₦airaland Forum

Musk has an unshakeable desire to make humanoids work. That tends to translate into real results.

Eventually.

But China NEEDS them to work. That’s a different kind of force.

China's aging faster than almost any society in history—its workforce now shrinking at a pace the world has never seen, against a manufacturing labor shortage its own Ministry of Education has pegged near 30 million workers.

China is also suffering high youth unemployment—a skills-and-willingness mismatch. The young would rather "lie flat," as they call it, than take the factory jobs going unfilled.

For a country not eager to pull the immigration valve wide open, there's only one way to fill the gap.

Build the workers.

That’s why "Embodied AI" is now a named priority in China's 15th Five-Year Plan, backed by a 1-trillion-yuan (~$138 billion) state fund.

Chinese firms already shipped roughly 90% of the world's humanoid robots last year, and the government is running humanoid "training schools" in Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan to teach them warehouse and factory work.

China's building toward it from both ends.

It gives the brain away—flooding the world with free, open-source AI models that drag the cost of a robot's mind toward zero. Then it corners the body: the motors, the batteries, the sensors, the supply chain it already built dominating electric cars.

Give away the mind. Own the body. The body was always the scarce thing.

That matters. Because when China commits to owning an industry this big, Washington doesn't sit still. A robot workforce is industrial capacity and military logistics, so Washington will treat a Chinese monopoly as a strategic threat.

That's the tailwind under Tesla, Figure, and every American maker.

So the humanoids are coming. Slowly. Sideways. Occasionally into a wall. And, in America, Tesla is in pole position.

The only question left is who owns the parts that matter.

By Chris Campbell

Quagmire

The longer you delay, the more stuck you become.

Backtest. Journal. Place the trade.

That’s where your power lives.

1. The beginning is mostly luck. How you finish is mostly by choice.

Every trader scores a lucky gain or two at the start. Don’t mistake that for skill.

Real mastery comes later - when the market gets tougher, your emotions flare, and your strategy is put to the test.

That’s when your choices matter.

Your results will reflect the discipline you’ve built, the plans you’ve refined, and the grit you show when things become hard.

Luck might light the spark - but your system fans the flame.

2. Write down your methods.

Want to hit your trading goals? You’ve got choices.

Position sizing, entry rules, exits, portfolio design - every bit of it is flexible.

Don't just commit your half-baked ideas to memory.

3. The longer you delay, the more stuck you become.

Your habits lock in. Your doubts grow louder.

You start believing 'later' is safer. But later rarely is.

There's no time to waste.

Tighten your process. Strengthen your mindset. Learn the tools.

By Louise Bedford

Nobody cares, so work harder.

2. You will upset many people when you start doing what is best for you.

3. They will ignore you until the day they need you.

4. Life gets lighter when you stop caring about what does not matter.

5. What breaks your heart will also open your eyes.

6. Stop only seeing the good in people, and start believing what they show you.

7. Some people will never support you because they fear what you might become.

8. People will disappoint you. Promises will break. Expect less from others and trust yourself more.

9. Be a good person, but never waste time proving it.

10. A skill is ten times more valuable than grades. Learn a high-income skill to solve money problems.

11. If success were easy, everyone would have it.

12. Always dress well. Life itself is the biggest occasion.

13. If it is important, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse.

14. If they act like they can live without you, let them.

15. Do not forget how badly you wanted what you already have. Blessings are still on the way.

Mustapha Y, Quora

It is said that a man was walking with his son through the fields.

As they walked, they saw an old pair of shoes that they assumed belonged to a poor man who was working in a nearby field and would soon return to collect them.

The son said to his father:

"What do you think, Father, if we hide this worker’s shoes just to play a prank on him and see how he reacts when he finds them missing?"

His father replied:

"We should not amuse ourselves at the expense of another’s sorrow. But my son, you are wealthy and can make yourself happy—and that poor man too—by doing something better. Put some coins inside his shoes and let’s hide behind the bushes to see his reaction."

The boy liked the suggestion.

He placed a few coins inside each shoe, then he and his father hid behind some bushes to watch what would happen.

After a few minutes, the poor worker came, dressed in worn-out clothes, having finished his work in the field.

As he slipped his foot into one of the shoes, he felt something inside.

He reached in and found some coins!

He did the same with the other shoe and found more coins!

He looked at the money in disbelief, checked again to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and then looked around in all directions—but saw no one.

