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THE ART OF THE KNEEL Cartoon published 04/22/2025 There has been great gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands over Trump’s tariffs, but nobody can refute the logic behind them. In fact, what Trump is doing should have been done many decades ago. Apparently, former presidents didn’t have the temerity to rock economic boats. They allowed American manufacturing to relocate to countries such as communist China, where labor worked for a fraction of the wage Americans received. In China and other countries they are also allowed to manufacture things without environmental concerns or other red tape. Who benefits? The ultra rich, of course. The poor and middle class suffered and it has gotten to the point now where average Americans can no longer afford cheap goods flooding in from overseas. Back in the 1950s a man could work at an average job and buy a home, a car, and put his kids through college. Those days are long gone. Nowadays both parents have to work just to get by and younger generations often take on lifelong debt just to get a college degree. Buying a home has become out of the question for most young people even if they have jobs. Why? As it turns out, all the money foreign nations raked in from unfair trade deals was used to buy up homes and property in America. (That and the Federal Reserve using Black Rock to buy up entire neighborhoods). Those that prospered from sending jobs overseas also bought up homes and turned them into overpriced rentals. Communist China has also been spending a lot of their trade windfall on the continuous buildup of their military. Younger generations have also been unfairly stuck with a ridiculous national debt that can never be repaid. Trump’s tariffs will help ameliorate their frustration and despair. To be sure, the stock market is currently unstable and the Federal Reserve’s Jerome Powell is uncooperative, but 40 percent of Americans own no stocks. 93 percent of the stock market is owned by the top 10 percent. They can afford to ride out some temporary turbulence caused by tariffs and the Fed Chairman can be replaced. In fact, the entire Federal Reserve can be ended along with the IRS. The government can be funded if useless bureaucracy is cut. Instead of taxes there will be tariffs. Manufacturing jobs will return and help the working class. Prosperity can return and maybe young people can get married and buy a home like their grandparents did. Let the naysayers fret and fume. Trump should stick to his plan. Many nations are coming to the bargaining table and Trump will hammer out trade deals that are fairer to the US. Communist China may not want to genuflect to Trump because they are concerned about ‘saving face,’ but a collapsing economy would be a threat to the communist’s power. Eventually they will bend the knee and cut a deal. — Ben Garrison