The issue is not just China the issue is Canada too and Trump has done a great job of making enemies out of both of them. American can no longer be counted upon for reliability and that's not a trade war, that is a trade crisis. America has a superpower credibility crisis. There's a moment during every empire is history when the mirror doesn't recognize the face staring back. August 1st was America's mirror moment, Trump thought he was teaching a lesson, instead Canada gave America a master class in independence. So did China. While America was busy building walls Canada was busy building bridges to Mexico, to Europe, and to Asia. America barked demand for loyalty, Canada quietly earned reliability. Every new home or skyscraper you see, you're looking at Canadian lumber. Not anymore. Here's what the next decade looks like if nothing changes. America drifts into self-imposed isolation as one partner after another quietly diversifies away from US dependence. The EU, Canada and China step into the vacuum, as the predictable hub of trade, dealing with whoever treats them fairly and the US continues its March into irrelevance, and it's economy starts to shrink, inflation skyrockets, and joblessness becomes a major problem. The guiding principle that Trump not only ignores but has a complete lack of understanding about, is that America became the greatest economy on the planet due to a lack of tariffs, due to very low import taxes. You don't tax your way out of a deficit, the deficit is there for a reason, ignoring the reason for that deficit and simply focusing on the symptoms is a recipe for disaster. We'll have to call it the Trump economy, we will have to call it the Trump Depression, Trumpflation, and we will have to call Trump the worst and most destructive president America has ever seen. When you are gone or dead Don, very few people will miss you and hundreds of millions will be dancing in the streets.
Create an account or sign in to comment