He put the money in his pocket, fell to his knees, raised his eyes to the sky, and cried, saying:

"Thank you, Lord! You knew my wife is sick, and my children are hungry and have no bread. You have saved me and my family from despair!"

He continued to cry and pray for a long time, overwhelmed with gratitude.

The boy was deeply moved, and tears filled his eyes.

His father then said to him:

"Aren’t you more satisfied now than you would have been if you had played him prank?"

The son replied:

"I’ve learned a lesson I will never forget in my life. Now I understand the meaning of words I never understood before: 'It is more joyful to give than to receive.'"

Then his wise father said:

*"Know, my son, that giving comes in many forms: 💫💫💫💫💫

Forgiving when you're able to punish is a form of giving. 👍

Praying for the poor in their absence is a form of giving. 👍

Excusing their mistakes and thinking well of them is a form of giving. 👍

Refraining from speaking badly of them behind their backs is also a form of giving. 👍

By: Smooaa Mhara, Quora

10 signs she is not into you

1. She doesn't text you back.

Women are communicative. If you text a girl, and she likes you, chances are, she will reply to you. And soon! If she isn't answering your text messages, that is a surefire sign that she just isn't that into you.

2. She avoids being alone with you.

If she always says things like "I'll meet you there," or if she never wants to hang out alone with you or at your house, she probably doesn't like you.

3. She doesn't ask you any personal questions.

If a woman isn't 'mystified' and 'curious' about you as a man, odds are basically zero that she's going to be interested in you.

4. She tries to tell you all her bad qualities.

Pointing out all her faults is a way to tell you that you should find someone who is better suited for you, or that she is just not into you.

5. She doesn't care about the topics you're discussing.

If she doesn't seem to care about anything you're talking about, odds are good that you just need to accept that this particular woman probably isn't the woman for you and move on.

6. She is always busy.

If she is constantly telling you that she can't possibly get together because she is so busy, then you may want to consider that she is making up excuses because she doesn't want to see you.

7. She just doesn't pay attention.

If her attention is primarily on anything other than you, and if she doesn't seem excited to be spending time with you, that's the number-one universal sign that you're not her #1 choice.

8. She flirts with other guys around you.

Almost always, if a girl is flirting with another guy completely oblivious to your presence, chances are, the girl doesn't like you back.

9. She doesn't flirt with or touch you.

If she can be around you without wanting to reach out and touch you, then there is little chance that she is interested in you.

10. You're the one making all the effort.

If the girl you like isn't shy, and she's literally not texting you first, making plans with you, or even interested in keeping a conversation going, take the hint.

By Bello Osagie, Quora

Win Rate: 93%

A trader recently made nearly $1 million betting on military strikes.

Not after the strikes.

Before them.

Hours before US and Israeli forces hit Iran in October 2024. Hours before airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025. Hours before the surprise attack that started the current war.

Win rate: 93%. On unannounced military operations.

That's a wire into classified information.

Then Israeli prosecutors charged an IDF reservist and a civilian for using military intelligence to bet on the timing of Israel's Iran strike. The officer allegedly sent a WhatsApp message minutes before the attack that said:

"It's starting."

He sent that message to a Polymarket position.

The Weird Part

The US Army—the same institution connected to these leaks—published a report telling its intelligence analysts to use Polymarket and Kalshi to detect national security threats.

The Federal Reserve published a paper showing Kalshi has correctly predicted every single interest rate decision since 2022.

Every one.

The day before the announcement.

So—indeed—the same markets leaking classified military secrets are being recommended by the military as intelligence tools.

And the same platforms being prosecuted as illegal gambling are being studied by the Fed as the most accurate forecasting tools in existence.

The government is both the source and customer for the signal.” – Chris C.

"A man and his wife went to the zoo. They found a Monkey who was passionately playing with his female. His wife said to him, "What a romantic animal."

Then, they found a Lion and his Lioness separated from each other; the silent Lion sat alone in his corner as if the Lioness doesn't exist. His wife said to him, "What a sad scene without love."

Her husband then said to her, “Throw that stone at the Lioness and watch.” When she threw the stone at the Lioness, the Lion roar to defend his Lioness, then she was asked to repeat it with the Monkey, the Monkey then jumped up and climbed the tree 🎄 and abandoned his female to save his own skin.

Her husband then told her, “Do not be deceived by what you see as romance in outward show, often times, it is a deceptive appearance just to hide an empty heart; there are others on the contrary who are relaxed, but their hearts are full of sincere love."

