r/AskReddit • u/FlyHighNow77777 • 1d ago
What do you think about about Trump’s tariffs? Will the tariffs be as bad as the Smoot-Hawley Act, which is blamed for deepening the Great Depression?
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u/championofadventure 1d ago
One thing is probably true. The distrust for America after this round of nonsense may not dissipate for a generation. There is always the possibility of another Trump around the corner.
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u/ProfessionalHead1057 1d ago
You can always count on the Republican party for finding the worst people. W, Palin, Trump... Greene.
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u/wolf_man007 1d ago
W was awful in a lot of ways, but he wasn't a Russian puppet like the others.
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u/I_have_popcorn 1d ago
W was terrible, but you never had a reason to doubt his love for America.
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u/HECK_YEA_ 1d ago
If W was in office when Zelensky showed up he would’ve given him enough ammo and supplies to march to Moscow.
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u/adumbrative 1d ago
And, to be fair, he was pretty good at dodging flying shoes!
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u/imapilotaz 1d ago
Oh how we long for just W in office...
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u/vollover 1d ago
Its gotten bad enough that I yearn for them to out up someone like W.
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u/GoFishOldMaid 1d ago
I miss Dubaya! There I said it. He at least made me laugh occasionally. He was stupid as fuck and did all the evil shit that his VP told him to do but he wasn't a narcissistic prick that delighted in hurting people.
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u/Badloss 1d ago
I think this is something that republicans badly underestimate. They think this is just good hard business posturing and they don't understand that we have permanently destroyed our standing in the world.
Soft power is a real thing, and we just squandered it
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u/Xyrus2000 1d ago
This one act is the cherry on top of destroying the US hegemony. Everyone is now looking elsewhere to create stable trade ties with countries who won't randomly screw them over and break trade agreements.
And in every corner of the world where we had our soft power working for the US, China has now stepped in to fill the gap we left when the idiots in this administration gutted USAID, the Peace Corp, etc.
What Trump has done is indistinguishable from what a foreign enemy agent would have done to weaken and remove the US from the global stage. Over 75 years of diplomacy and dominance were destroyed in months.
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u/cliff99 1d ago
You're never going to make the large majority of MAGAts to see sense, the best we can do is try to prevent far right propaganda from infecting people in the future and wait for them to die out.
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u/Sweddy-Bowls 1d ago
I would replace “possibility” with “likelihood” here: he was elected twice despite mountains upon mountains of scandals.
If and when he goes away, it is realistically only a matter of four years until another antagonistic populist is elected because clearly that is working.
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u/tosser1579 1d ago
My issue right now is the low key global American boycott. Basically if you have a choice to buy not American, everyone is not buying American. I know people who's international sales are down 90+ percent, so the tariffs don't matter so much as the fact that no one is buying anything anymore.
I expect that to get worse.
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u/balloon99 1d ago
And nor will that get better soon.
Its not governments doing it, its people. Even if Trump reverses course tomorrow, millions of people will be checking country of origin. And, if its US, putting it back on the shelf.
That'll take years to reverse.
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u/PM_ME_CUTE_HOOTERS 1d ago
And at least in Canada, retailers are following consumer trends and not restocking things that aren't moving. Getting shelfspace is very competitive and US companies looking to buy that space will likely see obscene fees added to contracts to make up for the fact that their product just won't sell.
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u/Pantalaimon_II 1d ago
which sucks for people who had nothing to do with this idiot. Newsom is smart to at least attempt to distance from tariffs and negotiate Cali stuff separately
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u/balloon99 1d ago
From a non-US perspective, it doesn't really matter if a given American voted for Kamala or a given state tries to distance themselves from the Feds.
Whats clear is that the checks and balances have failed. That the US constitution has failed because your politicians have become so horrifyingly partisan that they won't fulfill their duties.
Getting rid of Trump won't fix this. America needs to show that it actually respects its constitution. Because, right now, it clearly doesn't.
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u/Pantalaimon_II 1d ago
You’re kind of making my point though. There needs to be as strong a resistance that’s loud as possible so there is incentive to fight back and minimize the impact.
