It’s true that the new administration south of the border could very well turn back the clock a few centuries (okay, maybe not that extreme, but you get my drift), but why aren’t people worried about the economy and how this administration could impact financials, as a whole, globally? With his cabinet, you never know what will happen. Though the Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, unlike many of the other cabinet members, DOES have a background in finance and is a Wall Street guy, he, in fact doesn’t have the best reputation – for either red or blue side. For example, he has made few loans to minorities, thus violating the Fair Housing Act. Also, according to a BBC article entitled “Five things you need to know about Steve Mnuchin,” he was, at one point, involved with Madoff fraud and sued. And, according to a CNN report, Mr. Mnuchin was registered to vote in TWO STATES (okay, this is technically not illegal, but you can’t vote in both). In other words, despite having actual experience in the area, he, too, is bad news.
This isn’t a post about social issues being UNIMPORTANT. They most certainly are, and cutting them could have dire circumstances in the US and abroad. However, without a sound economy, social issues will be even further on the back burner. Everyone will be worse off, ESPECIALLY Trump’s very supporters who are, for the most part, more disadvantaged socially and economically (whether some people believe it or not). We may be okay right now – the Dow opened at above 20,000 for the second day as I am writing this – but you never know what will happen. A Trump presidency will make for a very volatile economy, one which would likely fail, perhaps to an extent far worse than 2008.
And why will the economy ultimately fail – or be unstable, at least? Because Trump wants to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US. And US-made products will be more expensive than those made abroad – both for the consumer AND the manufacturers. Do you want to pay $2,000 for a phone? I suppose if you have to…but you won’t be getting a new one every other year, that’s for sure. Without consumers, the economy will just go downhill. And when more people are disadvantaged, more people will want social programs to help them. However, judging from the philosophies of those who SUPPORTED the man, it’s unlikely they’re going to change and ask for more socialized services. What happens in the US isn’t just about what happens in the US. What happens there, economically, impacts the world. And while some people believe that some sort of saviour with good social programs will bring everything back to normal, things could go the other way, too. And the world could end up with someone much scarier. I am no expert in finance – my degrees are in history, theatre and education. However, I don’t think one needs to be an economic or Wall Street genius to realize this.
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