r/technology • u/DontFearTheCreaper • 1d ago

Social Media Tech CEOs who grinned behind Trump at inauguration lose billions in wake of tariffs

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-tariff-bezos-musk-zuckerberg-b2727147.html
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u/bluepaintbrush 1d ago

I know of exactly zero sovereign wealth funds held by countries with a national deficit, much less one with a -$1,150,000,000 balance. Countries fund sovereign wealth funds with budget surpluses, not with deficits.

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u/thekrone 1d ago

Do you think anything the Trump administration does or would do is similar to what other, normal, functional governments would do?

Besides, that's just wrong. Most countries that have a sovereign wealth fund have debt.

Either way, it isn't going to stop them from trying.

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u/bluepaintbrush 1d ago

I’m not talking about debt, I’m talking about consolidated fiscal balance.

Unlike a government, a sovereign wealth fund can’t print money. That’s why governments send surplus cash into the SWF.

The US doesn’t have a budget surplus, so where would the cash come from? If the government prints cash to fund the SWF, the monies in the fund will decrease in purchasing power. And the fund is no richer.

Regardless of what Trump wants to do, they can’t create something from nothing. There’s no way to open a bank account without cash or grow an investment that hasn’t been made. I predict that Trump will do what he often does — make a big show of doing something, say he did it (regardless of whether that’s true or not) and deflect when anyone questions its existence.

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u/thekrone 1d ago

Yes, they might fail, but they are going to try. And I wouldn't be surprised if they try to justify income from all of the tariffs to get funding.

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u/bluepaintbrush 1d ago

Unless the revenue from tariffs somehow generates a budget surplus (which is highly unlikely), there won’t be any cash to put in the fund. We have $4,370,000,000 in mandatory spending (SSI, Medicare, Medicaid) before excess cash inflow can be applied elsewhere.

Again, the government can borrow to fund nondiscretionary spending. But it can’t deposit cash that doesn’t exist into a bank account. Nobody in Congress is talking about this like there’s any kind of serious plan. I assume it’s bluster until proven otherwise.