The Dems almost listened to Clinton and Carville to play dead and let the GOP fuck themselves, but because voters have been very loud and vocal, now they’re coming around and have been vowing to actually fight, even if they don’t currently have power. Things like the win in Wisconsin and the FL elections won by much smaller margins are important. Tesla tanking from boycotts is IMPORTANT.
Newsom refusing to normalize this insanity is a reminder that we don’t have to be this way. Also he does have a lot of sway with business.
Believe me, Americans are well aware the country is broken but we need to support the next leaders who will fix it.
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u/MachinaThatGoesBing 1d ago
Newsom refusing to normalize this insanity is a reminder that we don’t have to be this way. Also he does have a lot of sway with business.
This is the Newsom who's having lovely chats normalizing Steve Bannon and not only giving a platform for Charlie Kirk to spread transphobia, but joining in on it himself, having a go at bullying trans kids?
He's pretty clearly a craven politician interested in one thing: his own career.
I wouldn't vote to elect him dog catcher.
I mean obviously if it came down to him or some even shittier Republican in a national race, I'd hold my nose. But god, I pray it doesn't come to that.
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u/GGRitoMonkies 1d ago
Ya as far as the world is concerned atm, the US is a failed country that can't even respect its own rules. Why should we work/trade with such a lawless place? If it wasn't for the insane spending on the military, I'd hardly call the US is super power anymore . It's heading quickly towards becoming another Russia.
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u/Pantalaimon_II 1d ago
listen, i don’t blame any country that says Fuck America and is boycotting. Shoot, i curse out my own country on a daily basis and pretty much have been since 2016. Trust me i am keenly aware of all of our problems and my patriotism is zero, and has been for a long time.
i also don’t want to live through a depression or cheer on the disintegration of the US because i don’t think people realize how catastrophic that would be. i want idiot politicians to wake up and fix our problems and our voting populace to keep speaking up.
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u/blbd 1d ago
Good luck when the Constitution gives all those powers to the planetary or interplanetary tier idiots in DC.
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u/derkrieger 1d ago
If the Feds can break the rules why should the states follow them?
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u/captcanuk 1d ago
Why should a tiny swamp across the country regulate the price of tea?
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u/RoyalZeal 1d ago
California is the 4th largest economy in the world on it's own, it makes sense that they've started swinging that around a bit given the situation. How it goes for them is anyone's guess, we're sailing well into uncharted waters here.
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u/Pantalaimon_II 1d ago
i think it’s important that everyone who opposes this in our govt is as loud as possible. it sends the message that we’re not all completely bonkers.
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u/ViolaNguyen 1d ago
Newsom is smart to at least attempt to distance from tariffs and negotiate Cali stuff separately
If this works, he's gonna kick J.D. Vance's ass in 2028.
It'll also be fucking hilarious if suddenly California becomes far and away the cheapest state, tax-wise, thanks to Trump.
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u/zhurrick 1d ago
It’s unfortunately the only way we can hit the fascists where it hurts, and hopefully with the hardship you’re about to face comes revolution.
A third of Americans voted for trump. A third didn’t vote at all. Most of y’all have been sleepwalking and it’s time to wake up.
To the ones who voted against Trump and are also doing what they can to fight fascism in their country, you have my sympathy.
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u/essaysmith 1d ago
People elsewhere are also realizing that in addition to everything else, America's food safety is garbage, and they are gutting the oversight as well. It's often safer to pick homegrown food than to eat imported American poison.
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u/SonOfMcGee 1d ago edited 1d ago
Whether or not Trump announces tariffs on an allied country, follows through, or keeps them enacted long, his rhetoric is that of an evil, mustache-twirling cartoon villain.
And it’s not just insults and accusations. He continually seriously talks about annexing Canada and Greenland.
Classless simpletons in Ohio might say, “Oh, that’s just how Donny talks.” But civilized people in other countries just can’t stomach it.
