Fair dinkum. Then no slinging TDS around.

And you set up a scary scenario of disinformation dominating the conversation

Not sure what problem I am not squarely facing, but Canada and the rest of the world are not to blame for your trade imbalance.
You can claim that is so and erect countertariffs and tariffs on goods and services you choose to try and bring economic activity back to the USA.

Products with substitutes easily available to varying degrees will suffer if tariffed
Products not easily substituted will pass on most if not all of the tariff
In between there will be sawoffs between parties as to who bears the final cost.
Remember, in the end, price has nothing to do with cost.
It is set at a level the provider believes the customer will buy at.
Tariffs are added costs but how much of it to pass on is another question

Will this all result in a The Big Drump?

That over the cliff scenario with the TDS smelling name is a definite possibility.
Cutting government salaries and payments removes money from the economy and its multiplier effect and ultimate taxation again
Gotta think waste exists in such a large budget and is good to cut, but there are problems where DOGE hits the road as the proverbial rubber.interface
Their algorithm driven chainsaw cut wide swaths ...so dunno
That and people's economic fears.....future uncertainties ...grifters at work...

25% on all cars coming in to the USA




Originally Posted by Sunset Poet
Originally Posted by John Voorpostel
LOL Rob but no

Marty and I go back a long way and we have gone around the block on issues but he is worth engaging. Currently he just wants us to focus on tariffs and sees the rest as noise

I won't let him and I'm trying to hold him to account for his derisive labeling strategy. He is trying to avoid that conversation

I'm afraid that is wrong John.
I'm not trying to avoid the conversation. I'm trying to avoid a thousand rabbit holes and stay on point.
If Trump installs this and maintains it for a period of even weeks...it is going to become very complex and it is going to be hard to distinguish fact from noise, and Propaganda will be coming from all directions.

All media is now niche and makes money by delivering red meat to some essentially cultish group that has a desperate psychological need to believe a particular narrative.

Therefore a thinking person's Question #1 examines the core issue(s) and then builds a foundational framework on that for an understanding as the details mount.
Once established, then as the insanity starts rolling in and every barker has a narrative to sell, then we will have some sort of framework to stack details on.
At that point, we can talk about fish hatcheries and chicken farms and Aunt Millie's apple pie export business. Until now, their place and effect in a framework that doesn't exist yet is supposition.

My prediction is that it is going to be a muddy mess.
Could it push an economy that has been festering problems for 2+ years over a cliff? Real possibility.

But it starts with a very straightforward and honest question that you continue to evade.
How can you fix a problem that you wont even squarely face John? wink

Marty

If writing ever becomes work I think I'm going to have to stop