There Ya Go
The stock market took a major hit last Tuesday when President Trump’s worldwide tariffs went into full effect. Everything was down. A lot.
Then, a mere day later, stocks rebounded in record fashion shortly after Trump announced a 90-day pause on some of his “reciprocal” tariffs nearly everywhere on this planet.
Everything was up. A lot. I don’t know enough to be scared when markets tumble, or to be excited when they go up. I just assume the more the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500, the happier everyone is.
Bull, bear? Those are just dangerous animals to me.
When I read about stocks rebounding last Wednesday after tumbling the day before — and falling again Thursday after the China tariffs were bumped to 145% — all I could do was picture Trump playing the role of marionette — 10 strings tied to each finger, with the other ends attached to foreigns countries. And one of those strings is tied to us. Whether it’s intentional or not, it’s like he’s messing with us because he can. And he has proven more than capable of manipulating the market just like he can people.
Yes, Trump is in charge, and he’s operating without the safety on.
Many countries responded to his tariff increase with let’s make-a-deal pleas to the White House. And deals were apparently made — the exception to this rule being China.
Then I thought, “Perhaps Trump, this billionaire businessman, knows what he’s doing.” Was I wrong about him before last Wednesday? Was I wrong to use his name in vain?
C’mon, who didn’t at that time? Who didn’t quietly panic inside?
Even the most staunch Right-wingers were worried about their 401ks, pensions or other retirement funds. If you deny it, you’re lying. Americans, at least at this point, are victims, too.
Is there a lesson to be learned here about overreacting? I’m not sure. I still have issues with our president. I can’t stand how his ego somehow seems to grow by the day. I still think he wastes his time on certain things, like renaming the Gulf of Mexico, or having a bad portrait of himself removed, or Tweeting for basically no reason from time to time, or trying to add a 51st state, but who’s going to stop him?
I’m freaking out about a possible recession, and I’m worried Trump will respond to a recession with a shrug of his shoulders, telling us to calm down, that everything will be fine. Funny, but I just take what he says on face value. He still scares me.
So does the trade war. Prices on things like groceries will soon be rising more than they already do. If there’s a silver lining to rising prices it’s that it will make us keep an even closer eye on our budgets. Well, that’s more of a bronze lining
