My wife and I have become huge F1 (Formula One Racing) fans over the past 5 years. I love the fact that these drivers are on the edge and the difference between first and last can be less than a couple of seconds over 50-70 laps. They take corners pulling 3-6 G’s sometimes 6-10 times a lap. They are tremendous athletes.

Comparing this to the President’s tariff policy, there are some commonalities. Both seem to be running right up to the edge of “out of control”, and they both make a living hanging dangerously (but calculatingly) on that edge.

But just like F1, even if some of the best drivers in the world push too hard and hang too close to that edge, sometimes they go over it and there’s a terrible wreck. They seem in control, but by the time they realize that they’ve pushed it too far, it’s too late – they are in the wall, and their day is over. They are mere inches from disaster dozens of times on every lap (wheels inches from walls, rear wheels breaking loose at 200 mph, etc).

Today, I heard many comments (from lots of fans of current policy) that maybe this (tariffs and other moves in the past week) may have pushed a little too hard. It may have run just a little too close to the edge. Maybe there’s too much coming too fast. Time will tell, and adjustments can be made. But there is a point at which it is too late, the economy “hits the wall.”

—

Photo credit: Edwin van Nes from IJsselstein, Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tagged with: