Mr. Trump has touted the creation of a golden dome defense similar to that which Israel uses. Unfortunately, as he was on his rampage relative to Canada, he forgot that he needed locations in Canada in order to accomplish this. Of course, his answer to that is that if they were a state, it would not cost them anything. Well, that is not exactly true. The cost of the golden dome defense system to Canada as a stand-alone item is $61 billion. However, Canadians currently pay to revenue Canada well over $300 billion a year in income taxes as well as various provincial taxes. So, in reality, they are paying much more to become a state than the golden dome would require of them. Another one of Mr. Trump’s misguided and untrue statements.
We all know about the Trump-Musk feud, any surprise in that news? If so, let me know why.
An analysis of the cost to date of the Trump tariffs by Reuters indicates that we are in the range of $34 billion imposed by the Trump Trade War based upon Reuters analysis of corporate disclosures. This is a fairly staggering sum for a period of approximately three months, and if annualized it would produce an increase in cost of $136 billion which puts it in the range of 10% of the aggregate US imports and exports. If this continues, it is impossible to believe it will not result in increased costs and business failures.
Immigration raids are causing riots but more importantly they are depleting an essential pool of workers. When will this reality hit?
A Fox News host startled by the Secretary of Labor when she said we are growing manufacturing jobs, when in fact the government has reported a decline in manufacturing jobs. I guess the tariffs are working.
A Chinese owned company halted construction of an EV battery plant. The Trade War takes on a new front.
Scientists found 6000-year-old bones in South America with no DNA connection to any known branch of our ancestors. Wonder where they’re from.
Tesla stock continues to fall, as does Mr. Musk’s stock in general.
The cuts at the SBA are having a significant impact on the ability of small businesses to secure loans offered by the SBA, which over time will have a negative impact on small business owners. If I recall correctly, Republicans have always touted small business owners as the job creators. It looks like they are walking away from them as well.
Reports indicate gas prices are up and that the OPEC nations are increasing production which would logically result in the opposite movement of gas prices, but in this economy, who knows? Manufacturing has slowed, and it is unclear as to the reason why at this juncture, whether it is tariffs, a fear of where the economy is going, etc.
Ukraine pulled a surprise assault on Russia destroying many significant aircraft. It appears the Russians were caught completely off guard, and whether or not this will change the dynamics with regard to a cease fire and end to the war or simply generate more vicious retaliation from Russia, we are already seeing the vicious retaliation.
It appears that there is yet another new front in the tariff wars, as both China and the US are attempting to take control of the supply chain which could be problematic to American consumers. This is in some sense a more sophisticated and long-range play, if you will, because as we know from COVID, the control of the supply chain impacts prices very rapidly and is hard to step away from. This is going to be a very interesting tactic to watch develop on both sides.
It is now being reported that the cost of electricity is soaring, as a number of factors come in to play with the end result being higher electricity prices which are being reported nationwide. There was a recent story about the Burlington Electric Department having to raise rates over 4%, and that rate hike was the second hike in many years, primarily due to the transmission costs, not the actual production of electricity. This is something which we face in New York and will continue in my view to grow in importance. For those of us who live in the City of Plattsburgh it is a less problematic issue in the short term, but in the long term this could grow to be a significant issue for everyone.
Bill Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 21st, a partner in Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher and Trombley in Plattsburgh, NY and a Strategic Advisor at Dentons to Washington, DC.
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