Study Break Memes and Funny Images
New YouTube Playlists Added
Quotes, Messages, and Social Media Posts of the Day
Random Thoughts of the Day
I’ve never been a fan of reality TV, but as a music lover, I must admit I watched a few early seasons of American Idol. The first two judges, Paula Adbul and Randy Jackson, were almost always positive and encouraging, no matter how bad the singers were. Their praise became so predictable it started to remind me of little leagues giving everyone a trophy, or preschool kids getting gold stars for doing something everyone in the class did. After a while, even contestants gave their praise little mind. The 3rd judge, Simon Cowell, on the other hand, was usually an asshole. He’d tell you the truth, even if it crushed an aspiring artist with little talent. However, everyone once in a while, he’d throw out some compliments, sometimes even more than Paula and Randy. And guess what–his words were actually meaningful. Praise from Simon actually meant something!
It’s like that way in school, work, and life. Although it’s generally a good thing to be positive and encouraging, if praise is always given even when not deserved, when someone really does accomplish something great, the praise means little. The flipside is also true. When you’re relentlessly negative and pessimistic, anything negative you say loses its power. We see this in the mainstream media. In 10+ years of Trump coverage, it’s difficult to find any positive coverage of his actions at MSNBC, CNN, NY Times, Politico, CBS, 60 minutes, the Daily Show, and so on. No matter what Trump does, it’s spun in a negative way. Positive economic news? That’s a result of the last administration or forces that have nothing to do with him! Meets with the family of a crime victim or fallen soldier? He’s politicizing a tragedy! He donates money and holds a charity event? Where are the donation receipts?! This is a tax writeoff! This is a staged event to distract from blah-blah-blah! So, now when they come out with some new “scandal” or sky-is-falling warning, most people just roll their eyes and ignore them.
When it comes to covering Trump, neither TDS nor Trump worship is a good thing. And a lot of us really do want to hear honest, fair analysis. As an active investor, I personally want to hear expert opinions on the pros and cons of Trump policies, but I know almost any source I go to falls into either the Chicken Little or Pollyanna camps 99+ percent of the time, so they therefore can’t be trusted.
For example, from an economics standpoint, tariffs are a bad thing. They’re a tax after all, and taxes always create inefficiencies. They negate comparative advantages, and they often price competition out of the market. In other words, if the tariff consumes all your profit margin, there’s no reason to be in that business. And contrary to the way the media spins them, tariffs are much more complex than just adding to the final price of the product. They don’t change the laws of supply and demand; they just shift the curves. For example, if there was a tariff of $100,000 put on every vehicle sold, it wouldn’t necessarily mean a $50,000 vehicle could now sell for $150,000. That amount would price most buyers out of the market, forcing more people to work from home, take the bus, carpool, or bike to work. Consequently, the seller could either lower the price and take less profits, or simply stop making the item.
On the flipside, we all should know from Trump’s history that these tariffs are not his end game, likely nowhere near it. He’s a master dealmaker who’s trying undo years of bad trade practices, and appearing crazy is a big advantage in negotiations. Think about it–who’s more likely to get the best of a negotiation–the crazy, no-f**ks-to-give rebel who’s willing to take down both sides if he doesn’t get his way, or the side that panics the first time the stock market drops 5 percent? Plus, America holds by far the stronger cards due to its economic size and large trade deficit.
So you see, issues are much more complex than what is portrayed. It’s easy to find pros and cons of almost any economic policy, but if you spend 100 percent of your time praising a side or 100 percent attacking it, your words mean nothing to me.
Blog Link: https://educationdojo.com/study-break/2025/04/04-19-education-dojo-daily/#random_thoughts
Other Links That May Interest You
Ulysses S. Grant Trivia Quiz
Movie Actor TriBond Trivia Quiz 2