*** “Arrogance and stupidity is a deadly combination.” [ Steven Cooper ]
This post presents excerpts from Philip Coggan’s. “The Economic Consequences of Mr. Trump.” Coggan is a former “Economist’ and ‘Financial Times’ journalist for 35 years, author of several books, winner of multiple awards. He lives in London, U.K.
1. “The tariffs, or Trump tax, are a mistake in many different ways. But the most important error is a fundamental misunderstanding of the global trading system.”
2]. “…the Court of International Trade in the U.S. ruled that Mr. Trump has exceeded his authority by imposing tariffs when the power should belong to Congress…the ruling emphasized the one consistent theme behind all the president’s actions: chaos.”
3]. “Mr. Trump has made the goods Americans buy more expensive, and disrupted the global economy, without doing anything to help those who voted for him.”
4]. “Most modern economists would advise Mr. Trump against his trade policies – but he relies on his own instincts and the support of a narrow coterie of acolytes.”
5] “…in particular, Mr. Trump effectively imposed an embargo on his own economy.”
***. “Over the past 200 years – protectionist countries fall behind.” [ President Ronald Reagan; 1988 radio broadcast ]
6] “…footwear manufacturing also warned that the sheer scale of the tariffs would lead to closed businesses, lost jobs, higher prices and shortages on shelves. There was simply no prospect that production could be moved back to the U.S. in any reasonable timescale…Mr. Trump had even placed a tariff on the machinery and materials needed to make footwear in the U.S. this is not, to say the least, an example of joined-up thinking.” [NOTE: read this again!!! – here YOU have the essence of Trump DICTATORSHIP INCOMPETENCE. “We” are being ‘governed” by idiots.]
7] “An academic study that examined the effect of tariffs in more than 150 countries over a fifty-year period found that tariff increases were followed by adverse effects on output and productivity that were economically and statistically significant. Tariff increases were also followed by higher unemployment and greater inequality. They are self-inflicted wounds.”
8] On pages 10-11, Coggan presents six major points on WHY Trump’s tariffs are destructive, including Trump’s tax cuts for the rich will make the trade deficit worse; his tariffs “make no sense” in the era of global supply chains; will likely reduce productivity; the burden will fall on lower income consumers – many of them Trump voters.
9] “By declaring ‘America first’, and bullying its allies, Mr. Trump has dissolved this informal empire [ the post-1945 American lead trading system]. This is bad news for democracy in general.”
10] “Mr. Trump’s approach also undermines the image of the U.S. as the embodiment of the liberal democratic system. He bypasses Congress, attacks the courts and the free press, and only believes in elections when he wins them…Mr. Trump’s authoritarianism, by eroding U.S. soft power, has an economic impact too.”
***. “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” [ Alexandre Dumas ]
[NOTE: this summary of Coggan’s thinking covers ONLY the first 15 pages of his 116 pages. This is bad enough, do YOU need more facts? Coggan ends with “The Man Without A Plan.” Another chapter: “Where The Jobs Went.” “Analysing Donald Trump’s economic policy is rather like nailing jelly to the wall.” How much more DAMAGE can the Trump DICTATORSHIP do to the American economy, to America’s world-wide reputation??? ]
With Justice For All 