By Herb Booker April 6, 2025
OK, where do we start? It’s not like we haven’t been supplied with ample material to work with in the last several days. There is so much available material, we may need to go with the Readers Digest version of each issue starting with the Trump Tariffs.
TARIFFS
This week, as most people know, Donald Trump has placed tariffs on essentially the entire world with varying levels of tariffs for each individual country based on a formula that is not yet fully understood. Wednesday April 2nd, the day that Trump announced the new tariffs was dubbed “Liberation Day” by Donald Trump. When the tariffs actually hit, the only thing that will be liberated is the cash from your wallet.
There is no doubt about it, prices are going up very soon, and as early as next week in many cases. Some of the price increases may be quite significant and are occurring at a time when millions of families were already living on the edge. These tariffs may actually push millions of families over the edge.
Per Trump, one of the main reasons that he is implementing this tariff policy is to bring manufacturing back to U.S. That horse has already left the barn. We can’t manufacture jeans for $9 a pair anymore in this country. The US is still the 2nd largest manufacturer in the world after China, but the glory manufacturing days of the 70’s and 80’s in the US are over. The US can still shore up its’ manufacturing might, and it would be a good thing. What the US needs to do is pick its’ spots as it relates to manufacturing. It will be a long time if ever to overtake China and be the leader again in manufacturing output. I’m saying this from the standpoint of working in manufacturing at every level from 1980 to the early 2000’s.
Politically, Trump’s tariff policy will either prove him out to be an economic genius, or it may end up being a disaster, and he may have just blown up his presidency. My bet is on the latter. At this point, I’m not really sure he cares, but I do know who does care, down ballot Republicans. The longer this tariff policy stays in place, the more probable it will be that the mid-term elections will be a blood bath for Republicans, and not just at the congressional level.
STOCK MARKET
Well, in the last two days, the stock market has lost $6.4 trillion in market value. Not only is this a significant hit on people’ stock portfolios, many of the 401K’s of working people, particularly those of people close to retirement have lost thousands and maybe tens of thousands of dollars in just a few days. Obviously, the market woes are related to Trump’s tariff policies.
If the market opens on Monday April 7th much lower and ends the trading day in the negative four digits lower, watch out because Republican lawmakers will start squealing loudly. The cracks among Republican lawmakers are already starting to show. They may as well do the right thing by their constituents and not worry about being primaried by other Trump supported cronies, because it won’t matter anyway if they are caught up in a mid-term blue bloodbath.
In the meantime, analysts at JP Morgan have raised their recession forecasts for the next year from 40 percent to 60 percent. I’ll go one better. I predict that by this time next year, I’m forecasting a 100% probability that the U.S. will be mired in a recession due to Trump’s disastrous tariff policies.
In a related note, while the stock market was crashing on Friday, Trump remained in Florida and did not travel to Dover AFB for the dignified transfer of 4 American soldiers who died during a training exercise in Lithuania. Trump arrived at his golf course on Friday for the LIV Golf Tournament. Defense Secretary Hegseth travelled to Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer.
EL SALVADOR PRISON
It seems that any person who might look Hispanic and have a tattoo may run the risk of being considered a gang member, picked up off the street, and be sent to El Salvador to be detained in a notorious mega-prison with a track record of human rights abuses. It is one of the worst prisons in the world.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident with legal status, was arrested on March 12 when ICE officers pulled him over with his 5-year-old son, who is autistic and intellectually disabled, in the back seat, his lawyers said in a court filing last week. Mr. Garcia was mistakenly deported from the U.S. to the notorious El Salvador prison.
ICE has admitted that they made an error in deporting Mr. Garcia. Mr. Garcia’s wife Jennifer Stefania Vasquez Sura, who is a U.S. citizen, filed a lawsuit last week asking that the judge order the government to return him to the United States. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday that “the individual in question is a member of the brutal MS-13 gang. They claim that they have intelligence reports that he is involved in human trafficking. High ranking officials in the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance, have also alleged this week that Garcia was an MS-13 member. Well, we do know that the Department of Homeland Security and high-ranking Trump administrations officials including J.D. Vance are essentially attempting to cover their backsides and justify what they did, because ICE has already admitted their error.
The big problem is that the Department of Justice is stating that they are unable to bring Mr. Garcia back from El Salvador because he was out of their jurisdiction. I think we all know that’s bull! You bring him back the same way you got him there. I doubt very seriously that El Salvador will balk if the Trump administration asks for Mr. Garcia’s return.
On Friday, US. District Court Judge Paula Xinis gave the government 72 hours until 11:59 PM Monday April 7th to bring Mr. Garcia home. Stay Tuned!
I have no tattoos, but I had considered getting my first one. I have since reconsidered because I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings. If you see me on television bent over with my head shaved, please tell somebody!
All opinions herein are solely the opinions of Herb Booker. Comments are welcome and can be sent to hbooker2@yahoo.com, or at the bottom of this page. Next week, “Green Card & Visa Holder Roundups/Followup From Last Week”.