“Let him cook.” What does that mean exactly? Are we going into a reboot of Breaking Bad here, where instead of having an idiot in the White House who is wrecking the economy, we’re actually going to see the rise of the most stable genius bigly meth dealer in creation? Is that what “Let him cook,” means? Or, is this more of a 4Chan post, as in Trust The Plan? Let him cook, trust the plan, this is Trump doing 4D or greater chess, that kind of thing. Your guess is as good as mine. But Twit/X is coming up with their own version.
Ah fuck, I thought he was getting cremated.
— JayGunin 🇮🇱🇺🇦🌊 (@JayGunin) April 9, 2025
Maybe it’s a reference to Wrath Of Khan, when Dr. Marcus showed Captain Kirk the Genesis Project and said, “Can I cook or can I cook?” Ignorant us, we don’t have the foresight or vision to know that Trump is bouncing the stock market up and down like a basketball for some Great Purpose. We’re just sitting here with the covers pulled over our heads, biting our nails, and watching it on our phones until we can’t stand another minute. Here, take a look at this.
Probably people with paranormal powers good at reading the mind of Trump and members of his inner circle. Or maybe just a lot of lucky people. I’m sure nobody leaked the announcement to anyone. https://t.co/e93aQRerQf
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 10, 2025
“People like trading SPY because it tracks the S&P 500. SPY options are great because they’re affordable and liquidity is even better,… daily expirations, and let you choose your price easily. They’re a good way to trade without picking individual stocks.” Thank you, Mr. Google. We learn something new here every day.
Trump started all of this madness, lost trillions on the stock market, and is now taking a victory lap for rallying some of the stocks today. But don’t be under any illusions: this is no way to run a country and we are not out of the recession woods by any means. This is Robert Reich’s take on the madness we’re living through and it makes more sense than anything I’ve read.
On Friday, Trump called on investors to buy low as markets plunged. “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” Trump said on Truth Social.
I don’t think Trump was referring to the current downdraft in stock prices. He was referring to the coming recession.
Last week’s stock sell-off wiped out roughly $6.6 trillion in value from corporations listed on American stock exchanges. The clear message coming out of stocks, bonds, oil, and the dollar is the growing risk of a recession.
On Friday, economists at JPMorgan, America’s largest bank by assets and market capitalization, put the odds of a coming recession at 60 percent, labeling Trump’s tariffs as the “largest tax increase” since 1968, which will “fall heavily on the U.S. consumer.”
We can’t count on the Fed to take measures to avoid this recession. As I’ve said before, the Fed cannot simultaneously fight the inflationary effects of the tariffs and the recessionary effects of a slowing economy. If it lowers interest rates, it invites more inflation. If it raises interest rates, it slows the economy further.
The Fed views its main job as fighting inflation, which means interest rates will remain relatively high. As Fed chief Jerome Powell emphasized late last week, “Our obligation is to keep longer-term inflation expectations well-anchored and to make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem.”
It seems clear that Trump is planning to blame any recession on Powell (and, of course, Joe Biden). As Trump wrote on Friday “Fed Chair Jerome Powell should “CUT INTEREST RATES … AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS.”
So a recession seems likely. The American economy will contract over the next six months.
This will cause massive hardship for lower-income Americans because they’re likely to be the first ones to lose their jobs — at the same time they’re paying more for much of what they need.
But a recession is not necessarily bad for Trump and his billionaire buddies. America’s oligarchy depends on periodic recessions.
Recessions are opportunities to buy up real estate, companies, and shares of stock at bargain-basement prices. Recessions also give political cover to Trump, Musk, and Republican efforts to reduce labor and environmental standards.
Also, remember the business cycle. A recession early in Trump’s term is politically better for Trump and his Republican allies than a recession later in the term.
I believe Trump’s plan is for a recession in 2025 so that he and his billionaire buddies can ride the wave of a recovery in 2026 — just in time for the midterm elections.
What do you think?
I think Reich is right. I think it’s playtime for Donald and the stock market is his plaything and the White House is his playpen. And the yous and mes are in the role of whatever horrified adult is impacted by the ways of an out of control toddler. And his babysitters (as I’ve come to wish the GOP actually were) are going to let him burn down the House. Or the Senate. Or both. Because ultimately Trump is playing the same game they are, which is manipulate things close enough to elections and/or key votes to keep the people in power in power.
