It's the economy, stupid.

[neoplacebo]

I have a massive trade deficit with Food City. They never buy a fucking thing from me.

[1 CAT FAN]

:

This could be a problem.

Americans want more U.S. factory jobs—as long as they don’t have to work them

The undocumented will have to work somewhere once PINO is done crashing Ag exports.

Spoiled, lazyass leftists.

[Vrede too]

I have a massive trade deficit with Food City. They never buy a fucking thing from me.

That's actually a great metaphor for international macroeconomics. You get food which will literally keep you alive . . . and a few celebrity magazines to keep you entertained . Food City gets money which does them no good in the moment. You are the winner with your "massive trade deficit" . Food City and their investors only benefit when they buy goods or services from suppliers and retailers, thus creating new trade deficits.

[neoplacebo]

I have a massive trade deficit with Food City. They never buy a fucking thing from me.

That's actually a great metaphor for international macroeconomics. You get food which will literally keep you alive . . . and a few celebrity magazines to keep you entertained . Food City gets money which does them no good in the moment. You are the winner with your "massive trade deficit" . Food City and their investors only benefit when they buy goods or services from suppliers and retailers, thus creating new trade deficits.

Some economists say that a trade deficit is merely a sign that the deficit country is more dominant than the other. But I think what we have here is a communist system beating a capitalist system at its own game. The funny part is that the capitalist system created and facilitated that. Because of greed. When I was a kid, the only thing you could buy here that was from China was those Black Cat firecrackers. Back then, even the stuff from Japan was generally considered to be junk. This entire tariff business is just trump whining about somethign he doesn't understand. And he figures he can fix it in a few months. The cult believes him. "I know what the hell I'm doing" he bleats while the cult gushes in awe.

[1 CAT FAN]

It's like an addiction, leftists just can't break the habit. Meanwhile the producer just watches their customer deteriorate becoming more dependent. Withdrawal is a hell of a thing.

[GoCubsGo]

[Whack9]

Part of Trump's 4D chess master plan, no doubt. Just to trigger the libs.

[Vrede too]

https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1913300944500211808

Part of Trump's 4D chess master plan, no doubt. Just to trigger the libs.

Another brilliant move:

Trump's Trade War Has Shattered Consumer Confidence
Americans haven't been so pessimistic about the economy since inflation first spiked under President Joe Biden.

Americans have a really bad feeling about the economy thanks to President Donald Trump’s trade war against the rest of the world.

Consumer sentiment fell nearly 11% from March to April and 34% from this time last year, according to new data from University of Michigan’s authoritative survey, released Friday.

The drop continued a three-month trend brought about by Trump’s vow to impose tariffs on products imported to the U.S., a promise Trump fulfilled last week in what he called a “Liberation Day” ceremony at the White House.

“This decline was, like the last month’s, pervasive and unanimous across age, income, education, geographic region, and political affiliation,” Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan’s surveys of consumers, said in a press release.

It’s the worst consumer confidence reading since 2022, when inflation spiked under President Joe Biden, which was the worst reading since the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009.



... An increasing share of survey respondents said they expect both higher unemployment and higher inflation in the coming months.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a briefing Friday that “there’s a great optimism in this economy” ― or at least that there should be.

“Trust in President Trump. He knows what he’s doing. This is a proven economic formula,” Leavitt said.

... Democratic leaders have condemned the tariffs and said Trump is walking the economy into a recession, a prospect economists have said is an actual possibility.

“Today’s terrible consumer confidence number is further evidence of the Trump Slump and anyone that believes the chaos and ensuing crisis of Trump’s tariff flip flop is behind us is sadly mistaken,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Friday. “When Americans see the chaos caused by Donald Trump’s tax cut for ultra-wealthy and at least $4,700 a year in higher costs for every person, it’s no wonder consumer confidence is in the dumps.”

[GoCubsGo]

He's just gonna lie about it and tell the sickophants everything is great..and they'll believe him.

[Vrede too]

He's just gonna lie about it and tell the sickophants everything is great..and they'll believe him.

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3ln43a2ofir22

Why not? It's all part of The Plan. Another genius move by DonOLD. Libs can only gasp in awe.

Strange Sell-Off In The Dollar Raises The Specter Of Investors Losing Trust In The U.S. Under Trump
Economists fear enormous advantages could possibly disappear if faith in the currency's dominance was damaged.

Among the threats tariffs pose to the U.S. economy, none may be as strange as the sell-off in the dollar.

Currencies rise and fall all the time because of inflation fears, central bank moves and other factors. But economists worry that the recent drop in the dollar is so dramatic that it reflects something more ominous as President Donald Trump tries to reshape global trade: a loss of confidence in the U.S.

The dollar’s dominance in cross-border trade and as a safe haven has been nurtured by administrations of both parties for decades because it helps keep U.S. borrowing costs down and allows Washington to project power abroad — enormous advantages that could possibly disappear if faith in the U.S. was damaged.