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u/NoF----sleft 1d ago
Thank you! This Canadian was waiting for annexation to be brought up. Most media (and all American ones) only talk tariffs. Yes, they are a problem-moreso for you than the rest of us- but what really pisses us off is the attack on our sovereignty. You do not understand our response to this is visceral. I am retired and have always been a pacifist but I will fight tooth and nail for Canada. I would rather die than be a citizen of the US. For those who are unaware, look up the history of Canadian fighters. There is a reason the Geneva convention was enacted
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u/joto7053 1d ago
American here: I like to think I absolutely understand how pissed off Canadians are--if only because I can rather easily imagine how I'd feel if roles were reversed.
Please know there are tens--if not hundreds--of millions of Americans who are deeply, DEEPLY ashamed of how our President is pissing away over a century of friendship and alliance with one of our closest neighbors, indeed all of our long-trusted allies.
I appreciate that means very little, as Trump will continue behaving like Canada is our Sudetenland regardless of what I think and say.
But I hope it means something. I pray it leaves a glimmer of hope we can somehow repair the damage (inflicted ENTIRELY by Americans with zero provocation from our Canadian friends) to our relationship when (I hope) we finally kick this proto-fascist and his cult followers and ideology the curb once and for all in three years.
I have no idea why we turned to him a first and especially a second time. His hardcore supporters make little sense to the rest of us. People here are literally cheering the evaporation of their retirement accounts as somehow a good thing.
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u/UtzTheCrabChip 1d ago
low key global American boycot
It's about to be high key. This entire ill-conceived plan is built in the idea that the rest of the world can't conduct business without the US, and that is a very very mistaken foundation
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u/Robot0verlord 1d ago
Economies weren't as intertwined going into the 30's as they are now. This will be significantly worse.
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u/J3sush8sm3 1d ago
Also to note is the fact that not much really gets exported as compared to 100 years ago. It only accounts for around 10%-15% percent of manufacturing across the globe. The excess tarriffs placed on imports will exceed any on exports
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u/Harbinger2001 1d ago
Except this time everyone else is going to keep trade barriers down between them. Everyone else is going to experience a recession as they adjust supply lines, but the US is going to go full depression as everyone stops buying their stuff.
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u/WranglerSE86 1d ago
I'm no economist but I know tarrifs get passed to the middle and low class. So buckle up. Pay attention to the stock market for the stores you shop at. If their stock drop that is what makes or breaks the corporations next move.
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u/VigorousFlatulence 1d ago
For obvious reasons, rich people don't like progressive tax systems. This is a way to shift more tax burden to low/middle class.
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u/Ok-Square-8652 1d ago
That’s what this really is. An attempt to create a regressive income tax
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u/MrEHam 1d ago edited 1d ago
Everyone really needs to understand how the money flows. The game behind it all is a few thousand extremely rich and powerful people at the top vs everyone else.
Pay attention to who and which party cuts their taxes. We’re talking trillions of dollars here. Everything else is a distraction or a way to get people to vote blindly for this to happen, or get demoralized into not voting against it.
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u/Brokenandburnt 1d ago
They are trying to end-run the parliamentarian to both extend the tax cuts from last term, and squeeze in the new ones in one CR.
They are going to argue that it doesn't matter that the tax breaks expire after this term, then they can claim extension is budget neutral.
Then they "only" need around a $2T benefit cut somewhere, and then the $7T over ten years tax break is complete.
Suuuure, it 'might' add a little to the defecit, some $2T per year, but hey, the poor billionaires deserve it!
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u/MikeMontrealer 1d ago
The worst part is the gilded age nonsense he’s trying to recreate, where tariffs were the main source of US revenue, was at a time when the low and lower middle class (at the time the vast majority of the country) used basically zero imports. The costs were borne by the upper class and business, and even this was muted due to the incredible riches in resources the US enjoys.
Now? It’s dumping all the costs on the poorest half of the country; if they really get rid of income tax it’ll be a windfall for the top 10% the likes of which they’ve never seen, while people who can barely afford life now will have to choose between food and shelter.
Great kindling for a revolution or two.
