The US economy used to be left to businesses with little interference from the government and low taxes. That has all changed now. The tariffs are a tax on the consumer since it is the end-user that will pay the surcharges. Also, everybody affected, country or business, will now have to go hat in hand to Washington to ask for leniency. Everybody now has to curry favour with the king. Or as Trump himself put it: They’re all kissing my (fat) ass.’

‘Did you know Camp that Trump got his brilliant tariff idea from an economist by the name of Ron Vara as Rachel Maddow from MSNBC pointed out and Musk since acknowledged. Turns out this so-called expert is a fictional person and an anagram and brainchild of Navarro, one of the president’s most trusted economic advisers. ‘Ride the tariffs to victory’ is one of Ron Vara’s quotes that Trumps adopted. So, the whole tariff mania isn’t even Trump’s own idea. As Rachel pointed out: it doesn’t take a big brain or a big idea to turn the world upside down and inside out.’

When I told this little story to Camp, he almost laughed except it isn’t funny. ‘You heard of Adam Smith? He’s the Scottish philosopher and economist, best known for his 1000-page tome, The Wealth of Nations, written in 1776, the same year the founders of the United States signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia’

‘Yeah, I heard of him but am kind of murky on his achievements,’ I said.