The US is in a strange sort of situation these days. While the nation reels from the loss of one of its greatest senators, it is seemingly left to deal with the US president and his policies-particularly his trade taxes that has the US in a forced war with a former top trading partner in China.
Independent UK presents this view of the US in contrasting depths. America is at a crossroads of sorts; the economy appears to be doing okay, more than it is projected in the news. On the other hand, the politics of America don't seem to be okay. In fact, if the policies are any indication, it's doing absolutely terrible these days.
The confidence of buyers in the economy is driven by these figures. In 18 years, buyer trust has reached these levels, fuelled by tax cuts as well as other policies which make it seem like everything is better. The new chair of the Federal Reserve Board, Jerome Powell, assures everyone that the interest rates will slowly go up, but that won't happen overnight; if the economy dips down and gets into trouble, these rates will adjust accordingly.
The trade dispute, however, is enough cause for concern.
According to Forbes, Trump raised the tariffs in response to America's former strongest trading partners. China, Canada, Germany, and the UK is just reaping the rewards of their "trade abuse" and Trump is just showing that he means business. Proof of this was America's $800 billion trade deficit-which only comes and goes in increments.
The problem, however, is that the tariffs are "knee-jerk" reactions to a problem that has a deeper cause. Trump imposed policies which wouldn't help the working class at all-most of which voted him for his promises to bring jobs back. The problem is that instead of bringing jobs back, it could create a slump in it.
This sounds like a recession, something that endangers America's illusory 'strong' economy if in fact, it does happen. While the US sits in a bubble that is just about to burst, it might not be affected in a straightforward manner by the trade dispute. What might plunge the US into a recession would be the long-term repercussions of these policies instead.
