> It is very strange to me that the government seems to be going for maximum shock and uncertainty on the US economy. Again, apart from the advisability of the actual tarrifs, they could have been implemented in the usual way to allow people to plan for them (and possibly give feedback on them), but they were not.

It's only strange to you because you don't understand the purpose of government anymore. It's changed -- before, the government was supposed to protect and provide for the citizenry. Provide military defense, manage the economy for everyone's economic benefit, and part of that work was maintaining global order and stability.

That's not its purpose anymore. Now, the purpose of the government is to provide for Trump's security, to provide for Trump's stability, and to maintain a global order where his will rises above all others.

To that end, economic instability is a feature, not a bug. Trump loves it when the world is off kilter, because they perceive that in order to achieve stability, they must assuage him personally with gifts, bribes, and praise. Witness the Qatari jet bribe, Tim Cook's oval office visit where he gave a bribe, and the cabinet meeting yesterday which was 4 hours of everyone praising Trump rather than talking about the business of the country.

America is now a dictatorship, Trump is the dictator, and the country/economy will only be as stable as his ego allows. Which, after watching the guy for 10 years, means nothing will be stable again until he's gone for good.