I seriously don’t understand how anyone on Wall Street is acting shocked right now. We — the supposed “rational actors,” the champions of capitalism — are supposed to know the ABC of economics. Literally any first-year undergrad in econ could tell you: tariffs are bad. They’re inefficient, regressive, and always end up hurting consumers and global alliances. And yet, here we are — again.

Now you’ve got Ben Shapiro and other conservative voices suddenly sounding the alarm, acting like they just realized tariffs are economic poison. Are you kidding? Trump ran on this explicitly. He implemented them in 2018. There was no ambiguity. He’s not pretending to be Milton Friedman.

And don’t even get me started on the Wall Street royalty that lined up behind him: Steve Schwarzman (Blackstone)

Bill Ackman, the guy who says he’s a disciple of Buffett

Jamie Dimon, who played the centrist game but stood by him when it counted

Stanley Druckenmiller, always talking macro while backing chaos

Even Scott Bessent, who was literally the CIO of Soros Fund Management — yes, Soros! — and still publicly backed Trump yesterday

If they couldn’t see the consequences of enabling a tariff-happy populist, then either they’re dishonest or delusional. This is not just a political miscalculation — it’s an economic betrayal. These people should’ve known better. Most of them do know better. And now they want to act surprised when markets react violently?

Using tariffs Trump has managed to implode what was a thriving economy, I don't really think that is debatable . It doesn't really matter why. The average person doesn't even know that they have money in the stock market, whether it be in a 401k or company IRA , or their Pension Funds, and being clueless were led like lambs to the slaughter.

Large players were hedged or shorted, fortunes are being made in darkness, small players were used and discarded, and the fallout has only just begun. And now a whole generation of people will experience their first long term bear market for all the wrong reasons. How will clueless people react when they realize what they have really lost, and do those people even deserve our sympathy?

Looking at the stock market melt down in the last couple of days, I am left wondering if the world is heading to bankruptcy under the Trump leadership - an expert in bankruptcy ("king of bankruptcy"). It is frequently stated that Trump filed for bankruptcy six times in his business career. That is not definitely a streak of bad luck — that is a pattern. His “success” seems more about manipulation, loopholes, branding spin, tax evasion and shifting blame than genuine innovation or sustainable business acumen.

Now he is running the US, the global leader, like one of his failing ventures:

• Racking up massive debt (added trillions in the national debt in his previous term - possibly the same this time around)

• Undermining alliances and institutions (don't mention the 51st state)

• Stirring constant instability (uncontrolled chaos )

• Making reckless promises with no solid foundation

• Prioritizing personal gain or so called "win" and loyalty over long-term planning or democratic values

Unlike his businesses, this isn not just about economics or business. It is about bankrupting trust, alienating global partners, dismantling democratic norms, and turning the US into an unreliable, chaotic actor on the world stage.

He is not building a future — he is mortgaging it. I wonder if we are going to be left with nothing but a hollowed-out shell , just like many of his past ventures or the recent rug pull of the Melania/Trump coins.

Still the greatest of all time.

Impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act on US equities from the signing of the act on 1930 by President Hoover to 1934 when tariffs were later decreased by President FDR, eventually establishing the WTO. The tariffs that were just signed on April 2nd are even more extreme than those established in 1930. It would be fair to say, we can reasonably expect a larger drop in the US stock market in the next two years. Curious on other people’s thoughts.

(the movie is called idiocracy)

Guess they're just going to try to punish businesses into doing business?

Looking forward to the olympic-level mental gymnastics of how this was not the current administration's bad idea!

Hint: you can't

The recent barrage of comments and posts advising people to just "buy the dip" are complete nonsense. Unless you have been sitting on a pile of cash (and thus missed out on the great market we've had for a few years) you don't have a bunch of excess money to buy anything.

People should continue their monthly investments, dollar cost averaging is meant to capitalize at times like this, but no normal person had a bunch of money sitting on the sidelines and then is so thankful that the market crashed and now they can get in.

In normal down markets, buy the dip is actually "reallocate" and that doesn't work when almost every single sector crashes at once. You can't sell winners to buy the down ones when poor policy makes everything down.

For normal people, all we can do is hold on and hope saner minds (or intense political backlash) prevail.

Surgeon says the operation went very well.

Patient seems to be not doing well though.

Will someone make the doctor understand?

—-

Point is, there is just a vague assurance that “the economy is going to boom …”

What we need to be told is, how.

And why we should just sit and expect these words to come true.

This is not just the Dow or just the U.S. Stock Market. We are talking about the entire world being on edge because of executive actions that are generally regarded as not conducive to global economic prosperity.

There must be experts at the top who should be able to moderate executive actions that are potentially inimical to the nation’s economic well being. Are they afraid to talk, or have they just given up?

—-

We’ve officially reached clown world. Trump just added tariffs on the Heard and McDonald Islands — literal chunks of rock in the Southern Ocean with no people, just penguins and seals.

How does this even happen? Who looked at a map, saw a frozen wasteland full of waddling birds, and said “Yes, this is the threat to American manufacturing”?

We’re out here crashing markets and risking recession because this guy’s trade policy is based on vibes and wildlife documentaries.

Someone please take his globe away.

I believe Trump has bitten off more than he can chew, he has just declared war against the US’s closest trading partners and military allies. I am a veteran and my country has supported the US in wars for nearly 100 years and what did we get for it? A slap in the face. Alienating all of the US’s allies has done irreparable harm to your reputation as a world leading country. You have a convicted felon and someone who brags about sexually assaulting women that can’t hold a gun licence but does have the nuclear codes, in control of the world’s most powerful country. Then you have his sidekick, the richest man in the world taking money, food and medicine from the poorest people in the world. WTF??? How could any first world country allow this to happen???

My country doesn’t impose tariffs, (and in fact the US has a surplus against us) nor does 90% of the counties on his list. It is all based on lies to fool the simple. Like the rest of the world, we are already boycotting US products here and the government will no doubt impose retaliatory tariffs to discourage the people silly enough to buy US imports. US exports are about to experience a major nose dive, unemployment will go up, inflation and interest rates will rise and you are looking down the barrel at a recession. The average person won’t be able to afford the basics any more. The rest of the world will continue together with free trade agreements and the US will become isolated like North Korea and Russia (coincidently, two countries that were not on his list). Meanwhile the rest of Asia, Europe and the other 150+ countries on the list that are yet to retaliate. The US has only one enemy here and it is the enemy within, Trump. His ego won’t let him back down and the potential is there for a serious depression part 2.

Only the rich are winners in a trade war and millions if not billions of people will suffer, but not Trump & co, and with his ego, he will pretend to retaliate while the world calls out this schoolyard bully for what he is. As long as he is in charge, I can only see dark days ahead for the US. I wish good luck to you all and please…think of the Penguins.