President Trump renewed his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell

In the Washington Post, Donald J. Trump complained several days ago that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell would not cut interest rates. Trump feels that Powell is trying to hurt the American economy by not lowering interest rates. As Fed Chair, Powell's responsibility is to promote stable prices, maximum employment, and moderate long-term interest rates. Why would the Fed Chairman lower interest rates just because Trump has demanded that he do so? Due to the current tariff plans by the Trump administration, Powell may realize it's not prudent to do so, especially if there’s a strong potential for an economic slowdown and inflation around the corner.

Trump is so insecure and thin-skinned that he can’t take any blame for the volatility of the stock market. He blames someone non-partisan, looking out for the economy's health. Why won’t Trump face the fact that the market's volatility is primarily due to his tariff policies? He initially targeted Canada and Mexico, our primary trading partners, with the original tariffs. Is that how we should be treating our neighbors? Regarding trading with our northern and southern neighbors, economists have recently said that 30 cents on the dollar will ultimately return to the US when trading with Canada and Mexico. Regarding China, it’s 3 cents. So, if you target someone apparently “ripping us off,” should it be your reliable neighbors? On several occasions, he has flip-flopped on who will be targeted and what that tariff would look like. He later assessed China with much higher tariffs and paused his reciprocal tariffs on most countries for 90 days. Since early February, he has made over 20 tariff announcements, some of which are new, some updated, and some appear to contradict what he had previously said. How can our political and economic systems thrive with this individual in charge of our trade lever? And, what is happening to our reputation in the geopolitical world with the poor planning of a new trade policy? On some days, I'm cautiously hopeful that our reputation will be restored at some point, and on other days, I see dark days ahead.

Doesn’t the “Stable Genius” know that the Fed is structured to be independent, away from political pressure from the White House or Congress?

He sits on his throne and now expects many countries to make a deal with him. He must love the attention and adulation. Some American companies are also trying to cut a deal with him, trying to keep their products affordable to consumer-loving Americans at a reasonable price. How the Trump administration has handled the tariffs so far reminds me of what an introductory economics class might experiment with. Let’s see what works if we arbitrarily slap tariffs on over a hundred countries without much planning. Some countries that were assessed a tariff don’t export anything to the United States. What would you do if you worked for the White House, dealing with economic matters, and had a sober conscience? I wonder how much planning and calculations went into this tariff fiasco? Let’s just wing it because we can. No, this is serious business, and the world’s economy shouldn’t be treated like an economics experiment in an introductory economics class.  

American business leaders can’t plan or determine the direction of the economy. Therefore, they may decide not to expand or, worse yet, choose to tighten their belt by laying off some employees. To what extent will the economy suffer due to these tariffs, and will it lead to a much more negative view about the direction of our economy? We’ve yet to see the effects of tariffs on grocery and department store prices. In addition, those seeing their stock portfolios tank may decide to “tighten their belt” and be much more conservative with spending. Considering that 66% of the economy is consumer spending, what adverse effect will that have?

When someone shows you who they are in the first place, believe them. Why would Americans elect someone who has declared bankruptcy six times? Why would people elect a president who has little care and empathy for all Americans? Why would someone elect someone who has stiffed contractors over the years who did work for him? Why would Americans elect someone who immediately lies after opening their mouth?

Tighten your seat belt because I’m afraid we’re in dangerous and uncharted political and economic waters amid spring in the United States.

President Trump renewed his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell.