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In 2024 US inflation was 2.9%. The problem in 2025 that elected DJT was immigration and borders, and the deindustrialization that has taken place over three decades in the US, first with Japanese trading practices and now with Chinese trading practices and state capitalism. The deindustrialization created the supply shock during the pandemic. It also has destroyed American manufacturing and factory jobs and communities in the US, shattering the middle class. This requires an Amendment to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 to set a goal of reindustrialization as part of the Fed's mandate.  The 1970's were a period of high inflation that led to US central bank the Fed under Paul Volcker making an effort under president Carter to tackle inflation. It was 6.7% in 1977 in the first year of the Carter administration rising to 13.5% in 1980 when Carter was defeated in one term. This is why the 1977 Amendment to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 stressed the goal of price stability and maximum employment as goals for the Fed. The Fed Reserve Act of 1913 did not state the goals as it was designed to setup a central bank for the US under Woodrow Wilson and it focused on setting the institution of the central bank the Federal Reserve, its regional banking structure and the governors, their terms of office.  ...

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The First 100 Days of DJT show the president and the administration acting quickly on many fronts risking a chaotic appearance as the courts limit actions  and the administration scrambles with its next response. The president and the administration are moving quickly because they see a short two year window to get things done. And see the tradeoff between making some errors but getting things done which were supported by voters in November 2024 vs leaving a lot undone if one or two houses of Congress changes hands. 

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DJT economic adviser Peter Navarro says German and South Korean companies will be the one's that will have to raise prices as these companies  VW, BMW and Benz, Hyundai and Kia, make most of their cars imported to the US in Mexican or German plants. American companies make 60 to 80% of their cars in the US already and will shift production here with little or no increase in prices. US International Trade Commission did a study in 2024 about a 25% import tariff and it shows a 5% increase. WSJ shows other studies at 10% but this includes prices of luxury brands that are less sensitive to price changes such as BMW, Benz and Audi cars.

"The reason why we will not see inflation is because foreigners are going to eat most of it, they have to," he said, adding that the US "is the biggest market in the world." - Peter Navarro

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Shawn Fain of the United Autoworkers union in the US says NAFTA and the USMCA that replaced it continued to create incentives for outshoring jobs and manufacturing from the US to Mexico and Canada. It also undercut wages of American workers. Speaking on CBS Face the Nation, March 30, 2025, Fain described the situation and his support of 25% tariff on auto imports into the US, which USITC study shows increasing auto prices by 5%, in this way- "Now that Wall Street's upset about it, it's an issue. Where was Wall Street when- when all these manufacturing facilities have been leaving the country in the last 30 years? You know, interestingly enough, you know, automotive companies in the last three years, 2019- 2019 to 2023, they jacked up the price of vehicles 35% to 40% over that time frame. (compared to 5% with this tariff). Not because of anything that happened, not because wages went up. It was just flat out price gouging to consumer and corporate greed. Where was the outcry then? They don't have to raise the price of vehicles a penny with these tariffs. It's a decision that the companies are making, and that lays straight in the hands of the- of the companies." "Mexican workers, they're not the enemy. They've been exploited for decades. You know, another promise of NAFTA was that it was going to raise the standard for everybody. The realization of that is the wages in America and the wages in Mexico were cut in half over the- over the last 30 years as a result of NAFTA. So it's driving a race to the bottom, and that's not going to work for anybody." ...

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UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's efforts to cut the boat arrivals of illegal migrants to the UK. 

