Tariffs (and other stuff), or hey @PianoDad
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Saw a couple of articles, one about the impact to the Canadian loonie and another about the negative impact on Texas.
Texas: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/30/trump-tariffs-impact-texas-economy/
Would love to hear your take on the potential economic impact on the US, Canada, and Mexico if the administration goes forward with the proposed tariffs.
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@jon-nyc ? @Piano-Dad ? Bueller?
The highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department is departing after a clash with allies of billionaire Elon Musk over access to sensitive payment systems, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.
David A. Lebryk, who served in nonpolitical roles at Treasury for several decades, announced his retirement Friday in an email to colleagues obtained by The Washington Post. President Donald Trump named Lebryk as acting secretary upon taking office last week. Lebryk had a dispute with Musk’s surrogates over access to the payment system the U.S. government uses to disburse trillions of dollars every year, the people said. The exact nature of the disagreement was not immediately clear, they said.
Officials affiliated with Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” have been asking since after the election for access to the system, the people said — requests that were reiterated more recently, including after Trump’s inauguration.
A spokeswoman for DOGE declined to comment. Lebryk could not be reached for comment late Thursday.
When Scott Bessent was confirmed as treasury secretary on Monday, Lebryk ceased to be the acting agency head.
Typically only a small number of career officials control Treasury’s payment systems. Run by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the sensitive systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to households, businesses and more nationwide. Tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people across the country rely on the systems, which are responsible for distributing Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal personnel, payments to government contractors and grant recipients and tax refunds, among tens of thousands of other functions.
The clash reflects an intensifying battle between Musk and the federal bureaucracy as the Trump administration nears the conclusion of its second week. Musk has sought to exert sweeping control over the inner workings of the U.S. government, installing longtime surrogates at several agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, which essentially handles federal human resources, and the General Services Administration, which manages real estate. (Musk was seen on Thursday visiting GSA, according to two other people familiar with his whereabouts, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal matters. That visit was first reported by the New York Times.) His Department of Government Efficiency, originally conceived as a nongovernmental panel, has since replaced the U.S. Digital Service.w.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/senior-us-official-to-exit-after-rift-with-musk-allies-over-payment-system/ar-AA1ybfJj
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It has been interesting to watch some of the discourse around tariffs and impact on Canadians. There are a lot of folks who are not buying anything from American folks including small businesses. The idea being that to send any sort of money to a country whose leadership has stated they want to take over our country is a terrible idea. I don’t disagree. I used to order things and have them shipped to a US post box or drive across to buy things. I will not do so under the current administration because I feel that the US is threatening our sovereignty. So my money doesn’t go there.
Some American small business owners (creatives whose products are often either digital or one of a kind) are ANGRY. They are saying that the Canadians with this stance are “over reacting” and “punishing small businesses and their families”.
While I get that any hit to a small business sucks… I don’t think it’s an overreaction. Money is clearly the only thing that is important to the US government, and they are threatening my country. I’m not going to reward that by contributing to the US economy if I can help it.
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Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials.
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Krugman on tariffs. @Steve-Miller will appreciate the photo included with Krugman’s post.
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@dolmansaxlil Thanks for sharing that perspective.
And we apologize to our Canadian friends for what is happening. We’re not happy about it either, on a whole lot of levels.
When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
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@Steve-Miller said in Tariffs (and other stuff), or hey @PianoDad:
Link to videoAnd watching these chuckleheads, I’m reminded of the old song
Who Put the Overalls in Mrs. Murphy’s Chowder?
Zany!
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Well, I signed a letter, for all the good that that will do ...
Crazy economist who likes to write about higher education.
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I’m proud of you for speaking out.
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/oppose-oppose-oppose-and-do-it-loudly
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I'm not shy about using my social media feed (on Bluesky, I have largely abandoned X) to criticize this thuggish administration. I'm sure my institution would rather we keep quiet for the most part, but WTF, I'm so close to retirement! Ef 'em.
Crazy economist who likes to write about higher education.
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if the president brought a horse
I know where you can get a burro. Cheap.
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@Piano-Dad said in Tariffs (and other stuff), or hey @PianoDad:
The latest bit of lunacy, courtesy of Piano*Son ...
https://bsky.app/profile/dhfeldman.bsky.social/post/3lh36mewzps2r
Once again, I'm speechless.