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u/picknicksje85 1d ago
It will be so bad. Nobody trusts the US now. We are all busy making deals with other nations. I’m sure he will do more stupid things like actually invade a neighbouring country. On a personal note I’m also so sick of this administration’s bullying and meddling with other nations affairs. Same for the billionaires wanting to be trillionaires. Also sick about hearing it constantly. It’s very much making me avoid supporting US products and not wanting to visit the country. US has become the most terrible ally we can’t count on.
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u/Significant_Shoe_17 1d ago
It sucks to be part of the sane third of Americans right now. Some of us didn't want this and will feel the effects anyway.
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u/Life_Recognition7210 1d ago
Everything he does is bad for the country.
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u/spokeca 1d ago
Trump is truly amazing. Without fail, whenever I think of what's the worst thing he can do, he always outdoes my expectations.
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u/islandsimian 1d ago
We're all Bart Simpson with Homer kneeling down telling us "so far - the worst thing he can do SO FAR"
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u/ntgco 1d ago
Yes.
It would be bad enough without the rest of the destruction he did to our government and support structures.
Now people will be jobless with high inflation and zero support.
Great Depression II -- souplines with no soup.
Just starving people.
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u/inquisitorthreefive 1d ago
But can we has cake?
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u/Gyddanar 1d ago
The worst bit is that there is no evidence that Marie Antoinette actually said that (well, brioche, not cake).
It was a floating stereotype attributed to "a great princess" as French resentment of nobility grew... and well... Marie Antoinette was the last such princess. (Ironically, Marie apparently did do her best to help the poor when a problem was brought to her attention too)
We live in a world now though where "they just need to eat less avocado toast and lose the smartphone" does exist.
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u/Spinoza42 1d ago
It will be worse. There will be flip flopping, which will mean that even the benefit you're supposed to get, more industrial investment in the US, won't happen because nobody knows how long the tariffs will even last.
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u/awwjeah 1d ago edited 1d ago
Bringing back manufacturing won’t happen through tariffs. You know why? Because the tariffs hamper the ability of companies to pay for and implement the manufacturing equipment.
If the government was serious about increasing American manufacturing, instead of penalizing companies for manufacturing overseas, they should instead reward them heavily for manufacturing in the US. Especially for the first few years when the risks are highest. Do this with deliberation and intention, providing plenty of advance notice–even companies that have the option of US production can’t switch overnight.
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u/Spinoza42 1d ago
Yup. But boosting the US economy was never the goal anyway.
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u/ViolaNguyen 1d ago
The goal, which isn't getting mentioned much, is to cause a bunch of chaos to force Congress to get rid of income tax.
The Executive Branch isn't supposed to have the power to do this shit in the first place, but it's almost certainly an attempt to put in a massive national sales tax to replace income taxes, since sales taxes collect from the poor and income taxes affect the rich more.
So congratulations to Cleetus from Bumfuck, Mississippi. You voted to raise your own taxes.
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u/larsvondank 1d ago
Gonna take decades to recover if the tariffs are lifted one day, but probably never gonna make it to the level it was prior. The damage is significant. The decisions are unhinged. The relationships with allies are badly dented.
US people will suffer a lot. There will be no real incentive to ramp up domestic production unless a new even lower class is established, which is a major cut on the standard of living in general. A move towards it needs major education cuts and greatly trapped ppl.
All I hope for is that the upcoming desperation driven extremenism doesnt result into a lot of bloodshed.
I see no winners in the equasion.
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u/Johnhaven 1d ago
There will be no real incentive to ramp up domestic production unless a new even lower class is established
I can't imagine who is going to invest anything significant knowing the next president could just reverse everything Trump has done. Factories are not going to be reopened unless this persists through his term and then some. Even if this eventually provides some good, he will not likely be alive to see it.
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u/pissmasterjesus 1d ago
Funny Trump is using a proven method to destroy our economy. Almost like it’s on purpose.
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u/SoCalChrisW 1d ago
I'm not saying he's a Russian asset trying to destroy the United States.
But if he were, what would he be doing differently?
