Austerity is a real thing that countries have historically used to recover from major catastrophes. It’s a policy of pulling back in the face of emergencies like a natural disaster or war, a sacrifice for the greater good. But Donald Trump is responding to Americans upset over the high cost of living and failure of wages to keep up by telling us we need to revert to austerity. Ali Velshi says no: “We’re not buying the idea that Americans need to give up the things that keep our lives running, just because you lit the house on fire.”
What emergency are we responding to? The one that Trump created himself, of course. Trump’s tariffs will cost the average family $3800 annually, impacting our middle class the most. Food, energy, cars, clothes, and everything the average family needs already cost more. Tanking global trade doesn’t just hurt Main Street America, it puts the U.S. Dollar’s global dominance at risk of collapse.
Trump, who is surrounded by gold-plated everything (including our new Air Force One), is telling America it’s time for austerity to bankroll 5 trillion in tax cuts for the rich.
For a Republican president to fail to recognize that consumer spending drives economic recovery is bad enough, but his dismissive rhetoric about buying your kids fewer dolls is more condescending and outrageous when you consider that this unfolding economic disaster is of his own making.
LISTEN: VELSHI ON WHO IS SACRIFICING WHAT FOR OUR ECONOMY
WATCH: VELSHI AND REP. KATIE PORTER ON HOW TARIFFS ARE IMPACTING FAMILIES
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