Thank God for the stock market.
The market is one of the only things that Donald Trump can hear, and even if he doesn’t want to hear that, it may be more than polls and certainly more than his advisers.
During his first term, Trump Get credit frequently for Each new market is highat some point, pointed out: “The reason our stock market is so successful is that Because I. “When the market performed well under President Biden, Trump claimed it was because he expected he would win the next election.
This is all nonsense, but he believes in this, and he hopes everyone else believes it too. This could be a benefit to the country, as it was clear last week that Trump was determined to follow his cock tariff threat and the market fell. On Monday, the government reached a deal to suspend tariffs in Mexico and Canada for one month.
The President’s Many Fat Cat Hangers – including his New Finance MinisterScott Bessent – Convinced yourself that Trump is not real He described his “tariff man”. They repeated the heels of ruby slippers together: “This is just a negotiation tool. It is just a negotiation tool.”
No. When asked Friday night if our three largest trading partners, Canada, Mexico and China, could do anything to prevent the implementation of their threatening tariffs, Trump said:No, nothing. ” He continued explain Again, he believes that tariffs themselves are valuable and desirable, not just to extract any means of concessions. “It’s a pure economic measure,” he said.
Wall Street Journal Lamb It’s crazy. Business and union leaders joined openly and privately, begging him not to go this stupid path.
His answer? arrive go exist attackdeclared the “Truth Society”, “anyone who opposes tariffs, including the Fake News Wall Street Journal and hedge funds, is simply because these people or entities are controlled by Chinese or other foreign or domestic companies.”
It’s also a nonsense, but my hint of “domestic companies” “control” “control” “control” somehow sinister or unpatriotic. Isn’t this another way for American businesses to not want to pay extra taxes?
Politicians throughout the ideological field are dissatisfied with not cooperating with them. Former President Clinton is famous furious The success of his government may depend on the approval of the bond market. His political guru James Carville once quipped, “I used to think that if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as president, pope or .400 baseball batsman. But now I want to go back to the bond market. You can scare everyone.”
That’s what we should be grateful for. It is already clear that Trump can intimidate, corrupt, transpipers or ignore aides, legislators, donors and journalists who tell him the truth. The market is the exception.
Indeed, many Wall Street Titans are now politically supportive of Trump. But they still buy and sell stocks based on economic reality. The economic reality is that protectionism tends to harm the economy far outweighs its help. As economist Henry George said a century ago: “What we teach us is what we do to ourselves in peacetime and what our enemies do for us in wartime.”
Trade protectionism also invites political corruption as businesses seek Protect Bad policies from the government. Trump likes to impose discounts and punishments on a case-by-case basis, so it’s no wonder he likes a policy that allows him to choose winners and losers.
That’s why so many wise business leaders have attracted him and lied about the wisdom of these policies: they want to keep a good side. But, while individuals may be bored with him, the market does not.
Opponents of capitalism are dissatisfied with the impersonal efficiency of the market. They want economics to be an extension of politics. They mistaken the immorality of economic decision-making for the immoral behavior they give to their political enemies.
These people tend to live on the left side of the ideology for most of my life. Progressives’ excessive focus on inflation or debt is an excuse to oppose “generous” policies that are more conducive to their priorities or constituencies. Now many nationalist rights people join their ranks, wanting to see commerce, while the market puts “America” more first.
The good news is that our market is strong and diverse enough to resist this moral and intellectual corruption. Both once principled free trade Republicans and Wall Street tycoons will continue to introduce Trump’s economic wisdom, but the market may continue to tell the truth. I hope he listens.
