Shabbat shalom.
Frank Zappa, may he rest in peace, once noted that there is more ignorance in the world than hydrogen, and that ignorance, not hydrogen, is the basic building block of the universe. That we must now deal with the orange turd for another four years, and that we hopefully survive his assault on our economy and common sense, is evidence enough to validate the Zappa hypothesis, at least here in the good old US of A. Thanks to over 70 million voters, we are no longer living in an era of American exceptionalism, we are living in the age of ignorance.
There is no other way to explain the unforced error that is in the process of wiping out over $30 trillion in market value, depleting our 401k’s and turning our most trusted allies into skeptics, and potentially, enemies. I have tried to find solid evidence supported by any rational economist or analyst that explains the strategy here, but have come up short. The best I could find was an essay by Yanis Varoufakis, economist and former Greek Minister of Finance, who is most notable for completely wrecking the Greek economy. Yanis tried to compare the turd’s tariff plan to the Nixon Shock, a hugely impactful set of policies that resulted in the globalization of the economy into the current model that the turd is trying his best to destroy.
While Nixon re-wrote the rules that drove the global economy for decades, the orange man’s tariff strategy is more of a vanity and vengeance play dressed up as economic populism in yet another attempt to be the global center of attention, feed his ego, and strike back at the Davos club that never would accept him as a member. While Nixon helped rewrite the rules of the game, the orange man is just knocking over the pieces, and no-one is clear on what he is thinking, but his gambit is risky and could seriously damage our people and our country.
Warning: this next stuff is a bit wonky.
History may not repeat itself, but it does echo. Richard Nixon’s 1971 economic shock upended the global financial order by taking the U.S. off the gold standard and slapping a 10% import surcharge on foreign goods. It was bold, disruptive—and, in many ways, necessary. In contrast, Donald Trump’s tariff war isn’t a strategy; it’s economic theater.
Nixon’s move addressed real systemic pressures: inflation, a weakening dollar, and an outdated monetary system. The result—while messy—ultimately pushed the world toward a more flexible currency regime. The short-term costs were real, but so were the long-term structural shifts.
Trump’s tariffs, by contrast, promise a revival of American manufacturing but will result in higher costs for U.S. businesses, strained global alliances, and trade uncertainty. The policy lacks coherence and any clear articulation of the goals and the means to get there. There are no clear metrics for success, no broader economic reforms behind it—just a belief that punishing imports would bring manufacturing jobs back.
It won’t.
Some companies, in a few countries, may capitulate to his threats and bullying, and offer up building plants here in the US. But the global economy is highly automated and supply chains are already highly optimized and offshored. Those supply chains will likely get tangled resulting in increased consumer costs, and the farm segment will be particularly hard hit by retaliatory tariffs. Consumers are already paying more. And China? It will absorb the pressure and double down on self-reliance. As John Ripley, British academic aptly put it, “All told, this will probably accelerate the transition to a post-American age, particularly as other countries are already starting to regard China as a more predictable partner. The tragic irony is that although Trump pledged to make America great again, he may end up making China great instead.”
The good news? American patriots are fighting back. I am a day late with this post due to preparing for Passover, preparing our tax return, and on Saturday, attending a protest. And fortunately, we were not protesting alone! More than 500,000 people nationwide RSVP’d to attend one of the 1,200 protests organized by Hands Off!, Indivisible, MoveOn and other organizations, many tied to progressive politics.
They took to the streets in New York, Washington, Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco and Sharon Massachusetts, my home town! Here we are leading a chant in front of Sharon’s Town Hall. What we lacked in organization we more than made up for with spirit, and one bougie neighbor banging her Le Creuset dutch oven with a wooden spoon. Tons of support from passing and honking motorists kept our spirits high. Folks, we are just getting warmed up.
Don’t let the orange man stick it to us any longer. Morons Are Governing America. All our voices matter if we want to save ourselves from his age of ignorance. This is our time. Carpe diem!
And hey everyone, stay safe out there.
Brad out.
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