A few forecasts for the coming year:
Elon & Trump fall out – duh! Seeing Elon do his “I’m a Happy Billionaire” dance must infuriate the faux-riche Trump. Ask yourself – can two con artists work together, even for mutual benefit? Did Ponzi have a partner?
Inflation surpasses the Biden years. Tariffs on cheap Chinese imports will mean more expensive Mexican imports. Impact on US manufacturing = nil.
Stock market “readjusts” to about 25-30K (Dow), which would bring recent dividends into the 3% range typical of post-Reagan capitalism. Based on the current valuation (Dow = 44K), dividends average around 2%. So unless every Dow corporation increases its dividends by 50% next year, say hello to a 30K Dow. As for Nasdaq, the gutter is the limit.
Immigrant bashing will escalate, including attacks on legal workers – immigrant workers that this country urgently needs to fill many types of jobs. Don’t expect any actual impact on the flow of undocumented migrants – just a lot of suffering.
Chaos will abound in several cabinet-level departments, including Justice (especially the FBI), Health and Human Services, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
ObamaCare will come under immediate and concerted attack by a President who suffers from legacy-envy, and would do anything to destroy guaranteed health care. He failed by a single Senate vote in 2016. Get ready for a renewed effort. Look for a neo-libertarian claim that everyone should be free to choose whether or not to be insured.
Image: CNN
