Christ! Up 583% since 2014, that's pretty fucking good.
Tariffs...what to make of them.
- Thread starter Dave Taylor
- Start date
Ian F
Well-Known Member
I've started getting the various bills and "not a bill" statements for the broken collarbone. The surgery tally was a bit over $42K and during the pre-admission I paid over $1800. So far, I've paid a bit over $2000 and expect to pay more. Fortunately, I can afford this (having a fairly good job and no debt has its advantages), but I can easily see how someone without decent savings could be totally screwed.
And since I can look for it pretty quickly, my 401k was up almost 400% since 2014 before the "tariff fallout" a couple of weeks ago. Still more than tripled. And while I have maxed my contributions since that time, there's the old saying "time in the market beats trying to time the market." And that is with me doing literally nothing except my by-weekly contributions. I could definitely see how someone with a competent advisor and a bit of luck could easily be up almost 600% in the last 11 years.
And since I can look for it pretty quickly, my 401k was up almost 400% since 2014 before the "tariff fallout" a couple of weeks ago. Still more than tripled. And while I have maxed my contributions since that time, there's the old saying "time in the market beats trying to time the market." And that is with me doing literally nothing except my by-weekly contributions. I could definitely see how someone with a competent advisor and a bit of luck could easily be up almost 600% in the last 11 years.
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
Are you trying to to say all drugs are bad? Pretty positive I'd be dead if it wasn't for a bunch of drugs.
Both retired, officiating and event work makes some fun money. I worked the jersey city marathon this weekend.
We continued family coverage with COBRA and will for another 20 months. That gets me to 63. When we don't need family, Sue is an att retiree and has coverage $50/mo. Can't add me until 65.
The kid is graduating, hopefully spring him free to lower costs. We expect to settle in around $1k/mo when I'm 65.
I was watching one of the Sunday shows not to long ago and one of those southern republicans was going on about the costs of Medicare. Being stupid rich he didn’t understand that people’s medical insurance goes up as the age. Insurance companies don’t want to insure 70 year old people, there is no money in it. This dumb ass couldn’t figure that out…. Of course he is in the government and he gets free health care…
So in my day away from this thread... The tariffs were removed for electronics.... But then today luttnick announced that they were only paused and new tariffs for said electronics are coming soon .....
Can't wait to see what the tariffs wheel of fortune lands on tomorrow
Can't wait to see what the tariffs wheel of fortune lands on tomorrow
So the ACA isn't an option? At $0 income (more or less) you should qualify for a better rate, no?
thegock
Well-Known Member
From Jen Martin:
"Let’s talk about the moment Donald Trump blinked. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t a tweetstorm or a rally rant. When the tariff threats that had the world on edge — 125% on China, 25% on Canada’s autos, a global trade war in the making — suddenly softened. A 'pause,' he called it. A complete turnaround from the chest-thumping of the past week. And the reason? Mark Carney and a slow, deliberate financial maneuver that most people didn’t even notice: the coordinated Treasury bond slow bleed.
This wasn’t about bravado. It was about leverage. Cold, calculated, and devastatingly effective.
Trump’s pause wasn’t because people were getting yippy…
Rewind a bit. While Trump was gearing up his trade war machine, Carney, Canada’s Prime Minister, wasn’t just sitting in Ottawa twiddling his thumbs. He’d been quietly increasing Canada’s holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds—over $350 billion worth by early 2025, part of the $8.53 trillion foreign countries hold in U.S. debt. On the surface, it looked like a safe play, a hedge against economic chaos. But it wasn’t just defense. It was a loaded gun.
Carney didn’t stop there. He took his case to Europe. Not for photo ops, but for closed-door meetings with the EU’s heavy hitters — Germany, France, the Netherlands. Japan was in the room too, listening closely. The pitch was simple: if Trump went too far with tariffs, Canada wouldn’t just retaliate with duties on American cars or steel. It would start offloading those Treasury bonds. Not a fire sale — nothing so crude. A slow, steady bleed. A signal to the markets that the U.S. dollar’s perch wasn’t so secure.
Here’s a brief explainer about Treasury Bonds and why Carney encouraged other countries to follow Canada’s lead, and why it worked:
How Treasury Bonds Work and Why a Global Sell-Off Could Tank the U.S.
What Are Treasury Bonds?
👉🏻They’re IOUs the U.S. government issues to borrow money.
👉🏻Countries, banks, and investors buy them, lending cash to the U.S.
👉🏻The U.S. promises to pay back the loan with interest over time (e.g., 10 years).
Who Owns Them?
