Originally posted by Ravenwood
By June, the United States will have re-shored all manufacturing back the United States, and everyone will be working again in factories, with full employment, and good paying jobs for all.
Or so Trump and his barking seals would have you believe.
They conveniently forget 3 realities:
1. It can take up to 5 years - and can cost billions of dollars - to construct a new automotive manufacturing plant. Even if the plan is to simply retool a previously shuttered plant that's currently lying idle, that is still at least a year away, and will cost millions. It's not going to happen "by June".
2. Even if you could re-shore all manufacturing by June, and start making everything in the U.S. again, unless you're paying American workers the same wage as manufacturing jobs pay in Vietnam or Cambodia or China, those products are going to cost more to make. This will push prices up, making everything more expensive. (Remember - Trump campaigned on bringing prices down, not pouring gasoline on inflation.)
3. This is assuming you could even find workers for those reshored manufacturing jobs. As recently as December, the United States was at 4.1 percent unemployment - a level economists typically consider 'full employment'. In short, there aren't hoards of unemployed Americans wandering aimlessly through the streets looking for work. Well, not yet anyway. Maybe by June though.
In the meantime, peoples' life savings are being torched at the same time as prices are about to soar. For example, in the next few weeks for example, the price of a new automobile is expected to rise by 25 percent.
What typically happens when prices start rising (ie. inflation)? Interest rates go up.
So, Trump and his amateur army of barking seals who want to 'play government', will have accomplished the following impressive list, in just a few short weeks:
- Destroyed Americans' life savings
- Unleashed out-of-control inflation
- Forced the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, making it more expensive to borrow money for a new car or home
- Caused a recession that leads to unemployment
- Closed U.S. export markets to American exporters by bringing on retaliatory tariffs
- Undermined America's global network of alliances, thus jeopardizing American national security
- Squandered any international goodwill the U.S. had by revealing itself to be a bad actor that cannot be relied upon
And this is just the first 100 days, people.
What I just described above - high inflation with a stagnating or shrinking economy - is sometimes referred to as 'stagflation' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagflation
If you were around in the 1970s, you may remember the high inflation and high unemployment. This 'stagflation' was eventually tamed by very high interest rates (approaching as much as 20 percent) and, ironically, the deregulation and free trade policies of Ronald Reagan.
I know, right? Who would have guessed?
By June, the United States will have re-shored all manufacturing back the United States, and everyone will be working again in factories, with full employment, and good paying jobs for all.
Or so Trump and his barking seals would have you believe.
They conveniently forget 3 realities:
1. It can take up to 5 years - and can cost billions of dollars - to construct a new automotive manufacturing plant. Even if the plan is to simply retool a previously shuttered plant that's currently lying idle, that is still at least a year away, and will cost millions. It's not going to happen "by June".
2. Even if you could re-shore all manufacturing by June, and start making everything in the U.S. again, unless you're paying American workers the same wage as manufacturing jobs pay in Vietnam or Cambodia or China, those products are going to cost more to make. This will push prices up, making everything more expensive. (Remember - Trump campaigned on bringing prices down, not pouring gasoline on inflation.)
3. This is assuming you could even find workers for those reshored manufacturing jobs. As recently as December, the United States was at 4.1 percent unemployment - a level economists typically consider 'full employment'. In short, there aren't hoards of unemployed Americans wandering aimlessly through the streets looking for work. Well, not yet anyway. Maybe by June though.
In the meantime, peoples' life savings are being torched at the same time as prices are about to soar. For example, in the next few weeks for example, the price of a new automobile is expected to rise by 25 percent.
What typically happens when prices start rising (ie. inflation)? Interest rates go up.
So, Trump and his amateur army of barking seals who want to 'play government', will have accomplished the following impressive list, in just a few short weeks:
- Destroyed Americans' life savings
- Unleashed out-of-control inflation
- Forced the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, making it more expensive to borrow money for a new car or home
- Caused a recession that leads to unemployment
- Closed U.S. export markets to American exporters by bringing on retaliatory tariffs
- Undermined America's global network of alliances, thus jeopardizing American national security
- Squandered any international goodwill the U.S. had by revealing itself to be a bad actor that cannot be relied upon
And this is just the first 100 days, people.
What I just described above - high inflation with a stagnating or shrinking economy - is sometimes referred to as 'stagflation' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagflation
If you were around in the 1970s, you may remember the high inflation and high unemployment. This 'stagflation' was eventually tamed by very high interest rates (approaching as much as 20 percent) and, ironically, the deregulation and free trade policies of Ronald Reagan.
I know, right? Who would have guessed?
Edited by Ravenwood on Apr 5, 2025 16:10:34
