Friends, today's Supreme Court ruling against most of President Trump's tariffs could end up being a very big deal...or it could end up being a great big ZERO. That's because the President -- any president -- has numerous arrows in his quiver if he wants to impose tariffs and/or restrict foreign access to U.S. markets. Trump has castigated SCOTUS for its cowardice and disloyalty, but he seems confident that his tariff regime will survive in a new guise. I hope so, because the problems that tariffs aim to fix, mainly the giant U.S. trade deficit, are serious, and it's about time that someone in charge took them seriously, therefore! Moreover, Trump's tariffs to date have had a pretty negligible effect on overall U.S. trade. One thing is for sure: we haven't heard the last from DJT on this subject, or any subject!!!
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2jqgdn719o
In other news, economic growth in the fourth quarter was way down to just 1.4%, and the government shutdown was a big reason why. The Dems will be happy about that, and I fear it could tempt them to make more maximalist demands budget-wise in future, with more shutdowns in their back pocket in case Trump fails to acquiesce. The economy right now is sound, and Republicans are still at a disadvantage going into the midterms. Imagine what the polls would look like if a recession took hold! You better bet the Dems are licking their chops...
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/20/pce-inflation-december-2025.html
Dr. Waddy from Jack: I feel very much better about the tariffs decision after reading your comments.
ReplyDeleteDJT has been through more political travail than perhaps any other President and I'm confident he's going to come out swinging yet again. He hasn't put up with all that he's been through in the last 10 years to give up now. The guy has an "I" beam for a backbone and he's got way too much NYC street moxie to let these far left/Dem and MSM insects get him down for long. His object has always been to redeem America from this malign, counterintuitive Marxist curse and I don't see any quit in him. I've always expected that our lawful Scotus would deal us some disappointment; checks and balances after all. . . .
I like your use of a Moby Dick analogy. Melville published the book in 1851 and he could not have known of Marx but he did know about the French Revolution and the abortive Revolutions of 1848. Did he mean to personify in Captain Ahab the reckless and overidealistic dissemblers the advent of which the 19th century had witnessed ?Could the whale himself have symbolized the weight of the painfully gained cumulative wisdom humanity had garnered and against which it was catastrophic folly to contend and to expect of it lasting submission to radical change? I'll have to read more criticism of the book and maybe the book itself for the third time - its a hard trek.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: The reasoning behind the votes of the three far left "Justices" on Scotus need not be considered unless it inadvertently contains loopholes through which to drive our President's reaction. We are safe, I think, in holding them reflexive and driven mostly by emotional TDS.The votes of the six lawful justices bear careful consideration and I am confident that is being directed to them. We can be of good cheer I think. The six common sense Justices almost certainly rendered principled construction of relevant statutes, as is their custom and we will continue to be very much benefitted by their tenure.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jack -- good luck interpreting the meaning of Moby Dick! Personally, I've always assumed the whale symbolized a whale... Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteYou know, the tariff ruling could benefit Trump in more ways than one. Arguably, he's been overusing his favorite executive plaything: tariffs. He whips them out at the most inopportune moments. In essence, they've become his new "tweets", i.e. a cheap and easy way to vent his grievances and threaten his enemies. Probably, he ought to do less of both.