Donald Trump for life from serving in any fiduciary role with any charitable organization. Lastly, and more recently, you certainly saw him as President sitting on his hands in the White House on January 6, 2000. He did this while violent mobs of his supporters assaulted the Capitol Police, vandalized the U.S. Capitol, and threatened harm against his VP and members of Congress.
The fact that you so carelessly misrepresent what Trump did during the disturbances on 6th January 2000 makes me doubt whether your other stories about things he did are any more accurate. Bankruptcies do mean people getting stiffed, but sometimes these people are not entirely guiltless themselves, and anyway Trump couldn’t have helped them by lying down in a corner and doing nothing for the rest of his life. What Trump did to his wives is between him and them: I am struck by a story I read once about his offering money to a woman he had just been to bed with, and she cried and said she “wasn’t that kind of girl.” It sounds as if he likes to pay off for what he gets.
I don’t think we should spend a lot of time analyzing the characters of people we don’t know personally. What is far more important is trying to save civilization (starting with America, which is where Trump is) from the people who are trying to destroy it. I get the impression none of you people have any idea what a civilization is, or how easy it is to destroy one. All it takes is the kind of stupidity you are all displaying. If you have any sort of brain at all, read what I have said below about how government is always made up of soldiers and priests.
One thing I could perhaps add here is that democracy serves as a safety valve when the priests have gone too far, got too far ahead of what they have been able to deceive the public into believing. Democracy can have some validity when people really are equal, but in a stable society where many people live in cities and are very ignorant of nearly everything, it tends to be a priestly device to make people think they have somehow given their consent to all the insulting, degrading things that are done to them by filth in authority.
I don’t know how old you are, but I am old enough to remember the coverage of Donald Trump in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I was a corporate banker during those times, and I worked within 2 hours of NYC, so my colleagues had colleagues at the banks in NYC who knew Donald Trump very well. I remember his interview during those early years when he said that STDs were his Vietnam. As I said, I was a banker, and the first thing they tell you when you are lending money to businesses owned by wealthy individuals is that you’d better put your primary emphasis on determining that person’s character. The three Cs of credit are Character, Collateral, and Cash Flow. The wealthy can always find ways to avoid paying their obligations when collateral and cash flow fall short. If your borrower is of high character, they will ensure their obligations are met even if they legally can wiggle out of paying. A person of little character will always look for ways to cheat and stiff others if they can benefit. Donald Trump, “Don the Con,” is the very definition of a person with very little character, professionally and personally. Since all difficult decisions a person makes in their life are informed by their character, putting a person like Donald Trump in a position of very high responsibility and one that entails public trust is insanity and enormously irresponsible.
Fair enough, you’ve seen him at closer quarters than I have. The only thing that occurs to me to add at this point is, have you seen all the others? Trump, for all his faults, is an individual and thinks for himself. Most politicians in democratic countries are cardboard cut-outs. You know businessmen: I know politicians. I’ve been around them to some extent all my life.
In the circumstances we are in now, we need someone with a thick skin and who will do what needs to be done. It helps, I think, that as a developer he has had to deal with politicians on the local level and knows exactly what they are like. Also, he learns by experience. It looks to me as if he is being a damn sight more effective this time around than he was the first time. He hasn’t got that Haspel woman or that other one who used to speak very badly for him at the United Nations this time. He doesn’t have General Mattis, General Flynn, or Mr. Pompeo (not that I am unreservedly condemning any of them, but they weren’t what he needed).
To satisfy your implicit query, I’m 74 years old.
This is not about politicians vs. business people. I have seen the good and bad of both types. I would have no reservations voting for Michael Bloomberg or Jamie Diamond as President. Lack of character should be disqualifying, and for that reason, Donald Trump’s demonstrated lack of character, and therefore his lack of trustworthiness, makes him the worst type of person, business person, or politician alike, to be given the enormous power of the U.S. Presidency. It is just that simple. He seems more effective this time around because he has surrounded himself with “yes” people, and therefore, he has turned our system of government into an autocracy he is used to. You see, Donald Trump has never had to answer to anyone. He ran a family business where he made all of the decisions. He never had a Board of Directors to answer to, and when he had banks involved who had some leverage over him, he screwed them whenever he could.
Sometimes when your kind of person says “lack of character,” it sounds to me like “lack of sycophancy.” You mention that he has never had to answer to a board of directors. What I mean by character is independence of mind, the ability to make a decision yourself, knowing that you may be mistaken, and perhaps just as important, the ability to reverse a decision, if you find out you were wrong and if it is not too late.