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UAW's Shawn Fain's support of US 25% auto tariffs April 2, 2025. Fain says-“We applaud the Trump administration for stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working class communities for decades.” US president Biden supported the UAW, even standing in a picket line to support UAW negotiate a contract for fair wages for workers with the three US automakers, Ford, GM and Stellantis. For decades workers in the US faced the threat of outshoring to Mexico to reduce wages. This action on tariffs will increase depressed wages for American workers in the same way that president Biden's action helped negotiate better wages. In this sense both Biden and DJT are on the same track. In fact president Biden 2020-2024 decided to keep most of the tariffs put up by president Trump in 2016-2020. It is likely that a future Democratic administration will continue DJT tariff policies to achieve domestic goals such as fair wages for American workers, and for rebuilding American manufacturing in the way president Biden has done. This is in fact one of the singular achievements of the Biden administration for building the working class and middle class neglected by Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations. On this issue both Biden, Trump and any future US president will be on the same page, because it is about fair trade, to even the playing field, and is right by American workers and American values. History will show that this required courage and persistence on the part of Biden and DJT, and was done not on whim as is falsely portrayed but on the advice of people who had the experience, wisdom and sought the best for America such as Robert Lighthizer ,the US Trade Representative in 2016-2020 and his deputy Jamieson who is the USTR in 2025. Lighthizer is notable because he handled the unfair trade with the Japanese in the 1980's as Deputy USTR under Reagan, and knows fair trade and how to get it to build a strong American economy. ...

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Germany is going through a second year of slight economic contraction. The newly elected government of chancellor Merz has setup a $1 trillion fund to invest in infrastructure and defense. This will increase the debt to GDP ratio from 62% much lower than other advanced economies to 75%, and could give the German economy a rebound with $500 billion for fixing aging infrastructure. Germany's unemployment rate stands at 6.3% in March 2025. The economy weathered a energy crisis with the cutoff of energy supplies from Russia during the term of chancellor Scholz. Infrastructure, child care, was neglected under Merkel and previous administrations as it was in the US under Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations. The 2009 financial crisis, the eurozone debt crisis and the pandemic, Ukraine crisis from 2009 to 2024 have provided headwinds for action to renew Germany till now. A $1 trillion new fund and removal of the constitutional brake under the newly elected parliamentary majority of the CSU/CDU, the SPD and the Greens is the first step with $500 billion earmarked for fixing aging infrastructure, digitization of the economy, and other investment. The unemployment situation is deteriorating in the auto industry which was poorly managed and is now being hit with US tariffs of 25% on imported cars made by BMW, Mercedes and VW. ...

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A six storey Arts Centre in the heart of Paris that arouses one's curiosity will close for renovation for 5 years in 2025. It is named after French president Pompidou who followed De Gaulle as president.

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Earthquake in the middle of a civil war devastating Burma. A series of blunders made by politicians and well meaning westerners, and the failures of geopolitical competition that lead to the civil war after a recent restoration of democracy for a few years.

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No less than the Editorial Board of the NYT says  Democrats have their heads in the sand when it comes to reflecting honestly about transgender -with the Cass Commission of Britain's NHS advising serious caution- and social issues. Lack of acceptance about the need for strong action on issues of trade that have hurt ordinary Americans with the destruction of manufacturing and the middle class. Some of this was done with Biden taking a stand on trade by keeping the DJT tariffs on China, and supporting US manufacturing. But this was not enough- stronger action was needed especially with strong tariffs action as the last resort needed to get Canada, Mexico and China to stop fentanyl flows to the US in 2025 and protect the middle and working class in the US in their neighborhoods.  Yet on immigration the NYT does not come flat out and say that opening up the border was the single biggest error of the Biden administration. And a failure to talk openly to the American people in a fireside chat reminiscent of FDR about Venezuela and Mexico. Part of the reason was a misconception about American power when it could be used to good purposes and has been in history. The Monroe doctrine of the 1820's asserted American right to prevent colonial powers returning to the American continent north and south. This was a good idea and helped this continent develop freely and independently. The US has a right to prevent migrant trafficking and fentanyl flows in its backyard in the American continent, including taking economic action, when it causes serious disruption leading to 7 million refugees and millions of migrants crossing borders. It also has a right to create an even playing field for trade, that not DJT alone but advisers with great experience, Robert Lighthizer, Deputy Trade Representative under Reagan- who negotiated with 1980's Japan on the same grounds as we do with China today- strongly advise the president to do.   ...

