El Runkin wrote:
Trump's tariffs were his weirdest stunt to date. First, I don't think anyone has ever figured out his profit motive on this. There has to be one, but I haven't read anywhere that someone figured it out.
Second, that he was able to sell this demented massive tax sh!t to millions of people who, at least at one point in their lives called themselves conservatives, is also inexplicable. What the hell happened to these people's minds?
Third, does anyone really know if any of these tariffs ever went into effect? During certain periods, Trump was yelling about new ones, then dropping them days later. The Learning Resources opinion reflects the confusion everyone else has over whether and how much of this stuff ever actually existed. All Trump's tariff announcements seemed so haphazard and hysterical, like throwing spaghetti at Giuliani and seeing what sticks on his pants. Were there actually any new tariffs? If so, did they come anywhere near approaching the rates and scope Trump was saying? The latter answer is obviously No.
Fourth, the Trump administration kept saying (quite illogically) permanent tariffs were needed to restore American manufacturing. A rather dumb idea at best, but at least it was an idea that could be applied consistently to see if it works. But soon, in practice, he abandoned that idea and the tariffs/taxes seemed to have morphed into a negotiating tool in a select few trade agreements, with Trump stomping around pretending he had invented the concept of economic leverage that's been around since the Founding days.
This entire tariff thing has been so ridiculous that it's hard to wrap your head around it. Hopefully the SCOTUS has permanently ended it.
Through research I learned that tariffs are really one of Trump's core beliefs. He really doesn't have many core beliefs. But tariffs are one of them. And Ron Vera came into the picture and it was music to his ears.
You can get some insight into his thinking when you examine how he ran his businesses in the 70's-90's. His goal was to put hurt on people and make them bend. This is how he did business. He does not believe in win/win collaborative business relationships. If you were a contractor, he would not pay you and dare you to sue him. Then he would bankrupt you. He believes if you are the bigger guy you get to hurt the little guy with your power for more profit. This carries over to tariffs. He feels because the US is the biggest economy he needs a kick back to permit people to sell their stuff here.
Also, every Dictator needs a revenue stream that he controls 100%. Trump believed the "tariff shelf" did just that. Until today.