I lived a fairly isolated early life in Australia, on what you would call a ranch – we call it a “station.” I got to know men who owned and managed their own stations, far from help or advice. They were pigheaded and sometimes ignorant, but they got things done. They paid the price of their mistakes – admittedly, their dependents did too. But as I see it, that is what a leader has to be like. People who lay too much stress on being “nice” and “reasonable” – and I may do that myself – just gradually or sometimes quickly run things into the ground.
Ever since Franklin Roosevelt, your nice, reasonable presidents have been running up debts, which sooner or later will exact a price. I know you think you can write off debts by means of inflation, but that has its own costs. I don’t know how much Trump knows about inflation, and sometimes it sounds as if he doesn’t know much, but at least he is having a go at sorting out some of your (and our, since Australia is part of the American empire) other problems. If the economy blows up on his watch, I can see him doing a quick study, and doing something effective about it. I can’t see any of the usual yes-men doing so. Can you imagine poor old Joe Biden and his handlers trying to deal with a real crisis? The mind boggles.
I recommend you to read up on France around the year 1870, after losing the Franco-Prussian War and having its idiot Emperor Napoleon III abdicate. Paris declared itself a Communist republic. A Marshal McMahon took charge of the government and went to war against Paris. Owing I suppose to bad memories of the French Revolution ninety years before, the country boys streamed in to volunteer to fight Paris. Bismarck turned his French prisoners-of-war loose so they could go home and fight Paris. McMahon, from what I can make out, simply refrained from doing anything stupid, and the country recovered surprisingly quickly.
Now you have your own huge city, New York, wanting to turn itself into a Communist republic. You have a huge debt like the debt the French crown had just before the Revolution of 1789. You have a mess that looks to have no solution, and it probably doesn’t have a solution without bloodshed. But going by the lessons of France 1870, IF there is a competent leader like Trump or (let us pray) Vance in charge, the country people will side with the Establishment against the big cities. (I haven’t even got around to mentioning California.)
I won’t be happy about the fact that that means that the Establishment will survive, but what do you do? Very few things are worse than Communism. I see by this morning’s news that all the usual suspects, that AOC woman and dear old Bernie Sanders, are rallying around the new Mayor of New York, who thinks he is a Moslem but is really a Communist. Oh dear.
WTF were you expecting? He told you exactly what to expect. I guess if you think Epstein files were a hoax and also a dem crime at the same time you have some sort of plausible excuse for failing to see the scam
I am worried that Trump is a once-in-lifetime con man, just like as his closest friend (for some two decades) Epstein. How would a MAGA disciple assure me that I am plain wrong?
They wouldn’t bother. Either you subscribe to their alternative facts or you’re the enemy.
I’m sorry if I’ve missed something by not reading all this carefully enough, and I would certainly not want to condemn Bastiat, but isn’t it true that if you have a large enough home market, you can make your consumers buy your inferior local product until you have caught up (in terms of manufacturing skills) with the older manufacturers elsewhere?
Isn’t it true that the United States did that after the Civil War? Isn’t it true that Japan did that in the twentieth century, and China has done it since? You steal technology while you are doing this. Isn’t it true that imposing protectionism was the real motive for the American Civil War? For all I know, Germany under Bismarck may have done some of the same things.
On another subject, isn’t it true that voters are silly about drugs – don’t want their kids getting them, and don’t care about civil liberties – and that Trump is just taking political advantage of this well-known weakness of parents, just as the criminals in law enforcement have been doing about marijuana and cocaine for generations?
I don’t like seeing people who own the law getting away with horrific crimes like destroying young people’s futures because they might try a drug, and the fact that they use blackmail and threats over drugs to enforce other completely improper nonsense, either, but you have to recognize what is going on here.
It’s like blaming Nixon for taking the dollar off gold, as everybody does. Nobody seems to mention that it was Johnson who put the final nail in the dollar’s coffin by overspending on the Viet Nam War and his social welfare boondoggles. Looking at it in hindsight you might suggest better ways Nixon could have handled it. But he didn’t create the problem.
Isn’t it true, in short, that economists always leave the military dimension out when they go on about economic efficiency? Government is ALWAYS made up of soldiers (who live by the use or threat of force) and priests (who live by deception and corruption). The priests include teachers at all levels (the official religion of every country in the west is education), media people of all kinds (whose job is to confuse adults), and the judiciary (whose job is to sit over the whole corrupt mess and give it an air of rectitude). The economists fit in as part of the teaching profession and part of the media industry: their job is to confuse.
Well the horror of China flooding the US market with cheap China subsidized goods that allowed Americans to have an amazing quality of life are over now. Let’s replace it with high cost goods and rationing when enough isn’t available.
