Hoo-lawd. Anybody’s portfolio turn into a postcard yet?
In case you’ve missed Paul Krugman, he’s speculating over at Substack that Elon’s Hitler Youth may have cobbled together the tariff scheme using ChatGPT and/or other A.I. models.
In my post immediately following the Trump announcement I speculated that Elon Musk’s Dunning-Kruger kids might be responsible for those tariff numbers. That now looks like a distinct possibility.
Who makes policy this way? The key point is that Trump isn’t really trying to accomplish economic goals. This should all be seen as a dominance display, intended to shock and awe people and make them grovel, rather than policy in the normal sense.
Again, I’m not being snobbish here. When the fate of the world economy is on the line, the malignant stupidity of the policy process is arguably as important as the policies themselves. How can anyone, whether they’re businesspeople or foreign governments, trust anything coming out of an administration that behaves like this?
Good time to be heavily invested in the knee- and elbow-pad markets.
Mad Blog Media 
“Owe-More-Kayyam” is golden!
Chapeau!
Shoulda pulled all the money out on Election Day….
And the target / country selection appears to be based on top level internet domains. IT’s also “curious” that Russia didn’t make the list. Hmmm…
I shot the tariff, but I did not shoot the extra duty.
Good thing that Trump got his heel spurs exemption to the Viet Nam draft. Otherwise, on his first time at the rifle range with an M16, he would have shot himself in the foot.
Dale (my stock portfolio crashed today) in Mid-MO
“Only I can fix it,” he said. Oy, is he ever fixing it.
We got a “don’t panic” note from our money person this morning. Why is it that when someone says, “Don’t panic,” my first inclination is to panic?
In 2007/2008 I saw my modest portfolio cut in half. I got seriously depressed about it. Being financially doltish, I left it alone but added nothing to it and regained what had been lost and a bit more by sheer luck. But now I knew. A guy is Brussels farts, another guy in St. Louis smells it, and the market moves down, or maybe up. I also knew financial advisors were always going to tell us “your investments are sound and will pay off over time. Be patient and oh, let’s shift some of those funds into tech”. They also “advise” you that I-bonds and CD’s are for suckers. Well that is exactly what I did with every nickel in 2021 and although I feel empathy for anyone taking a beating on their 401k, keep in mind that the money managers can become wealthy while you lose your ass. As I look back over 7 decades, the only SURE financial bet is stay away from paying interest on loans and credit cards. Whether it’s a car, house or a bulldozer, suffer a bit and set your sights lower and for godssakes, if you borrow pay that fekker off ASAP. The exact opposite that many brokers will “advise” since they can’t get into your pocket.
I’m not interested in paying interest. Neither is Herself, praise be to Cthulhu, may Its tentacles grow ever longer.
The house is paid off, and so are the cars — both elderly and bought used, a 2005 Subie and 2011 Honda. We use a credit card, but pay it off monthly. There is no dreaded carryover. Also, by using it we earn points for hotel stays, so, bonus, winning, etc.
Herself is in charge of the pile. As you know, the male O’Gradys are renowned for their idiocy in matters financial, and we consider ourselves to be shittin’ in the tall cotton if there’s a portrait of Jackson in our wallets. So whenever I inquire about the State of the Pile, Herself gives me a $20, and I shut the fuck up.
Like you we took a hideous pounding in 2007/08. Took a decade to get back to where we had been. I’m told we’re in much better shape now.
Thanks for the $20, hon’!
Same with us Herb and Patrick. No debt, modest living, and 1/3 of savings in CD. The markets are huge gambling houses with their tentacles into every part of our financial lives. What they want is all of it, including the social security trust fund. Be liquid young men, and I ain’t talking about water. You know, water rights, the next big trading opportunity.
My google feed picked up an article from an Irish paper that talked about the “senior moment” at the signing. Apparently he gave his speech about it all, rambled as usual and took an hour to do so, then walked off the stage without actually signing the executive order. He had to be “coaxed” (sic) back up on to the stage to actually sign the thing. Senior moment? Increasing dementia? What will happen when he can’t even read off the teleprompter anymore?
My man Steve Frothingham at Bicycle Retailer had to watch that shit because he runs a bidness publication. It sounded very much unlike a day at the beach.
God I am like everyone else got beat like rented mule in 2008 and have recovered most of i back. but trying tom retire is going to be major task with the last two days. Only saving grace is property values are up so selling out will ease the pain. Waiting to see how many refugees will flee CA after the LA fires, should uptick the land prices and with RFK jr screwing up another pandemic is imminent. Idjits will flock to the pretty rural areas and californicate them again. What fricking crazy world!!
I haven’t even looked and am afraid to ask.
In other good news, up in Santa Fe, you can apparently put the car in drive instead of reverse, hop the curb, kill a person sitting on a bench, and have the cops call it “no driver error”. Shit, we may be losing our shirts, but at least we don’t have to be buried yet.
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/initial-report-on-bus-stop-crash-says-no-driver-error-by-santa-fe-worker/article_43c9aa5b-cc1a-4f3d-8330-f3f5317841f7.html
Shortage of bus drivers? Well that explains letting the killer off so easily. But wait….with all the government layoffs surely there will be no lack of folks lining up for that job. The Doors were right back in 1967…..Strange Days Have Found Us…..Strange Days Have Tracked Us Down. Especially in Santa Fe it seems.
I just can’t wait for all of those banana and coffee plantations to open here in Iowa! WooHoo!
Brew that Muscatine Mocha with some fresh Mississippi River water. Mmm, mmm, good.