man and women on the street opinion/conspiracy theory oooh

[BH]

I was brave enough to risk shopping at Walmart the other day and was talking to some people who are acquaintances. They think they know what is going on and a few other people in line nodded in agreement. Their thesis of a conspiracy theory is that Trump and his rich backers are going to use the tariffs to bankrupt and ruin lots of American businesses and then he and his crony supporters who are wealthy, having found a way to protect their wealth, will come in and buy up all the companies and businesses cheap and then lift the tariffs. Thus says two average people on the street and two others nodded in agreement when they heard this.

 

[NoHolyCows]

I was brave enough to risk shopping at Walmart the other day and was talking to some people who are acquaintances. They think they know what is going on and a few other people in line nodded in agreement. Their thesis of a conspiracy theory is that Trump and his rich backers are going to use the tariffs to bankrupt and ruin lots of American businesses and then he and his crony supporters who are wealthy, having found a way to protect their wealth, will come in and buy up all the companies and businesses cheap and then lift the tariffs. Thus says two average people on the street and two others nodded in agreement when they heard this.

This feels like a snapshot of everyday conversation—people trying to make sense of complicated events using what they know, what they feel, and what they’ve heard. The theory they came up with—that Trump and his wealthy allies are using tariffs to intentionally crash businesses so they can swoop in and buy them cheap—sounds like a mix of deep distrust, real frustration, and a desire to connect the dots in a way that feels logical or justifiable.

But stepping back, it’s a stretch. Tariffs do affect the economy, but not in some cartoonishly villainous way where a small group can tank entire industries and secretly buy them up without a trace. That’s not how business or policy works in the real world. It’s more complicated, more chaotic, and usually far less coordinated than conspiracy theories make it seem.

What this really shows is that people feel shut out and powerless, and they’re looking for explanations that give shape to that fear. I don’t blame them for being skeptical of the powerful—history gives plenty of reasons to be—but this particular story is more a reflection of anxiety than fact.

NHC

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The ultra wealthy are already buying stuff up with their private equity firms.

 

[Toni]

There is an excellent case to be made that Trump is engaging in stock market manipulation via again/off again tariffs for the specific purppse of enriching himself and his cronies. Tariffs drive down price of stocks. His cronies buy up bargains. Oops, target FFS are off again or delayed for 90 days or whatever. Stock prices rise

 

[TV and credit cards]

There is an excellent case to be made that Trump is engaging in stock market manipulation via again/off again tariffs for the specific purppse of enriching himself and his cronies. Tariffs drive down price of stocks. His cronies buy up bargains. Oops, target FFS are off again or delayed for 90 days or whatever. Stock prices rise

Come time, the fat lady is gonna sing and her voice will be echoing off the empty store shelves.
Then Trump will be claiming he got OPEC to start pumping more oil.

 

[Elixir]

I was brave enough to risk shopping at Walmart the other day and was talking to some people who are acquaintances. They think they know what is going on and a few other people in line nodded in agreement. Their thesis of a conspiracy theory is that Trump and his rich backers are going to use the tariffs to bankrupt and ruin lots of American businesses and then he and his crony supporters who are wealthy, having found a way to protect their wealth, will come in and buy up all the companies and businesses cheap and then lift the tariffs. Thus says two average people on the street and two others nodded in agreement when they heard this.

I won’t get the full story until July at the earliest, but it may already be happening on a personal level. I think this economic uncertainty prompted the person who owns the property just upstream from mine, to sell.
Tariffs are a tax on your “standard deduction” that they’ve never been able to get their grimy mitts on before.
And it’s going right into billionaires’ pockets.