# What do you think is the goal of this economic chaos? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [March 29, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302 "2025-03-29T13:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/61 "2025-03-31T18:41:28Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > > [@RickJay](#): > > > > A recent event may have put billionaires off of submersibles. > > The lesson there should be to not trust a complete imbecile to build a deep submergence vehicle out of unsuitable materials. Was it [_ **that** _](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_submersible_implosion) or [_ **this** _](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/28/six-killed-in-red-sea-tourist-submarine-sinking-off-egypt-what-we-know) or both? Also, there’s … > **[Inside the tragic sinking of a tech mogul’s $40M superyacht off Sicily](https://abcnews.go.com/US/inside-tragic-sinking-tech-moguls-40m-superyacht-off/story?id=115768674)** > > Tech mogul Mike Lynch, his teenage daughter Hannah and five others died when his $40 million luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily in August 2024. Today’s billionaire faces _so many_ nearly insurmountable challenges … ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/62 "2025-03-31T19:54:14Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Today’s billionaire faces _so many_ nearly insurmountable challenges … They are a tragic lot, full of woe and hardship. Nobody understands the trouble they’ve seend. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/63 "2025-03-31T21:02:48Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Superyachts burn fuel like crazy; most of them are basically only capable of going from one port to another a few thousand miles before refueling. Some of them aren’t even suitable for true ‘blue water’ transit and are really only suitable for coastal cruising. No billionaire is certainly going to want to spend months or years out to sea regardless of how well appointed a boat they might own. That’s why they applaud RFK Jr.'s bringing back measles, polio, a soon-to-be-a-human-killer avian virus, and other exciting new developments! Clear out the rabble. Whoever’s still left alive: give them the Benefits of Slavery. And then sit back and enjoy your 75-dollar ice-cubes in your artisanal vodka beverage. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/64 "2025-03-31T21:21:01Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > That’s why they applaud RFK Jr.'s bringing back measles, polio, a soon-to-be-a-human-killer avian virus, and other exciting new developments! > > Clear out the rabble. Whoever’s still left alive: give them the Benefits of Slavery. And then sit back and enjoy your 75-dollar ice-cubes in your artisanal vodka beverage. Somebody has been binging [_The Last Ship_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402207) on repeat cycle. I’m guessing Pete Hegseth is a big fan. _ETA: corrected show name_ Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/65 "2025-03-31T21:29:51Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Somebody has been binging [_The List Ship_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402207) on repeat cycle. I’m guessing Pete Hegseth is a big fan. > > Stranger _The Lost Ship_? Not that I’m familiar with either List Ship OR Lost Ship. Or Last Ship: ETA: Looking up the Last version I see a multi-season drama about a post-pandemic world, so I’d guess that’s it. Five seasons, so at some point they must have dealt with the question of keeping the ship running! [The Last Ship (TV series) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Ship_(TV_series)#:~:text=The%20Last%20Ship%20is%20an,seasons%20on%20November%2011%2C%202018). ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/66 "2025-03-31T21:49:50Z")
They were very resourceful. It’s been a minute, but I do remember them taking that part somewhat seriously, for a TV show. Finding other ships; fuel depots; that sort of thing. Completely implausible because the world is big, but at least they acknowledged that ships do need fuel. Such a guilty pleasure. Kind of. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/67 "2025-04-02T20:50:35Z")
Well, Trump just torpedoed the North American automobile industry. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2025, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/68 "2025-04-02T20:53:21Z")
Basically removed the US from all world trade. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/69 "2025-04-02T20:56:04Z")
Trading patterns won’t change that fast. They’ll continue, it’s just that the US taxpayer is going to be out a lot of money, and businesses will start dying. The automakers are screwed. It’ll be worse in Canada at first, for sure. Mexico will be bad too. But jobs will begin vanishing in the States soon. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/70 "2025-04-02T20:59:39Z")
My take: 1. There is no goal. It’s all impulse. Trump’s impulses are: 2. Make Trump the center of attention. 3. Shake things up and see who comes forth to kiss the ring. 4. Lash out at foreign countries for the crime of not being under his thumb (and also for foreignness in general). 5. Probably some insider trading for his inner circle, and probably the outer circle too. 6. Get everyone talking about economic chaos instead of his misdeeds. I do expect that in a few days/weeks, those impulses will be satisfied, and will be replaced by new impulses to change the subject, resulting in many of the tariffs being rescinded. He’ll claim he forced someone to do something and that’s basically a win. But one day this routine will stop working. He’ll break things in unrecoverable ways (if it’s not happened already). Then we’ll really see what’s what. ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/71 "2025-04-02T21:07:58Z")
Alas, he will use the outraged reaction of non-Trumpers to his xenophobia and racism as evidence that he is bravely doing what his followers want – like building a big beautiful wall that Mexico pays for. But hopefully by the midterm elections, people will start to remember that they didn’t vote for an empire run by a messiah – they voted for cheaper eggs. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/72 "2025-04-02T21:23:29Z")
