Who REALLY Pays The Tariff Crap?

 I've watched fifty-odd interviews where economists and journalist want to explain the Trump tariff, and how YOU, the consumer, pay it.

So....lets examine two facts.

First, any product made in Europe....comes to the US to be bought, will have the tariff, and you the consumer will pay the tariff.

Second, what exactly are you lined up to buy....made in Europe?

Agriculture stuff?  No....most of that is US or Mexican produced.

Wine?  To be honest, if you counted on both hands.....you probably only know two people who regularly drink French or Italian wine.  If I asked how wealthy they were....you'd grin and admit that they live 'high-on-the-hog' and can afford a tariff.

Cars?  If you know someone in the US with a Porsche, Mercedes, Audi or BMW....you will admit they also live 'high-on-the-hog'....as a doctor, banker, or engineer.  They can afford to pay an extra $7,000 on the tariff.

As you go down the list....after 10 minutes....you readily admit that you just don't buy anything much made in Europe.  You know some wealthy folks who do....but they can afford an extra $15,000 a year buying this stuff.

Does the financial dimwit on CNN mention this?  No.

I would be worried if I were buying German or Dutch stuff....but in a US-landscape....I won't be doing that.  

The same being true for a German buying US stuff?  Yeah, that's the amusing part of the story.    I might see a reason to buy US whiskey, but that's the max I might go.

So all of this BS?  Yeah, if you think about.....the ultra rich will pay the bulk of the tariff crap.  

How This 'Russia-Gate' Hoax Of 2016 Came To Be?

 Basically.....one small group (probably a step or two below Hillary) suggested some massive fake rumor, and to connect the evil-Trump to the Kremlin.  

This group briefed the idea....got some cash-flow to pay someone to officially create a intelligence assessment (fictional material), and as it flowed around at each level...it got BIGGER.

Eventually, with the election over...Trump won...the Obama crew picked up the same story and simply added to it.

At some point....I would imagine members of the FBI and CIA wanted the internal details...which weren't really factual. The snowball was rolling, and they were unable to halt the situation.

Journalists got the same material....never doubting it, and pushed it the rest of the way.

It is funny now to realize how many levels the hoax went through, and was simply revamped and energized each time.

Arresting and placing people in prison?  I don't think it'd really work.  I'm of the mind that a case  has to be created for damaging one's reputation, and put some amount....maybe $2-billion....maybe even $5-billion, and divide it among the forty-odd players.  Yeah, it'll destroy the savings of these folks, and make the remaining year miserable. 

Maybe I'd offer a deal....you pay half of your share, and agree never to make a speech, write a book or do an interview....for the remainder of your life. 

TDS

 TDS, or Trump Derangement Syndrome is a non-clinical term coined to describe what some perceive as irrational, exaggerated, or obsessive criticism of Donald Trump, his policies, or his presidency. 

I've reviewed clinic chatter, and no certified folks really want to say the syndrome  exists....although several dozen clinics have some type of 'program' where they take you in (provided your insurance covers it) and puts you in a lesser chaotic state of mind (they are all careful not to say their program relates to TDS....just that you are stressed-out).

I would imagine the 3-to-4 week  program...mostly training you to avoid news or political dialog/commentary.  They probably read some Bible scripture....watch some episodes of Happy Days....haul hay....mow some lawns, and mellow-out with some high-grade weed.

What this revolves around for the state of mind?  It suggests that critics are so consumed by their dislike for Trump that they lose objectivity, reacting with intense emotion or hostility that overrides logic or reason. 

I was looking back over things...going past 2016, and this odd comment comes up around 2003....Bush Derangement Syndrome.  It was uttered by Charles Krauthammer.  For the record, before he became a journalist...he was a psychiatrist.

BDS?  Well....it means folks are consumed by their dislike for Bush that they lose objectivity, reacting with intense emotion or hostility that overrides logic or reason.

VDS?  Well....it means folks are consumed by their dislike for VP Vance-turned-into-President (2028) that they lose objectivity, reacting with intense emotion or hostility that overrides logic or reason.

XYZ-DS?  Well....it means folks are consumed by their dislike for anyone who is a Republican with high vote  probability....that they lose objectivity, reacting with intense emotion or hostility that overrides logic or reason.

