Subject: Re: Take heart...
FINANCIAL TIMES: If it endures, Donald Trump's decision on April 2 2025 to enact sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on US trade partners will go down as one of the greatest acts of self-harm in American economic history.

Even if it doesn't endure... even if Trump reverses course completely.... the damage is already done.

Not only to the markets, but to our reputation as a leader of the free world and as a partner that can be trusted.

This will truly go down in history as "one of the greatest acts of self-harm". In addition it will go down in history as "one of the greatest acts of harming others for no rational reason".

The world has already been moving away from the USD as a reserve currency. This will accelerate the process. Why should people view the dollar as the world's reserve currency, when the United States seems embarked on a path of self-destruction? We have enjoyed the premium given to a reserve currency for decades.... lower prices, good exchange rates. Prepare for that to change as we accelerate our decline to second tier status.

Who wants to make deals with a double dealing, irrational United States? Who wants to be in mutual defense treaties with a country that launches trade wars against... everybody, including them, (except Russia)?

How will the world view us? Think of how the city of New York views Donald Trump.

That is our future.


Donald Trump has had a seductive vision for many. Basically, it can be reduced to the metaphor of a lifeboat. The lifeboat holds the United States, Australia, the EU, Korea...Japan, etc. etc....basically any country willing to abide by a few simple rules about democratic decision making.

Suddenly, the United States begins berating the other rowers in the boat. You're rowing too slowly.. Over there, Italy has taken a break from the rowing and is drunk and slumped over his oar... and you guys over there are picking too many people out of the water and will swamp the boat..... so fuck you guys.... and the United States jumps out of the boat and starts swimming toward the shore... but the shore is over the horizon somewhere.... and the sharks begin to gather.... Wait a minute.. I thought the sharks in these waters were friendly sharks..... Meanwhile, the rowboat is filled with folks who have a sudden jolt of rededication to the goal of rowing toward shore... and is moving off into the distance.

Such is our current state, and we may soon find out that our resources to deal with our current state are not all that "exceptional". We do have the option of blowing the whole thing up, but that's not really an option (except that some watery version of it might occur to our intrepid captain, just the option of flooding the Berlin subways occurred to Adolf Hitler during his last days in his bunker)

Given that this state of affairs has dumped all of us into the water... MAGA and non-MAGA alike, perhaps its time we figure out a way to survive this mess together.

The metaphor has its limitations, to be sure.... all metaphors have such limitations... but there's enough here to say "To those who have ears, let them hear"

Live by the seductive vision... die by the seductive vision.

Or take seriously the fact that we're all in this together and can't really afford to be berating each other any longer.

Long and slow process. There will be no immediate successes. Whether we wanted to or not, we're on the hard path now.