For those just tuning in … > [@](#): > > The US will impose so-called reciprocal tariffs on China of 34 per cent and hit the EU with a levy of 20 per cent, Donald Trump announced on Wednesday as he detailed new restrictions targeting America’s trading partners. > > The US would impose a universal 10 per cent tariff on all countries, including on the UK, he said. [**SOURCE**](https://www.ft.com/content/8c8062e5-2744-40ea-ad8d-40073782e51d) Expect reciprocity/retaliation from … well … you know … the rest of the world. [![](https://www.commit.works/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tyson.jpg) ](https://www.commit.works/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tyson.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/73 "2025-04-02T22:15:14Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > My take: > > 1. There is no goal. It’s all impulse. Trump’s impulses are: > 2. Make Trump the center of attention. > 3. Shake things up and see who comes forth to kiss the ring. > 4. Lash out at foreign countries for the crime of not being under his thumb (and also for foreignness in general). > 5. Probably some insider trading for his inner circle, and probably the outer circle too. > 6. Get everyone talking about economic chaos instead of his misdeeds. I think you’ve hit every point I’d come over to make. Yes, Trump desperately needs to change the subject away from: a) the bad-for-Republicans election results, with an outright loss in Wisconsin and much-too-close-for-GOP-comfort Florida races b) the epic unpopularity of his heat-shield Musk as demonstrated in Wisconsin (and the likely loss of that heat-shield going forward) c) Signalgate, which is deeply troubling to many in the military in its clear exposure of the indifference to military lives and safety, felt by many of Trump’s minions and, inescapably, by Trump himself. For the rest: yes, lots of fun and profit for Donald ahead as he entertains delegations of fawning supplicants for tariff-exemptions. And lots of worshipful attention from MAGA folks who buy the ‘other nations have been screwing us over for decades!’ whopper. Revolting. One cannot help being genuinely ashamed for this nation. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I do expect that in a few days/weeks, those impulses will be satisfied, and will be replaced by new impulses to change the subject, resulting in many of the tariffs being rescinded. He’ll claim he forced someone to do something and that’s basically a win. > > But one day this routine will stop working. He’ll break things in unrecoverable ways (if it’s not happened already). Then we’ll really see what’s what. I hope you’re right about the first part of this–that after some period (hopefully, short) Donald will declare victory and drop the tariffs. But of course as you say, damage will have been done. I just have to wonder at the number of Americans who are willing to buy this “AMERICA MUST LEAD THE WORLD IN MANUFACTURING” hogwash. The most prosperous nations in the world of 2025 make most of their money from services, not from manufacturing. Of course things were different in the 1950s when Donald’s brain ossified. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/74 "2025-04-03T13:50:35Z")
The NYSE has bene open for twenty minutes and the Dow Jones has dropped over a thousand points. The White House is apparently trying to stop this by saying “Trust the President.” That message, to be frank, will just make it worse. Businesspeople and traders don’t make decisions based on “Trust me, bro.” If anything, that will add to the panic. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/75 "2025-04-03T13:57:53Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Trust the President.” I like that. They should say it _a lot_. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2025, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/76 "2025-04-03T14:01:23Z")
There’s no real goal, but one could imagine a goal of: 1. Kill the economy in 2025 2. Reopen it (reducing or eliminating tariffs) in 2026 3. People like the direction the country is heading, since it’s much better than 2025, red wave election The electorate seems to have a short enough memory that that could work. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/77 "2025-04-03T14:03:33Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > > [@RickJay](#): > > > > “Trust the President.” > > I like that. They should say it _a lot_. They’d be in good company, at least: _“Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens.”_ – Britney Spears (2003), in an interview with Tucker Carlson, about the Iraq invasion. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/78 "2025-04-03T14:12:15Z")
I think that he wants to engineer some kind or return to an imagined golden age, circa 1986, when strong men built cars all in America, but you know, without unions, or any other unpleasant details. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/79 "2025-04-03T14:20:13Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > There’s no real goal, but one could imagine a goal of: > > 1. Kill the economy in 2025 > 2. Reopen it (reducing or eliminating tariffs) in 2026 > 3. People like the direction the country is heading, since it’s much better than 2025, red wave election > > The electorate seems to have a short enough memory that that could work. Get economic devastation out of the way this year, point to revival in 2026 (no matter how minimal) and beat the drums on wokeism . If not a formula for election success, it should mitigate losses in 2026 and set things up for Vance (or Trump) in '28. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302/80 "2025-04-03T15:40:09Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I think that he wants to engineer some kind or return to an imagined golden age, circa 1986, when strong men built cars all in America, but you know, without unions, or any other unpleasant details. I don’t doubt Trump is dumb enough to think that. What’s more puzzling is why so many smarter, less demented people around him are supporting him. Clearly, oligarchs see a way to profit off this catastrophe. And is WILL be a catastrophe, folks. This will be the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression and will lead to global instability and at LEAST significant regional wars. The best response the rest of the world can come up with is immediately turning towards each other and liberalizing trade. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-goal-of-this-economic-chaos/1016302.md?page=5)