What do you REALLY think of Trump?

@Captainjackass Well Captain, if you can elucidate on what you don't understand, maybe we can discuss it.

@Roadsterrider the tariffs have caused inflation to skyrocket and prices to shoot through the roof. Like you he lacks a basic understanding of economics and doesn’t understand if you just put a tariff on something doesn’t magically mean you will make money on it. The tariffs have already increased the deficit by millions and will continue to do so until they’re undone. But obviously this is to complicated for you so I’ll make it understandable. Tariffs equal stupid= no one makes money but the other countries.

@Roadsterrider Like "I'll release the Epstein files"? Like "I'll end the Russia-Ukraine war on day one"? Like "I'll lower the cost of living"? Like "I'll lower drug prices by 1500%"?

@NerdyPotato He also promised every wife he’s had to be faithful when he met each of them while having affairs with them on the previous wifes.

@Roadsterrider Consumers, in this case, Americans, are the ones who are paying the tariffs.

@NerdyPotato As I said, he is hampered by the house and senate, but where I am, prices have dropped. I am spending less on groceries and gas than I was under Biden. Everything he tries to do with Russia and Ukraine is met with resistance. He started playing hard ball with Zelensky and it played on the news cycle for weeks.

Trump said he would lower drug prices 30 to 80%, not 1500. His approach for "Most Favored Nation" pricing would align prices with other developed nations.

@Roadsterrider no he literally said 1500% and he played hard ball with our ally who is being attacked by a dictatorship and sided with the dictator. He’s literally committed crimes and gotten away with it. But continue to support a pediphile. Tell me specifically what has magically gone down for you cause everything’s gone up.

@Roadsterrider really? 🤔 It sounds to me like he specifically said it would not be by 30%.

@NerdyPotato this is what Im talking about with them. They remember him saying what they want him to say. Watch, he’s gonna wither deny this and rant or block you.

@Diotrephes The idea for tariffs is to protect American industry and workers. Lowering tariffs was an attempt to help nations recover from WW2 but when Asia and Europe came back online with manufacturing, very low tariffs damaged industry in this country. That is why it is cheaper for a company like GM or Ford to build a plant in another country, hire and train workers and shut down a plant in Cleveland or Detroit. Thousands of well paying jobs have been lost due to companies moving out of the country to save money.

@Roadsterrider thats not even close to what tariffs do to the country 🤦🏻‍♂. It’s like arguing with a three year old who refuses to listen when you say the sky is blue.

@Captainjackass I don't remember him saying anything. I search news sources and make my own opinion. I can find a number of references to the 30-80%, I would give him the benefit of the doubt about a gaff like that, as I did with Biden or anyone else speaking and making a mistake in wording. In any case, the numbers he is putting into legislation or executive orders is the 30-80%. No ranting involved.

@Roadsterrider Tariffs are a tax paid by american consumers. The foreign country doesn't pay the tariffs. The importers pay the tariff to the government and then add that amount onto the price of the item when they supply it to the retailer or manufacturer. You, as the customer, are at the end of that chain... and paying more for the item so that the government gets more money from you.

@newjaninev2 its basic math and economics but they refuse to accept it. It’s to complicated for them to understand so they refuse to even try and ignore reality.

@Captainjackass It's astonishing. The Great Leader has imposed widespread tax increases onto them... and he personally sets the rates of that increase according to his personal whim from day to day... and they think he's wonderful!

@Captainjackass 1789: The Tariff Act is passed, relying on tariffs and excise taxes as the primary sources of federal revenue.

From 1861 to 1872 there was an income tax to repay debt from the civil war. Repealed in 1872 when debts were repaid.

Then we move on to 1913 when the 16th amendment was ratified. Then in 1918 the progressive tax we pay today was initiated with rates up to 77%.

From 1789 to 1913, the government survived on tariffs with the exception of the years from 1861 to 1872. About 120 years where tariffs paid for US government expenses, Army, Navy, roads and bridges, then they stuck their hands back into the citizen's pocket and started cutting deals with other nations for favored treatment.

The consumer pays the tariff in the end either way, whether it is an import tariff or income tax placed on the manufacturer. We can't compete with labor in Mexico where the average annual salary is 12-$15,000, countries like Thailand or Vietnam where average annual salaries are 5-$6000 a year. The average annual salary in the US is $66K. Unskilled labor in the US is approaching $20 an hour. Add to that, the companies that move to another country don't need to pay social security, medicare, on top of payrolls. GM moved plants to Canada primarily because they didn't have to pay for health insurance in Canada. If I have to pay a few more dollars for a product made in the US, I think it is better for the country to keep those US manufacturers doing business.

@newjaninev2 it’s literally a cult. He said he won in my state in 2016 because we’re all worthless drug addicts and people still support his nazism. It’s ironic too cause he lost again Hillary in this state too.

@Diotrephes I agree 100%. But I have no choice when it comes to income taxes. If a product is more expensive because of a tariff, I have a choice in most cases whether I replace the item or not. If the price of veggies burns a hole in my wallet, I can start a garden and grow my own veggies. Tariffs aren't going to cost me more than the government taxes me.

@Roadsterrider what you use chatgpt to look that up. That has absolutely nothing to do with keeping jobs in the US and everything to do with what he wants to do every five seconds. Job scores are lower which he freaked out and fired the guy reporting this fact. So now your essentially saying it in fact raises money for people in this country which is what you were denying before. But thats okay that everyone have to pay huge amounts more for eggs now as long as your orange master stays in control.

@Roadsterrider
The auto companies moved out of the country because they were so racist and didn't want Black people working for them. So, they moved to Mexico and China.

@Diotrephes I don't believe they moved to avoid black employees, profit is what drive the board of directors and CEO of GM and Ford, or any other large company. What does GM say about the tariffs? They have short term plans and long term plans. Long term includes $60 billion in US plants supplying parts and US produced steel. A tariff on automobiles alone is going to bring jobs back into the US economy. My son worked in a steel mill in PA until just a few months ago, they shut down because they can't compete with foreign steel producers. The link has a few things about what the auto manufacturers will do to avoid the tariffs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbAtoVreCNo They aren't going to jack up prices, they are going to avoid the tariff even if it means moving back to US plants.

@Roadsterrider Thanks for your perspective but it's not based on historical events.

@Diotrephes I would argue that 120 years of tariffs and growing US economy and industry, 100 years of lower tariffs and steady decline in US industry with the exception of wartime production. What companies intend to do in response to the tariffs is good for the US economy no matter what history says. In 10-20 years, history might be saying "Hey tariffs work", or, "Hey, that was a bad idea." I hope I am alive to see what history says about Trump, the tariffs, and everything else.