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DFA's David Booth runs paasive investing funds with assets of $800 billion. He asked Errol Morris to do this documentary on passive investing called "Tune Out the Noise," offered now free on You Tube for 1 month. It shows the idea of passive investing inthe market by investing in a basket of stocks covering and representing the whole US economy.

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The first voter tests on DJT's first 100 Days in office and a series of executive orders will take place in two Florida Congressional seats and a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Mike Waltz's Daytona Beach seat was won by 30 points yet the new Republican candidate Fine is polling 3 percentage points behind a Democrat. Waltz was picked from Congress for National Security Adviser. Elise Stefanik will retain her upstate New York seat as the math in Congress is too close 215-213, a small 5 person lead for Republicans. DJT needs the House to pass his agenda.

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The second proposal by the DJT administration is described by the WSJ as being one that may be worse than the first for Ukraine as it opens up repayment of the money US gave as aid to Ukraine to defend against Russian invasion. DJT administration maintains it is $350 billion not the $100 billion Ukraine and the EU say Ukraine received in US aid. In this report Ukrainians say the Ukraine parliament would never be able to pass such an agreement and it sets up more difficulties in US Ukraine peace negotiations if released. The US proposal would set up an entity called the US Ukraine Reconstruction Fund. This fund would have first right to all infrastructure and minerals projects in Ukraine. It's approval would be required for other investors to invest in Ukraine infrastructure and mineral projects. It is written as a commercial agreement, not as a nation to nation agreement. Scott Bessent who runs Treasury is a finance executive overseeing the negotiation and this proposal. He worked for George Soros Fund and provided advice for the bet on the British pound during a difficult time for the UK economy that led to a billion dollar gain for Soros Fund. DJT is a real estate developer. As a result their thinking is based on their experience in the US real estate and capital markets.     ...

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What a change DJT's first 100 Days and actions on immigration and tariffs , Ukraine and Russia, have made in China's and World relations in Asia, and in Europe - all for the better, significantly better relations worldwide.  China has worked out a peace settlement in Ladakh frontier with India. It has come together in Tokyo with Japanese prime minister Ishiba and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi holding hands, and South Korea joining, all three nations vowing to remember history and work together. In Europe Russia is being brought back into the community of nations for big power cooperation with the US after 3 years of war in Ukraine. And Germany has removed its constitutional brake on spending that frees up $1 trillion in funding for infrastructure to replace much of its rail and other infrastructure built in 1900. One would not know this reading the NYT on democracy or the WSJ on tariffs or the Washington Post on assault on federal workforce, or the Atlantic, Politico, DW.com or FR24, Der Spiegel, nor Le Monde, much of the world media slanted on way or another. One does not hear about military exercises so often as the world realizes that so called large economies China, Germany, Japan and India all depend on American goodwill and willingness to give rather than take for most of the post war period since 1950. For the last 6 years in the latter half of the Trump administration and the 4 years of the Biden administration during the pandemic relations between China and the US deteriorated and China first retreated into its own then opened up a bit. The initial idea that it could manage the DJT trade actions evaporated as Biden continued the DJT first round of tariffs. Now Navarro, Lighhizer, and his deputy Jamieson are all back advising DJT for anew round of reciprocal tariffs and tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China for not stopping fentanyl flows.  In 2022 in eastern Ladakh China's PLA had a big standoff with Indian forces in eastern Ladakh at Galwan and Pangong Lake. The Quad was active with Australia India and the US in Indo Pacific and China conducted military exercises close to Taiwan.      ...

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After campus protests on Gaza the US government to prevent antisemitism on campus took action to see that campus police can prevent student unrest. Columbia University president resigned and Katrina Armstrong was made interim president. Columbia lost $400 million in federal funding of the $1 billion it gets each year. Armstrong made an agreement with the US government last week to get strong campus police enforcement and after explaining this to faculty resigned. An Turkish activist on the Tufts University campus on student visa had her visa revoked and was flown to Louisiana to be expelled this week.