Just for fun, I want to show you what would happen if, against all odds, Donald Trump enacted a 20% tariff on all imports and it had no effect on the volume of imports. Here it is:
For example, in 2023 the federal government had a budget deficit of $1.8 trillion. Total imports—every car, every refrigerator, and every other physical object shipped into the country—added up to $3.1 trillion. Taking 20% of that nets you $600 billion. If every dollar of this was dumped into the general fund, the budget deficit would have gone down to.......
$1.2 trillion.
This is all ridiculous, of course. Even Trump couldn't apply 20% to everything, and if he did imports would drop significantly—which would reduce the tariff revenue.
Has any reporter ever asked Trump how much money he thinks his 20% tariffs would raise? Forget the details. Does he even know the simplest possible thing: how much we import and how much 20% of that is? Even Trump would have a hard time evading a question so straightforward.
Trump would have a hard time evading a question so straightforward.
NO he wouldn't! He'd babble something about, I dunno, the greatest nation ever in the world something something, JY-na stealing American jobs, Democrat deficits, armies of criminals overrunning our borders, and maybe throw in a little annoyance at what a Very Rude Question that was.
His cult would nod enthusiastically in agreement, the Good
GermansRepublicans would also nod because Reasons (and remember they have a Mexican friend so they are NOT racist!), and the media would clean it up and make it sound more or less coherent.How many times do we need to go through this ...?
And the news media would say he went on about his policy.
Sanewashing, I've heard it called.
Like when they called his unhinged rant about middle schools doing gender surgeries on children 'highlighted the controversy over trans care'. No one is doing gender surgeries on middleschoolers, let alone schools!
Trump said just this week that his tariffs would not only completely eliminate the deficit but that there would be money left over to completely deal with child care costs for all Americans. So obviously he has thought about this much more than you have, Kevin. You have graphs while he has plans. Big plans. And because foreigners pay the tariffs, its all free for Americans.
I appreciate the humour in you comment, I LOL'ed a bit. But this is the internet, so... I recommend a /s tag or similar. That was too on the nose!
It's like when the late night comics try to rif on something ridiculous Trump said. It's hard to make it work, because you can not really improve on the reality!
Exactly.
Imagine an alpha male chimpanzee using a large branch in a dominance display. Now watch DonOld tRump use words. Get it? Does that make sense? The amazing part is how the Republican party got so many Homo sapiens to think they're Pan troglodytes.
"Imagine an alpha male chimpanzee using a large branch in a dominance display"
That's a terrible analogy. Trump is not an alpha male (he is a doddering old prissy fat man who wears makeup and is so vain he can't even admit he's bald for chrissakes), and the chimpanzee weilding a branch is both extremely dangerous and an example of a very sophisticated and exceptional chimp (one that is using a tool). By contrast, Trump is at best, ahem, aping dominance, and doing a shit job, too, as anybody listening can tell he's full of it.
We really need to stop pretending that Trump is some sort of Special Thing or Powerful Foe--he's a dead-ender who has never had majority appeal, and whose sole saving grace is that he fluked into the presidency 8 years ago so the dead-enders that support him continued supporting him. Ever since his single win, he has done nothing but lose electorally (and infect other republicans with those losses). He's a bad politician, a laughable speaker, and demonstrably a fool.
His one asset is his myth of success. Let's not add to that by going along with the public narrative that Trump is some sort of Force. He ain't.
Wrong. Trump has charisma. And before you protest, I get it, I don't see it either. But there's a reason The Apprentice became a hit show. It's likely the same reason that Trump's floor of political support is something like 44%. His schtick resonates with a huge swathe of Americans.
He isn't charismatic at all. He's basically a carnival barker with less talent. As far as the Apprentice goes, it's success was due more to the talent of its producers and directors than it ever had to do with Trumps personality. The myth of Donald Trump as a successful businessman is woefully exagerated. He's more hype than anything else.
That doesn't face the clear evidence of people who are attracted to his charima.
If spewing hate and division is charismatic then I guess he is. Which is a sad commentary on the quality of people in this country to support a man who clearly couldn't give two 💩about them.
🎯
Yes.
And the fact large part of the rest of Americans refuse to accept this fact (see Josef's reply for example) helps him to keep it going.
Why do you think he uses makeup?
That is the power display.
"There's a sucker born every minute." Replace sucker with Trump supporter and it perfectly describes our current predicament. You really have to be a special kind of stupid to believe a man like Trump.
Coming soon!-new MAGA bumper sticker
"Proud to be voting against my self interests again"
Don't forget that according to that "Stable Genus", China will bare 100% of the cost of those tariffs (regardless of the country impacted) not the Walmart shoppers in the MAGA heartland. And of course there will be no retaliative tariffs on US goods, so all those jobs related to exports with be just fine.
He would blame the resulting recession on Biden, Hillary, Kamala (if he can remember her name), ABC news, and Obama (Barack and his nasty wife).