Presently, we have so many in the monkey 🙊 shadow, and few Lion 🦁 nowadays." -
Richard Strachan, Quora

Here’s the dirty secret nobody likes to admit:

Open source built everything.

Linux.

The internet.

The web.

Google.

Apple’s OS.

Microsoft’s OS.

Every trillion-dollar software company is sitting on top of code written by people who mostly didn’t get paid.

That’s insane.

There was a Harvard study that estimated: Every $1 put into open source creates ~$2,000 in economic value.

Great ROI.

Except the person who contributed the $1 doesn’t get the $2,000.

The value evaporates into society.

Open source solved innovation. It never solved compensation.

That missing piece is why so many open-source projects burn out, get captured, or get strip-mined by corporations.

But there’s a solution…

Bittensor is the Antidote
Bittensor fixes that.

Not by closing anything. Not by gatekeeping. Not by centralizing.

By doing something more radical:

It turns incentives themselves into an open system.

Think about it this way:

Open source says: “Anyone can contribute.”

Bittensor says: “Anyone can contribute—and the system will continuously decide who contributed best and pay them.”

That’s it.

That’s the entire breakthrough.

Each “subnet”—which is like a business in the Bittensor ecosystem—is a competitive arena.

Miners bring intelligence. Validators judge it. The network rewards improvement.

No hiring committee. No VC permission. No résumé games. No billion-dollar GPU budgets required.

If you’re a kid in Oklahoma with a better idea, you can compete with Anthropic.

That sentence should scare a lot of people. And it does. That’s why they don’t like talking about it.

What About the TAO Token?
People get distracted by the token.

TAO isn’t a currency. Subnet tokens aren’t equity.

They’re instruments for incentive alignment.

Bitcoin stores the incentive to secure a ledger. Bittensor stores the incentive to improve anything.

Coding models. Drug discovery. Mental health. Compute. Energy optimization.

Whatever humans can define and measure.

Each subnet has a fixed supply.

No printing. No dilution. No “just one more round.”

Finite supply + infinite improvement = deflationary incentives.

That’s why this works.

You can always print more shares. You can always reprice options. You can always dilute.

Bittensor doesn’t let you do that.

If you screw up incentives, miners leave. If you get lazy, competitors appear. If you stop improving, the market moves on.

I don’t know how big Bittensor will get exactly.

I do know this: Every major technological leap happens when incentives finally match reality.

Open source unlocked creation. Bitcoin unlocked monetary truth. Bittensor unlocks coordination at scale.

That’s rare.

And rare things don’t try to convince you.

They just keep working… until suddenly the world looks different.

And everyone asks: “How did we miss this?”

But you won’t.

Not anymore.

Author: Altucher Confidential

If a nurse earns a PhD in nursing, are they referred to as doctor? If so, how do you prevent the patients from getting confused?

As I used to tell my students, doctor is a title, not an occupation. That being said, my hat is off to anyone who gets a doctorate. What annoys me is when some groups have no problem addressing a 25 year old with a PhD in physics (yes, Sheldon, I’m looking at you) as “doctor” but get their knickers in a twist if they’re expected to address a nurse with a doctorate as “doctor.” Go figure.

Source: Quora

A single minute of procrastination can destroy a month of hard work & discipline.

Rich people don't use their money to show off. Rich people use their money to make more money.

Earning money while sleeping is the ultimate flex.

Never show off keep winning in private. Not everyone wants to see you winning.

Like minded friends who treat you to do better is the real game changer.”

By Sneha, Quora

Ever have a small comment ruin your entire day? You’re not alone. We spend hours replaying conversations, trying to decode texts, and assuming the worst. It’s exhausting.

Learning to let things go is a superpower. Here are a few shifts in thinking that can help you get there.

1. It’s almost never about you. Seriously. 99% of the time, people's words and actions are a reflection of their own stress, their own bad day, or their own insecurities. You just happened to be in the room when it spilled out. It's their movie, not yours.

2. Know your own worth. When you are the main source of your own validation, other people's opinions become just noise. If you're already solid in who you are, a negative comment is like rain on a window—you notice it, but it doesn't get inside.

3. Stop assuming the worst. Our brains are great at inventing negative stories, but they're usually wrong. Before you spiral, force yourself to ask: "What are two other, less dramatic explanations for what just happened?" This breaks the cycle of negative mind-reading.