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u/das745 1d ago
People who are acting like there is some grand plan behind this, NO, Trump is just stupid. That's it. This whole administration is incompetent.
Occam's Razor.
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u/Johnhaven 1d ago
This is project 2025, Trump just gave them an opening. Republicans have been working on these things since Reagan was in office and Trump employs several of the people who did this for Reagan and have been doing nothing but this since. They've found just hundreds of ways the President can abuse his power or do something that is entirely unprecedented.
There are dozens of lawsuits already but it takes time and in the meantime, he can do what he wants. Congress could act but Republicans are in charge and would need 2/3rds votes to overturn his EOs or impeach him even if Dems were in charge. Unless there is a massive blue wave this mid-term Congress won't get much done. We will have to rely more than I would like to on the courts.
Trump is too stupid to understand all that he's done but he didn't come up with the more than 100 executive orders he signed on his first day, that was all Project 2025 stuff. Half of this country is illiterate and it's hard for them to read and learn about these things before they vote if they can't read. We failed to properly educated people and this is the result. This is imo why they want to destroy the Dept of Edu - it will certainly create more Republican voters.
This is why - in the last three elections the largest demographic of Republican voters were white men with a HS education or less and second place was the same but for white women. By and large those people are poorly educated and easily manipulated so the number one target of Republicans. Trump has literally said that out loud.
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u/National-Parsley-805 1d ago
I agree. He is clueless. It took his cronies around him years to figure out how to manipulate him. They are praising him and washing his feet. There are some brains surrounding him. That is what is scary. Evil people with intelligence are the most dangerous kind. They are playing him like a puppet and we will be the victims of their lack of morality and calculated steps toward authoritarian rule.
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u/AelishMcGuire 1d ago
Someone explain to me why one person has so much power? We saw this with McConnell blocking any legislation coming to the Senate for even debate. We saw him stop the appointment of a SC justice and the conviction of trump, who was obviously guilty. If we survive the next few years as a country, we can no longer depend upon the honor of people elected to power. Safeguards need to be implemented to prevent this. What good does it do to elect people who have power only as designated by the senior members, where everyone is expected to fall in line?
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u/cuoyi77372222 1d ago
Someone explain to me why one person has so much power?
It's simply. Because all of the other people GIVE them this power.
Voters voted for him.
Congress is doing nothing.
Democrats are doing nothing significant.
Courts are doing very little.
People have proven that they will not fight for our country. They will sit back and complain that no one else is fighting.
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u/DepartmentSeparate37 1d ago
The biggest fear is that we have already been through Trump brinksmanship before. The first time it was fearful due to the uncertainty. But everyone now knows how he operates. Instead of appeasing the boy who cries wolf all the time, they will choose to avoid it altogether.
You will start seeing the US not being invited to trade partnerships. These countries know it will be hard but if they cannot rely on US stability they will find someone else.
This disunity is going to lead to disaster. The power vacuum is going to cause a conflict and I hope the disillusioned youth who voted for this chaos is ready to pay their dues.
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u/douggold11 1d ago
Trump is trying to solve a problem that only exists in his mind using numbers he pulled from his ass. Of course this will harm us all. Bigly.
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u/payperplain 1d ago
They are a huge mistake, but given allowing him to buy an election was also a huge mistake it's par for the course. 23% of voters put a dictator with no political experience in charge for the second time. He will tank the economy just like he did the first time.
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u/DaveLesh 1d ago
COVID tanked the economy towards the end of his first run, it was stagnant otherwise. This time he's tanking it.
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u/Raptor1210 1d ago
I swear the fucking God, being a Historian is like becoming Cassandra. No one listens to you and then we all die. 😤
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u/starreelynn 1d ago
One major difference between now and the Great Depression is credit cards. Back then, when people couldn’t find work, they simply went without. Today, many will scrape by on debt instead. But once those credit limits are maxed and savings are gone, the fallout could be even more devastating.
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u/The_Roshallock 1d ago
You raise a good point. We could be witness to a collapse of the credit system in the US. When everyone has dead and no one can pay it back the system will collapse.