“Global trust and reliance on the dollar was built up over a half century or more,” says University of California, Berkeley, economist Barry Eichengreen. “But it can be lost in the blink of an eye.”

Since mid-January, the dollar has fallen 9% against a basket of currencies, a rare and steep decline, to its lowest level in three years....

Dollar drop is odd

... Traditionally, the dollar would strengthen as tariffs sink demand for foreign products.

But the dollar not only failed to strengthen this time, it fell, puzzling economists and hurting consumers. The dollar lost more than 5% against the euro and pound, and 6% against the yen since early April.

As any American traveler abroad knows, you can buy more with a stronger dollar and less with a weaker one. Now the price of French wine and South Korean electronics and a host of other imports could cost more not only due to tariffs but a weaker currency, too.

Federal debt troubles

More worrisome is possible higher interest rates on the ballooning U.S. federal debt, which is already at a risky 120% of U.S. annual economic output.

“Most countries with that debt to GDP would cause a major crisis and the only reason we get away with it is that the world needs dollars to trade with,” says Benn Steil, an economist at the Council on Foreign Relations. ”At some point people are going to look seriously at alternatives to the dollar. ” ...

Erratic policy spooks investors

... It’s not just the tariffs, but the erratic way he’s rolled them out. The unpredictability makes the U.S. seem less stable, less reliable, and a less safe place for their money.

There are also questions about his logic justifying the policy. Trump says U.S. tariffs will drive down trade deficits, which he cites as evidence that countries are “ripping off” America. But in calculating the tariffs, he looked at trade deficits only in goods, not services in which the U.S. excels. Most economists think trade deficits are not a sign of national weakness anyway because they do nothing to impede economic growth and prosperity.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to chip away at the independence of the Federal Reserve, raising fears that he will force interest rates lower to boost the economy even if doing so risks stoking runaway inflation. That is a sure fire way to get people to flee the dollar. After Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he would wait to make any rate moves, Trump blasted him, saying “Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”

... (Berkeley’s Eichengreen) “This is the first step down a slippery slope where international confidence in the U.S. dollar is lost.”

You're doing a heckuva job, Trumpie.

[GoCubsGo]

You're doing a heckuva job, Trumpie.

viewtopic.php?p=211535#p211535

[Whack9]

Another day, another tweet from Trump calling for Powell to be removed or lower interest rates.

Trump seems sensitive about the stock market. Looks like it's currently down a good bit today. Another day of Trump's (fools) golden age.

Powell being removed is a nightmare scenario.

[Whack9]

Upstate NY Farmers shocked by tariffs, mistakingly thought Canada would pay

https://www.syracuse.com/state/2025/04/ ... d-pay.html

Nicholas Gilbert, who tends 1,400 cows at his dairy farm in Potsdam, close to the Canada border, told The Atlantic that a recent order of livestock feed cost him $2,200 extra due to tariffs. The feed came from Ontario, and he mistakenly believed his supplier at the Canadian mill would cover the difference.

“I’m not even sure it’s legal! We contracted for the price on delivery,” he told the magazine. “If your price of fuel goes up or your truck breaks down, that’s not my problem! That’s what the contract’s for.”

But the tariff was not only legal, it’s his responsibility to pay it. Tariffs are paid by domestic importers, not foreign exporters, despite Trump’s frequent claims otherwise.

You have the entirety of human knowledge quite literally at your fingertips. It would've taken a total of ten minutes of your time to learn how tariffs work. Probably less.

[Vrede too]

Upstate NY Farmers shocked by tariffs, mistakenly thought Canada would pay

https://www.syracuse.com/state/2025/04/ ... d-pay.html

Nicholas Gilbert, who tends 1,400 cows at his dairy farm in Potsdam, close to the Canada border, told The Atlantic that a recent order of livestock feed cost him $2,200 extra due to tariffs. The feed came from Ontario, and he mistakenly believed his supplier at the Canadian mill would cover the difference.

You have the entirety of human knowledge quite literally at your fingertips. It would've taken a total of ten minutes of your time to learn how tariffs work. Probably less.

St. Lawrence County voted 59-41 for DonOLD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Lawre ... k#Politics
Opps.

Stock market today: Dow drops 950 points, S&P 500, Nasdaq tumble as Trump bashes Fed's Powell again

My account manager praised my timing in reducing my exposure to stocks to only 16% of my portfolio and recommends staying the course. I've lost 0.3% this year, would have broken even if I'd talked to him a week earlier. He says for now the drop in bond prices was a temporary glitch and I haven't been hurt by it.


You're doing a heckuva job, Trumpie.

