https://www.reddit.com/r/GenZ/comments/1j86lvq/thoughts_on_trumps_economy/
created by langatang29 on 10/03/2025 at 19:07 UTC
737 upvotes, 297 top-level comments (showing 25)
I come in peace but am curious as I’ve spoken to a number of Gen Z folks who said they voted for Trump because of his economic policies and were under the understanding that his administration would be good for the US economy. With the stock market in free fall (Dow Jones down over 900 points at the time of this posting), has anyone’s understanding and mindset changed?
Not looking to get into an argument here - very interested in peoples’ honest opinions.
Comment by AutoModerator at 10/03/2025 at 19:07 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
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Comment by Colorfulgreyy at 10/03/2025 at 19:37 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Look if Fox News talking about recession on a republican president then you know shit is getting real at least for a short term.
Comment by TheRealestBiz at 10/03/2025 at 19:23 UTC
1 upvotes, 4 direct replies
Wait, you guys know that Trump has never said anything that has ever made sense economically ever in more than ten years, right?
Comment by ResidentBison4688 at 10/03/2025 at 19:35 UTC*
1 upvotes, 6 direct replies
I did not vote for this man. However, I will share that my fiancé’s parents were ADAMANT about voting for him because “he’d be better for their 401k’s and they want to retire in the next 4 years.” We tried for almost a full year to educate them on how wrong they were, how it was probably just their own mismanagement of their profiles because Biden had some of the highest stock market gains of any president, and they refused to listen. This weekend, we went out to lunch with them where they had completely flipped. The same people who called my fiancé (their only child) a “snowflake, stupid elitist, who was too sensitive” over political talks, suddenly were livid that not only were their 401k’s taking a nose dive, but their social security had been docked and his dad was unable to start claiming his VA benefits (he’s a veteran). They’re panicking. And they’re even more pissed about DOGE/Elon Musk being at the center of all of the chaos.
My personal, anecdotal opinion is the average American has no clue how the stock market or their 401k’s work, and they bought into the lie that some how, Trump would be good for them because he’s a “business man,” but they didn’t realize that that messaging was for *billionaires*, not the average American. I, honestly, feel bad for all of the people that have been hoodwinked. My fiancé and I are not in the position to be able to take care of them when all of this hits the fan. They’re going to be on their own, now without all of the social safety nets that would’ve normally saved them pre-Trump. And I know your original question was geared toward GenZ (which my fiancé and I both are older GenZ), but I think what I’m seeing with my soon to be in-laws are what a lot of GenZ are going through now. They just didn’t have the education or experience to understand the moment they were in, and now we all get to sink with the ship.
Comment by SigumndFreud at 10/03/2025 at 19:41 UTC*
1 upvotes, 4 direct replies
I actually heard this quite a bit after election:
"Hey don't worry so much about Trump, stop reading the news, go get some fresh air and enjoy a nice healthy bump in your retirement and stock portfolios."
I think a lot of people thought that he would just do tax cuts for the rich, boost the stock market for a few years, and then the next admin would come back and fix any damage... basically what happened last time.
And the markets were pricing in just that scenario, with a big healthy bump after the election and before he took office/ started creating absolute chaos.
Comment by PranosaurSA at 10/03/2025 at 19:15 UTC
1 upvotes, 6 direct replies
All he had to do is nothing to the economy her inherited and win but he seems incapable of doing that and genuinely seems to think these Tariffs are a good idea
Comment by HatFamily_jointacct at 10/03/2025 at 19:17 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Umm. The Dow joneses industry average is actually down 1100 points…
Comment by Kevin7650 at 10/03/2025 at 19:14 UTC*
1 upvotes, 13 direct replies
I think a lot of people, especially since we were in middle or high school during Trump’s first term, tend to oversimplify things by thinking “Trump = good economy” and “Biden = bad economy,” as if the president alone was the key factor in how the economy performs. It’s easy to forget that the pandemic was a major global disruption, and that alone had a huge impact on economies worldwide. When you look at how other developed countries handled inflation and recovery, the U.S. actually fared better in a lot of areas. However then you’re asking Americans to, you know, actually acknowledge or learn from another country that isn’t their own, which is unfortunately a hard ask for many.
However it also doesn’t help that many Democrats didn’t acknowledge the economic hardship either, with some going so far as to say “what are you talking about, the economy is good, just look at the stock market” as if that’s the only indicator of people’s financial health. Felt very dismissive to the people struggling to pay rent or put food on the table. By the time they did, many saw it as too little too late.
Comment by mcalv12 at 10/03/2025 at 19:59 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I think everyone who didn’t vote for him knew damn well this was going to happen. Honestly we were on shaky ground even before, but things were (somewhat) stable albeit a house of cards on a calm summer day. Those that did clearly didn’t take a basic economics course. And those MAGA bootlickers who are going to argue with me in the comments:
you have all forms of government…fix it, otherwise skill issue
Comment by Pls_no_steal at 10/03/2025 at 20:18 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I used to think that people who said the President has a “crash the economy” button in the White House were crazy but props to Trump for proving that he can do what Biden couldn’t and actually hitting the button
Comment by sealclubberfan at 10/03/2025 at 19:44 UTC
1 upvotes, 3 direct replies
He has no idea what he's doing.
Comment by stylebros at 10/03/2025 at 19:20 UTC
1 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Right now, too soon. But if 1000 point drops keep happening on a daily basis, then things might reach 2022 then 2020 recovery, then 2020 glut.
We will see. Mostly see if employers start doing massive labor cuts due to panic market value and not actual sales and economic data.
Comment by EnvironmentalBus9713 at 10/03/2025 at 20:24 UTC
1 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Since I assume you are engaging in good faith let's talk about policy.
