Making Sense of America's Tariff Chaos

"Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg

This week, Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg discuss the chaos caused by Trump's trade policies, tariffs' effects on the U.S. economy, potential recession risks, economic isolationism, policy uncertainty, investment impacts, and the broader cultural and societal shifts in America, including the decline of Christianity, the rise of wokeness, and community disintegration.

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SEND US YOUR Q's FOR NOAH TO ANSWER ON AIR: [email protected]

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FOLLOW ON X:

@noahpinion

@eriktorenberg

@turpentinemedia

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RECOMMENDED IN THIS EPISODE:

Noahpinion: https://www.noahpinion.blog/

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TAKEAWAYS:

• Economic Impact of Trump's Tariffs: Noah argues that Trump's tariffs (especially on Canada and Mexico) are damaging the US economy more severely than the China tariffs from his first term.
• Why Tariffs Are Harmful: Factors such as reduced market scale for American companies, loss of specialization benefits, technological isolation ("Galapagos Syndrome"), policy uncertainty hindering business investment, and the negative impact on exports due to exchange rate effects and retaliatory tariffs are all contributing challenges.
• Macroeconomic Uncertainty: Debate about whether tariffs will cause stagflation or a demand shock that lowers inflation.
• Cultural and Social Commentary: Discussion of Ennis Lyons' argument about "the return of the strong gods" (nationalism, family, tradition, religion).
• Innovation and National Success: Discussion about Japan's impressive innovation record (extensive list of Japanese inventions)