Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Goofy has a short memory
Date:	8/2/2025 11:07:52 AM

BLS had a very sordid history during the Biden admin of announcing robust job numbers to loud fanfare and then quietly revising them. During his four years the total downward revisions were 2.13M. When you are incompetent at your job you just maybe deserved to be fired.  That any agency head appointed by Biden still has a job is the most startling thing to me.

As for your prognostication about coming economic news, anything is possible. As for tariffs, it looks like the courts are going to take that weapon away from Trump and return it to Congress. Which means it ceases to be a useful tool.  Those countries that did deals with him are going to regret it.  But the main point I was making is the idiocy of the experts hat claimed we were headed for recession after Q1, which was a direct result of higher than normal imports. It was never negative, just like Q2 is not really 3%, but was far better than the so-called experts expected. 

Name:	GoneFishin -	Reply
Subject:	Goofy has a short memory
Date:	8/3/2025 5:13:26 PM

"which was a direct result of higher than normal imports"  Don't jump off Stone Mtn when the Trump tariffs begin to destroy retail sales. He keeps telling us he is going to make America rich with tariffs. He doesn't understand a tariff and a tax both effect the pocketbook. Now, even you know the effect of a tariiff. 

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Goofy has a short memory
Date:	8/4/2025 9:07:48 AM (updated 8/4/2025 10:37:36 AM)

Goofy, I have long understood what tariffs are which is why I have been skeptical of them here in this forum.  But Trump so far is winning the tariff wars.  Remember what his goal is....forcing other nations to lower their tariffs which lowers prices on American products.  That bolsters jobs and wages in the U.S. and it's working.

As for harming retail sales, that depends on whether there are no viable American-made products.  I would also remind you that retail sales survived Biden's massive inflation numbers and so far tariffs have not impacted inflation. 

EDIT:  On a related note you do understand that imports are subtracted from GDP, right?  So in Q1 imports spiked as companies tried to front load materials before tariffs took effect.  So that lowered GDP.  In Q2 imports naturally were much lower so GDP was higher.