>I guess if his base can't put 2 and 2 together that prices are rising due to his tariffs it almost makes sense.
His base really can't put 2 and 2 together. You seem to think it's obvious that tariffs will cause prices to rise, but you seriously underestimate just how stupid these people are.
They're not stupid, for the most part. They just have a different set of priorities.
Many of the individuals supporting the trade war and tariffs know that it's causing them problems, but as far as they're concerned it's worth it to stop China from "screwing them over" or "taking advantage of them". This is not, in fact, an unusual thing- people are are frequently willing to take some personal pain to punish what they believe is wrongdoing or failure to adhere to social norms.
I happen to be on the side that believes the tariffs and trade war are doing more harm than good, but labeling those who disagree as stupid is exactly the sort of thing that leads to resentment, failure to communicate, and polarization, none of which are valuable.
>This is not, in fact, an unusual thing- people are are frequently willing to take some personal pain to punish what they believe is wrongdoing or failure to adhere to social norms.
I would even go as far to say, it might be a case of them believing that they are taking short-term losses to come out ahead of this in the long-term. Whether it will turn out this way in reality, we will see, but that line of thinking actually does make sense.
"Having a different set of priorities" is just another way of saying someone is stupid or irrational. This base is supporting someone who is not acting in their best interests, because yes, their best interests are not a priority.
I have heard the term reciprocal altruism to also cover events such as the following scenario:
A country exists with a racial divide, let's say blue/green.
A blue person abuses a green person.
The green person does not fight back, and takes the abuse, knowing they are powerless in the society.
A different blue person, blue person #2, attacks the original blue person. This puts bp#2 at legal and physical risk, even though they were never under any threat of subjugation or abuse from the original attacker.
Blue person #2 would be said to have acted in a form of reciprocal altruism for the green person. This type of behavior is often seen, even in situations where BP#2 has little or nothing to personally gain, was never at any risk, and could potentially receive large negative consequences personally for their actions.
Clearly blue person #2 was also acting in a manner of animosity, that (more generalized) could or not be considered discrimination, economic or otherwise.
If your explanation requires assuming that both very powerful politicians and their supports, constituting tens of millions of people, are all incompetent, then perhaps you need to consider an explanation that doesn't require such assumptions.
I'm not assuming the politicians are incompetent. Usually, they aren't, they're just working towards different goals then their constituents or what they promised them.
If you really think the average voter is competent at economic matters, I have a bridge to sell you...
> 1 In 4 Americans Thinks The Sun Goes Around The Earth, Survey Says
i.e. about as much as voted for each of Trump/Clinton in the last election (which also taught us, amongst other things, that surveys are not to be trusted...)
> His base really can't put 2 and 2 together. You seem to think it's obvious that tariffs will cause prices to rise, but you seriously underestimate just how stupid these people are.
I don't think they are stupid. But they are gullible and have been brainwashed. Their world view has been warped into something that just is not based in reality anymore ("invasions", "climate change doesn't exist", etc). This is not unlike what happens to people who get suckered into joining a cult...
So when Trump keeps saying that "China pays for the tariffs" - which is an obvious and outright lie because American consumers pay for them, it is a straight up tax on consumption - his base believes it. And somehow they don't - won't - put 2 and 2 together and connect the rising prices with the tariffs, because that would invalidate their worldview.
All the money in the world will not help you if you have no secure homeland for your children and grandchildren. You can not have security when the means of production of a state is located outside of the control the citizens of that state. Tariffs are a small step towards re-establishing local control over the means of production.
No country in the world is self-sufficient; that's why we invented something called "trade" thousands of years ago. There's plenty of countries (small ones) that make almost nothing, and rely on a few key industries to hold up the economy, while getting the rest through trade.
Everyone is susceptible to brainwashing. It's also called "indoctrination". Smarter people (or people with better critical thinking skills) are less susceptible. But no one is immune; if people hear the same thing over and over again, eventually it'll influence them.
His base really can't put 2 and 2 together. You seem to think it's obvious that tariffs will cause prices to rise, but you seriously underestimate just how stupid these people are.