I think it’s possible that he actually believes tariffs will be positive for the American economy. I’m not super educated on this, but my understanding is that he’s been pro-tariff for MANY years – that this is one of the few things he’s been consistent on when it comes to political/economic opinions. I have the impression that at some point he learned the axiom “Tariffs make it so a country produces and consumes their own goods” and. uh. hasn’t critiqued it any further than that, and because of his particular ~personality, will also never accept critique of any idea he has ever had.
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I am going to throw out here that traditionally, tariffs were part of the Democrats platform (as was low immigration.) those were union friendly positions.
The Republicans supported more immigration and free trade because those were business friendly positions.
When people ask “So, why doesn’t the working class vote heavily Democratic these days?” the answer is NAFTA.
So it’s complicated, but I personally think that ship sailed a long time back, and we can’t redo it. A lot of other things changed too, and business is just more global.
Back in the 1980s, when China started to open up again, American business was like “Great! They are going to buy our stuff! They will save us from the problems that German and Japanese manufacturing have caused us” and boy, were they clueless.
But people are really addicted to cheap stuff at this point. I’m just hoping this kills off Temu.
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I grow veggies direct from seeds and am trying to convert my backyard to buffalo grass using plugs, so I have so many weeds. So many. All over. Will a stirrup hoe save me time? Other advice also welcome. I feel like I am missing some basic garden knowledge here.
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Brag but I took a grad school seminar with Robert Reich on this, and he agrees that that’s on the list.
We all know how hard it is to get stuff that isn’t cheap garbage at this point. Sometimes I feel like other people have a different version of Amazon than I do, everything I see is cheap plastic (or cheap plastic masquerading as something else).
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Even the kids clothes my mom buys (without my asking) from Amazon are way worse quality than anything from Carter’s etc
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Planet Money did a great episode on tarrifs. Two compelling uses: infant industry protection, and (as mentioned above) when a country isn’t playing fair. (Poor labor practices, stealing IP, currency rigging, etc).
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And for some tariff history, they also had an episode in December called Worst.Tariffs.Ever. (sorry I don’t have a link)
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Can I actually do quarterly taxes in TurboTax? I know TT is evil but it’s what I’m comfortable with and I’m afraid of change.
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My TT gives me the forms and amounts for my quarterly state taxes. I suppose I could do them online, but I’d rather just mail them.
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Are the weeds green? Are they in the grassy area? Why do you want them gone?
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They are weeds that are coming up in the vegetable bed and between the plugs of buffalo grass, so they are interfering with desirable plants. I occasionally hand pull a dandelion from the grass but I don’t have a big weed problem in the lawn.
I do not have “rows” because my garden is only one row deep - I still have a “frame around the lawn” type of landscape, so I just have one row of, say, lettuce, going down the middle of a relatively narrow strip.
In the back, it is a more chaotic situation. I used to have bluegrass back there, but it was an awkward area to water* and mow, so most of it died but there are still a few weird undesired patches of it where the snow melt drips off the patio roof. I am attempting to grow buffalo grass to provide some small areas for walking and playing. There is also a small mulched bed of perennials. I have weeds in the mulch bed between the plugs of grass, plus the bluegrass bits that I don’t want.
*In my climate, Bluegrass can’t be grown without water. It dies and is replaced with tall, spiky weeds so your kids can’t play. The buffalo grass should be less work.
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Unless you put cardboard (or weed barrier) under the mulch, you’ll have weeds. Even if you do, you’ll eventually have weeds. Half of gardening is pulling weeds.
The only real alternative is weed killer.
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Well, that’s why I was thinking of investing in better weeding tools! I was thinking of a stirrup hoe for the grass and the ones that are a million tiny plants vs one big one
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A stirrup hoe is very nice! My grand dad had something we called a scuffle hoe, and I’ve been looking for one for years.
Generally if I am very industrious about weeding in May and June, it really tapers off after that as late summer is much drier here.
How long does it take the Buffalo grass to really really turn into a lawn?
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Maybe 2 years? But only if it’s hospitable. There are some other places where it’s not going great. Giving those one more year and then trying something else
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Why is everyone avoiding aluminum? I’ve heard a lot of YouTubers and influencers talk about avoiding aluminum pans/etc and aluminum free cosmetics.
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I know about it from discussions of aluminum as a factor for increased risk of things like breast cancer (especially aluminum in deodorants) I know there are studies on aluminum and cancer risk (like here), but I don’t know how conclusive they are. That would be a question for @Bracken_Joy I think!
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For at least 50 years, aluminum pans have allegedly caused Alzheimer’s.
I rank this risk right up there with seed oils, but aluminum pots are usually pretty flimsy anyway.
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My mom is STILL using the Faberware saute pan my aunt gave her in like the early 80s because Aunt became concerned about Alzheimer’s. Neither of them shows any signs of dementia as yet. (They are identical twins.) They don’t make pans like that anymore! (Quite literally, as in, my Faberware pan bought new in the early aughts is not as good as the ones my mom found at a yard sale for me.)
I do avoid antiperspirants, not because I am worried about aluminum exposure but because they stain the hell out of your clothes.
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Apparently one of the best ways to avoid getting Alzheimer’s is to get a shingles vaccine.
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