Donald Trump is Planning to Send us Into a Recession

Before we get into the weeds of this article, I want to make a couple of things clear:

1. This is my political analysis based on history and the trajectory of this country.

2. My analysis is my professional opinion, which means I may be wrong. We’re all human; we make mistakes. But I’m willing to bet money that I’m right.

What we do know about economic recessions is that the rich become way richer while the poor and working class descend into more poverty. Before 2008, middle-class Americans existed; now, you are either a high earner or scraping to make ends meet. It will worsen, but don’t panic: We’re seeing the signs and have the opportunity to prepare.

Trump’s Playbook

We have seen this happen once in Trump’s first term and know precisely how it may happen. Enter 2020 COVID recession, where billionaires like Elon Musk raised their net worth by over 800%. Before we get into that, let’s go over the basic stats:

VIA inequality.org

In the first 12 weeks of the pandemic, a little over 44 million people were laid off, most working class or lower-income. While regular people like you and me fought for employment, the national wealth of billionaires rose about 22% to a whopping $637 billion. This is the trend whenever we have a recession: the wealth divide grows drastically.

Stats VIA Forbes, image VIA statistica

To fully understand my claim, we need to see who the billionaires were that continued to gain more and more wealth. Over 24 months during the pandemic, Elon Musk was the highest “earning” billionaire, increasing over 800%, turning his profit from $24.6 billion to $234 billion. Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and other tech oligarchs fall under, but none even close to Elon Musk’s gain.

Who is the person calling a lot of the shots right now? Who is the person that addresses reporters in the Oval Office? Who is the person who tweets about getting people fired and succeeds in implementing layoffs that impact thousands of Americans?

VIA NPR

Elon Musk.

Elon Musk isn’t the only person that will benefit from this economic crash. It’s any billionaire, including the tech oligarchs, Vivek Ramaswamy, and others. In America, we have about 800 billionaires. So, it would be all of them while the rest of the 340 million people in America would suffer.

Tariffs will Speedrail us to the Recession

Donald Trump announced yesterday at his SOTU-like speech that dragged on for two hours that tariffs will begin on Tuesday. Multitudes of analysts have said that this will speed us into a recession. The last time we did tariffs was in 1930, which was one reason we went into the great depression.

Trump will impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada and an extra 10% on Chinese imports. This will result in a 1.4 trillion in import taxes, which the consumer (you) will have to pay. Canada and China have already announced retaliatory tariffs.

Companies will slow down their hiring (which they have already started to do), leading to less consumer spending and halting economic growth.

How to Prepare for the Recession

1. Strengthen Your Emergency Fund: Aim for at least 3-6 months’ living expenses. Even having a month or two is better than nothing if this is hard.

2. Cut Unnecessary Expenses: Reduce hyperconsumerist spending, like dining out, subscription services, or non-essential purchases. You don’t have to cut them all, but even cutting down on some can make a huge difference.

3. Pay Down High-Interest Debt: Pay off credit card debt or other high-interest loans. Once again, this is a privileged task, so do your best.

4. Diversify Your Income Streams: Explore side hustles, freelance work, or passive income options. Couple hundred dollars a month can make a huge difference!

5. Prepare for Potential Job Loss: Update your resume, strengthen your LinkedIn profile, and start saving for potential job gaps. Set up coffee chats with people who can help with your career. Build connections or further strengthen them.

Wrapping it up…

While the economic signs point toward a growing divide between the rich and the working class, it’s essential to recognize our opportunities to protect ourselves from the worst effects of an impending recession.

History has shown that during recessions, billionaires tend to amass even more wealth, while everyday Americans suffer the most. We may be heading into a difficult period with the introduction of tariffs, layoffs, and other economic measures.

However, you can position yourself to weather the storm by taking proactive steps such as strengthening your emergency fund, cutting unnecessary expenses, paying down high-interest debt, diversifying income streams, and preparing for job loss. While the economic future may seem bleak, preparation is key to ensuring financial stability and resilience in uncertainty.