cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/19241243

Waving a big chart as a prop in the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump suggested his new tariff plan was simple: “Reciprocal – that means they do it to us, and we do it to them. Very simple. Can’t get simpler than that.”

Perhaps a bit too simple. The method used to calculate the most important numbers in international trade, politics and economics has left some of the world’s leading experts shocked.

For each country, the White House looked up its trade in goods deficit for 2024, then divided that by the total value of imports. Trump, to be “kind”, said he would, however, offer a discount, so halved that figure. The calculation was even distilled into a formula.

  • pleasegoaway@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    The trump regime was designed to TANK the US economy so that stocks, businesses, and industries can be bought by billionaires at rock bottom prices.

    All is going according to plan.

  • magnetosphere@fedia.io
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    9 months ago

    The economists are only “stunned” because they’re used to dealing with logic, reason, and numbers that make sense. You have to throw those things out the window when dealing with Mango Mussolini, folks!

  • TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip
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    9 months ago

    Republicans have been confidently and fully wrong about economics for like a hundred years now dude, a republican making up economic bullshit that will hurt the American people should not be a surprise.

    • Albbi@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      Trump probably couldn’t even figure out how to stalemate or win every tic-tac-toe game.

  • FlyingCircus@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    The reason the numbers are idiotic is because they don’t need to make sense. There is no point to these tariffs other than to crash the US economy so that fat cat rich scum can buy everything and create corporate feudalism.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    ‘Willing sycophants’ came up with simplistic formula that has thrown global economy into disarray

    Way to shoot us in the crotch republiQans and eligible non-voters! You suck!

  • Freshparsnip@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    That’s what happens when you let an unqualified lunatic make decisions about things he doesn’t understand

  • PurpleTentacle@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    The only thing that surprised me about the idiotic numbers was that they weren’t overwritten by even dumber ones in sharpie.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    “[It is] quite an extraordinary calculation after months of work behind the scenes,” said Jim Reid, the global head of macro research at Deutsche Bank. “[It] didn’t add much confidence on there being an in-depth strategic implementation plan.”

    lol. First of all Deutsche Bank, how are you still operating, and secondly it’s your fucking fault the demented rapist is even here (thanks to Justice Kennedy’s son). Thirdly, anyone who thinks a trump administration effort is going to have an “in-depth strategic plan” is smoking crack. (Those of you arguing ‘project 2025’ remember that came from outside the administration)