On the DOGE front, perhaps the intent was to kill social security through chaos, let’s put this in the “win” column for Trump.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ar-AA1Thp0B
Yup, Trump is a hillbilly riding a monster truck in a mud filled stadium throwing chunks for mud and dirt at the audience…..and they roar for more as the laundry detergent, water, electricity and other goods and services soar in cost. Eventually the truck will flip over and everyone will need to go home to what they have sown.
“Eventually the truck will flip over and everyone will need to go home to what they have sown.”
And blame the radical leftist liberals.
As long as somebody’s being deported or locked up, the piggies won’t squeal. Until it’s them.
Kinda like “Back the Blue, until they do you”.
1st amendment auditors on YouTube and other outlets have proven that cops in American cities nationwide ignore or violate a persons first and fourth amendment rights on a routine basis. A growing number recognize the cameras and suddenly, reluctantly recognize their victims rights. However when the cameras are off it’s business as usual. I can see auditors turning to hidden cameras and microphones in the near future and illegal arrests resulting in lawsuits of municipalities and their police to increase. In addition cameras with voice recording prove cops routinely commit perjury in depositions and in court with little or no punishment.
Sure seem hell bent on bitching about Trump, while there’s a whole fraud scheme going on in Minnesota
I discussed Fraud.
Why the Huge Rise In Autism? Welfare and Medicaid Fraud
https://mishtalk.com/economics/why-the-huge-rise-in-autism-welfare-and-medicaid-fraud/
Medicare and Medicaid Fraud are Brazen and Ubiquitous, But Who Cares?
https://mishtalk.com/economics/medicare-and-medicaid-fraud-are-brazen-and-ubiquitous-but-who-cares/
“But Who Cares?”
It looks like the public does…
Nick Shirley on the PBD podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtGhpjrI6P8
A former TSA agent from Minnesota described witnessing “Somali men flying out of Minnesota with suitcases filled with cash” amounting to “$1 billion over 5 years,” including one instance of a suitcase “filled with brand new passports.”
These groups were “always waived through,” with a clear “trail” leading back to implicated parties, the former agent claims.
https://x.com/LightOnLiberty/status/2005764589909135669
Did you discuss Somalia diaspora fraud allegations running into billions stolen? Larger than that nations gdp?
Missed that. Caught the Trump tard stuff.
Happy New years
whataboutism. morons expect mish to discuss everything in every column he writes. for free.
whataboutism?
“Over 40 daycare centers in Columbus, Ohio, all opened under the same defunct shell organization, the Somali Education & Resource Center, have been identified as opening and beginning operations on the exact same day.
Seattle:
https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2006327355166589007
Columbus:
https://x.com/Rightanglenews/status/2006375449404866720
Philadelphia:
https://x.com/LangmanVince/status/2006341493028802680
Minneapolis:
https://x.com/DOGE/status/2005031165926015461
A few Somalis here, a few Somalis there. Pretty soon you be talkin’ real money.
More to come…
A growing army of citizen journalists is descending into the corruption where additional suspected welfare fraud schemes tied to migrant networks are being uncovered, even as media outlets attempt to downplay the findings and discredit those reporting them.
Everybody is making money from fraud, bribes, and con jobs — starting with presidents and MPs.
It’s a tough choice, bitch about Trump, the president who is disrupting every American life through abusive tariff and taxation, fraud, and chaos or bitch about a fraud scheme in Minnesota.
So many tough choices in life…..
Whataboutism?
One is feelings other fact.
Which is pennies in comparison to the massive debt Trump is sowing.
I think you’ll find COVID fraud everywhere. Even by (shock horror) ….white people.
Minnesota is a good example of audit leading to prosecutions. Vance’s attempts to frame it as a cover up are simple dog whistles to racists.
this is an end-of-year review of Trump’s first year.
there’s lots of bad things going on.
and yes, this happened no doubt under Trump 1, Biden and now Trump 2.
Trump imposed high tariffs so he could reduce them if the country gave him expensive “gifts”. That’s what Vietnam did, Switzerland…..and many Middle East countries gave Trump “gifts” for presidential favors like military equipment and other Presidential favors that Trump can give them. Trump gets Trump resorts, Trump golf course, lucrative business opportunities…the bribes are endless and he’s not even hiding them.
Amazing how he said the entire world was “ripping us off” yet we still have its largest economy. It’s so Trump. Every one else is the problem.
And noone should be surprised. You vote for corruption, you get corruption.
trump is amerikan as apple pie. an empire of assholes.
At least 30% of Americans (the MAGA cult) are supreme assholes.
I think that your number is about right. Around 30% of voters apparently are “ends justify the means” people who couldn’t care less about principles and a person’s character. They don’t have any appreciation of norms, rules, or even laws if they are inconvenient.