"Even Trump would have a hard time evading a question so straightforward."
[Snort] I refer the honorable gentleman to the item he posted immediately below, to paraphrase a frequent House of Commons locution.
Jonathan Swan is the only questioner I can remember offhand who's ever managed to press trump hard and keep pressing for an answer without skipping on to another question, and I don't think any of the gaggle that follows him around now could or would do it.
I get that its a thought experiment with assumptions that wont survive reality but reducing the deficit by a third is a lot.
If the deficit was ever reduced, Republicans would roll into office and pass more tax cuts to restore the deficit’s enormity. It’s what they do every time a Democrat reduces or eliminates the deficit.
You are correct, because taxing $600B out of the private sector's net dollar savings would trigger a recession. And the response to recession, certainly Republican, because tax cuts are what they do but also Democrats because the cure for recession is stimulation, would be tax cuts and restoration of budget deficits.
So what? I am criticizing Kevin for his dumb take on it.
If it wasn't for the fact that what Trump has in his fat head is a European-style VAT which would, indeed affect the fiscal state of the US gov, this would be hilarious.
Actually, its a revenue idea which is not going to happen and as to which is doofus supporters do not even understand, at all.
As it is, its far from hilarious since I have long since stopped being amused by the dangerous ideas of millions of Americans, led by a sociopath.
Every person in the political media has taken an oath never to ask any question of Donald Trump that may reveal his bigotry, stupidity, or incompetence.
They will never do it.
"Trade wars are good, and easy to win." -- DJT, 3/2/2018
So what's the problem?
[Sarcasm]
The thing I don't get, Trump puts tariffs on Chinese goods. Lots of economists, and most Democrats in office, say really stupid idea: there will be huge, negative, consequences.
Biden wins and keep's 'Trump's' tariffs on China. Thus, I contend, making them 'Biden's' tariffs on China. Further, I am not aware of Harris stating she would remove these tariffs. Hmmmm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_tariffs
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/27/1184027892/china-tariffs-biden-trump
Trump doesn't have ideas; he has Brain-Farts. Amongst his BFs is the idea that just putting a tariff on Chinese steel, for example, results in increased steel production in the US. Tariffs can only have that result if you have a comprehensive tariff system as we did from the early 1800s until the rump end of the 20th century. Otherwise it just moves the sourcing around and the Chinese can launder their steel thru other countries.
Still, I'm in favor of tariffs on China just to reduce a bit the effect of their manipulations of the markets over the last 40 years. They've used government directed efforts to attack our industries. They have used currency manipulation and tactics like export taxes on raw materials to aid their manufacturers. They've gone after everything from textiles and steel to bicycles and furniture.
How does the export tax on raw materials work? Well let's say the world market price for brass is $4/lb and China exports brass. If you put a $2/lb tax on any exported, then the Chinese brass foundries can make just as much selling it inside the country at $2/lb as they can make selling it on the world market.
I don't know that the Chinese did that with brass, but I became aware that some little brass adaptors the company I worked for had developed, and been manufacturing for 45 years or so, were suddenly being purchased. Our biggest competitors in this market were buying them from us, so our costs were not bad. But it turned out we could buy the parts, thru a middleman, from China for less than the scrap value of the brass.
Once people quit making something, it's hard to go back. Then you can raise the prices.
The Donald has already explained that his tariffs will bring in trillions and trillions of dollars. More trillions than anyone has ever seen. But Mr Drum, in typical libtrolling fashion, wants him to specify an exact precise dollar amount. More unfair media treatment that probably amounts to Election Interference.
Next people will expect him to explain how the government will be funded once all the factories have come home and there are no more imports to collect tariffs on. As if he's going to signal his plans in advance! Only fools like the generals in the Pentagon do that.
Sure, instead he'll unload with gobbledygook.
By the way, his word salad reminded me of this classic.
When I hear "I personally belieive" I know I'm in for some grade A 🦬💩. Trump supporters sound like that woman.
I wonder if his economic advisers are as stupid as he is or are they just humoring the orange oaf? Perhaps they don't even care that his policies will hurt the average American as long they get their tax cuts.
Wiley Miller seems to agree
ck out (Non Sequitur Sep 6))
https://www.arcamax.com/thefunnies/nonsequitur/s-3392352
Given how stupid Americans are, I’m not sure I’m interested in lending them a hand with more government programs and policies. Why bother? They will hate you regardless. This is why I’m not in public service… or retail. 😂
Beware of campaign promises to cut middle class taxes and raise benefits, we can’t keep.
Paying for tax cuts with higher taxes on the super rich probably could keep the deficit in check . . . IF those tax increase proposals make it past K-St. Jack Abramoff and Warren Buffet don't think so and if they're right then either the middle class ends up with higher taxes or SS & Medicare get cuts. A campaign utopia for the GOP.