Free Republic

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cautioned last month that Americans will likely experience "a detox period" after President Donald Trump implements his wide-ranging tariffs. What are we detoxing from, exactly? From an abundance of affordable goods and the world's highest living standards? From consistent economic growth? From leading the world in nearly every possible innovation and quantifiable economic measurement? From being an evolving manufacturing powerhouse? From enjoying an unprecedented per capita GDP or the low unemployment rates? The Trump administration suffers from Munchausen syndrome by tariff, prescribing toxic cures for mythical ailments to gain attention. That's something to remember as Trump...

As Wall Street heads into a new quarter, a flurry of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are set to go into effect. That has traders on edge and has helped put US stocks in their worst first-quarter slump in years.Wall Street has been rocked with volatility this year as Trump’s tariff proposals have kept investors in a cloud of uncertainty. The benchmark S&P 500 index is down 4.9% for the year, its worst start since 2022.US stocks were mixed Monday as traders tried to stage an afternoon rally. The Dow was up by around 430 points, or 1%, reversing course after...