# Fucking Trump and his fucking tariffs. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 23, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799 "2018-09-23T23:23:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799/21 "2018-09-24T16:12:33Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > …Does no one in the US remember Smoot-Hawley? Of course not. Nor do they care. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799/22 "2018-09-24T16:50:12Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Cites, please. > [@CNBC](#): > > But would the Trump administration be justified in its attacks on the currency? Probably not. Many currency experts agree that a weak yuan would actually be bad for China as so much of its supply chain is based around the wider Asian region. Thus meaning higher prices to produce Chinese goods with imported parts. > > There’s also Chinese debt denominated in the dollar, which would rise with any yuan weakening. Analysts also state that the yuan is not undervalued in this global environment and it’s simply weakened alongside softening economic data from the world’s second-largest economy. From here: [China could soon be called out as a currency manipulator. Here's why](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/14/china-is-about-to-be-called-out-as-a-currency-manipulator-heres-why.html) > [@NYTIMES](#): > > After suppressing its currency through 2014, China has turned to propping it up, and its trade surplus as a share of its economy has declined over the last decade. From here: [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/business/economy/trump-china-currency-manipulation-trade.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/business/economy/trump-china-currency-manipulation-trade.html) (note, this is from 2017) > [@](#): > > He’s a very successful local businessman who deals internationally. Please see my previous comment. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799/23 "2018-09-24T16:55:07Z")
> [@BeenJammin](#): > > If you think you’re having trouble making ends meet due to current international trade conditions, I recommend adjusting by either spending less and/or earning more. You should take shallower breaths, and be grateful that we’re even allowing you that. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799/24 "2018-09-24T16:56:08Z")
> [@pool](#): > > My Dad’s big fear is that his beloved dollar store will turn into the $1.50 store. I’m going to beat the run on the banks and stock up on quarters just for this eventuality. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799/25 "2018-09-24T18:03:38Z")
> [@BeenJammin](#): > > If you think you’re having trouble making ends meet due to current international trade conditions, I recommend adjusting by either spending less and/or earning more. I don’t know what grade you are in, but when you get out of elementary school and enter the real world, you will find that manufacturing a product is not as simple as you and Trump think it is. ---
**Author:** ![Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cabin_fever_1/32/2908_2.png) [@Cabin\_Fever\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabin_Fever_1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799/26 "2018-09-24T20:13:44Z")
> [@BeenJammin](#): > > If you think you’re having trouble making ends meet due to current international trade conditions, I recommend adjusting by either spending less and/or earning more. I plan on doing both, plus moving to Costa Rica. Dang, where is my passport? It is around here somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799/27 "2018-09-24T21:52:52Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > From here: [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/business/economy/trump-china-currency-manipulation-trade.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/business/economy/trump-china-currency-manipulation-trade.html) (note, this is from 2017) Excellent, thank you. > [@](#): > > Please see my previous comment. Given he’s worth 9 figures, perhaps not. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799/28 "2018-09-24T22:11:25Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > …Given he’s worth 9 figures, perhaps not. I’m sure he knows tons about finance, probably supply chain management, possibly HR and operations research. The fact remains, you don’t have to know about economics to make it big in the business world. Bill Gross, formerly from PIMCO, made bad bet after bad bet. Paul Krugman or John Paulson (the hedge fund manager): [Krugman or Paulson: Who You Gonna Bet On? - Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-07-01/krugman-or-paulson-who-you-gonna-bet-on) Bloomberg got all sneery about an econ professor daring to argue with a successful hedge fund manager. Turns out, Paulson was all wrong: [Krugman or Paulson: Who You Gonna Bet On? - The New York Times](https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/krugman-or-paulson-who-you-gonna-bet-on/) I could go on, of course. Finance and economics are very different things. I wouldn’t trust Paul Krugman, for example, to do well trading, investing assets, funding projects, making sure the inventory was coming in, and so on and so forth. But, when it comes to macro (such as currency manipulation, trade policy, etc.), I would trust him over just about any successful businessman. They are just two different skills. Now, this is a total hijack, so I’m not interested in arguing this further. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799/29 "2018-09-25T03:12:18Z")
The businesspeople whose taxes I work on tend to come across as stupider the more money they make. Likely this is because more money allows them to spend it more freely without worrying about whether they’re getting a good value, but in the end this just really says that getting rich is more about luck than skill. Sure, working hard and understanding the ins and outs of things can make you more likely to succeed, but you never know what new forms of technology may render what you’ve invested your time and money in obsolete next year. You can never know what sorts of fashion changes there might be that suddenly cause a thriving industry to spiral downwards. You may have a great idea, but you don’t know the right people for how to implement it, so you’re forced to sell it off to those who can implement it for much less than if you could just employ those people yourself. Your idea might also happen to be come upon by someone with bigger pockets and the ability to undersell you long enough to put you out of business. While there is certainly a correlation between hard work, intelligence, and making lots of money, it’s not nearly perfect. I would never use wealth as a stand-in for anyone’s understanding of anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-trump-and-his-fucking-tariffs/821799.md?page=1)