4. Set boundaries to protect your peace. You have the right to walk away from conversations that are constantly critical or draining. Protecting your energy isn’t rude; it’s necessary for your mental health. A simple "I'm not going to continue this conversation" is a complete sentence.

5. Focus only on what you can control. You can't control what others say or do. You can only control your response. Wasting energy on their behavior is a losing battle. Put all your focus on your own actions and peace of mind. That’s where your real power is.

It takes practice, but it's a game-changer. The less you absorb the negativity of others, the more peaceful your own life will become.” - Ayaz Ali , Quora

“In December 2003, Joyce Vincent died of an apparent asthma attack in her North London flat. The television remained on

The mail continued to be delivered. Her rent was set to be automatically deducted from her bank account. Days passed and no one noticed she had died.

Those days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. There were large bins on the side of the building next to her flat, so the neighbours never gave much thought to the foul odor they could smell. The block was full of noisy children and teenagers and no one questioned the constant hum of the TV noise in the background.

Eventually, Joyce's bank account ran dry. Her landlord sent her letters of demand. These, like the others, simply fell into the mix on her floor. They received no reply. Finally, with more than six months of back rent, the landlord obtained a court order to forcibly remove her from the premises. The bailiffs broke down the door and only then was her body discovered. At that point, it was January 2006, more than two years after her death.

In all this time, no one ever came looking for Joyce Vincent. No family, no friends, no colleagues, no neighbors who knocked on the door to see if everything was okay. No one called. She was 38 years old when she died.

This story is surprising for its social implications. It seems incomprehensible that entire years pass without anyone noticing the death of a person. However, these types of stories happen frequently. Chances are, you have seen a story similar to that of Joyce Vincent. And they are all the same.

A person lives alone. They lose contact with family and friends. They never know their neighbors. They stay locked up with the television or computer on for years. The world goes on as if they were no longer there until one day they are no longer there. And the bad thing is that no one notices...” - Alessandro13, Quora

SELF IMPROVEMENT.

The whole self-help industry began when Dale Carnegie published How to Win Friends and Influence People in 1936. Then came other classics like Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins toward the end of the century.

Today, teaching people how to improve themselves is a business. A pure ruthless business where some people sell utter bullshit.

There are broke Instagrammers and YouTubers with literally no solid background teaching men how to be attractive to women, how to begin a start-up, how to become successful — most of these guys speaking nothing more than hollow motivational words and cliche stuff. They waste your time. Some of these people who present themselves as hugely successful also give talks and write books.

There are so many books on financial advice, self-improvement, love, etc and some people actually try to read them. They are a waste of time, mostly.

When you start reading a dozen books on finance you realize that they all say the same stuff.

You are not going to live forever in the learning phase. Don't procrastinate by reading bull-shit or the same good knowledge in 10 books.

What we ought to do is choose wisely.

Yes. A good book can change your life, given you do what it asks you to do.

All the books I have named up to now are worthy of reading. Tim Ferriss, Simon Sinek, Robert Greene — these guys are worthy of reading. These guys teach what others don't. Their books are unique and actually, come from relevant and successful people.

When Richard Branson writes a book about entrepreneurship, go read it. Every line in that book is said by one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time.

When a Chinese millionaire( he claims to be) Youtuber who releases a video titled “Why reading books keeps you broke” and a year later another one “My recommendation of books for grand success” you should be wise to tell him to jump from Victoria Falls.

These self-improvement gurus sell you delusions.

They say they have those little tricks that only they know that if you use, everything in your life will be perfect. Those little tricks. We are just “making of a to-do-list before sleeping” away from becoming the next Bill Gates.

There are no little tricks.

There is no success-mantra.

Self-improvement is a trap for 99% of the people. You can't do that unless you are very, very strong.

If you are looking for easy ways, you will only keep wasting your time forgetting that your time on this planet is limited, as alive humans that is.

Also, I feel that people who claim to read like a book a day or promote it are idiots. You retain nothing. When you do read a good book, you read slow, sometimes a whole paragraph, again and again, dwelling on it, trying to internalize its knowledge. You try to understand. You think. It takes time.

It's better to read a good book 10 times than 1000 stupid ones.

So be choosy. Read from the guys who actually know something, not some wannabe ‘influencers’.

Edit: Think And Grow Rich was written as a result of a project assigned to Napoleon Hill by Andrew Carnegie(the 2nd richest man in recent history). He was asked to study the most successful people on the planet and document which characteristics made them great. He did extensive work in studying hundreds of the most successful people of that time. The result was that little book.

