Norris R. McDonald | Trump tariffs, ‘food-price-eggflation’ and anarcho-capitalism

GOD-KING TRUMP’S reckless tariff policies have destroyed the American economy, unleashed anxieties on Wall Street and among consumers and, is creating chaos worldwide.

The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland didn’t mince words, calling Trump’s tariffs “economic vandalism”.

Wall Street agrees. Over US$5 trillion was shed from panicky stock market investors as anxieties rose. According to CNBC, “This four-week rout on Wall Street is exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s chaotic tariff policy rollout and falling consumer confidence.”

TRADE WARS AND FRACTURED ALLIANCES

Trump’s tariffs mirror the aggressive economic warfare of his first term, slamming China, Canada, and Mexico with punitive levies. These moves, supposedly aimed at protecting American industries, have triggered a wave of retaliatory tariffs and economic upheaval.

The BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – have accelerated efforts to break away from US financial dominance. China imposed tariffs of up to 15 per cent on American imports, targeting key agricultural products, while BRICS leaders fast-track alternative trading mechanisms outside the US dollar.

Trump’s trade war isn’t just economic folly – it’s hastening America’s decline as the world’s financial hegemon.

Trump’s tariffs are also shattering alliances with traditional US partners. Canada and Mexico, once hopeful for trade stability under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, now scramble to defend their economies from Trump’s reckless trade blunders.

Meanwhile, the European Union openly explores deeper trade partnerships with BRICS nations to counteract US instability.

THE RISE OF ANARCHO-CAPITALISM

Trump’s tariffs aren’t just igniting global turmoil, they’re also fuelling economic anxiety at home. Two months into his second term, fractures within his base are deepening. Small business owners, farmers, and manufacturers – once his die-hard supporters – are now reeling from supply chain disruptions and retaliatory trade measures.

Enter Elon Musk, America’s shadow president. Musk, who poured $250 million into Trump’s victory, is no passive observer. He is one of the chief architects behind the Trump administration’s economic free-fall, championing anarcho-capitalist ideals that, on the face of the evidence, seek to dismantle government institutions and hand over power to billionaires.

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – an ironic nod to his favoured cryptocurrency – is spearheading the gutting of federal programmes under the pretext that $2 trillion in government funds are “being illegally sent overseas”. This is a fabricated excuse to slash Social Security and Medicare while billionaires hoard wealth.

A CHAINSAW TO AMERICAN JOBS

Musk has long touted Dogecoin as an alternative to government-backed currency. His anarcho-capitalist vision isn’t just about crypto, it’s about dismantling the public sector entirely.

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged has become the ideological manifesto behind this radical movement, which sees government as the enemy and the unregulated free market as the ultimate solution.

The reality, as witnessed in Argentina’s libertarian economic experiment, is chaos. The bookish fantasy of economic libertarianism collapses when tested in the real world, yet Trump and Musk charge ahead with a chainsaw, gutting government institutions under the guise of “efficiency”.

Trump’s reckless economic policies, coupled with Musk’s corporate meddling, have pushed the country further toward a society fully controlled by billionaires.

The average American, once promised prosperity, is instead staring down a future of instability, unemployment, and economic despair. Trump’s tariffs alone would be bad enough.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insists that the tariffs will “strengthen the US dollar.” Good luck with that. The dollar is now at its lowest value since the 2008 market crash, as investors flee from Trump’s economic instability.

For some, a weaker dollar could bring benefits – Caribbean economies reliant on tourism might see a boost as American vacations become cheaper. But for most Americans? It’s a disaster.

THE FOOD-PRICE ‘EGGFLATION’ CRISIS

Trump’s immigration crackdowns have worsened the crisis. America’s agricultural sector is in freefall, haemorrhaging farmworkers after ICE-led mass deportations emptied fields and processing plants. Who did Trump think would do the work?

Nebraska, Florida, Georgia, and California – once agricultural powerhouses – now face crippling labour shortages. The result? Soaring food prices, supply chain collapses, and widespread consumer frustration.

Egg prices have become the latest symbol of economic despair. One dozen eggs at Publix now costs $9, while Walmart sells two and a half dozen eggs for $29. Economist Bernt Nelson of Market Intelligence warned that egg prices have surged over 350 per cent in just one year.

It’s a cash grab – a blatant example of how speculation and market manipulation extract wealth from struggling consumers. This isn’t just inflation – it’s corporate price gouging, made possible by the economic chaos Trump and Musk have unleashed.

TAX DODGING AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY

My dear friends, the numbers don’t lie. While working-class Americans struggle under the weight of rising costs, billionaires continue dodging taxes and extracting wealth from the system.

The extreme wealth concentration happening under Trump’s second term isn’t a coincidence, it’s by design. Policies have been shaped to benefit the few at the expense of the many, ensuring that corporations and the ultra-rich funnel resources upward while the rest of the country is left to scramble for crumbs.

Musk and his billionaire cronies are playing a different game entirely. While middle-class Americans bear the brunt of economic collapse, billionaires continue paying next to nothing in taxes.

Take Tesla, for example. While Musk pays a 25 per cent tax rate in China, Tesla’s effective tax rate in the US is barely 0.4 per cent. In 2020, Tesla paid zero dollars in federal taxes — despite making $2.3 billion in profit (Truthout).

Trump’s government, hijacked by a cabal of ultra-rich investors, has doubled down on protecting billionaires from taxation while ripping away financial security from the working class.

AMERICA SOLD TO BILLIONAIRES

In the meantime, the US economy is spiralling under Trump’s economic mismanagement, but the real powerbrokers aren’t in the White House – they’re in Silicon Valley. Billionaires like Musk call the shots, dismantling public institutions under the pretence of “efficiency” while funnelling wealth upwards.

Trump’s tariffs, Musk’s anarcho-capitalism, and government gutting policies are a blueprint for economic ruin. The country is being sold, piece by piece, to the highest bidder while middle class and working-class Americans are left paying the price.

Norris McDonald is an economic journalist, political analyst, and respiratory therapist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and miaminorris@yahoo.com