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@AkaSci@fosstodon.orgPaul Krugman: Stop Looking for Methods in the Madness. There’s no plan, secret or otherwise, behind Trump’s tariffs.
"There can’t be any secret agenda behind the Trump tariffs, because there’s nobody around Trump with the knowledge or independence to devise such an agenda. This is all about Trump’s gut feelings.
Trump wants each country to grovel and want to cut a deal.
Since most of our trading partners aren’t in a groveling mood, trade war seems inevitable."
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/stop-looking-for-methods-in-the-madness
1/n
The trump regime announced the much expected tariff structure today.
10% blanket tariff across the board. Much higher "reciprocal" tariffs against many countries.
The reciprocal values are based on inflated numbers on tariffs charged by these countries for U.S goods.
The gaslighting is in full force on how this will raise treasury revenues, so that they can justify the extension of the upper-class tax cuts in the upcoming budget.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/02/trump-tariffs-live-updates.html
2/n
The Gaslighter-in-Chief today:
"In 1913, for reasons unknown to mankind, they established the income tax so that citizens rather than foreign countries would start paying the money necessary to run our government. Then, in 1929, it all came to a very abrupt end with the Great Depression, and it would have never happened if they had stayed with the tariff policy. They tried to bring back tariffs to save our country. it was too late."
The Senate voted today to undo trump's 25% tariffs on Canadian goods — a bipartisan but largely symbolic rebuke, with 4 Republicans (Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul) joining all Senate Democrats.
Sen. Tim Kaine, the lead sponsor of the resolution: "Tariffs are a tax. Tariffs will hurt our families. Canada is not an enemy. Let's act together to fight fentanyl. We can do that."
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/02/politics/senate-vote-tariffs-republicans-trump/index.html
5/n
@AkaSci
You can't raise revenue if you cancel tariffs at the last minute.
@AkaSci
Where do they get their number on tarifs from?
@blackfire @AkaSci from scrabbling together anything that looks as if it will fly as an excuse. One blatant thing in that speech - imposing the same food hygiene, safety and animal welfare standards on US imports as are imposed on local manufacturers is a tariff, according to Trump economic theory.
Nonsense on BBC Radio 4 yesterday - VAT is a tariff. Because charging the same sales tax on imports as is charged on the locals is a tariff...
@blackfire @AkaSci Look at post 8/n by @AkaSci above. The numbers relate to trade deficits with each country
@AkaSci
10% de impuestos a Argentina porque no chuparon las medidas lo suficiente!!!
@AkaSci Well, its all tariffs for him now. I wonder if Melania has already introduced tariffs as well.
Btw, the USA introduced the first federal income tax in 1861. And repealed it 11 years later. 1913 was just the year, in which the 16th amendment was ratified, granting the congress explicitly more rights on earning taxes than the bill of rights did and the SCOTUS further limited in 1895.
@AkaSci I'm so sick of this jackass.
@AkaSci Odd for CNN to describe a binding vote of the US Senate as "largely symbolic", simply bc the House may not vote the same.
@lauerhahn@sfba.social @AkaSci@fosstodon.org Corporate America, likes Donald Trump - Simple as that. Does not matter if it is CNN, ABC, CBS, Fox, etc... Their staff may hate Trump as much as you or me, but their CEOs and board of directors, who are going to buy stocks at bottom out prices, are all for this chaos.
@AkaSci these gormless Democrats can not refuse indulging lies to walk out a bipartisan play where they eat shit.
@AkaSci What more can be said except that Trump is a fucking idiot.
@AkaSci did the orange buffoon realize that by raising tariffs no one is going to trade with them and "state financing" will crumble?
Income tax has a reason, maybe.
@AkaSci BTW, the yellow column can easily be calculated from the other one:
y=max(ceil(x/2),10)
@AkaSci for some reason, Russia is not on the list. However, the uninhabited Herd and McDonald Islands are.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heard_Island_and_McDonald_Islands
The thing is this is not any stupider than we expected.
@AkaSci County.
Except the only groveling going on so far is trump announcing tariffs, then canceling at the last minute, which causes chaos and loss of trust.
@AkaSci Seems simple enough of a plan:
Apply Reverse Russian Sanctions
then
Reverse Russian sanctions.
@AkaSci Idiocracy = rule by the dumbest
"
@AkaSci Nobody is doing trade war apart from the US. I know it's hard to see the "rest of the world"