Summary

Americans, frustrated with high prices despite a strong economy, voted for change with Donald Trump’s election. Trump promises to reverse Biden-era policies, vowing steep tariffs, tax cuts, and mass deportations.

Economists warn his plans could worsen inflation, increase the federal deficit, and destabilize growth. The Peterson Institute predicts Trump’s tariffs could drive up costs for American consumers, while deportations could shrink GDP by $5.1 trillion.

His proposed tax cuts could add $4.1 trillion to the deficit, while economists question his willingness to address fiscal imbalances through spending cuts.

  • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    I am too, which is why am buying appliances I’ve been putting off and a gaming PC before the end of the year and getting my garden ready to go and got my deep freezer full of food.

    Oh just to share the phyrric victory of Trump’s last round of tariffs.

    https://taxfoundation.org/blog/international-trade-commission-tariffs/

    TLDR:

    Through one lens, the tariff policy was a success. Imports of washers declined steadily between 2017 and 2022. The ITC reports that imports were 90 percent lower in 2022 than they were in 2017. As a consequence, the “domestic industry gained market share and improved its financial performance during the 2018-22 period,” the ITC determined.

    The irony, however, is that the entire increase in domestic market share was driven by washers made by Samsung and LG in their new U.S. factories. The fortunes of the incumbent domestic manufacturers not only failed to improve—they continued to decline.

    The results suggest that cheap imports were not the problem for incumbent domestic producers who sought protections, nor were the protectionist tariffs the solution. Incumbent producers proved unable to compete before and after the protections.

    • AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      In the case of the washers it still generated USA based jobs. I think the major concern is things that aren’t manufactured in the USA atscale or at all. Computer chips come to mind with the majority being imported. It’ll take time to build factories and train workers.

      • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        The point of that Trump tarrif plan was to bolster the current American company manufacturing and did nothing but cost American manufacturing companies and the continued decline of actual American companies.

        This cockamamie plan for blanket tariffs isn’t going to produce anything close to washers and like you said chips.

        Speaking of computer chips, which Biden/Harris spurred on with the CHIPS Act with a TSMC plant in Arizona, that has problems getting skilled workers, we import a lot of raw materials to produce then as well as higher cost of labor. Add tariffs.

        Now think of food, we actually export a ton of it. Now think about tariffs, those going down just like with Trump tariffs when other countries retaliated in the trade war, costing billions.

        We import a shit ton of food, both in season and out of season, why do you think we still have tomatoes in winter. Blanket tariffs and good luck bringing that back that never existed.

        Same goes for clothing, shoes, we don’t make those we don’t have the factories, labor, or enough raw materials. Tariffs.

        I’m not against targeted tariffs, they can produce results, though like above might not be what you actually wanted, but this trumpian fever dream isn’t a smart idea.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      which is why am buying appliances

      I half wondered if the market spiked so much because some people expect a huge uptick in spending (for the next two months) by people that are bracing for the tariff impact.

    • twistypencil@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      Fwiw, appliances and computers have not really been affected by inflation, it’s more housing, health care, childcare, groceries and gas

      • SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        Trump’s tariffs will impact appliances and computer parts. All that stuff is made abroad and most brands are foreign brands and the Chinese brands will get taxed even higher.

      • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        So

        1. We’re not talking about inflation due to COVID and corporate price gouging, we’re taking about tariffs.

        2. Appliances and computers would suffer from tariff-induced inflation because the parts come from China and elsewhere not the US.

        3. Housing was affected, mostly new home prices, with his Canadian lumber tarrifs. Which is another story of tarrifs not always working as intended.

  • Billiam@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    Prices will come down in two weeks everyone. Just like their infrastructure plan, their ACA replacement, his taxes…

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      They’ll come down even before he is in office, because “the markets anticipate his miraculousness, you silly libs!”

  • ALoafOfBread@lemmy.ml
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    11 days ago

    Hmmmm what do you call it when you STAGnate the economy (like by shrinking it $5.1T) and cause inFLATION (by returning to fucking mercantilist economic policy)? Sounds so familiar

  • twistypencil@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    The economic situation is a 50 year problem. Since 1973 the bottom half of Americans wages went up only $3 despite inflation. Good luck Trump, you won’t get through this trap you have set for yourself

  • fox2263@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    Tinfoil hat time. What if Trump convinced food CEOs to make everything expensive and then when he returns they put the prices down.

    • jas0n@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      Occam’s Razor time, he doesn’t have to do anything because we are on the downslope of the inflation. He just has to sit there and tweet for a year, then claim credit. And the same low information voters who said it was Biden’s fault bread went from $2 to $5, will praise his economic prowess.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        If inflation works like it has in the past, prices are not returning to their prior amounts, though. The brainstems won’t be able to grasp that, I’d wager.

        • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          Exactly.

          If inflation is 10% in one year and falls to 2% the next then stuff is still 12% more expensive than it was two years ago.

          I can’t help wondering how many people who voted in the last election understand this though. Single digits?

          • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            Given my time on this planet and how I’ve seen get very basic things related to math so very, very wrong, I would say it’s likely to be a disappointing answer.

        • jas0n@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          I was actually quoting a buddy of mine. That was his reasoning:

          If a loaf of bread goes from $2 to $5 in one presidential term somebody fucked up

          You have to love those GOP talking points. State some facts, then intentionally come to all the wrong conclusions. World class whiners.

      • Snapz@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        Remember, those CEOs are also all trump sycophant idiots. They’ll artificially lower costs further, to sell the lie, trump admin will make up the difference, and then some, on “lost” profits in tax breaks for the rich. Then, once he can take credit, they’ll start to raise again, blame China or another country for rising prices as they climb back up and surpass current.

        That will be the paper plan though, in reality, he’ll lose his focus and just say it out loud halfway through.

  • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    Good. Bring on the economic pain. The worst case scenario is if he actually improved things while doing the evil he promised

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    Hey, the stock market and crypto went up even HIGHER and donvict is not even in office. Aren’t they all millionaires now?

    But I’m told that economic indicators like that are not something the qons are interested in, because “but I felt poor, you guyyz!!!1111”

    We’ll see how long that lasts, won’t we? The same dumbshits that were blathering on about how eggs were costing $20 each and bacon went up 11-bazillion-percent are going to be pointing at the stock market if that is doing ok, and corporations are still gouging away on grocery prices…

  • 2ugly2live@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    He’s going to undo Biden-era policies that attempted to correct Trump-Era policies so he can continue making shit policy.

  • hark@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    Maybe prices will come down with the next downturn. Will be tough to hold a job to pay those reduced prices, but at least the prices are lower.