Why Trade Wars are Stupid
No one, except for Trump and his billionaire Commerce Secretary, believe trade wars are a good idea. For those in business, trade wars are often catastrophic. Cue Harley Davidson, the largest US manufacturer of motorcycles, who just announced that THEY ARE MOVING MANUFACTURING OUT OF THE US due to Trump’s import tariffs on steel and Europe’s retaliatory tariffs against American motorcycles.. The tariffs are adding an additional cost of $2,200 PER MOTORCYCLE, or about $100 million per year. This is why trade wars are stupid.
In general, companies are rational (when it comes to math, anyway). If an outside force adds a cost, companies will look to immediately neutralize that cost. The problem with motorcycles, as in other manufacturing, is that net margins are relatively thin. Adding $2,200 in cost to a motorcycle puts the price of that motorcycle outside of the ability of many customers to buy, and Harley can’t afford to absorb. Result? Trump is accomplishing precisely the opposite of his stated goal of increasing manufacturing jobs in the US. His stupidity is destroying jobs by the thousands.
And the invertebrates in Congress just lie there, doing nothing.
This self described “genius” plays Tictactoe against himself and loses 90% of the time.
1RE: “Drumpf is accomplishing precisely the opposite of his stated goal of increasing manufacturing jobs in the US.”
Unless his Russian masters have ordered him to use the presidency to destroy the American manufacturing sector.
2I wonder how the Walton family feels about the trade war? So much of their stuff comes from China and it’s bound to effect their bottom line. I think the blow-back from the Walton’s , Koch’s, and others when they start to lose money, due to The Gilded Turnip’s actions, will be very dangerous for the administration.
3kate Dungan–We can only hope!
4Mutually assured destruction Donnie style knows no logic. He’s literally the parasite killing its host of “invertebrates in Congress.” That ship has sailed. Unfortunately someone forgot to untether one of its mooring lines and we’re stuck standing on the dock that’s about to collapse. What to do, what to do … somehow “vote 2018” doesn’t seem sufficient at the rate things are happening.
5When you refer to the “invertebrates in Congress” doing nothing, please refer to the *GOP* invertebrates. I don’t know what the Dems in Congress are doing, but they can’t get anything passed by themselves without a few GOP defectors, so they’re not to blame for the inaction.
6I see Trump threats to tariff everything from China 25% or so, and I do wonder how his base will react when everything in WalMart is suddenly 25% more expensive.
7J&PKM, I wonder why that reminds me of the scorpion needing a ride across the river? Hopefully not too literal!
8Canada is scrutinizing Trump’s hotels in that country. They hope to find ways to hit him where it hurts: his own businesses.
9they think they may find corruption in his financial dealings or property acquisitions. If they are successful, other countries may attempt it as well. We can dream, can’t we?
maryelle, any words yet from the federal reserve bank? Depression, recession. Meh. Runaway inflation of over 25%? At the rate “stable genius” is tanking the economy, people with stacks of Confederate dollars in their attics will be in better shape than the rest of us. Dotard Donnie is dealing in Reichsbank notes in his ₽ world fantasy of alternative facts.
H/T to Kellyanne for that mouthful, “alternative facts.”
10Martin Norred, too literal? No, sir. We are on the verge of reliving the words “… then they came for us…” That is too scary, yes, but true. I don’t think I am engaging in hyperbole or exaggerating to any extent the threat of Martial Law with this maladministration.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/11/politics/immigrant-legal-aid/index.html
Seriously. Donnie admires Kim Jong-Un, Putin and Duterte. So if the Glib Gibbon would propose those draconian measures for innocent children and their families, why should any of us who oppose him not expect to be the next targets on his agenda?
11Jane & PKM, Regarding the economy, I’ve been predicting a bad dose of “Stagflation” is coming up, likely next year.
If any of y’all remember that last breakout of stagflation (I damn sure do), largely brought on by a similarly devious and misguided couplet of Nixon-Kissinger, to the Trump-Bolton one we have now.
It’s about the worst thing that can hit an economy (Wiki link below).
And for Donnei and his dictatorial BFF’s, you left out a major one, Turkey’s Erdogan, who just won a major presidential election, with a previously approved far-reaching ‘total dictator authority’ governmental package taking effect soon.
12Herr Trump is drooling over getting the same kind of powers after November.
Which he will have delivered on a silver plate, if Democrats do not turn out to vote in massive numbers, with more than enough overvotes to overcome the usual Rethug electoral tricks (plus the new twist of the Russkie machinations).
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_(1964–80)#“Stagflation”
I’ve found that Projection is the tool I use most about the VoldemOrange One.
13So, when he talks about the bloodthirsty animals of MS-13, I presume he’s describing himself…