👉🏻Foreign countries hold $8.5 trillion of U.S. debt (as of 2025).
👉🏻Big players: Japan ($1 trillion+), Canada ($350 billion), EU nations ($1.5 trillion combined).
👉🏻They buy bonds to park money safely and earn steady interest.
How Do They Affect the U.S.?
👉🏻The U.S. uses this borrowed cash to fund everything—military, Social Security, tax cuts.
👉🏻Cheap borrowing keeps the economy humming; the government spends more than it collects in taxes.
What Happens in a Coordinated Sell-Off?
If countries like Canada, Japan, and the EU start selling bonds together (even slowly):
👉🏻Flood of Bonds: Too many bonds hit the market at once.
👉🏻Prices Drop: More supply than demand pushes bond prices down.
👉🏻Interest Rates Spike: When bond prices fall, yields (interest rates) rise to attract buyers.
Why Does This Hurt the U.S.?
👉🏻Borrowing Gets Expensive: Higher interest rates mean the U.S. pays more to borrow.
👉🏻Debt Snowballs: The U.S. owes $34 trillion already; pricier loans make it harder to manage.
👉🏻Dollar Weakens: Selling bonds means dumping dollars, so the currency’s value drops.
How Does This Cause a Depression?
👉🏻Spending Dries Up: Government cuts back as borrowing costs soar—fewer jobs, less aid.
👉🏻Businesses Tank: Higher rates choke loans; companies can’t expand or hire.
👉🏻Imports Cost More: A weaker dollar makes foreign goods (oil, tech) pricier, jacking up inflation.
👉🏻Markets Crash: Panic hits stocks and banks as confidence in U.S. debt fades.
The Domino Effect:
👉🏻Jobs vanish, prices spike, savings erode—classic depression triggers.
👉🏻A slow, coordinated sell-off isn’t a bluff; it’s a quiet gut punch that would take the US YEARS to recover from.
And here’s the kicker: Canada wasn’t alone. Japan, holding over $1 trillion in U.S. debt, signed on and started to sell those US Treasury bonds which scared Trump shitless. Key EU countries — collectively sitting on another $1.5 trillion — nodded in agreement. This wasn’t a bluff. It was a silent pact. A coordinated move to remind Trump that the free world doesn’t just roll over when he swings his tariff bat. Hurt us, Carney said, and we’ll hurt you — right where it counts.
The U.S. Treasury market is the backbone of the global economy. Foreign holders like Canada, Japan, and the EU keep it humming, financing everything from America’s military to its tax cuts. Start selling those bonds in unison, even gradually, and the yields spike. The dollar wobbles. Borrowing costs climb. Suddenly, Trump’s 'beautiful' bond market — he bragged about it just yesterday — looks like a house of cards in a stiff breeze.
That’s the message Carney delivered in his call with Trump last week. No leaks on the exact words, but the outcome speaks volumes. Trump didn’t just pause the tariffs; he backpedaled hard. China’s still in the crosshairs — 125% duties are no joke — but Canada? The EU? Japan? They’re off the hit list. For now, at least. Why? Because Carney’s play wasn’t noise. It was power.
Let’s be real: Trump’s spent years calling Canada a freeloader — remember his 2019 NATO jabs? — while ignoring the inconvenient truth. Canada’s $350 billion in U.S. debt isn’t charity. It’s a lifeline. Japan’s trillion-plus? Same deal. The EU’s pile? Ditto. These countries aren’t just buying bonds to be nice; they’re bankrolling the U.S. government. And when they threaten to pull the plug, even slowly, Washington listens.
This was the determining factor in Trump’s surrender. Not the public spats, not the retaliatory tariffs Canada slapped on U.S. autos (though those stung). It was the quiet, coordinated threat of a Treasury bond unwind that bent Trump’s knee. Carney didn’t need to shout. He didn’t need to posture. He lined up the free world — Japan, the EU, Canada in lockstep — and showed Trump the cliff’s edge. Strategic brilliance doesn’t get louder than that.
Carney also issued Canadian Treasury bonds in USD which was another brilliant way to strengthen Canada’s position and financial reputation. Little triggers and strategies you get when the world’s most respected economist is your PM…
When Trump announced his tariff 'pause,' it wasn’t a victory lap. It was a concession. Carney moved markets without firing a shot. He gave Canada a seat at the power table and proved that global respect isn’t won with bluster — it’s earned with moves that hit where it hurts. Trump talks tough. Carney plays chess. And right now, the board’s his.
Want the raw data? Check the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s 'Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities' report. Look at Canada’s holdings. Japan’s. The EU’s. Then ask yourself: who’s really holding 'the cards.'