TLDR; Chaos is not an economic policy, but that is what he is doing and it's failing the US economically.
Trump has never stated an actual policy or plan he intended to execute while campaigning. He largely referred to economic tools and levers he would broadly use when elected; it's actually other individuals guiding him what to do specifically. We always knew he has a fondness for tariffs and he used them in Term 1 with ill effect.
Tariffs would never work for how he broadly stated he would use them because he (as many Americans do) has a profound misunderstanding of how they actually work and what they accomplish. The US cannot onshore manufacturing on a whim, that requires an intent by a manufacturer, requires large capital expense, and a lot of time. The higher the technology, the longer it takes (see chip fabrication). The tariffs were an automatic failure and he has compounded that failure by chaotically removing and applying them as if they were a trivial lever. The negative consequences can be seen.
To keep this post on the shorter side I'll limit my scope. He is also creating a crypto reserve, which by its very nature, is too volatile to provide meaningful economic impact and is likely to end up negatively impacting the US. His tax policies will ultimately continue to hurt the middle class and enrich the wealthy. If more money was to make it to the middle class they would increase spending and increase the economy meaningfully but because things have been perpetually tight, spending will continue getting tighter. Firing many F/T Gov employees also has a huge impact - reduces the workforce and it's spending power while simultaneously lowering efficiency, which increases costs. While not an economic policy it is having a major negative impact on the economy.
What we are witnessing is a master class in what *not* to do to the economy if you want it to thrive. I know many people think he knows what he is doing but that has never been the case unfortunately. Assuming what he is doing is *not* malicious, one can say his administration lacks a basic understanding of economics. Chaos is not policy, it's just chaos. Fighting with all of your allies and your trading partners *at the same time* is a horrible idea.
Comment by Careful_Response4694 at 10/03/2025 at 19:47 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I mean what do you expect us to say? There are only two reasons to support this level of trade war, either you don't understand tariffs or you genuinely want to go scorched earth against china, mexico, and canada because you think they'd have more to lose in a recession.
Comment by Relevant_Fuel_9905 at 10/03/2025 at 20:39 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Trump is going to crash the economy and he and his billionaire buddies will buy things up at bargain prices. He either doesn’t know economics or he is maliciously gaming the system. Both are bad for the average person.
Comment by BeetlesQ at 10/03/2025 at 23:15 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Trump bankrupted a casino.
Comment by Fun-Distribution-159 at 10/03/2025 at 19:47 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
crypto bros: tRuMp wIlL bE gOoD foR cRyPtO
BTC and all coins: tanking along with the stock market
Comment by ThahZombyWoof at 10/03/2025 at 19:39 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The economy was headed for recession in 2020 even without covid. Whatever made you think this guy was ever going to be good for the economy?
Trumpoverty is on its way.
Comment by monadicperception at 10/03/2025 at 20:04 UTC
1 upvotes, 4 direct replies
Kids are dumb. I think too much hope was placed on Gen Z…but they are just as dumb as any other generation at that age. Maybe even *dumber* since they probably get all their information from TikTok.
It’s going to be *much* worse. The stock market is a reflection of investor sentiments. Investors think equities are valued too highly, so they are selling. The real economic impact is going to show up soon. Many Gen Z will not be able to get employed. And if they do, their salary will be low.
Welcome Gen Z. I too graduated into a recession. But at least the Great Recession wasn’t *my* fault.
Comment by JealousAwareness3100 at 10/03/2025 at 23:04 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
A lot of gen z voted for Trump because they thought he would be good for the economy? Mr 6 bankruptcies? Oh, my sweet, summer child…
Comment by InternationalTop8162 at 10/03/2025 at 20:35 UTC
1 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Trump needs to be impeached and removed from office. Any Republican that does not support impeachment needs to be voted out!
Comment by Boulderfrog1 at 10/03/2025 at 19:43 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Shockingly, when your nation is a keystone for the global economy, people lose a lot of confidence in the global economy, and thus in your economy when the president declares an emergency and uses it to spaz out with tariffs on and off every few days.
If you want tariffs to change anything, even for the worse as is his stated goal, you need to be consistent enough that the markets can trust in the changing winds and not expect that this is simply a rough patch that's better to weather through instead of making massive upfront investments into industry that might be rendered non-competetive in 2 weeks time.
Comment by Capital_Elderberry28 at 10/03/2025 at 20:06 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It’s funny when Trump is president and the few times the stock market goes up he claims it’s because of him and his business acumen. But now it’s the globalist who are sabotaging the economy. Well, at least it’s not interfering with his leisure habits like golfing in FL and making money hand over fist of the Secret Service room and board.
Comment by Adavanter_MKI at 10/03/2025 at 20:44 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Exactly what I (and many others) expected. A fragile recovering economy under Biden that managed to skirt a recession... is put to the torch. Now it's tanking hard and a recession is all but guaranteed. Prices will skyrocket.
The funny thing is... he could have just coasted on the economy Biden set up and take all credit. Instead... he made nonsensical trade wars. It's like he deliberately tanked the economy. There was no sound minded economist saying tariffs were a good idea.
My fear is... this wasn't a mistake at all, but the desired outcome. Because guess who stands to gain the most when the dust settles? Billionaires. They'll gobble up all the rock bottom stocks... and when the market eventually corrects... they'll have consolidated even more wealth. All in time for those tax cuts they've been given.
Man I wish people would stop voting against their own interests. Maybe this time they'll snap out of the Fox News bubble...
Comment by Spiritual_Ad5449 at 10/03/2025 at 23:22 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Well, this GenXer knew Trump was full of bullshit and bad economic ideas so I voted accordingly. I feel bad for the folks in any generation who are just figuring that out now.