I'm trying to think of an occasion  like this in American history but nothing really fits.  You simply have around 20-odd-million Americans now programed for intense emotion and hostility (it's embeded into their mental side).

Just an odd factor that we seem now stuck with.  

(Note: if you are afflicted with TDS, BDS, or anything-DS....I'll pray for you, humor you to some degree....but in my mind....you got some kind of demon-problem, and probably four consecutive days of hauling hay on a hot August afternoon....to get the problem solved.)

Ten Things

 1.  Toward the beginning of 2026...I expect a Trump lawsuit against Hillary, Obama, and a cast of forty people....in the range of $2-billion...saying they went out to ruin his reputation.  

This method....will resolve the mess of trying to bring them into 'real' court.  

Taking two years?  Yeah, but at the end....by the time they carve up the loot situation...it'll mostly bankrupt Hillary and the rest of the crew.

2.  After reviewing this Cincinnati beat-down situation this past week....I'm of the mind that the city officials are Detroit-minded, and seek to bring the city to a lesser population within five years.

3.  It's just odd...growing up in the 1960s/1970s....and no one ever brought up CULTURE.  

4.  I watched some podscast interview where a Dem-strategist said that Kamala Harris will be a big player/speaker for the mid-terms of 2026.  Not to cast doubt, but I think 90-percent of Dem-districts will 'pass' on her coming to speak for them.

5.  Viewing all this hard-luck status for Vegas....I am reminded that what they depended upon...were free-spending folks of the working class.  So when the economy shifted....folks had debt suddenly.....home costs expanded....Vegas had little to offer the typical guy.  

I'm not saying Vegas is dead, but this model they've used since the 1960s....won't work anymore.

6.  We've reached a level where you utter 'unhinged' and ask 10 people to define the term.....then getting ten different definitions.  At least one will respond that it's when you remove a door from house.

7.  I probably watched twenty interviews this past week with 'guests' who were described in some way as 'intellectual'.  By the end, with about half of them....I felt they'd wrapped up school at the 7th grade, and whatever university they'd attended for intellectual status....they might want to ask for their money back.

8.  My wife (German in nature) sent me on an errand to buy two cases of her favorite bottled water (ONLY 1 particular brand) at the local grocery, while it  was on sale.  I should  note....the brand makes 3 'models' (with gas, no gas, and medium).

So I go over on Tuesday.  I've been issued orders to buy 2 cases of 'with-gas'.  There's none left.  

I go on Wednesday.  There's none left.

I go on Thursday.  There's none left

I go on Friday.  There's none left.

And I go this AM......none left.  It just feels like I'm in old Soviet Union days.

9.  I noted this week....a Miami hotel has outsourced their front desk to India. Guests approach a video-display....get checked in virtually on video call with an Indian representative.

Just guessing, within five years....more than half the hotels in America will be this way.

10.  Iran says.....they have 'plenty of scientists' left to restart uranium enrichment and nuke operations.

I'm guessing all the successful 50-year old PhD types have been  buried, and they are approaching the 40-to-45 year old crowd....with them wondering if they are a big target, and if this is the career-job they always dreamed of.  

Meanwhile....the 30-to-40 year old science crowd are looking at career advancement in two to four years....with their new bosses dead and buried.

The Luxury Burger Story

 I watched a business report this week...where a poll was done and the public said....FAST-FOOD is now a luxury (so says 80-percent of Americans polled).

It's reached a stage where stopping off for a $15 bag (for 3) at McDonalds....is now near $35 (figure with taxes). So that once or twice a week 'thrill'....has dissolved.

I remember this as a kid in rural Alabama...where stopping at Wendys, Krystal, or Burger King was a big-deal and the family unit of four paid around $7.  Today?  You'd have to spend near $40 to $45.

So if this is a luxury....I'm wondering what else has gotten  tied into the luxury 'bundle'.  Cable TV, theater tickets, magazines, Nike tennis shoes, premium whiskey?

Did this evolve out of the Covid era?  I'm of the mind that 50-percent of the 'push-pull' came in this era....the rest created out of the Biden-direction in 2023/2024....which you can tie some 'pain' into the fed and their lack of understanding.