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u/AMoreExcitingName 1d ago
The tariffs aren't a financial tool. They're using them to bully countries and companies...
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u/insanetwit 1d ago
Smoot-Hawley prolonged the depression trying to solve it.
Trump's caused a depression trying to solve a non-existent problem.
Trump's are worse.
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u/rsgoto11 1d ago
He’s creating a financial disaster, allowing emergency powers to be enacted. While reasonable countries cut out the US from trade, he’ll align us with Russia and North Korea. The new axis of evil featuring despot dictators.
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u/xMCioffi1986x 1d ago
That's funny.
I watch this cocktail channel on YouTube called How to Drink, and the host recently did two videos -- the favorite drinks of the 10 "best presidents" (as named by Siena College) and the 10 "worst presidents." The latter video came out yesterday.
He talked about how much Herbert Hoover sucked as a president and the Smoot-Hawley act, which he named the SECOND worst tariffs and as he was talking, text came up on screen that said "Hold my Diet Coke." I was dying.
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u/Howwouldiknow1492 1d ago
We have known for 90 years that tariffs and currency mis-management caused the great depression of the 1930's. It is the height of stupidity and insanity for Trump to levy tariffs like he's done. Economics 101. If it's not self deluded stupidity it's a deliberate attempt to undermine Western economies.
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u/RevolutionaryLeg1768 1d ago
Sooo last time tariffs were put in motion, Republicans didn’t get the house or senate for 60 years. Gotta take history into consideration in all aspects.
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u/CombustiblSquid 1d ago
Trump is likely going to be the end of the USA as global leader. It really is already over. Most of the USA allies already don't trust them and it hasn't even been 3 months.
It's fucking bad.
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u/Lord_Blackthorn 1d ago
It will be worse.
He placed all these tarrifs without creating incentives to move the industries back to the US. Instead the other countries will make a trade agreement that excludes the US. Almost 100% of consumer electronics have foreign parts. That doesn't just hurt the consumers but also businesses as well. The cost of supporting your business infrastructure and employees just went up.
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u/AdmiralAkBarkeep 1d ago
It's too hard to say definitively what the impact would be.
The new average tariff rate exceeds the Smoot Hawley tariff rate. If we see widespread retaliatory measures then it could have even greater impact.
Though the SH tariff was enacted under worse economic conditions at home and abroad. Trump mercifully was handed a great economy, so there's more room to fall.
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u/Durzel 1d ago
Some countries will capitulate, because they have no effective choice, but they’ll probably take more robust steps to protect their economy in future, whereas previously they might have relied on the stability of the United States as a trading partner. America will have less leverage over them in future.
Some countries will just hit back, because they can, and because they know America’s dependencies - short and longer term - don’t match the rhetoric.
Everyone will look at America dimly and realise that they can’t rely on it, both in terms of business but also as a “safe pair of hands” on the world stage. That has far reaching consequences.
Aside from anything it’s incredible that Trump and his supporters think they companies would commit billions of manufacturing effort (which would take years anyway, but that’s by the by) when he is completely unreliable. They could break ground and the day afterwards tariffs get removed on a whim. That’s before you even get into the details of differences in labour cost, etc.
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u/stellarharvest 1d ago
Who knows? Letting an chatbot calculate imaginary “trade balance correcting” rates and challenging the whole world at once? Could work! Let’s throw the dice with entire American economy!
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u/alibabba54 1d ago
Anyone? Anyone?
It did not work and the US sank deeper into the Great Depression.
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u/Mistercorey1976 1d ago
When trump creates a depression. Which is his intention. He can buy up America with his friends. It’s a pathetic attempt to establish himself like the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts.
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u/horrified_intrigued 1d ago
Yes they will. I think the long term goal is that corporations that want to sell goods into the US will have to have manufacturing in the US (or pay Trump a MASSIVE bribe) which will take decades. Meantime existing manufacturers will still sell into the US with their products just being more expensive, and that has never hurt, Porsche, BMW, Rolls Royce etc as the expense is the point of having one. Non luxury goods, foods etc will simply stop coming to the US if they can’t compete with local products. In all cases this just makes things horribly more expensive for the American public, short AND long term. Tldr: it’s f**king stupid and recessionary.
