🌦 Golden Age? Welcome to Trump's gloomy Iron Age (for now)

Sorry, tariffs are really Down Wing policy

If I were to describe my humble vision for a Golden Age, it would no doubt seem quite forward looking, even science fictional:

• A world where limitless clean energy powers our economy, whether from advanced nuclear technologies or space-based solar arrays.

• Where AI augments human creativity, generating scientific insights beyond our current imagination.

• Where pandemics are thwarted by universal vaccines or nanoscale medical interventions.

• Where tech titans build orbital factories, and rocket travel shrinks global distances to mere minutes.

• A world of vastly greater wealth, health, opportunity, and civilizational resilience.

So something like this:

Donald Trump has his own version of a Golden Age, of course. And as outlined in his inaugural speech last January — and reinforced by trade policy actions yesterday —it's largely a nostalgic vision that idealizes postwar, industrial-era America. He has pledged to make "America a manufacturing nation once again" through aggressive protectionism. That, despite economic realities which never seem to penetrate his thinking.