[kermitology]

I've seen a couple of takes since yesterday that I tend to agree with. First, you have to understand that Trump is in essence a mobster. Almost all of his actions against the legal community, his tariffs in his first term, and these tariffs (including the fentanyl tariffs) are all for the purpose of extortion.

He's trying to get the global economy to come grovelling at his feet to lift their tariffs. Tariffs like these won't have the effect of spurring economic development on shore, and even if it did, the USSA does not have the right kind of people to be capable of on-shore manufacturing. They've outsourced it for a generation and there are no longer enough people with the institutional knowledge to support rebuilding that. You have spot scenarios where that is possible, but not for the majority of goods people buy.

This is a global shakedown.