cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/19241243
Waving a big chart as a prop in the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump suggested his new tariff plan was simple: “Reciprocal – that means they do it to us, and we do it to them. Very simple. Can’t get simpler than that.”
Perhaps a bit too simple. The method used to calculate the most important numbers in international trade, politics and economics has left some of the world’s leading experts shocked.
For each country, the White House looked up its trade in goods deficit for 2024, then divided that by the total value of imports. Trump, to be “kind”, said he would, however, offer a discount, so halved that figure. The calculation was even distilled into a formula.
He absolutely believes he’s a genius who has thought of this solution to our economic problems that NOBODY else has ever considered, because nobody is as smart as he is. All this talk of how wrong it is only proves to him how much smarter he is. His tariffs are so innovative, even the most intelligent economists don’t get it.
But he does, because he’s the most intelligent human to ever exist, and he is thinking way above them.