The Daily Escape:
America is staring into an economic black hole because of Tariff Man. “America” as a country is no longer a democracy. And its government is no longer a legitimate government. Trump is now an Occupying Regime. Individual American states may have legitimate governments, but the Federal government is not.
The market crashed because tariffs are bad for corporations. Tariffs extract taxes from companies. Many companies involved in foreign trade would otherwise not pay significant income taxes in the US. Hence, stock prices fall. The market understands that perfectly, despite the relentless BS in the media that tariffs are a sales tax for consumers, they primarily hit corporations.
Passing on higher tariff costs to consumers is very hard for most consumer products. They cause sales to plunge, as Americans hate higher prices. And then, with sales dropping, corporations are forced to roll back their price increases.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) says the Trump tariffs aren’t about economics at all. Rather, he says Trump’s plan should be viewed as a political tool to win loyalty from industrial sectors of the US economy.
In a lengthy thread on X, Murphy said the president will use potential relief from the tariffs to gain fealty from private industry. (Excerpts of Murphy’s thread by Wrongo)
“Those trying to understand the tariffs as economic policy are dangerously naive. No, the tariffs are a tool to collapse our democracy. A means to compel loyalty from every business that will need to petition Trump for relief. This week you will read many confused economists and political pundits who won’t understand how the tariffs make economic sense.
That’s because they don’t. They aren’t designed as economic policy. The tariffs are simply a …super dangerous political tool.”
More: (emphasis by Wrongo)
“….our founders created a President with limited and checked powers. They specifically put the power of spending and taxation in the hands of the legislature. Why? Because they watched how kings and despots used spending and taxes to control their subjects. British kings used taxation to reward loyalty and punish dissent. Our own revolution was spurred by the King’s use of heavy taxation of the colonies to punish our push for self-governance.
The King’s message was simple: stop protesting and I’ll stop taxing.”
More: (emphasis by Wrongo)
“Trump knows that he can weaken…democracy by using spending and taxation in the same way. He is using access to government funds to bully universities, law firms and state and local governments into loyalty pledges….The tariffs are Trump’s tool to erode that independence. Now, one by one, every industry or company will need to pledge loyalty to Trump in order to get sanctions relief. The tariffs are DESIGNED to create economic hardship. Why? So that Trump has a straight face rationale for releasing them, business by business or industry by industry.
As he adjusts or grants relief, it’s a win-win: the economy improves and dissent disappears….The tariffs are Trump’s tool to erode that independence. Now, one by one, every industry or company will need to pledge loyalty to Trump in order to get sanctions relief. The tariffs aren’t economic policy. They are political weapons. But as long as we see this clearly, we can stop him. Public mobilization is working. Today, a few Republicans joined Democrats to vote against one set of tariffs. The people still have the power.”
Murphy is suggesting that where tariffs are concerned, Trump is a common enemy of both the American people and its corporations. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of Senators led by Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley and Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, introduced the Trade Review Act of 2025. The bill would require the president to notify Congress of any new tariff within 48 hours of its imposition. And any new tariffs would need to be approved by Congress within 60 days or they would expire.
Murphy speaks to public mobilization. Americans in the streets is the only way to apply enough pressure to Republicans in Congress to take action to rein in Trump. If those who’ve never joined a street protest before needed a good reason to join their neighbors in the streets tomorrow, the world has one this week.
Trump’s tariff plan sent stocks off the cliff. Even Americans with little of their life’s savings in the markets can read that chart. And the headlines.
Indivisible, a grass roots activist group who works to hold Congress accountable, reported Thursday night that 514,000 had signed up to attend 1,000 events in all 50 states tomorrow. Even with a 50% flake rate, that’s a quarter of a million people in the streets. And Indivisible saw a 25% increase in signups since Thursday morning. Fewer pissed-off Americans will flake at future rallies.
Because Trump has declared war on both the American people and its corporations, there is nothing immoral or seditious about Chris Murphy and the others offering thoughts on how to blunt or overturn Trump’s tariff scheme.
There is nothing seditious about We The People taking to the streets either.