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u/Fantastic_Team_6 1d ago
My Vanguard accounts are down 70% year to date
I'm pissed
I voted Republican in the past 5 elections and I have now become a Democrat because of all gains I've lost under Trump Tariffs
There are others like me
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u/Morfe 1d ago
This is the end of the US leadership, there is no way countries will ever trust the US again unless drastic changes in the system are made to bring stability.
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u/Metroidman 1d ago
Is is absolutely ridiculous that someond near their deathbed can fuck our country up so bad for long after he is dead
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u/bjos144 1d ago
History doesn't repeat, but sometimes it rhymes. Trumps stupid tariffs are taking place in a very different economic world. It will cause chaos, it will hurt people, it will reorient the world, but the outcome will not be predictable beyond that.
However, people saying the USA is doomed are also morons. The USA is, among many many other things
A) the largest economy in the world
B) the reserve currency
C) The most powerful military to ever exist by a huge margin
D) the largest producer of oil
E) the third largest producer of food. and so on and so forth.
What is truly scary about this whole situation is that there is likely very little the world can do to knock the US off of its perch as the dominant force in the world. Think Superman became Homelander overnight. They'll hate us. The wont listen to us, and over time our influence will diminish. But the hard power and resources we have still exist and we can still do a LOT of damage between here and there.
At some point, at some level, the world will have to find a way to deal with the USA. We arnt going anywhere. But we are changing, and into what is the most terrifying question on my mind.
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u/txwildflower21 1d ago
We pay the TARRIFFS so trump can use that money to give the 2% a 4.2T tax break. The same people who got the 1.9T in 2017, which is worth 456M to Alice Walton and added 20% to the deficit year over year.
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u/Hungry-Sloth 1d ago
Thing is, the orange turd told everyone what he was going to do - the experts all over, including GOP, said this wold be terrible and 77 million morons said "yes, we're good with this."
We live in a country of complete idiots.
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u/ice1000 1d ago
Even if the tarrifs are reversed, there will be long lasting impacts. The tarrifs were implemented by executive order not through congress. Businesses will not shift manufacturing to the US or permanently alter supply chains when tarrifs can be implemented or reversed on a whim. Only when stability is seen will business make long lasting changes to operations.
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u/SonofBeckett 1d ago
I love how an improvised scene in a John Hughes movie is the reason we know this will suck
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u/kayakkiniry 1d ago
I'm not saying that this is all sunshine and rainbows, but the fallout won't be as bad. The Federal Reserve compounded the economic pain from Smoot-Hawley by failing to provide liquidity and to stabilize the banking system. See Milton Friedman's and Anna Schwartz's Monetary History of the United States for my source on this.
The Fed has learned from the past, and has shown very strong political independence, so I believe they'll be able to provide more of a cushion here.
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u/JustTheBeerLight 1d ago
It is not just the tariffs. It is all of the stupid bullshit that has alienated the US from countries like Canada and NATO when we have ALWAYS had each others back. We turned our back on Ukraine in the most embarrassing way imaginable. We have lost all credibility and every single misstep has been obvious and avoidable.
Team Trump has fucked up all of the easy stuff, and they will certainly fuck up the difficult things that are on the horizon because they are all a bunch of goddamned idiots.
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u/GoFishOldMaid 1d ago
We are so fucked. Unless we hit the brakes and backpedal with lightning speed right now, it's going to be the 1930s all over again. We're halfway there already. And I call bullshit on the latest employment numbers. The rest of the world is coming together to say, "Ok, America has gone full evil empire. Time to hit them in the wallet." And that shit works.
To quote Eddie Murphy from Trading Spaces, "It occurs to me the best way to hurt rich people is to turn them into poor people."
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u/Jmac6587 1d ago
Congress as a whole needs to get a spine and take back their constitutional expressed power to impose tariffs. I believe the founding fathers were a little wiser than our leaders today and they gave that power to the legislature. It should never be subjected to the whim of one man.
