Are you better off than you were three months ago, when the current President was sworn into office on January 20? That’s the question President Ronald Reagan posed to voters when he squared off against President Jimmy Carter in 1980. Voters concluded that they are worse off and chose Reagan over Carter. But the current President is lucky that no election is taking place tomorrow. His approval ratings have tanked. He has the lowest 100 day approval rating of any President since pollsters started asking this question. Are you better off?
Don’t ask the thousands of federal workers who have lost their jobs, including those who used to work at US AID, or the IRS, or the Social Security Administration, among others. Don’t ask the elders who are frightened about the future of Social Security. Don’t ask the university professors who wonder if their free speech rights will be protected. If you ask any of these folks, they are likely to tell you that they are worse off than they were 100 days since the President gook office, though some will tell you they are patiently hoping for things to get better.
When the current President was elected, he promised to lower prices and inflation. Prices have not come down, nor has inflation. Instead, this President has behaved like the proverbial bull in a China closet, wreaking havoc and creating chaos across the board. The President’s basic economic policy is tariffs. His rationale is that US-based manufacturing will grow if imports are more expensive than domestic goods. But the United States has neither the workforce nor the capacity to significantly increase in the United States.
No matter. The President is stuck on senseless and can’t seem to make up his mind about economic policy. First unreasonably high tariffs were imposed, then suspend for everyone except China. The chaos and confusion make it impossible for businesses and consumers to plan. Planning an automobile purchase? Would you buy the car now or hold off, given looming tariffs? What about electronics? Initially caught up in the tariff wars, a call from one of the President’s tech bros suspended, for now, tariffs on electronics. What will happen three months from now?
Elon Musk, who was allowed to purchase a major role in government, is moving unchecked from the federal organization, clowning with a buzz saw, while workers are apprehensive about their futures. Please visit www.triceedneywire.com to consitune reading.