I have zero sympathy for older Americans angry about the tariffs.

[hplusj 422]

Liberation Day has brought out some very angry people, namely the older relatives in my family.  Whatever their political alignments, if they had any kind of stock portfolio, they're seeing red.  'Trump has lost me so much money,' is the argument of choice now, as if our commander in chief has just committed financial seppuku on behalf of the American people.  But there seems to be a visceral need to find any excuse to be mad, as in, they were waiting for this opportunity.  This confirms all their fears, and fuels their anger, if colored through their lens of choice.

 

I grew up in a bipartisan household, where my father was at least in the traditional sense a Republican, and my mother a lifelong Democrat.  Dad was a finances guy and my mother inherited his portfolio which has afforded her a life of comfort, and when paired with social security, moreso now that she is retired.  It's an incredible blessing that, quite frankly, many of the boomer generation take for granted.  Roth IRAs and 401ks are foreign concepts to many millenials, and certainly younger, who all have struggled to stay afloat on day to day costs.  Retirement planning is essentially a pipe dream.  But the silver lining has been the tariffs of Liberation Day, and I'll tell you why:

 

While the elders of our population decry the plunge, this has opened a window for younger Americans to actually begin to invest in their futures.  Honestly, the selective outrage over this particular crash, per se, is laughable to me.  We all knew that the economy would take a hit with tariffs, that there would be a painful transition but that we could come out better for it on the other end, bringing industry back to America and applying some reciprocity that other countries had taken full advantage of over the years.  Why did we lower tariffs to China in the first place?  To encourage free markets and the potential for democratic influence; see how well that turned out.  Instead, we have the luxury of handing off our production to unethical labor practices overseas.  If that means someone suffered financial loss due to the Orange Man and is now convinced this is hell freezing over, they are welcome to panic while others keep a steady head.

 

In the meantime, the mantra "Sell High Buy Low" plays perfectly into this moment.  Notice that there has been no fluctuation in the buy or sell rates from Thursday; strong investors are not running for the hills to offload their worthless shares.  In fact, most have played this hand well to buy up, because they KNOW there will be a recovery.  The smartest of the younger generations are following suit, and for the very first time are able to secure portfolios which may do them far better in the future than crossing fingers and praying in vain that Social Security will be around when they need it. 

 

The blight of tariffs is only offensive to those who have had an adulthood paved in gold, who fail to understand the struggles of their children and grandchildren, and, to put it bluntly, offend me with their lack of care for anything beyond their noses.  I have zero sympathy for them and their faltering riches.   The future belongs to us, and I am quite content to experience the hiccup that hard tariff negotiations bring.  

Edited April 6 by hplusj
typo

[TBoneTX 46,860]

The above merits enshrinement in the pantheon of All-Time Greatest VJ Posts.

[hplusj 422]

3 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

The above merits enshrinement in the pantheon of All-Time Greatest VJ Posts.

Just wish the reading comprehension was there for those who actually need this post in their lives  C'est la vie.

 

Thank you kindly for reading.

[TBoneTX 46,860]

Let's be careful to allow others their opinions, too... TOS, and all that.   

[hplusj 422]

2 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Let's be careful to allow others their opinions, too... TOS, and all that.   

Absolutely!  I wouldn't have created this thread expecting the comments to be left blank.  Always welcoming of healthy debate on this.

[Ban Hammer 13,977]

as one of those older people, i can see why some would be angry.  but then again, investing is risky.
i didn't start a 401k until just over a year ago, and i'm not counting on it for any part of my retirement.
stock markets go up and down and it will go back up, unless we have a major disaster/war somewhere.
 

[yuna628 9,820]

As someone libertarian-minded I can only stand back and watch with somewhat amusement because after spending years of my life learning about economics and history from a conservative perspective, it is strange that we have arrived at a moment of intense economic self-injury of which no conservative principles or common sense can be found. Nothing good will come out of tariffs and our economic problems will continue to deepen. It's not just about tariffs of course, there's other concerning economic signs I see, but I sympathize greatly in conversations I've had with small and medium-sized business owners that will now have their worth wiped out, innovation stifled, and many close up shop.

 

I have a great deal of empathy for people that are suffering right now, regardless of their age. I guess it must be a common assumption that boomers were all wealthy enough to put their money into retirement funds and 401Ks or that they actually had savings to begin with. It's not true for everyone though. My parents wasted what little they had long ago, did not plan for any future, and expected their children to be drained dry caring for them. And so we have to the best of our ability. My sibling has worked for over 30 years and has sacrificed their entire life for my parents - that retirement fund was to be finally something to have for themselves once my parents are gone. They've had losses before, particularly during the Bush administration and again during Trump, which they finally chose to move some money out of the market. Now what little is left will be gone I expect.

 

My husband doesn't even have money in the market thank god or else that would be gone too. We could not afford to take such a risk. Tariffs do not offend me, but they are a dangerous and foolish thing that no conservative should ever be wrapping their arms around. My life was not paved in gold, nor was the lives of my family - my parents cared little either way. They came from nothing, had nothing, and wanted to give nothing let alone help themselves as long as everyone is expected to help them. 

 

I often recall a conversation with my father that he was happy to receive his SSA benefits, and did not care if there was anything left for his children because he'd be dead. My mother is happy to also receive her benefits but will often say that the SSA program is 'evil' and 'should never have existed' so she also does not care if you or me or anyone else who has labored hard should receive them so long as she/her husband does. So really, I do not begrudge the elderly or anyone else for being angry that their portfolios are being drained, at least they had something to begin with, and hopefully they can move it somewhere safe for the long term, because it's not going to be pretty.

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,397]

On 4/5/2025 at 10:54 PM, TBoneTX said:

The above merits enshrinement in the pantheon of All-Time Greatest VJ Posts.

How dare you. In light of some of the literary masterpieces that's I have posted o

[TBoneTX 46,860]

24 minutes ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

How dare you. In light of some of the literary masterpieces that's I have posted o

Chrysanthemum Status.

[Ban Hammer 13,977]

9 hours ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

How dare you. In light of some of the literary masterpieces that's I have posted o

you misspelled "dictionary nightmares" as "literary masterpieces"

[Neonred 3,841]

There is so much I want to write at this moment, especially in regards to "the sky is falling" that was expressed above, but I'm at work and finishing lunch.

 

One thing I really want to emphasize is that, at this moment as I write, The Dow is up more than 65% over the last 5 years in spite of the recent drop.  That's pretty good.  Where else to you want to put your money?  Under the mattress?  In a CD yielding 3% or 4%?

[Dashinka 25,378]

Interesting ploy.

 

Trump says he's raising China tariffs further, pausing reciprocal tariffs for others

 

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/trump-says-hes-raising-china-tariffs-further-pausing-reciprocal-tariffs-others

[Crazy Cat 43,436]

Dow Jones up almost 3,000 points today!!

[Neonred 3,841]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

Dow Jones up almost 3,000 points today!!

 

Glad I did some buying Monday.

[Crazy Cat 43,436]

18 minutes ago, Neonred said:

 

Glad I did some buying Monday.

Yep.  He who doesn't buy the dip misses opportunity.  I should have bought some more precious metals....but I didn't.