I bought two 16TB hard drives that I intend to fill with the content I generally pull down as I need it. Game roms, books, videos, a backup of Wikipedia(real). I’m already about 80% of the way there with preserving what I want to preserve. The other 16TB drive will be a copy. I can keep it in or around my toolbox at work just in case anything happens at the house, fire or flood, whatever.

I don’t seriously consider content being harder to acquire in the Trump presidency considering that’s mostly the Middle East, India and Romania if SoulSeek is anything to go by, but it gives me peace of mind.

As for spending… what spending?

I’m poor, but I already only spend on utility and literally nothing else. It’s helpful, really. I don’t buy crap and always have money for what I need, but I know I’m the minority, here. I’m always willing to suffer if it means I have headroom, to my family’s constant worry.

I cook constantly. I bake about two loaves of bread a week. My house generates baked goods on a constant basis for everyone around it, and I sell here and there. Flour is cheap, making variety is easy and everyone loves it.

You wanna survive this shit?

• quit streaming anything, pirate everything
• effort is money
• you don’t need it
• only pay bills that can’t be garnished or risk repossession
• name brand means poison
• see an ad? Never buy the product. Fuck em.

Run as close to the grain as possible. Don’t buy their shit. Don’t buy anything they’re associated with and if they try to control something, starve yourself of it. Fuck em. Don’t let the bastards win.

Somebody should make a website that tracks prices on goods and other items from the day Trump becomes president and throughout his term.

He said he would lower prices. His politics says the opposite. Let’s see.

If you are an American, how are you preparing for the upcoming tariffs and possible trade war?

I’m not. I would love to, but there’s not really much I can do as far as I can see.

What impact do you think it will have on you?

Are there critical items to purchase now that will be too expensive to afford next year?

Probably a lot of things. Contrary to what a lot of MAGA morons would like to claim, tariffs very rarely ever benefit the country establishing the tariff. Very few things are actually wholly made in America nowadays. With such a global economy, even things that are marketed as “made in America” are typically not made 100% in America. And even if they are, the parts are often sourced from around the world since, with modern shipping, that’s actually cheaper typically than sourcing it in-country. (Not to mention that some parts can’t be sourced in-country simply because no one exists to provide that service anymore.)

Are you changing your savings or investments?

Bold of you to assume that I have any extra money to put into either of those. I put in the same amount of money every week as I have the last while: whatever I can, which isn’t much. I don’t get paid shit for my job, yet prices keep going up. Sadly, it’s not like I have much money to adjust. :(

Tariffs amount to a higher inflation rate / a regressive tax, as they will not subsidize local industry to any significant level. You will not see wage increases or more jobs from it. Probably the opposite.

This will be a quantitative change, it will look like 2022-2024 but with a higher effective inflation rate, translating into a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich.

More people will experience what it’s like to earn 10-20% less money and have fewer job prospects. One would hope that this teaches humility and solidarity, but in a country that only knows how to punch left, that will be an uphill battle that must nevertheless be fought.