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President Trump rolled the dice on tariffs last week, just like he did the week before on federal worker layoffs and roundups of undocumented immigrants the week before that. He has shaken the country’s confidence and dealt the stock market a gut punch.
What is going on? Ask your broker. For those who can afford to ride out this storm, the pain of watching your 401k shrinking will hopefully be short-lived. Most of us are down 10% or wherever the fractured market settles in the next few days. But the money is permanently lost only when you sell your depreciated stock, so if you don’t have to, don’t sell.
Those with enough cash on hand should do nothing; just weather the storm. I am just an old man amateur, but some things seem obvious. Maybe you will have to cut back on what you planned on giving the kiddies this year or to your favorite charity, but we will survive as long as our institutions function rationally, and our president settles down.
Too much seems impulsive and arbitrary. What role is billionaire Elon Musk playing now that his own empire is under attack, and his usefulness to the president is in question, as it was in the special election for the judge in Wisconsin? Will the tumultuous and painful firings and forced resignations Musk engineered in the federal workforce really result in meaningful savings that reduce the deficit? Did Musk have anything to do with the impulsive tariff policy, which seems like it was written on the back of an envelope late one night during a bull session in the Oval Office?
Between now and summer the historic resilience of the free enterprise system will be sorely tested. How are Americans reacting to the president’s establishment-shaking? Will the protests grow into a movement? At the very least, I predict there will not be any Trump III talk for the foreseeable future. Two-terms of Trump will be enough for most of us. Too much, for many if truth be told. In fairness, though, he is as popular as he has ever been.
In the meantime, his random actions have the feel of whimsy or worse. I don’t mind him trying new stuff if he doesn’t break our trusted institutions, and without a doubt we would be better off if he focused. It seems ancient history, but remember way back in January when he wanted to take back the Panama Canal. Last week we were obsessing over Greenland. Does he still want Canada as the 51st state? It is like Dennis the Menace was thrust into the presidency.
At times he plays the Mafia don seeking revenge against law firms that have represented his enemies or in some other way shown disloyalty. Going after journalists who don’t call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, outlawing all affirmative action programs. DEI is done. Woke is dead. What about rejecting NATO while embracing Russia?
Can you imagine the reaction if Biden or Obama had unsettled the planet and world markets the way Trump has, without seeking congressional advice and consent? There would have been instant calls for Impeachment.
Wait, we tried that already, twice.
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