It's time to have a frank and open conversation about where we are today. It's time to put aside the fantasy movie Trump wants us to live in, and accept the reality.
We stand with you! I will be sharing your substack and asking people to follow you. Sensible human beings, that care for life existence, need to look themselves in the mirror.
Jesus is watching… that’s my typical response when topics come up among friends, family, or colleagues. I don’t consider myself exempt.
It’s hard to even wrap my brain around the magnitude of corruption (not only in politics, but globally) and I always wonder how do they sleep well at night?
Thank you. So the tariffs collected are paid directly to the feds? That's why you referred to them as a federal tax? We, the consumers, are then sort of repaying the /manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer via the higher prices on the goods? So Trump's motivation for raising tariffs is to make up for the tax deficit due to a federal tax structure that favors billionaires. Ok, I think I got it. :)
You GOT IT - Spot on my friend. The actual tax is levied on the importer, the importer then passes that cost on to the wholesaler who passes it onto the retailer who passes it on to you.
Complicated I know, but that’s what Trump relies on. A lack of understanding of the facts. The key here is that the exporter pays NOTHING. It is merely an infernally raised tax.
While I once wanted to think our protests could have an impact by boycotting goods or certain companies, I think now that the cost of some goods will automatically slow our consuming. And the side effect is that people will be laid off as companies are squeezed. Then the billionaires will buy up companies for pennies, maybe even whole industries. We may be so busy just trying to survive that the billionaires and oligarchs can have their way with us without much protest. My question is, what happens when the rest of the world sees that the tariffs don't bring in nearly enough to offset the huge debt Trump has incurred and drops out of the bond market?
You get it Laurie. I do think there is an opportunity to fiscally disengage in a targeted way which I will be writing about later in the week, now I’ve had time to refine my original proposal a couple of weeks ago.
The problem now is, he will be hiding the new numbers so you will be flying blind.
I can only speak to education. The problem is the education of teachers is dismal. Now poorly educated teachers with masters degrees are teaching young people who were taught by poorly educated teachers to be new teachers. Its a downward spiral. I can say this because I came to education with a BFA, summa cum laude. I knew what it felt like to be taught by great college level teachers. I graduated from a Catholic High School in 1964 and I knew more than the students who had graduated in 2004! When I started teaching English Lit in a public school, I could only put my head on my desk when they all left the room. Cure education by creating special Teaching Colleges in every state with high values. Only accept students who are smart. Hire social workers to work with teachers rather than expect teachers to be social workers.
And apparently having a bad rap sheet and a record of criminal convictions doesn't matter either!
No company would hire somebody like this or an individual accept a relationship or getting into a marriage with a partner like that .... leaving alone VOTING him for the highest most important job in the world...
There's something really dysfunctional in this whole equation
Thanks for this great "fireside chat". If only our leader had the brains and savvy to pull the public in and share the perils and plights we will be facing. "We are at war and we must hunker down and all pull together". Prime Minister Churchill would appeal to the British people who must ration the sugar, flour and silk stockings..."We Are At War! The Nazis will not win!!" --- Just joking. ---"We are in the eye of the storm!" --- Nope! ---"We are seven months into Project 2025".
The Dooms Day Clock is almost at the bewitching hour for humanity.
This is a Broadway revival of- -*The Wall Street crash of the 1929 -It's The Great Depression Part II - wait for the curtain to rise, the stage manager calls to the front of the house, lights down, "Actors in their places!" ( no more dress rehearsals- this is the real thing) and the director whispers -------"EVERYBODY BREAK A LEG!"
*October 29, 1929, "Black Tuesday." It was a dramatic stock market collapse that triggered the Great Depression, the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. {AI Source}
Apparently he's aiming to do away with the de minimis exemption ($800) too, which if I understand correctly, means that if you the individual consumer order something from Temu you'll personally have to pay any applicable tariff on it. I hope I'm wrong.
Yes that is I think I’m the big beautiful bill, so micro business will be crippled. Plus you are correct individual orders would face the same tax. I need to double check on the detail though as it’s easy to lose track.
It is so sad that you lost subscribers because of your Gaza information sharing....how awful. I will share your substack to hopefully counter that people want to put their head in the sand and not believe. I am from Canada and I am appalled at the US blind support for Israel no matter what they do - accountability should be required before sending them US weapons....as you say Truth Matters - so please keep it up. Great explanations about tariffs - US citizens don't understand that we in Canada don't pay the tariffs, the US importer does - but it isn't certain how much, if any of parties along the supply chain will decide to absorb portions so that they don't become uncompetitive and lose all their customers....The US treasury is taking the funds for their own (Trump's) use and the regressive costs will ultimately be paid by the US consumer - once the hit to profits can no longer be absorbed by the importers and companies along the value chain....
