What? Trump's Cooking The Books Just Like Everyone Predicted? Who Could Have Seen ... -- Wonkette

[erronis]

https://www.wonkette.com/p/what-trumps-cooking-the-books-just
Doktor Zoom

Oh, right, everyone, we just said.

Excerpting this part just to catch the shear ineptitude of Lutnick, purported "Commerce Secretary" as grilled by Rep. Madeliene Dean (D - Penn)

Former head USDA economist Joe Glauber, who is allowed to go on the record because he no longer works there, told Politico there’s a lot of stuff beyond tariffs that decide whether there’s going to be a trade deficit or surplus.

Americans’ love for blueberries year-round, loyalty to French wines and addiction to goods like coffees — which the U.S. largely does not produce — also contribute. A strong dollar can also widen the deficit.

“What we’re importing is largely not what we’re exporting,” he said, noting that prices for common U.S. agricultural imports, such as wine and liquor, are not as volatile as the nation’s agricultural exports like soybeans.

This seems like a good spot to add this WTF video from yesterday, in which Rep. Madeliene Dean (D-Pennsylvania) grilled Commerce Secretary Lucille Bluth Howard Lutnick about the tariff on banana imports, which is 10 percent wherever they come from (for now).

DEAN (brandishing banana): What’s the tariff on bananas? Americans, by the way, love bananas. We buy billions of them a year. I love bananas. What’s the tariff on bananas?

LUTNICK: The tariff on bananas would be representative of the countries that produce them

DEAN: And what’s that tariff?

LUTNICK: Generally, 10 percent.

DEAN: Walmart has already increased the cost of bananas by 8%.

LUTNICK: As countries do deals with us, that will go to zero.

~

Dean noted that until, and if, that happens, prices are still higher for consumers, and the her Q&A period ran out of time.

But Luttnick couldn’t help himself! He requested extra time so he could brilliantly repeat the administration’s talking point: Just shift production to the USA and you’ll avoid the tariff!

LUTNICK: There’s no uncertainty if you build in America and you produce your product in America. There will be no tariff.

DEAN: We can’t produce bananas in America.

LUTNICK: The concept of building in America and paying no tariffs is very, very clear.

DEAN: We cannot build bananas in America

Silly lady just didn’t get the point! All foreign countries need to do is start building their bananas here, or to make a trade deal to get the tariff down to zero, which would of course leave countries that had started building banana assembly factories here out millions of dollars, which is why we still have a fucking trade deficit in the first place, but we won’t report it, OK?

[magicarpet]

1. This Nutlick dude is a fucking punk.

That proverbial smirk on his face is gringe worthy. Where are the face punchers ? I have an assignment for them.