Scanning the news this morning I came upon what turned out to be a short piece from the Wall Street Journal. Given the outlet, the headline about CEO panic over Trump and his intent to impose all those tariffs he talked about during the campaign provoked an instant WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EXPECT? reaction from me. How could the folks at the WSJ, or all those CEOs and the Boards of Directors at all those corporations and financial institutions ONLY NOW come to the realization that Trump intends to do exactly what he said he’d do during the campaign?
Well, as I said the WSJ article is a short one. I for one get the sense “panic” in the fancy corner offices and boardrooms doesn’t come close to capturing the ‘Oh SH!T’ feeling that’s running rampant. Big Business and Finance, as MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhl regularly states likes stability. She also points out what’s obvious to everyone which is that Trump has proven to offer the opposite of stability. Those who support Trump love it, those who don’t support him hate it. For big business and finance however it all comes down to the bottom line. Profits. Nice payouts to shareholders which results in boatloads more money for THEM.
They want stability and/or predictability. In the form of little to no regulation and THEM being in control of the economy. I don’t know what the hell made them think Trump would pay any attention to THEIR advice in a second term. It’s not like he gave two-sh!ts what they thought in the first one. And THAT was when he had a handful of proverbial ‘adults in the room’ sometimes. All during the campaign it was clear that given a second term there would be NO adults. No one to rein Trump in. It would be pure, unfiltered Trump. Worse, it was possible if not likely that if Trump got elected he’d have a Congress under GOP control. A cowed, fearful GOP on Capitol Hill just might go along with all the crazy out of fear of Trump issuing orders for them to be primaried out of office.
This was entirely predictable. And now that it’s come to pass the CEOs are all in panic mode! Again I ask just what the f**k did they expect when they quietly opened up the checkbooks and started donating both to Trump and GOP Senate and House candidates? It’s not really that hard to figure out. It was the same two things they ALWAYS think:
I don’t wanna pay taxes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t want any government regulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s really that simple. The stupid part is that even with some folks who actually knew sh!t in the first Trump administration it was an exhausting and too often failed effort to control him. THIS campaign it was clear there would be no such people, as in “adults” who actually knew stuff, who had knowledge and experience to keep Trump from truly crazy territory. It was also clear that unlike last time when many Republicans in Congress had a ‘hold on a second’ mentality THIS time they’ll start out fearful of Trump.
Things could have been different. The bigwigs in corporate America and on Wall Street could have accepted paying a little (emphasis on little) more in taxes and putting up with regulation that would create enforceable rules of the road – with the resulting stability and predictability they DO crave. However their short-sighted thinking (or lack thereof) has them and the country entering into a real life version of the old SNL Mr. Bill sketches with Trump being ‘Sluggo’ and they (and the rest of us) continually being ripped up and/or smashed screeching a high-pitched ‘Oh Noooooooooooooooooo!’
The village idiot could have told these CEOs that Trump wouldn’t give them the time of day if he had a crateful of alarm clocks. That Trump will do what he damn well pleases because his delusions of grandeur which were always out of control are now even worse. And Trump TOLD everyone during the campaign how it would be. Now he’s moving to do exactly what he said he’d do with tariffs and other economic policy AND that he’s ignoring them and they are all surprised? Once again I’m reminded of a line from an old song by The Talking Heads:
“What have I done?” Well gentlemen (this gang is almost all guys) what you’ve done is subjected yourselves, the country and the world to the very real threat of an economic nightmare the likes of which haven’t been seen in almost a hundred years. All because your rich, spoiled and whiny little asses didn’t want to pay as much in taxes or put up with some regulations that would make the whole system a fair playing ground.
I don’t for a second condone shooting the CEOs down on the streets as just recently happened to one of them. As with the 2008 financial meltdown I want to see these greedy bastards locked up in prison for enough years to make them regret their greed, and to experience a measure of the pain and suffering they’ve inflicted on others. That didn’t happen and they’ve gotten ever more greedy. I can’t help but wonder if that horrible shooting is at least partly responsible for the panic the WSJ wrote about.
These a-holes KNOW what’s coming with Trump’s new administration. They also know whatever Trump says is gospel to his MAGAs. When things turn to sh!t Trump will as always blame any and everyone but himself. Perhaps they’re afraid TRUMP will start talking about greedy corporate types and bankers. In effect putting a target on their backs. Maybe they should be panicked. MAGAs will never blame their Trumpy for their problems. But they’ll have no problem turning their anger on these guys. And those MAGAs have guns. I fear for what might be to come.
Well said, Denis!
I never thought they’d eat my face…
FAFO now at the FO stage.
I keep wondering why the worst MAGAt scum hasn’t been targeted by any vigilantes. Talking about you Steve Bannon, you Stephen Miller, you Alex Jones, etc etc etc. Harder to get within range of the top scum like Musk or Trumpler himself, but I suspect plenty of scummy Congressfolk are just as exposed as was that corrupt CEO. I’m not advocating any vigilante activity, y’all understand, just thinking out loud ….
At some point, the actual class WAR will begin. The billionaires will be getting richer and richer at the expense of those of us in the middle and bottom. Once they have had enough taken away, while watching muskrat getting more billions EVERY DAY since election day (he is on course to become the first trillionaire, probably sooner than we think) the magats will rise up and revolt and so will the rest of us. The magats will love the blood in the streets when felon starts the mass deportations of American citizens and non-citizens alike. It will be played ad nauseum on fux. But when the costs rise and food becomes scarce and too expensive for most of us, the revolution will begin. At least I see it as a very distinct possibility. It’s going to be a very rough time ahead.
There are so many guns around now, wielded by so many people, there’ll be no need for any guillotines.
In other words CEOs aren’t much smarter than the uneducated, ignorant MAGAts.
they just think they are, because they’re rich. But actual thinking is nearly a lost art at every income level
They went to bed with a dog and woke up with fleas. No surprises there.