Trump Watch

It is pure madness and shows this administration is a total shit show. I guess at least the US can make all the countries laugh.

GDP, the D means Domestic. Imports are not counted and any stuff you're importing that becomes a component of some domestic product is eventually backed out in the accounting.

So no, pumping imports shouldn't increase GDP one iota. Imports count AGAINST the GDP.

I guess there is a difference between an increase in tax on profits, and an increase in tax on raw materiels.
If the tax can be directly attributed to the cost of making something and everyone is hit then same, then of course the tax cost will be passed onto the consumer.
If the tax was only on profits, and in a progressive way, then companies making too much money (ie exploiting) will get taxed more than those running a sensible company

There was supposed to be this Biden era analysis that showed that the tariffs were not broadly inflationary, and Biden kept a lot of the tariffs in place. One point that tariff proponents took from this was that tariffs COULDN'T be inflationary and wouldn't drive up consumer prices.

Meanwhile, what happened was that many Chinese companies shifted parts of their production to non tariff countries and sidestepped the tariff costs. (Hence, prices were kept low, no taroffs due to that major loophole.)

Then, to keep that from happening again, Trump put the China tariff on every nation at once. No more loophole. But amazingly, they maintained a near religious belief that prices could be the same.

If you think in terms of complex systems, the first round of tariffs had all these self organizing details that defused the impact.

Round two is playing out like the administration can't even see around the corner in simple causality cause-and-effect chains. They will never work out how to control the global trade using one country's import tax program. Its insanity.

The problem is the Media, who not only don't do their jobs, they don't even know what their jobs are. They seem to think they exist to be a platform for MAGA to spew their nonsensical propaganda without challenge.

For instance, HitlerPig has been saying in EVERY interview that he has brought gas prices down to $1.98. That is an absolute lie, there is not a single place in America selling gas for $1.98, but not one journalist has pushed back on that - Where? Which state? Which oil company? If it's $2 in some places, why isn't it $2 everywhere?

That's just one obvious one. When he and the El Salvador dictator were in the Oval office, both blaming the other for not being able to return the innocent deportee, not one journalist said ”EVERYBODY in the world who could make this decision is sitting in this room, literally next to each other. Why can't you look at each other and commit to returning him, instead of just emptily blaming the other?”

When Ron Navarro was on Meet The Press the week following the revelation that the sole source for trade info in his books was an anagram of his own name, she never asked him about it a single time. It would have the ONLY thing I would have talked about.

I see it over and over and over. The media simply refuse to ask the hard-hitting questions about their self-serving deals or destructive policies. I constantly yell at journalists to ask specific questions, follow up on obvious bullshit answers, demand sources for lies, etc., but they don't seem to hear me through the TV.

I can't speak for everyone, but I can honestly say that I had no idea there was any tariff actions back in 2017.

Maybe I was just not paying attention, but it certainly is more front page news these days.