OH, and will Canada’s tariffs and countermeasures remain in place until after the election on April 28th? Yup.
Carney made sure to tell the world that despite Trump kissing our northern ring, we’re not negotiating shit until after the election. He also said we’re still moving away from our relationship with the US for greener, saner pastures."
- Dean Blundell
"Let’s talk about the moment Donald Trump blinked. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t a tweetstorm or a rally rant. When the tariff threats that had the world on edge — 125% on China, 25% on Canada’s autos, a global trade war in the making — suddenly softened. A 'pause,' he called it. A complete turnaround from the chest-thumping of the past week. And the reason? Mark Carney and a slow, deliberate financial maneuver that most people didn’t even notice: the coordinated Treasury bond slow bleed.
This wasn’t about bravado. It was about leverage. Cold, calculated, and devastatingly effective.
Trump’s pause wasn’t because people were getting yippy…
Rewind a bit. While Trump was gearing up his trade war machine, Carney, Canada’s Prime Minister, wasn’t just sitting in Ottawa twiddling his thumbs. He’d been quietly increasing Canada’s holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds—over $350 billion worth by early 2025, part of the $8.53 trillion foreign countries hold in U.S. debt. On the surface, it looked like a safe play, a hedge against economic chaos. But it wasn’t just defense. It was a loaded gun.
Carney didn’t stop there. He took his case to Europe. Not for photo ops, but for closed-door meetings with the EU’s heavy hitters — Germany, France, the Netherlands. Japan was in the room too, listening closely. The pitch was simple: if Trump went too far with tariffs, Canada wouldn’t just retaliate with duties on American cars or steel. It would start offloading those Treasury bonds. Not a fire sale — nothing so crude. A slow, steady bleed. A signal to the markets that the U.S. dollar’s perch wasn’t so secure.
Here’s a brief explainer about Treasury Bonds and why Carney encouraged other countries to follow Canada’s lead, and why it worked:
How Treasury Bonds Work and Why a Global Sell-Off Could Tank the U.S.
What Are Treasury Bonds?
👉🏻They’re IOUs the U.S. government issues to borrow money.
👉🏻Countries, banks, and investors buy them, lending cash to the U.S.
👉🏻The U.S. promises to pay back the loan with interest over time (e.g., 10 years).
Who Owns Them?
👉🏻Foreign countries hold $8.5 trillion of U.S. debt (as of 2025).
👉🏻Big players: Japan ($1 trillion+), Canada ($350 billion), EU nations ($1.5 trillion combined).
👉🏻They buy bonds to park money safely and earn steady interest.
How Do They Affect the U.S.?
👉🏻The U.S. uses this borrowed cash to fund everything—military, Social Security, tax cuts.
👉🏻Cheap borrowing keeps the economy humming; the government spends more than it collects in taxes.
What Happens in a Coordinated Sell-Off?
If countries like Canada, Japan, and the EU start selling bonds together (even slowly):
👉🏻Flood of Bonds: Too many bonds hit the market at once.
👉🏻Prices Drop: More supply than demand pushes bond prices down.
👉🏻Interest Rates Spike: When bond prices fall, yields (interest rates) rise to attract buyers.
Why Does This Hurt the U.S.?
👉🏻Borrowing Gets Expensive: Higher interest rates mean the U.S. pays more to borrow.
👉🏻Debt Snowballs: The U.S. owes $34 trillion already; pricier loans make it harder to manage.
👉🏻Dollar Weakens: Selling bonds means dumping dollars, so the currency’s value drops.
How Does This Cause a Depression?
👉🏻Spending Dries Up: Government cuts back as borrowing costs soar—fewer jobs, less aid.
👉🏻Businesses Tank: Higher rates choke loans; companies can’t expand or hire.
👉🏻Imports Cost More: A weaker dollar makes foreign goods (oil, tech) pricier, jacking up inflation.
👉🏻Markets Crash: Panic hits stocks and banks as confidence in U.S. debt fades.
The Domino Effect:
👉🏻Jobs vanish, prices spike, savings erode—classic depression triggers.
👉🏻A slow, coordinated sell-off isn’t a bluff; it’s a quiet gut punch that would take the US YEARS to recover from.
And here’s the kicker: Canada wasn’t alone. Japan, holding over $1 trillion in U.S. debt, signed on and started to sell those US Treasury bonds which scared Trump shitless. Key EU countries — collectively sitting on another $1.5 trillion — nodded in agreement. This wasn’t a bluff. It was a silent pact. A coordinated move to remind Trump that the free world doesn’t just roll over when he swings his tariff bat. Hurt us, Carney said, and we’ll hurt you — right where it counts.
