> But I also have no doubt these decisions aren't being made for the long-term benefit of the US as a whole

Then why are they being made? That is the real question that in my opinion is not being discussed enough. A lot of reacting to what's happening in the US, but not enough pondering about what the real goals are here.

I have my own views about this, which I used to think were somewhat conspiratorial and hyperbolic, but no more.

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coldpie 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

The goal of Republican policy is to make the wealthy & powerful, more wealthy & powerful. As we see here, small companies can't deal with the tariff complexity, and so they turn away American customers. Large companies can handle the complexity, both by having compliance employees and lawyers who can cover over mistakes. So, Americans must do their business with the only remaining suppliers, which are the large companies who can now charge higher prices due to less competition.

The mega-wealthy individuals will not suffer from any economic downturn, so it doesn't matter if their policies harm the economy.

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jordanpg 2 days ago | parent [-]

Maybe, except that doesn't explain the deliberate kneecapping of R&D, health, and academia.

I'm pretty sure that if the curtains are pulled to the side, the people who are behind these policies are not seeking wealth and power. They are instead religious zealots seeking transformation.

	▲	coldpie 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		> that doesn't explain the deliberate kneecapping of R&D, health, and academia I think it does, those are all efforts to destroy trust in qualified experts. It's impossible for everyone to understand everything, so we have to trust experts. But the experts correctly point out that Republican policies are actually harmful to their own voters. So, Republican media bought into a ton of conspiracy theories, which are centered around exploiting difficult-to-understand systems and promoting "do your own research" type conspiratorial thinking. Once your voters no longer trust the experts, you can sell them anything you want, namely policies that move wealth from the poor to the wealthy.

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davidcbc 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The goal is to enrich Donald Trump, his family, and associates. Given the amount of open bribes and shady crypto dealings that we already know about it is doubtful that we will ever know the true extent of corruption in this administration.

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91bananas 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If it all happens out in the open and by the "letter of the law", and everyone involved in steering it that way appears to be complicit in some manner, is it a conspiracy or even hyperbolic any longer? Previous reality seems to have been thrown completely out the window imo.

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2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

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