Should-Read: Pedro da Costa: Why the Trump Economic Boom Will Never Come

Should-Read: Pedro da Costa: Why the Trump Economic Boom Will Never Come: “Equity markets… [have] focused on Trump’s promises while ignoring his threats…

…But Trump has also shown he’s not likely to back away from his anti-trade agenda, which carries a high risk of retaliation from major trading partners like China and Mexico, and could devolve into a damaging all-out trade war…. Wall Street’s excitement over tax cuts is not tough to grasp—the rich stand to benefit overwhelmingly…. However, salivation over the prospect of a broader fiscal stimulus impact from Trump’s policy measures is likely misguided. If anything, the last two decades of economic policy have reaffirmed the failure of the sort of trickle-down economics that Trump and his advisors are espousing….

So far, Trump’s outlined proposals sound more like private sector giveaways of the sort that underpinned his deal with air-conditioner manufacturer Carrier in Indiana than any deeper program able to address the steep job losses experienced in many parts of the country that helped Trump win the election…. Then there’s the less tangible but potentially more important social impact of an ideology that contains strong elements of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-Semitic racism… not only anathema to American history but also widely seen as detrimental to economic growth….

Rich people will get tax cuts, and they own a lot of stock. So that’s good for the Dow, for now. But good luck to the investor trying to time the jump from that runaway train.