The U.S. Treasury market is the backbone of the global economy. Foreign holders like Canada, Japan, and the EU keep it humming, financing everything from America’s military to its tax cuts. Start selling those bonds in unison, even gradually, and the yields spike. The dollar wobbles. Borrowing costs climb. Suddenly, Trump’s 'beautiful' bond market — he bragged about it just yesterday — looks like a house of cards in a stiff breeze.
That’s the message Carney delivered in his call with Trump last week. No leaks on the exact words, but the outcome speaks volumes. Trump didn’t just pause the tariffs; he backpedaled hard. China’s still in the crosshairs — 125% duties are no joke — but Canada? The EU? Japan? They’re off the hit list. For now, at least. Why? Because Carney’s play wasn’t noise. It was power.
Let’s be real: Trump’s spent years calling Canada a freeloader — remember his 2019 NATO jabs? — while ignoring the inconvenient truth. Canada’s $350 billion in U.S. debt isn’t charity. It’s a lifeline. Japan’s trillion-plus? Same deal. The EU’s pile? Ditto. These countries aren’t just buying bonds to be nice; they’re bankrolling the U.S. government. And when they threaten to pull the plug, even slowly, Washington listens.
This was the determining factor in Trump’s surrender. Not the public spats, not the retaliatory tariffs Canada slapped on U.S. autos (though those stung). It was the quiet, coordinated threat of a Treasury bond unwind that bent Trump’s knee. Carney didn’t need to shout. He didn’t need to posture. He lined up the free world — Japan, the EU, Canada in lockstep — and showed Trump the cliff’s edge. Strategic brilliance doesn’t get louder than that.
Carney also issued Canadian Treasury bonds in USD which was another brilliant way to strengthen Canada’s position and financial reputation. Little triggers and strategies you get when the world’s most respected economist is your PM…
When Trump announced his tariff 'pause,' it wasn’t a victory lap. It was a concession. Carney moved markets without firing a shot. He gave Canada a seat at the power table and proved that global respect isn’t won with bluster — it’s earned with moves that hit where it hurts. Trump talks tough. Carney plays chess. And right now, the board’s his.
Want the raw data? Check the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s 'Major Foreign Holders of Treasury Securities' report. Look at Canada’s holdings. Japan’s. The EU’s. Then ask yourself: who’s really holding 'the cards.'
OH, and will Canada’s tariffs and countermeasures remain in place until after the election on April 28th? Yup.
Carney made sure to tell the world that despite Trump kissing our northern ring, we’re not negotiating shit until after the election. He also said we’re still moving away from our relationship with the US for greener, saner pastures."
- Dean Blundell
thegock
Well-Known Member
Too bad teachers don't get anything close.
1099-r, 1099-ssa,1099-div, 1099b, 1099-k, 1099-nec, etc, two year lookback on iirma. Sue made close to a full year's salary in 2024.
Maybe after 2025 return?
Yeah, the costs for people with FT jobs is batshit expensive.
Just curious, does anyone really believe there is a plan with these tariffs? The mathematical equations they used to apply them used the wrong data in the calculations.. tariffs used to promote factory relocations have to be long term, why move a factory if the tariffs just going to change tomorrow? Yet trump keeps bouncing around, where is the plan? I only see two options, ether it’s corruption and they are using insider trading to make lots of money or trump is following Putins direction to separate the US from our allies….. these are the only plans I can see, there is another option, trump is a monkey flying an airplane, he is dumb as a rock and he has no idea what he is doing.
And he won his club championship, he's such an inspiration. It's bizarre.
He hasn't seen 224 since Carter was president
Forget everything else in this thread, that's really fucking cool!
olegbabich
Well-Known Member
Buy low and sell high.
Billionaires Score Best-Ever Day as Stocks Soar on Tariff Pause
The world’s wealthiest people added $304 billion to their combined net worth on Wednesday — the largest one-day gain in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — as stock markets soared after President Donald Trump pledged to pause tariffs on some trading partners.The S&P 500 Index jumped the most since 2008 following Trump’s mid-day announcement, reversing steep losses over the past few days and boosting the fortunes of the world’s 500 richest people by an average 3.5%. The Nasdaq Composite Index also rebounded, climbing the most in more than 24 years.
The other option is he has no idea what the heck he is doing. It could really be as simple as that. That's scary enough without worrying he's Putin's pawn. Let's just hope he is a complete megalomaniac and that's that. Less than 4 years left.