Shock and Awe, Shock Therapy

Created
Mon, 10/03/2025 - 05:00
Updated
Mon, 10/03/2025 - 05:00
Trump and his minions believe they have a mandate to completely dismantle the American economy. I guess it’s because the “vibes” over egg prices were so bad? Really? Axios reports: President Trump believes it’s worth risking pain to achieve his medium-term goal of rewiring the U.S. economy. He is attempting a form of economic shock therapy, while accepting there could be collateral damage. That willingness to shrug off risks of inflation or recession is now rattling financial markets and confidence — and has itself emerged as the biggest near-term economic risk. The administration has embraced that the economic disruption it envisions could be painful. Not painful for them of course. Trump’s cabinet is full of billionaires. Axios says this means that there will be no Washington cavalry coming to save us. I kind of doubt anyone believes that anyway. Trump is seeking to rapidly undo a global economic order that has been decades in the making. Americans enjoyed the fruits of cheap goods made around the world, at the cost of a diminished domestic manufacturing base. He envisions an economy with many fewer bureaucratic paper-pushers and much more factory work. He seeks to bring down the deficit while keeping taxes low — which only pencils out if there are major cuts to America’s social welfare programs. Treasure Secretary Scott Bessent says we’ve become “addicted to government spending and there’s going to be a detox period.” Ok. Axios does point out that the American economy was in good shape with a 4% unemployment…