Third, he still doesn’t seem to understand the concept of a trade deficit. He acts as if it’s a perpetual amount of money that other countries owe us or that other countries are taking our money (presumably against our will), but in reality, all a deficit means is that we import more than we export, so a trade imbalance in and of itself is not a bad or a good thing, per se. It is simply one measure of economic activity and health, but according to traitor trump, it’s the single barometer of the nation’s economic acumen (or lack of it)–or in his own parlance how much America is getting “screwed” by other countries. The entire purpose of international trade is to leverage a national competitive advantage–in both directions. Typically, one nation provides to another nation some good or service that the home nation cannot do for themselves better or for cheaper or not at all. One hopes that the amount and extent of trade will be mutually beneficial (i.e., free and fair) to both countries. Anyone who has taken an international economics course understands this. I know, I know. I’m talking about a 400-level college topic to a remedial 090-level college algebra America. Because this country is stuck on buying cheap then we are China’s best, willing customers. That includes the traitor trump family (“allegedly”) where their merch is produced. The hypocrisy is astounding yet completely lost on MAGA morons and RepubliKKKlans.
Last, traitor trump has no motherf***ing clue how tariffs work. Whenever he discusses the topic he intimates that other countries pay for tariffs as if the Chinese government, for instance, must reach into its treasury and pay a penalty to the U.S. government. Nothing could be further from the truth. Tariffs are a tax that the importer pays to the home government. One could reasonably argue that some foreign companies may wish to cover (or that government subsidizes) the added tax expense to keep the total expense of exporting their products the same (and therefore competitive); it is one option for exporters. The more likely consequence is that the importing company absorbs the tax expense initially; however, the cost of the tax is eventually passed down to the end consumer. In other words, it becomes inflationary, and not only inflationary to the imported products but to domestic substitute products as well. Consider traitor trump’s brilliant steel tariff. Not only does it cost more to bring steel into the country, but it inherently incentivizes domestic steel producers to increase prices to match import prices. So when idiot traitor trump and MAGA morons think tariffs are only punishing other countries, it is in effect punishing the very same average American that his idiot supporters like to think he cares about (think farmers).
Traitor trump in all his stupidity unnecessarily set himself up to fail with his ridiculous economic and trade pledges, and MAGA morons and RepubliKKKlans are so f***ing stupid they believe whatever B.S. he is selling them as being easy: trade wars are good and winnable, 3-5%-plus annualized GDP growth, reducing the trade deficit, or cutting taxes and reducing the national debt. He keeps telling everyone that everything is just so easy to fix because, unlike himself, all his predecessors were just too f***ing stupid, so here we are in the midst of the presidency of the dumbest person ever to hold office and things are starting to show signs of cracking. Welcome to stupid f***ing America!