Fiat currency is the cocaine of economics. For a while, it makes you feel like you can do anything. From David Stockman at lewrockwell.com:
He can gratuitously claim all the economic “golden ages” he pleases, but when it comes to economic policy the Donald is an unhinged ditz and then some.
In fact, he’s also a statist wolf in sheep’s clothing—pretending to be the savior of the people from the depredations of the Washington Swamp. Yet he now proposes to capriciously monkey-hammer the buying and selling of goods on the free market, and to the tune of hundreds of billions in higher consumer costs or lower exporter output, employment and profits in order to further dubious government policy goals. And all without any legislative debate and approval at that.
We are referring especially to the reasons cited in his announcement that he will slap a 25% tariff on most imports from Canada and Mexico:
“We’ll be announcing the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a number of reasons,” said Trump, adding “Number one is the people that have poured into our country so horribly and so much. Number two are the drugs fentanyl and everything else that have come into the country. Number three are the massive subsidies that we’re giving to Canada and to Mexico in the form of deficits.”
“We don’t need the products that they have. We have all the oil that you need. We have all the trees you need,” said Trump, referring to major imports from Canada.
Well, no, goddamnit!
