Frankly, this is short term pain for long term gain.
You can ALWAYS find an individual who’s suffering next to a multitude that are excelling.
The economy is doing great, unemployment is the lowest in a long time, but I have no job - so we’re doing horribly. Or not.
yet if there’s one thing certain about imposing tariffs, is that it hurts the majority in order to help a minority.
Exactly.... there is always PAIN... no matter what happens policy wise, someone wins and someone loses... but does the pain have a purpose?
Better trade agreements and intellectual property protections are far bigger winners at the end of the day....
China can’t win, and they know it... we are the largest consumer economy on the planet... they need our buyers far more than we need their products... and that’s the leverage point every talking head refuses to acknowledge.
Without the US consumption market, China goes into a major recession... can’t prop up its currency or make its domestic and foreign obligations for too long... Whereas the US can find alternate providers or ramp up domestic production to replace whatever China provided.
That is the crux of it. You said it well. There’s no question that some companies are going to get smushed, and I would have no issue with the IRS generating some special exemptions for those legitimately harmed. As someone who trades stocks a lot and watches metals stocks a lot (X, RS, NUE, AA, CENX) the metals producers are not exactly doing spectacular as a result of the tariffs (or the threat of tariffs) and the market effect(s) to me are not conclusive; this of course assumes that the market rationally assigns values (eg; prices) to the companies based upon their perceived earnings and revs, and that is not especially an ironclad cause and effect relationship.
The labor force participation rate is declining. The actual number of people in the work force seems to be falling, according to BLS figures. This makes the "unemployment rate" appear better than it is.
Might just be a consequence of all those "baby boomers" retiring to live out their Golden Years. Perhaps the numbers are too gimmicked to be reliable.
Wages do not appear to be rising.
Best to keep paying attention to the little things. And cross-check them.
You're right as rain on that.
There is a shortage of that mentality simply because the whiners cannot put America FIRST!