Trump, on Tariffs, Says ‘Maybe the Children Will Have 2 Dolls Instead of 30’
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/us/politics/trump-tariffs-dolls-comment.htmlOpen linkView original on lemmy.world166
Comments24https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/us/politics/trump-tariffs-dolls-comment.htmlOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
Let them eat cake.
He was talking about options really. Even rich people don't buy 30 dolls lol.
Guess that's true. Now they can collect to two dolls or simply buy them online. Which they will already be doing anyways.
So, he's expecting people to have 93% less purchasing power?
Gotta spend the other ~70% on guns and ammo.
That or to the higher taxes.
WILL SOMEBODY PLEASEEE THINK OF THE BILLIONAIRES??!
If America loses its purchasing power all it'll have left is its military. Beyond being the world's consumption epicenter and selling services, there's not much else to stand on.
I have a feeling the US won't be the country that makes the next legitimate AI breakthrough, even with Trump trying to remove all guardrails and onshore hardware production.
Maybe they'll eat 1 meal a day instead of 3.
Not your point, but tropical fruits are one of the US's major food imports, because we have high consumption of them and not as much tropical territory where they'll grow. Thus, under tariffs, they're going to be one of the things seeing more-substantial price rises.
https://www.thetakeout.com/1842020/foods-likely-impacted-by-tariffs/
I remember a Milton Friedman lecture from the 1970s specifically using banana prices becoming exorbitant under high tariffs as an example of why protectionist trade policy is not a good idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0pl_FXt0eM
Since you mentioned him: I do want to point out that the Friedman Doctrine becoming the de rigueur policy of pretty much all corporate governance in the western world did a whole fucking lot to get us to this hellacious hypercapitalist profit-über-alles society with wildly rampant wealth disparity that we find ourselves in - and that western society developing in that direction played a core role in the authoritarian resurgence we’re seeing across the world today.
The 2 dolls will be state sponsored dolls. One of Trump and the other Melania
https://www.amazon.com/Stevenson-Entertainment-Group-Apprentice-Collectible/dp/B0002UADAK
Also, looking through the reviews:
I'm now imagining some little girl being given a Barbie and a talking Donald Trump doll for her to role-play domestic scenarios with during her formative years.
Their example of an inspirational quote is "you're fired!"? There apparently are 16 other quotes to pick from, none more inspiring than that one?
investigates
It sounds like a fair bit of them are either firing employees or insulting them. I don't really get the appeal, but I also was pretty oblivious to Donald Trump until his Presidential run, so I assume that there are people out there who enjoy it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_dolls
Ah... yeah, so they are just 17 variants on "you're fired!", so they really couldn't have picked a more inspiring example... maybe inspiring was a bad choice of word.
Hey it's the MAGA version of let them eat cake.
Conservative thought revolves around the idea that anybody struggling has simply been living in decadence because they get along just fine on their 6 figure salary and can't get it through their skull that there's people with less than that.
But I'm still hungry after eating my 2 dolls.
Yes because for poor people, it's obviously possible to just cut on unnecessary spending, and everything is fine.
Spoken like a true malignant narcissist!
Would be nice to afford kids....
I have two dolls for sale, willing to trade for eggs and flour!