Josh Barro

He said in his confirmation hearing, people say Americans will pay the tariffs, but because the dollar will strengthen, Americans will be able to buy more than they could before because the dollar will have more purchasing power, and that will offset maybe 40% of the cost of the tariffs, is what he told members of the U.S. Senate when he was seeking his confirmation.

What has actually happened, if you've been paying attention to the bond market, and increasingly people are paying attention to the bond market, which is unfortunate, is that first the interest rates on Treasury bonds fell sharply, but then they rose very sharply starting about a week and a half ago, Friday. And the reasons that interest rates would go up in a crisis like this

What has actually happened, if you've been paying attention to the bond market, and increasingly people are paying attention to the bond market, which is unfortunate, is that first the interest rates on Treasury bonds fell sharply, but then they rose very sharply starting about a week and a half ago, Friday. And the reasons that interest rates would go up in a crisis like this

What has actually happened, if you've been paying attention to the bond market, and increasingly people are paying attention to the bond market, which is unfortunate, is that first the interest rates on Treasury bonds fell sharply, but then they rose very sharply starting about a week and a half ago, Friday. And the reasons that interest rates would go up in a crisis like this

are basically that investors don't feel good about the United States. They want to get into safer investments. Bonds are safer than stocks. But they're also concerned about growth prospects in the United States. They could even be concerned about the creditworthiness of the U.S. government.

are basically that investors don't feel good about the United States. They want to get into safer investments. Bonds are safer than stocks. But they're also concerned about growth prospects in the United States. They could even be concerned about the creditworthiness of the U.S. government.

are basically that investors don't feel good about the United States. They want to get into safer investments. Bonds are safer than stocks. But they're also concerned about growth prospects in the United States. They could even be concerned about the creditworthiness of the U.S. government.

You know, you have the president going around breaking all sorts of agreements, trade agreements, laws that are supposed to bind the executive, that sort of thing. There are some wacky ideas that have been floated by Steve Myron, who runs the Council on Economic Advisors in the White House, that you could argue about whether or not they would constitute a default on U.S. government bonds.

You know, you have the president going around breaking all sorts of agreements, trade agreements, laws that are supposed to bind the executive, that sort of thing. There are some wacky ideas that have been floated by Steve Myron, who runs the Council on Economic Advisors in the White House, that you could argue about whether or not they would constitute a default on U.S. government bonds.

You know, you have the president going around breaking all sorts of agreements, trade agreements, laws that are supposed to bind the executive, that sort of thing. There are some wacky ideas that have been floated by Steve Myron, who runs the Council on Economic Advisors in the White House, that you could argue about whether or not they would constitute a default on U.S. government bonds.

So for a number of reasons, it could be considered— What are some of those wacky ideas?

So for a number of reasons, it could be considered— What are some of those wacky ideas?

So for a number of reasons, it could be considered— What are some of those wacky ideas?

It was literally that we would impose a quote-unquote fee on foreign holders of U.S. government bonds. Basically that, you know, we'd say, you know, the interest rate this bond is supposed to be paying is 4%, but we're going to withhold 15% of that because, you know, we're not happy with your trade practices, we think you hold too many bonds, etc.,

It was literally that we would impose a quote-unquote fee on foreign holders of U.S. government bonds. Basically that, you know, we'd say, you know, the interest rate this bond is supposed to be paying is 4%, but we're going to withhold 15% of that because, you know, we're not happy with your trade practices, we think you hold too many bonds, etc.,

It was literally that we would impose a quote-unquote fee on foreign holders of U.S. government bonds. Basically that, you know, we'd say, you know, the interest rate this bond is supposed to be paying is 4%, but we're going to withhold 15% of that because, you know, we're not happy with your trade practices, we think you hold too many bonds, etc.,

And he basically says in this paper that he published before the administration came in, before he received the CEA job, said, well, you know, people could call that a default on treasury bonds, but there's already taxes on interest income on bonds. So is it really that different from that? I don't think the market would be as sanguine about that.

And he basically says in this paper that he published before the administration came in, before he received the CEA job, said, well, you know, people could call that a default on treasury bonds, but there's already taxes on interest income on bonds. So is it really that different from that? I don't think the market would be as sanguine about that.

And he basically says in this paper that he published before the administration came in, before he received the CEA job, said, well, you know, people could call that a default on treasury bonds, but there's already taxes on interest income on bonds. So is it really that different from that? I don't think the market would be as sanguine about that.

Anyway, I want to be clear, the administration hasn't done this yet. This is just something that Steve Myron put in a paper. But I think that given the lawlessness of this administration and the wacky things that they have surprised people by doing, I think concerns about whether there's going to be a future effort to monkey with the repayment on our bonds is something reasonable.