The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
Trump’s hubris and incompetence, abetted by congressional Republicans and White House sycophants, has taken America to the precipice of disaster. Trump’s escalating trade wars have led to a stock market crash, sharp decline in Americans’ retirement accounts, drop in consumer confidence, fear of stagflation (high inflation and increasing unemployment) and likely recession. Then as Trump’s tariffs dramatically increased, the bottom fell out.
“Investors started dumping U.S. government bonds. They sold and sold and sold. This is not normal. Typically, U.S. government bonds are a safe haven. Whenever stocks tank or there’s turmoil around the world, investors rush to buy plain vanilla bonds from the U.S. Treasury” (Heather Long – Washington Post). The sell-off of U.S. bonds means the U.S. government will have to pay costly, higher interest rates to attract bond buyers to finance the U.S. national debt. “It means mortgage rates may top 7 percent again, and borrowing costs for cars, businesses (and farmers), will surge” (Heather Long).
Trump, a self-described “stable genius”, is more a carnival barker and snake oil salesman. Trump has downplayed the growing likelihood of a recession, told car buyers that “I couldn’t care less if they raise prices, because people are going to start buying American-made cars” (autoworkers have already been laid off in Indiana and Michigan) and urged Americans to “BE COOL!” as the stock market was collapsing with a sell-off of bonds. Panic. Trump blinked, retreated and paused some tariffs on other countries, while further increasing tariffs on China.
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Here’s the rub. Wisconsin’s top three export markets are Canada, Mexico and China. Wisconsin exports agricultural products and manufactured goods to all three. If the trade wars with Canada, Mexico and China continue Wisconsin will face a catastrophe.
However, Wisconsin GOP members of Congress are silent or worse. Wisconsin GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson talks out of both sides of his mouth. But when he had a chance to do something he stood with Trump, not Wisconsin. Johnson split from Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin in a Senate vote blocking some tariffs on Canada. Johnson has described Trump’s tariffs as “kind of a high-risk bet he’s making on the economy.” But he remains a Trump cheerleader.
Johnson is also voting to dismantle the federal government. He and Musk call Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.” Not a peep as Musk forces out or fires Social Security employees and closes Social Security offices. The Wisconsin Rapids Social Security field office has lost most of its employees. What is Wisconsin GOP Representative Derrick Van Orden doing about this office in his congressional district and stopping Musk?
Meanwhile, Johnson and Florida GOP Senator Rick Scott seek to undermine Social Security by calling for investigation of unsubstantiated fraud by elderly-disabled recipients. Note: Scott led HCA, a hospital chain, that paid $1.7 billion in fines for overbilling Medicare and Medicaid. Scott’s board ousted him. A crooked bedfellow for Johnson. Moreover, Scott wanted to sunset Social Security after five years. And Johnson supports turning Social Security “into discretionary spending,” ending guaranteed benefits. Enough.
– Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
