Nearly 70% think the economy is on the wrong track

Wait until next year!

That's the new desperate mantra coming out of the White House, we learn from The Wall Street Journal, which includes this paragraph that explains why this nonsense makes no sense:

Trump's early economic actions have been among the most disruptive for the economy in generations. He has imposed far-reaching tariffs on almost all imports with more to come, brought immigration to a virtual halt while scaling up deportations, and strong-armed companies into making deals with his administration.

There's also the lack of funding for the government (that Trump and Russ Vought are trying to make maximally painful to the economy, even in red areas), and the 16 million or so Americans who Republicans are about to uninsure if Democrats' demands go unheeded.

And the Journal doesn't even delve into the destruction of America's scientific and medical research sector and the abandonment to China of renewable energy—the technological revolution that is actually transforming the global economy—in favor of an "all in" bet on AI, which, without renewables, becomes dirtier and incalculably more destructive to the climate.

And for what end? You would assume the goal is "Step 4: Profit!"

But even that seems unlikely, Bloomberg tells us:

Never before has so much money been spent so rapidly on a technology that, for all its potential, remains largely unproven as an avenue for profit-making.

Yet we're still near record highs in our stock markets, which—I'll keep repeating until someone quotes me—are the ONLY polls Trump cares about.

So, where should we look to find some reality about the economy? Polls are all we've got, friends. And they are bleak, Fortune reports:

A growing sense of economic pessimism is taking hold in the U.S., as new Fannie Mae survey data reveals nearly 70% of Americans believe the economy is headed in the wrong direction. An even higher percentage (73%) say it's a bad time to buy a house. 

Why does this matter? Why is a guy who is the farthest thing from a financial reporter and obsessed with reversing the authoritarian creep of our country writing about stonks and polls?

Because, again, the only "objective" metric of success Trump cares about that is somewhat relatable to previous presidents is stock market averages. The record-highs there and in the cryptocurrency markets are the only proof he and his donors need that they made a good bet on dictatorship.

It gives him confidence to accelerate his overreach as his team does everything it can to make the coming economic downturn more brutal to average Americans. The latest example is cuts that will doom far more disabled people to homelessness.

I've never quite bought into the notion that Trump purposely wants to destroy the economy to consolidate his power. It makes sense in a supervillian sort of way, but it conflicts with my understanding of him as a super "visualizer" obsessed with all the trappings of wealth, foremost among them the Dow Jones. But I am sure that he would much rather that crash happen after he has been able to crush all dissent. 

Now we're racing against the clock, and the stocks, knowing all of this is unsustainable, knowing that Big Capital has no need or desire to back off Trump—despite his growing unpopularity and undeniable failures—as long as he can present himself as a gold-plated winner. 

And as long as the stonks are high, the vacuum that's driving us toward dictatorship will only continue to suck. And when these bubbles pop, and they will (and I wonder why so few people are warning everyone!), the real ugliness begins.

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