> Trump’s assault on free-market capitalism is anything but conservative
As long as we have the heavy-handed Federal Reserve - tilting the game to pick winners and losers - we don’t have free-market capitalism.
Funny enough, I heard an interview with Robert Reich early today about his new book. I didn’t hear the full interview but in the time I listening he didn’t get close to naming the Fed. I was dumbfounded.
The truth is, the socioeconomic system and the sociopolitical system sits on a foundation. That foundation is the financial system. The Fed sits at the head of the table of the financial system. The Fed pulls the levers. The Fed shakes the snow globe.
toomuchtodo•2h ago
Sound comment, but a couple of points. There is no such thing as an absolute free market capitalistic system in existence today. Each system has thumbs on the scale in different ways to encourage different outcomes ("picking winners and losers") in some capacity. And while the Fed pulls the levers, trust is the foundation. Trust in consistency, the rule of law, and property rights. This is why US treasuries were considered the safest financial asset in the world. Once you begin to lose trust, the entire foundation shakes.
Also, I'd argue the bond market is far more powerful than the Fed. The Fed can set short term target rates, but the bond market sets longer term rates. The bond market is what kept this admin in check earlier in the year. One might say they are the Fifth Estate, after journalism and the three branches of US government. "Whoever holds the gold makes the rules."
> Have bond vigilantes influenced government decision-making before?
> Yes. In fact, they’ve already influenced Trump’s decision-making. In the hours after Trump’s long-awaited tariffs on most imports to the US went into effect on April 9, the bond market tanked. Many investors, concerned that the duties would accelerate inflation and reduce foreign demand for US assets, started dumping their holdings in order to pressure the administration to reverse course.
> It worked: Just 13 hours after the tariffs had gone into effect, Trump announced that he would pause them, and yields came down. “The bond market is very tricky,” he conceded. “I was watching it.”
bediger4000•58m ago
I think it's good that we as a nation found Trump to make these decisions, to decide winners and losers in the market, to set interest rates and so forth. Trump makes the decision, and it's done and good, no media frenzy, no court cases, no endless congressional hearings. Just a very few dispassionate, factual articles. The voting populace is happy, the Supreme Court is happy, job creating billionaires are happy. It would have been such a mess if Obama or Biden or even G.W. Bush made these decisions. They'd have made wrong decisions, and we'd be unhappy.
defrost•49m ago
> Trump makes the decision, and it's done and good ..
Hmmm. Perhaps the principle advantage of a Trump decision is their short shelf life, all done until the next 3am doom scroll on the Golden Shitter hits poor reception from the bond market or an unkind word from Putin.
chiefalchemist•2h ago
As long as we have the heavy-handed Federal Reserve - tilting the game to pick winners and losers - we don’t have free-market capitalism.
Funny enough, I heard an interview with Robert Reich early today about his new book. I didn’t hear the full interview but in the time I listening he didn’t get close to naming the Fed. I was dumbfounded.
The truth is, the socioeconomic system and the sociopolitical system sits on a foundation. That foundation is the financial system. The Fed sits at the head of the table of the financial system. The Fed pulls the levers. The Fed shakes the snow globe.
toomuchtodo•2h ago
Also, I'd argue the bond market is far more powerful than the Fed. The Fed can set short term target rates, but the bond market sets longer term rates. The bond market is what kept this admin in check earlier in the year. One might say they are the Fifth Estate, after journalism and the three branches of US government. "Whoever holds the gold makes the rules."
https://tisegroup.com/news/2025/the-power-of-the-bond-market...
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/08/12/what-to-k...
https://www.bloomberg.com/explainers/bond-vigilantes | https://archive.today/XcRIq
> Have bond vigilantes influenced government decision-making before?
> Yes. In fact, they’ve already influenced Trump’s decision-making. In the hours after Trump’s long-awaited tariffs on most imports to the US went into effect on April 9, the bond market tanked. Many investors, concerned that the duties would accelerate inflation and reduce foreign demand for US assets, started dumping their holdings in order to pressure the administration to reverse course.
> It worked: Just 13 hours after the tariffs had gone into effect, Trump announced that he would pause them, and yields came down. “The bond market is very tricky,” he conceded. “I was watching it.”