Trump continues to sabotage his own financial and economic power

(Originally published April 22 in “What in the World“) Trump jawboned his country’s currency down further.

“There can be a SLOWING of the economy unless Mr. Too Late, a major loser, lowers interest rates, NOW,” he posted on his Truth Social platform, referring to U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Threatening the independence of your central banker as you drive your economy into a stagflationary ditch is apparently not a source of comfort to investors. So, stocks joined the dollar’s slide, with the S&P500 dropping almost 2.4%. The dollar is now back in territory not seen in more than three years. Trump last week revived his determination to fire Powell, even though his own Treasury secretary and the banker he may nominate to replace Powell have tried to talk him out of it.

To rub salt in the beleaguered U.S. consumer’s wounds, Trump’s Education Dept. says it will next month begin collection proceedings on roughly 5.3 million people it accuses of defaulting on federal student loans. The move ends a hiatus on enforcements that has been in effect since the pandemic in March 2020. Is isn’t clear how the department will manage this, however, since Trump has already signed an executive order to close it.

U.S. consumers of means are voting with their wallets. More are moving cash out of dollars and the U.S. and stashing it in Swiss bank accounts. Others are voting with their feet, moving to Switzerland altogether, or to cheaper destinations in Europe.