Thank you for your kind words, over the last 48 hours I have recovered the list subscribers and added more, so it didn’t do that much damage. In any event truth is not for sale.
Amazon and some other large retailer initially responded to the tariffs by itemizing them on order forms. One would see, to borrow the example from this essay:
Widget, $150
Tariff, $37.50
TOTAL, $187.50
Trump totally flipped out at this, and pressured them not to itemize the separate expense of the tariffs, because it blew his cover. For Trump, tariffs are a way to increase taxes on the poor and middle class without them understanding that this is being foisted upon them. It is a way to levy a tax without the word "tax" appearing anywhere in the transaction.
It gets better for Trump: Those being taxed respond to this attempt to explain this assault against them by complaining that the elites should stop pretending to be better than them. Trump is literally capitalizing on the illiteracy, innumeracy, and pride of the poor.
The trouble is, of course, that Trumpist economics is unsustainable. Kill the poor and middle class, and you ultimately kill the economy; but, by then, the rich will have run off with all of the money.
Thank you for your detailed explanation of tariffs. I now have a better understanding of how, exactly, the tariffs will negatively impact consumers. But I am still clueless as to how tariffs directly benefit Trump and his billionaire buddies? Other than offering Trump another way to show the world that he is a heartless bully. Thank you for your patience. :)
Let me see if I can help with that. To fund the tax cuts for the oligarchs, Trump exploded the deficit. At this moment Trump is facing having to refinance $9.2 trillion of debt THIS YEAR, that’s why he wants interest rates down.
it’s part of a complicated jigsaw where tariff revenue is what is keeping the wolf away from the door. If you provide tax cuts AND reduce tax revenue, you have to find a way to fill the black hole you’ve created.
And he’s using your money to do that not money from foreign countries as he would have you believe.
ALOHA...G.O.P. (GUARDIANS OF PEDOPHILES}..“Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power.” .
We stand with you! I will be sharing your substack and asking people to follow you. Sensible human beings, that care for life existence, need to look themselves in the mirror.
Jesus is watching… that’s my typical response when topics come up among friends, family, or colleagues. I don’t consider myself exempt.
It’s hard to even wrap my brain around the magnitude of corruption (not only in politics, but globally) and I always wonder how do they sleep well at night?
I could go on and on….
Thank you, for your words of wisdom and facts.
I appreciate your support Paula
Thank you. So the tariffs collected are paid directly to the feds? That's why you referred to them as a federal tax? We, the consumers, are then sort of repaying the /manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer via the higher prices on the goods? So Trump's motivation for raising tariffs is to make up for the tax deficit due to a federal tax structure that favors billionaires. Ok, I think I got it. :)
You GOT IT - Spot on my friend. The actual tax is levied on the importer, the importer then passes that cost on to the wholesaler who passes it onto the retailer who passes it on to you.
Complicated I know, but that’s what Trump relies on. A lack of understanding of the facts. The key here is that the exporter pays NOTHING. It is merely an infernally raised tax.
Correct, if tariffs are too high that acts as a trade embargo.
Thank you for your posts! I’m a fan, and find your truthfulness much like so many on Meidas Touch to be forthright and informative!
Thank YOU for your kind words Patricia. It’s the only way I know how to write.
While I once wanted to think our protests could have an impact by boycotting goods or certain companies, I think now that the cost of some goods will automatically slow our consuming. And the side effect is that people will be laid off as companies are squeezed. Then the billionaires will buy up companies for pennies, maybe even whole industries. We may be so busy just trying to survive that the billionaires and oligarchs can have their way with us without much protest. My question is, what happens when the rest of the world sees that the tariffs don't bring in nearly enough to offset the huge debt Trump has incurred and drops out of the bond market?
You get it Laurie. I do think there is an opportunity to fiscally disengage in a targeted way which I will be writing about later in the week, now I’ve had time to refine my original proposal a couple of weeks ago.
The problem now is, he will be hiding the new numbers so you will be flying blind.
I can only speak to education. The problem is the education of teachers is dismal. Now poorly educated teachers with masters degrees are teaching young people who were taught by poorly educated teachers to be new teachers. Its a downward spiral. I can say this because I came to education with a BFA, summa cum laude. I knew what it felt like to be taught by great college level teachers. I graduated from a Catholic High School in 1964 and I knew more than the students who had graduated in 2004! When I started teaching English Lit in a public school, I could only put my head on my desk when they all left the room. Cure education by creating special Teaching Colleges in every state with high values. Only accept students who are smart. Hire social workers to work with teachers rather than expect teachers to be social workers.
