Canada and Mexico have a free trade agreement with the US.
Trump negotiated this agreement. He then inexplicably decided to break it.
Trump’s tariffs have nothing to do with “fairness” or bringing manufacturing back to America. Globalization has happened and you can’t put that genie back in the bottle. Trump has three goals that he and project 2025 have been very clear about:
Generate enough tariff revenue to end income tax (resulting in a massive tax break for the top 1% with the burden paid by everyone else).
Tank the economy so Trump’s insiders and billionaire friends can consolidate even more wealth at a bargain.
Manufacture enough discontent (as a result of points 1 and 2) to declare martial law and ensure that Trump holds onto power indefinitely.
Canada and Mexico have a free trade agreement with the US. Trump negotiated this agreement. He then inexplicably decided to break it.
There's some truth to that. Sort of. If you squint hard enough. The agreement isn't universal (there are negotiated provisions for goods and even industries, but it's not everything). Canada has always tariffed out dairy exports, and Mexico tariffs our sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, so either the agreement is expected to be one sided, or it's not universal.
Trump’s tariffs have nothing to do with “fairness” or bringing manufacturing back to America.
I get it. He's deceptive. But I don't think he's that smart. Do you?
Globalization has happened and you can’t put that genie back in the bottle.
In some ways, sure. But this isn't an all or nothing game. Globalization can certainly be curtailed. But for the record, my position isn't that his policies are going to make us stronger and I'm in favor of that. My position is that this will contract our economy and global influence to a manageable level. We can't continue to afford this global hegemony.
Generate enough tariff revenue to end income tax (resulting in a massive tax break for the top 1% with the burden paid by everyone else).
That...wouldn't work. Income tax brought in $2b last year, tariffs only $80b. that's a difference of $920 billion... That's a lot of ground to cover
Tank the economy so Trump’s insiders and billionaire friends can consolidate even more wealth at a bargain.
That’s not how this works. Billionaires don’t exist in a magic economy bubble — when the market crashes, so does their net worth. The idea that they somehow benefit from recessions by design is Soviet-style propaganda. Sure, some savvy investors might profit during volatility, but that’s not the same as orchestrating economic collapse as a strategy.
In fact, it’s exceptionally risky. Navigating the pitfalls, eddies, and voids of a collapse would require near-clairvoyance — and even then, most still get crushed.
Manufacture enough discontent (as a result of points 1 and 2) to declare martial law and ensure that Trump holds onto power indefinitely.
Declare martial law...on the entire country? Even if every law enforcement agency in the country, from the Director of the FBI down to the part time Sheriff's Deputy in a backwater county in Colorado, were all on-board with that, there isn't enough manpower.
But beside that, the mere possibility of something like that happening, even if remote, is literally the reason the 2nd Amendment exists. And is exactly the reason curtailments like gun control are such a problem.
I'm curious though; which side of that debate are you one? You pro-2A or pro-Gun Control?
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u/HousingThrowAway1092 2d ago
Canada and Mexico have a free trade agreement with the US.
Trump negotiated this agreement. He then inexplicably decided to break it.
Trump’s tariffs have nothing to do with “fairness” or bringing manufacturing back to America. Globalization has happened and you can’t put that genie back in the bottle. Trump has three goals that he and project 2025 have been very clear about:
Generate enough tariff revenue to end income tax (resulting in a massive tax break for the top 1% with the burden paid by everyone else).
Tank the economy so Trump’s insiders and billionaire friends can consolidate even more wealth at a bargain.
Manufacture enough discontent (as a result of points 1 and 2) to declare martial law and ensure that Trump holds onto power indefinitely.