She had me until the last line:

I agree about embracing change and accepting destruction, but not embracing it.

Beyond just economics, trade, and protectionism, a major component of Trumpism and the MAGA movement is embracing destruction.

The world is not just one poker hand where one player takes the pot and everyone else loses, especially where the winner cheats.

History judged Smoot-Hawley harshly. The final verdict on Trump's tariffs is not yet written, but the early signs are familiar. If we want prosperity, we must look forward, not backward. The future belongs to those who embrace change and creative destruction, not those who resist it.

https://reason.com/2025/04/24/tariffs-helped-wreck-the-economy-in-the-1930s-why-is-trump-making-the-same-mistake/

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Roundandroundwego · 61-69

The tarrifs fit in with the US need to prevent a multi polar future.
Don't Americans support that?
Every president since Obama has bombed and imposed tariffs to that end, even Biden.

MistyCee

@Roundandroundwego I hear you on the bombing, but the tarriff thing is on a whole new level here and really doesn't seem well thought out.

I totally get how it appeals to the destructive impulse, but I dont see where the change is likely to be positive change, except maybe for countries that compete but don't need the US, e.g., China.

daydeeo · 61-69, M

It's too early to assess.

MistyCee

@daydeeo That's true, and I'll admit I'm not really qualified to do anything more than give my opinion, which has already been rejected by electing Trump.

ElwoodBlues · M

@daydeeo says "It's too early to assess."

Yes and no. Of course, history will have the final word 20 years from now. But CEOs and investment managers don't have the benefit of hindsight. They've got to make decisions every day, basically hoping for the best and planning for the most likely.

And the decisions of America's CEOs and investment managers show up in, among other places, the stock & bond markets. And those markets say the CEOs and investment managers are planning for both inflation and a recession.

The venerable conservative Wall St Journal summed up one of their editorials on tariffs with

... after our Saturday editorial called his 25% across-the-board tariffs on our friends and neighbors “the dumbest trade war in history.”

... How this helps the U.S. isn’t apparent, so, yes, “dumbest trade war” sounds right, if it isn’t an understatement.

WSJ Feb 2 2005

daydeeo · 61-69, M

@ElwoodBlues Time will tell, friend.

SomeMichGuy · M

Oh, he might try the other catastrophe, going on the gold standard.

Mudkip · 31-35, M

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