Yeah, in some ways....it's the 1930s.  You have hobo-residents, druggies, and nutcases residing in some public camping-ground (on the street by your house, or your local school).

Banks tittering like they were in 1930 and 1931?  Well....yeah, you could make a case that they are lacking some path to profitability and unable to get traction.

Trump in FDR's shoes?  Well....pretty much everything that FDR would say to do or NOT-to-do.....Trump is doing the opposite.  FDR was prolonging the depression by every single action he committed the nation to.  So there has to be a better outcome than what existed in 1940.  

Nine Things

 1.  I watched some interview....American wife, with a Mexican husband....marriage of dozen-odd years....the husband has NO Green Card.  ICE came to collect the guy.

Reporter tries to tip-toe around this, but after watching 2 minutes of this...figuring up the guy had been in the US for sixteen-odd years...he MUST have had some Green-Card phobia (irrational fear of ever getting a Green Card).  Then I realized....his wife has to have the same Green-Card phobia as well.

I wish her well, but she'd best start practicing Spanish.

2.  I watched a collection of podcasts/videos this week....covering Portland, Vegas, SF, and LA.

I'd put both Portland and SF on a 'to-be-Detroit-status' by the end of 2026....fairly dead and unable to come back.  Blame?  Drug-use, homeless, bad-boy attitudes, loser-politicians, reckless police management, worthless judges, and no plan on recovery.  Both relied upon tourism and successful stores/hotels to survive.  Both failed.

In the case of Vegas....the economy has reached a level where no wants to spend money.  There's also the FEE-woes....where you rent a $99 room, and discover between fees and taxes....the total for the room adds up to around $179.  This puts the typical 3-night visitor into a tough position....with $1k on  food and room....then finding another thousand for gambling or shows.  This won't work.  I'm of the mind....at least twenty fairly well-known hotels will not be around by the end of 2026.

As for LA.....how would a bank lend you money to rebuild after the fire....if they know insurance companies won't connect with you?  I don't think Mayor Bass understands this side of the rebuild story.  In support of insurance companies.....where exactly is the fix-it plan or the fire services?

Oh, and wondering about NY City?  Once the socialist new mayor 'arrives'.....I will put NYC on the 'doomed-list' as well.

3.  I don't understand this American Eagle jeans BS.  Some young attractive blonde puts on a pair of jeans, and people freak out?

4.  Over the next year....you will hear the term....Operation Mockingbird a good bit.

 Operation Mockingbird was, and still is....a large-scale program of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that began in the early years of the Cold War (1950s) and manipulated domestic American news media organizations for propaganda purposes.

Hint: it has never ended.

5.  Not that it matters....but in about twelve months....Canada will be a chaotic state of existence....with at least 3 to 5 provinces....leaving, and the remaining 'pieces' are unable to figure a budget plan to keep the rest surviving.  In this moment....around half the population....which leaned awful left....will be asking for a miracle.

6.  I watched a Joe Biden speech that he gave this week.....he seemed witty/sharp and not 'off'.  It makes me wonder and ask how much drugs was he hooked-up to for four years.

7.  Maybe it's old age, but I'm pretty much agreeable to loitering laws now....unless you are sitting on a bench in some town/city....if just standing or protesting....you need to be constantly moving, or face a $50 fine for loitering.

8.  My agenda for high schools, if I ran the system?  From 8:15 to 10:15....PT every single day, and no waivers to get out of it.  

9.  I watched this Colbert show program, with the interview of Kamala Harris.  Giggling through the piece....yeah, this seemed like she was high on something, or had a glass or two of wine prior.

This Fitness Story

 I paused over this today....President Trump is signing an executive order to bring the Presidential Fitness Test back to public schools.

This started actually in 1956, and probably carried on 'strong' through the late 1960s.  By the time I got to the 9th grade (mid-70s)....it was ancient history, and almost forgotten.

Someone in my military unit in the early1990s....got me hooked up to the 'test', and I made this a yearly goal (for four years).

I pondered this....will the news media and Democrats come out against the 'test'?  Will schools say 'no'?  Yeah, I'm guessing they would be goofy enough to say that.

A big deal?  Not really, but for ten minutes....it's hyped by CNN.