The Pencil Paradox: Why Tariffs Won’t Sharpen America’s Edge
In a world fixated on who gets credit, the humble pencil remains one of our greatest anonymous collaborators. Simple, effective, and universally understood—until we try to make one from scratch. Milton Friedman famously used a pencil to explain globalization. Not one person on Earth, he argued, knows how to make a pencil entirely by themselves. The wood might come from...
Tariffs, Trade, and the Workforce: Navigating Economic Shifts and Worker Opportunities
In April 2025, the United States took a bold step in reshaping its global economic strategy. With the implementation of a 10% baseline tariff on imports—and even steeper rates on goods from specific trade partners—the country entered a new phase of tariff-driven trade policy. Framed as a means to restore economic balance, boost domestic production, and reduce reliance on...
Cookies, Tariffs, and the Lunchroom Debate: Why the US Tariff Formula Needs a Rethink
The other day, I found myself in the middle of a surprisingly spirited debate—not about AI or the future of work, but about something far more exciting: tariffs. Yes, really. We were a group of friends, all from different backgrounds—one runs a bakery, another’s a data analyst, and someone just enjoys stirring the pot at dinner. Somehow, the conversation veered...
The Myth of the Balanced Scale: Rethinking the Tariff Formula That Promises Fairness
Much like the ancient Greek tale of Sisyphus—forever condemned to roll a boulder uphill only to watch it tumble back down—our trade policy appears to be pushing a similar stone up the slope of economic balance. The United States Trade Representative (USTR), in a well-intentioned effort to correct persistent trade imbalances, has rolled out a formula for “reciprocal tariffs.”...
TheMorkTimes: Trump’s “Discounted Reciprocal Tariffs” Reveal Bold New Strategy: Weaponize Fractions, Confuse Economists, Upset Allies
In a return to what insiders are calling “policy by placard,” President Donald Trump has imposed sweeping new tariffs under a method that is equal parts economic theory, reality TV drama, and PowerPoint fever dream. The so-called “Discounted Reciprocal Tariffs” now apply to over 100 countries, using a formula that—while cloaked in mathematical credibility—has about the same predictive rigor...
Trump Administration Unveils “Tariff Tolerance Training” to Help Americans Emotionally Prepare for $19 Avocados
HR departments nationwide scramble to develop mindfulness modules on embracing economic nationalism through kale rationing By TheMORKTimes Staff April 4, 2025 WASHINGTON, D.C. — As President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariff package sends economists, supply chains, and several thousand Jeep Wranglers into a tailspin, the administration has launched a bold, deeply American solution to curb mounting public anxiety: a nationwide rollout...
Dissecting the Hidden Strategies in Liberation Day Tariff Rollouts
In the tale of the porcupine and the leopard—an African fable whispered in the winds of the savanna—the leopard learns a hard lesson. It lunges at the porcupine for a quick meal, only to retreat, injured by a forest of spines. Moral? In nature, even the smallest creatures have defenses that cut both ways. So too, in the grand theater...
Project2025: What This High-Stakes Blueprint Gets Right—and Critically Wrong—About the Future, a HAPI Analysis
In this piece, we present a full-spectrum HAPI analysis of the increasingly influential—and highly controversial—Project 2025: Mandate for Leadership. As many observers have noted, elements of this sweeping policy blueprint are already surfacing in real-time decisions across federal agencies, state legislatures, and campaign platforms. Whether viewed as a roadmap for reform or a blueprint for ideological overhaul, the document...