That’s the overall game plan. Whether it will work, however, is an entirely different subject. We’re not here playing the game alone. The European Union has something to say. The Chinese have something to say. The Canadians, Mexicans, other people we used to call our allies all have something to say. And they can figure out this idiocy, too.
And the dimmest of them is a lot smarter than Donald. Let’s just face that reality. The bond market was going nuts and Trump finally had to put on the brakes. And look at this.
"big strong countries with tears in their eyes."
— Janice Hough (@leftcoastbabe) April 9, 2025
This is all fantasy and fable coming out of the White House. It’s all political theater, performative assholery. It’s got its limits. Remember, Trump’s been in office less than 90 days. His fantasy of playing the stock market like an accordian, expand, contract, expand contract, is simply not going to hold up forever. This isn’t 4D chess this is frivolity and foolishness on steroids.
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“I believe Trump’s plan is for a recession in 2025 so that he and his billionaire buddies can ride the wave of a recovery in 2026 — just in time for the midterm elections.”
The problem with this is that recessions do NOT generally line up with election hopes and dreams. Look how long it took for the country to come out of the “Great Recession” According to Wiki, it began in December of 2007 and didn’t end until June of 2009. (It should be noted that the National Bureau of Economic Research announced in Dec of 2008 that the recession had actually begun a year earlier due to the continued deteriorating labor market.) Notice those dates: It began the month before the 2008 presidential primary season began and didn’t end until 6 months into Obama’s first term–roughly 19 months. Now, if we extrapolate the “Drumpf Tariff Recession’s” dates from June 1, 2025 (and, with #DrowsyDonnie’s on-again, off-again decision on the tariffs, it’s a bit tough to set an actual start date but we’ll just go with June 1 as the beginning–it’ll still take a couple of months for any real recessionary indicators to show up) and move out 19 months, the “recovery” won’t begin showing any hints of coming through until right around November 1 of 2026 with an “official” end (as in most indicators will have really started showing a return to pre-recession standards) by January or February of 2027.
And Drumpf’s “hope” for a recovery to happen before the elections relies ENTIRELY on when he finally lets his “tariff plan” to go into full effect. If he keeps playing around as he’s been doing–announce a tariff, then put it into effect, then put a pause on it, then announce the tariff’s starting again, put it into effect again and then pause again–it’s just going to push any recession further along (that’s part of why I posit a June 1st beginning since we’re just going to see uneasiness in the business community–they’re not going to be able to plan for purchases or sales without knowing where their costs are going to land–until things sort out one way or the other). And the more that Drumpf putzes around with putting the tariffs into full effect is just going to make any “recovery” happen all the later. With Drumpf, after all, what’s to keep him from making an agreement with any or all of the various countries that boosts the economy for a time until Drumpf decides that the US is “being taken advantage of” again and he slaps a new set of tariffs on those countries again?
The June 2009 “end” of the Great Recession (a term the media is loathe to use now) was declared when the GDP started to grow again. But unemployment remained high, wages actually contracted, and millions had lost homes to foreclosure. The psychological trauma lingered for a long time, and President Obama was blamed by the GOP for not improving things fast enough (never mind that the recession started under G.W. Bush).
There are signs any recession caused by Trump’s fickle policies could be much worse. The US no longer has the political or economic stability that investors seek. Trump may see himself as a master negotiator, but foreign leaders are learning that he can’t be trusted.
Right now, Asian and European markets are doing well, while yesterday’s “rally” in US markets is already hitting the skids.
Those behind the regime’s crazy economic policy are fooling themselves if they think the economy will recover by 2026. The stock markets may recover, but job losses and higher prices will linger for a longer period of time. It took years for people to regain confidence in the economy after the Great Recession, and some never did. And this time, all the blame for a recession lies with Trump, no matter how hard he will try to blame others.
🤔🤪 For all of us who just can’t take it anymore, Radley Balko has provided us some satire about Trump’s “newest” Executive Order. It isn’t true, but it feels like it could be true. Isn’t that the MAGA standard for reality?! Here it is…Trump asserting the King’s right of “prima nocta,” the right to have sex with other men’s wives.*
[Especially on the wedding night, eh “Braveheart?”]
* https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/trumps-modest-proposal?r=7jboz&triedRedirect=true
He probably made a mint buying stocks at the nadir and then selling at a profit when they rebounded.