Breaking Records and Breaking Markets: The Impact of Trump's Tariff Policies

Left Face

Cory Booker just made history by speaking for 25 consecutive hours on the Senate floor, breaking segregationist Strom Thurmond's record—a powerful symbolic moment as a Black senator surpassed the man who once fought against Civil Rights legislation. While Thurmond had used bathroom breaks and read from phone books during his filibuster against equality, Booker fasted beforehand to avoid breaks and delivered substantive content about veterans' issues, Medicare, and other critical topics.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has unleashed a storm of tariffs affecting imports from virtually every nation except Russia and North Korea, triggering an immediate stock market plunge that's hitting military veterans particularly hard. The hosts explore how the newer military retirement system, which replaced traditional pensions with stock market investments, makes service members especially vulnerable to these economic disruptions. For veterans who served 20+ years under the old system, they receive a 50% pension, but newer veterans must rely partly on market performance for their retirement security.
Locally, Colorado Springs is finally preparing to issue recreational cannabis licenses after years of prohibition while the rest of Colorado enjoyed the tax benefits. The hosts discuss how the decade of lost revenue could have funded city improvements, while simultaneously the city council has raised downtown parking rates despite citizen objections. This disconnect between policy decisions and everyday economic reality threads throughout the episode—from Trump's apparent confusion about grocery shopping to cabinet members dismissing Social Security recipients as "grifters."
The conversation examines how these tariffs might reshape global supply chains, potentially pushing countries toward stronger relationships with China while weakening America's economic leverage. With each economic disruption, the hosts highlight who bears the real costs: working people and veterans who find their futures increasingly uncertain while policymakers remain insulated from the consequences of their decisions.
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Chapters

1. Breaking Records and Breaking Markets: The Impact of Trump's Tariff Policies (00:00:00)

2. Welcome and Weather Talk (00:00:15)

3. Cory Booker's Historic Senate Speech (00:02:12)

4. Local Election Results Update (00:08:59)

5. Cannabis Retail Coming to Colorado Springs (00:13:19)

6. Trump's Global Tariffs Impact (00:16:19)

7. VA Benefits and Military Economic Concerns (00:29:19)

8. Future Impacts and Political Disconnect (00:39:54)

9. Final Thoughts on Economic Direction (00:43:27)