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u/ditchdiggergirl 1d ago
I think the Smoot Hawley tariffs were more carefully planned and more strategically targeted. So no, I would not expect these to turn out as well as those did.
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u/120steve 1d ago
Simple illustration of consumer impact. My daughter owns a restaurant in Chicago. She just bought a 5lb jar of pealed garlic cloves. Farmed & packaged in China. Last week price $25, this week $99. We consumers will pay tariffs!
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u/Ace-Hunter 1d ago
This moron will finally realise how stupid his actions are based on the broad backlash…. Will unwind them based on the pretext he’s negotiated “deals” with other countries and has “won”. Restoring trade tariffs back to 0 or close to it, he will likely take a gift in secret or a reward for himself and his family.
One man should not have the power to single handedly negotiate the trading impact of nations. Your executive orders have destroyed your own democracy.
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u/LeGama 1d ago
Honestly it might be worse than Smoot Hawley, but just for us. The great depression was coming off the heels of WW1, and many other countries were in trouble already. The US was much better off than most but those tariffs pushed everyone over. This time around all the other countries are doing okay economically, and China is the defacto manufacturing powerhouse instead of us. Everyone else has plenty of ability to work around the US this time, so the US is going to be the one falling.
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u/Ilsluggo 1d ago
Consider, these tariffs might not actually have that much to do with other countries. What he’s doing is strangling American businesses, who will now have to come on their knees to him begging for tariff relief (much as he’s already doing with universities that have DEI programs). What payback is he going to demand in exchange for this relief?
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u/Headoutdaplane 20h ago
I think that unless the Democrats do something really stupid (not putting it past them) they are going to kick ass in the midterms.
"It's the economy, stupid"
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u/Illustrious_Hotel527 1d ago
If applied for the rest of the time he's in office, permanently damaging to US, since supply chains will permanently migrate away and the severe recession/depression will destroy industries.
If the Republican Congress can grow a pair and overturn the tariffs and reset them w/ a 2/3rds vote, then less damaging.
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u/f700es 1d ago
It's going to be a horrible shit show that we all are going to lose!
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u/belljs87 1d ago
If he keeps them as is, which if his previous behavior suggests he won't, then it very well could end up that badly.
I would assume once things begin to trend too far in that direction that he will reverse course, because if too many people's 401ks start to disappear then the country will start to turn on him.
And if trump has shown us one thing about himself that's real, it's that he needs to be praised. If everyone hates him he can't take it.
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u/50mHz 1d ago
Tariffs are perfectly fine for industrialized & manufacturing based economies with a strong central government to provide safety nets, high taxes for the rich, a brain drain from private to public sectors, strong unions for the working class, and rich investments for infrastructure + innovation.
We are getting tariffs with a service-based economy that heavily relies on providing import/export services to and from other countries, weak manufacturing class with literally maybe 10% of infrastructure necessary for trade wars, privatization of goods and services that have been cheaply available through the government, a separation of powers skewing heavily toward the executive, and the gutting of thousands and thousands of jobs. This is going to kill aggregate demand.
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u/fajadada 1d ago
Worse coupled with 7 trillion added debt and 1.5 trillion in government agencies gone.
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u/nobackup42 1d ago
Worse as at the time communication was word of mouth now one to one He’s made his bed and has to Lie in it !!
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u/french_revolutionist 1d ago
The wild part for me is r/conservative is PRAISING these tariffs and saying that it is all Trump's master tactic plan to get countries to negotiate.... countries around the globe are cutting ties.
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u/espresso_martini__ 1d ago
Nobody has seen this kind of fuck up since the great depression. My only hope is he will take advice from smarter people and stop this lunacy. People will suffer around the world due to an idiotic moron in charge. And fuck you people who voted for this. You're also to blame.
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u/West-Childhood788 1d ago edited 1d ago
Being that he is applying the Tariffs so universally, countries are likely going to band together and try to cut the US out of their supply chain. This will have a long lasting impact.