Comment by giantg2

I think we can still have some eprotecrionist policies while partipating trade. We can even have some tariffs if they're well thought out, such as anti-dumping or on certain sectors (Trump 1 and Biden). Protectionism might not be the biggest factor in economic growth. It feels like the tariffs haven't changed much from a personal perspective. Im more concerned about unemployment due to rates and the section 174(?) changes. The tariffs have nothing to do with all the layoffs. It also feels like AI and automation have a lot of companies just waiting to see if they're really need to hire more people if if they can just use AI. Seems like lots of people are filling multiple roles right now.

I get that the economy is measured by GDP and we did see it shrink in Q1. However, it doesn't feel like a good measure due to all the inequality. It feels like stuff like credit card balances, mortgage defaults, and unemployment are better numbers. Those don't look good but haven't skyrocketed either... yet.

Yeah, the middle class has been shrinking for years. I do think some of the absolutist free trade stances we had played a role. I'm probably going to lose my job soon and if feel like I'll just end up working at Walmart. I've never understood how the candidates that say they're pro labor are also the ones pushing for absolutist free trade and environmental restrictions. Some of these are at odds. If you're free trade, you're just shifting those jobs to the cheaper markets. That's also where the environmental and worker protection seem to be weakest.