[Whack9]

Upstate NY Farmers shocked by tariffs, mistakenly thought Canada would pay

https://www.syracuse.com/state/2025/04/ ... d-pay.html

Nicholas Gilbert, who tends 1,400 cows at his dairy farm in Potsdam, close to the Canada border, told The Atlantic that a recent order of livestock feed cost him $2,200 extra due to tariffs. The feed came from Ontario, and he mistakenly believed his supplier at the Canadian mill would cover the difference.

You have the entirety of human knowledge quite literally at your fingertips. It would've taken a total of ten minutes of your time to learn how tariffs work. Probably less.

St. Lawrence County voted 59-41 for DonOLD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Lawre ... k#Politics
Opps.

Stock market today: Dow drops 950 points, S&P 500, Nasdaq tumble as Trump bashes Fed's Powell again

My account manager praised my timing in reducing my exposure to stocks to only 16% of my portfolio and recommends staying the course. I've lost 0.3% this year, would have broken even if I'd talked to him a week earlier. He says for now the drop in bond prices was a temporary glitch and I haven't been hurt by it.


You're doing a heckuva job, Trumpie.

S&P down nearly 14% since Jan 20 .

[1 CAT FAN]

Upstate NY Farmers shocked by tariffs, mistakingly thought Canada would pay

https://www.syracuse.com/state/2025/04/ ... d-pay.html

Nicholas Gilbert, who tends 1,400 cows at his dairy farm in Potsdam, close to the Canada border, told The Atlantic that a recent order of livestock feed cost him $2,200 extra due to tariffs. The feed came from Ontario, and he mistakenly believed his supplier at the Canadian mill would cover the difference.

“I’m not even sure it’s legal! We contracted for the price on delivery,” he told the magazine. “If your price of fuel goes up or your truck breaks down, that’s not my problem! That’s what the contract’s for.”

But the tariff was not only legal, it’s his responsibility to pay it. Tariffs are paid by domestic importers, not foreign exporters, despite Trump’s frequent claims otherwise.

You have the entirety of human knowledge quite literally at your fingertips. It would've taken a total of ten minutes of your time to learn how tariffs work. Probably less.

Wouldn't that create more opportunities for American suppliers? Hell, if the American market is bigger, the Canadian supplier may have the incentive to move across the border. More revenue for the American economy.

[Whack9]

Trump is almost winning at something at least:

[GoCubsGo]

Trump is almost winning at something at least:

Doesn't end there.

[1 CAT FAN]

Upstate NY Farmers shocked by tariffs, mistakingly thought Canada would pay

https://www.syracuse.com/state/2025/04/ ... d-pay.html

Nicholas Gilbert, who tends 1,400 cows at his dairy farm in Potsdam, close to the Canada border, told The Atlantic that a recent order of livestock feed cost him $2,200 extra due to tariffs. The feed came from Ontario, and he mistakenly believed his supplier at the Canadian mill would cover the difference.

“I’m not even sure it’s legal! We contracted for the price on delivery,” he told the magazine. “If your price of fuel goes up or your truck breaks down, that’s not my problem! That’s what the contract’s for.”

But the tariff was not only legal, it’s his responsibility to pay it. Tariffs are paid by domestic importers, not foreign exporters, despite Trump’s frequent claims otherwise.

You have the entirety of human knowledge quite literally at your fingertips. It would've taken a total of ten minutes of your time to learn how tariffs work. Probably less.

Wouldn't that create more opportunities for American suppliers? Hell, if the American market is bigger, the Canadian supplier may have the incentive to move across the border. More revenue for the American economy.

That's gonna really piss off AOC.

[Vrede too]

Trump is almost winning at something at least:

https://bsky.app/profile/tristansnell.b ... e54qtcgs2e

The US is in for a tragic fall and I feel like we are all sleepwalking into it

I'm hardly sleeping at all.

Fox news: trump breaks new record

Wasn’t that also when fascism was blossoming in Europe? What a coincidence.

Great

I cannot believe there are not 3 F ing Republicans in Congress to vote with Dems to stop the Tariffs!
They'd rather sink our Economy!!!!

Just wait. They're going to start cracking the whip at the rest of us to "work harder" for the economy (aka. the oligarch's dragon-hoard), all while threatening to replace us with AI (that doesn't work), and supressing wages while jacking up the price of everything.

It'll be great!

And sending student loans to collections or garnishing everything AND taking free preventive care out of the ACA. It's going to be awesome.

There are still 3.5 years to go, I think we could beat the 1930s. The Dow could truly do things the world has never seen before! /s

"We're bringing back The Great Depression, some would even say more than great, bigly almost, the numbers........ so much depression like you've never seen! Golden Age for America!"

Two possibilities: the people at the switches were dumb enough not to see this coming, or malicious enough to think it was a good idea.

More at the link.

Doesn't end there.

https://x.com/JoJoFromJerz/status/1914659659354460602

Full graphic: