Author: DOuG pRATt

A Tax By Any Other Name

It may be bad timing using Airplane! to make a point about Trump’s tariffs, but economists are concerned about them.

https://econbrowser.com/archives/2025/02/i-guess-i-picked-the-wrong-week

It’s beyond comprehension that Trump continues to insist that an IMPORT TAX will be paid by the exporting country. One option would be for the exporter to accept reduced revenue as a way to maintain export volume:

  1. A $100 item is levied with a 25% tariff
  2. The item now costs $125 in the United States
  3. The export price is reduced from $100 to $80
  4. The resulting price with the 25% tariff is back at $100
  5. No net negative effect on the consumer
  6. No reduction in demand

Will that happen? Not likely, but that’s how it would have to work. One way to consider the tariffs as a good thing, is to think of them as compensating for the further tax cuts to come for those who don’t need them. I’ve convinced myself that was a reason why Biden kept Trump’s first term China tariffs in place.

It’s Not the Years, It’s the Mileage

My Nordic Track ski machine was new for Christmas, 1995. Since giving up running a year ago, I’ve been on it a lot, afib be damned.

Now 29 years old, one of the one-way rollers has started to slip. New rollers are available for purchase, but I’m going to give this simple trick a try. It’s genius!

https://www.instructables.com/Refurbishing-Drive-Rollers-for-a-NordicTrack-Ski-M/

Common Senselessness

Trump doesn’t need to invalidate the 22nd Amendment to make the next four years seem like eight.

“I have common sense, OK?” Trump said when pressed what evidence he had to give credence to the blame he piled on the Biden and Obama administrations. “Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t.”

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/30/politics/donald-trump-dc-plane-crash/index.html

A Cancer Story

I’m originally from the Midwest. My big sister returned there to attend university, and she’s lived there ever since. When her best friend passed away, I was surprised to learn that the woman’s sister lived a thousand miles away, just half a mile from me. After my cancer diagnosis last year, I was further surprised to hear that the nearby sister had exactly the same cancer I did.

We met four times for long talks. First, after my diagnosis; second, after the surgery; third, in the middle of my treatments; finally, while I was recovering. Her cancer was more advanced than mine, and she had been undergoing treatments for eleven years. In between visits we texted words of encouragement.

Her last message was on January 3. She passed away yesterday.

Perhaps my cancer will return and the same fate awaits me. There’s no point in worrying about that now. I’m mourning the death of my new friend.