You are spot on Donna
In the US, you can become president of the United States with no literacy skills. You don’t need even a slight grip on reality or a moral compass.
And apparently having a bad rap sheet and a record of criminal convictions doesn't matter either!
No company would hire somebody like this or an individual accept a relationship or getting into a marriage with a partner like that .... leaving alone VOTING him for the highest most important job in the world...
There's something really dysfunctional in this whole equation
Thank you for concisely and accurately explaining tariffs and the impact they will have to the American economy and average consumer.
Thanks for this great "fireside chat". If only our leader had the brains and savvy to pull the public in and share the perils and plights we will be facing. "We are at war and we must hunker down and all pull together". Prime Minister Churchill would appeal to the British people who must ration the sugar, flour and silk stockings..."We Are At War! The Nazis will not win!!" --- Just joking. ---"We are in the eye of the storm!" --- Nope! ---"We are seven months into Project 2025".
The Dooms Day Clock is almost at the bewitching hour for humanity.
This is a Broadway revival of- -*The Wall Street crash of the 1929 -It's The Great Depression Part II - wait for the curtain to rise, the stage manager calls to the front of the house, lights down, "Actors in their places!" ( no more dress rehearsals- this is the real thing) and the director whispers -------"EVERYBODY BREAK A LEG!"
*October 29, 1929, "Black Tuesday." It was a dramatic stock market collapse that triggered the Great Depression, the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. {AI Source}
Thanks for your contribution. You will get no pushback from me.
Apparently he's aiming to do away with the de minimis exemption ($800) too, which if I understand correctly, means that if you the individual consumer order something from Temu you'll personally have to pay any applicable tariff on it. I hope I'm wrong.
Yes that is I think I’m the big beautiful bill, so micro business will be crippled. Plus you are correct individual orders would face the same tax. I need to double check on the detail though as it’s easy to lose track.
It is so sad that you lost subscribers because of your Gaza information sharing....how awful. I will share your substack to hopefully counter that people want to put their head in the sand and not believe. I am from Canada and I am appalled at the US blind support for Israel no matter what they do - accountability should be required before sending them US weapons....as you say Truth Matters - so please keep it up. Great explanations about tariffs - US citizens don't understand that we in Canada don't pay the tariffs, the US importer does - but it isn't certain how much, if any of parties along the supply chain will decide to absorb portions so that they don't become uncompetitive and lose all their customers....The US treasury is taking the funds for their own (Trump's) use and the regressive costs will ultimately be paid by the US consumer - once the hit to profits can no longer be absorbed by the importers and companies along the value chain....
Thank you for your kind words, over the last 48 hours I have recovered the list subscribers and added more, so it didn’t do that much damage. In any event truth is not for sale.
Amazon and some other large retailer initially responded to the tariffs by itemizing them on order forms. One would see, to borrow the example from this essay:
Widget, $150
Tariff, $37.50
TOTAL, $187.50
Trump totally flipped out at this, and pressured them not to itemize the separate expense of the tariffs, because it blew his cover. For Trump, tariffs are a way to increase taxes on the poor and middle class without them understanding that this is being foisted upon them. It is a way to levy a tax without the word "tax" appearing anywhere in the transaction.
It gets better for Trump: Those being taxed respond to this attempt to explain this assault against them by complaining that the elites should stop pretending to be better than them. Trump is literally capitalizing on the illiteracy, innumeracy, and pride of the poor.
The trouble is, of course, that Trumpist economics is unsustainable. Kill the poor and middle class, and you ultimately kill the economy; but, by then, the rich will have run off with all of the money.
Thank you for your detailed explanation of tariffs. I now have a better understanding of how, exactly, the tariffs will negatively impact consumers. But I am still clueless as to how tariffs directly benefit Trump and his billionaire buddies? Other than offering Trump another way to show the world that he is a heartless bully. Thank you for your patience. :)
Let me see if I can help with that. To fund the tax cuts for the oligarchs, Trump exploded the deficit. At this moment Trump is facing having to refinance $9.2 trillion of debt THIS YEAR, that’s why he wants interest rates down.
it’s part of a complicated jigsaw where tariff revenue is what is keeping the wolf away from the door. If you provide tax cuts AND reduce tax revenue, you have to find a way to fill the black hole you’ve created.
And he’s using your money to do that not money from foreign countries as he would have you believe.
Hope this helps?
ALOHA...G.O.P. (GUARDIANS OF PEDOPHILES}..“Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power.” .
I thought I left, but apparently no. To be honest, I thought it was too much about wieners.