Nowadays some people just study Instagram algorithms and think of themselves as a Dale Carnegie or Anthony Robbins.

By Nupur Nishant, Quora

There is nothing new there.

I also did the same.

And we are still together.

As a man, the reality of life is the harshest part. I don’t mind looking older or becoming weaker over time; it’s nature.

Have you ever heard that the only people who will be loved unconditionally are women and children? Men will only be loved as long as they can provide until they are no longer needed. It doesn’t matter if you already did your best to get your kids to the best school or get the best things for them, if you stop before they’re done with it, there will be no thank you. The only thing they will remember is that they have to quit school at 15, ignoring all the previous 15 years of life you provided for them. The only people who will accept you, no matter what, are your parents. But in this situation, you might be that ungrateful child.

EDIT:
Wow, I didn’t think this would get so much attention.

For those who disagree, I can only say that everyone has their problem. If you don’t get the chance to face such a thing, be grateful. Remember, sometimes what you throw in the garbage is something that someone wishes ever to have.” – ElZee, Quora

The part most don’t know: Trump is deadly serious about China and fentanyl.

“In Beijing, if you sell fentanyl on the streets, they’ll execute you,” Ross told me. “But they’ve been subsidizing exports of the stuff that’s killing Americans.”

China executes domestic dealers but allows exports of precursor chemicals to Mexico. Most of it ends up in the US.China knows how dangerous they are but turns a blind eye because it’s not their citizens dying.

Ross says this is personal for Trump. He wants it stopped. And he’s tying it into trade negotiations.

Not with threats.

With leverage.

Rare Earths, Pharma, and the Apple Problem
Problem is, we’re addicted to Chinese supply chains. iPhones. Generic drugs. Semiconductors. Vitamins. Ross didn’t deny it. But he says reshoring is starting—and Trump’s policies are finally giving it teeth.

The rare earth thing? A mess. We have the resources. We just don’t process them because it’s dirty, and nobody wants a refinery in their backyard. So we ship it all to China, let them pollute, and then buy it back.

Ross: “It doesn’t make the planet better off to have it processed in China instead of here.”

Makes sense. But the EPA probably won’t love that logic.

Inflation? Recession? Or... Neither?
Do tariffs cause inflation? No.

Tariffs did not cause inflation in 2018–2020, despite media panic. Ross argues current inflation claims are more political than economic.

I mentioned Powell saying tariffs will spark inflation again. Ross smiled and said: “I think he's hiding behind that as an excuse not to cut rates.”

Meanwhile, Trump wants to cut energy costs, healthcare costs, and grow the “External Revenue Service.” The goal? Shift from taxing your income to taxing imports.

Ross confirmed a few sleeper details about the tax plan:

Makes Trump’s 2017 cuts permanent
Tax-free tips and overtime
Incentives for manufacturing here
Incentives for foreign investment here
And yeah—he also said the reason Trump wanted Greenland? Rare earths.

The Mind Behind the Moves
That was just a small part of our conversation.

Whether you love Trump or loathe him, you should understand the game he’s playing. Ross just gave us the playbook.

And if even half of what he said is accurate, we’re entering a new kind of economy. One where tariffs are not just a trade tool—but a tax system. A foreign policy lever. A domestic stimulus.

A weaponized spreadsheet.

You don’t have to agree with it. But you do have to know what’s coming.

Author: James Altucher

Question: Hey Joe! Has anyone that you know put together a compendium of what to look for when you first start out trading?

Answer: Not that I know of. But consider the following: As a trader you are in a contest. Your strongest opponent has plenty of capital. He follows a program and he does it without emotion. He is totally aware of the fact that no one knows where the next tick will fall. Whereas he usually has good insights regarding the major forces that drive the market, he does not fool himself into thinking he can explain the vagrancies of price movement intraday or even from day to day. He knows that no one truly can.

The successful trader has learned his lessons by actually trading. This is a competitive business and very few worthwhile pointer are given out by the industry, your competition, or the myriad of so-called trading gurus who plague the pages of trading magazines and pages of their websites. The most valuable information is closely guarded and not often put in books or on web pages. Learning about trading is a 'forever' experience. As the markets change and as we adjust to them, we learn. The learning is ongoing. It stops only when you no longer trade. During the time we trade we can always improve.

From Joe Ross

I think Obasanjo was better.

What is wrong with Nigeria?

Hi @ all:

I am writing this from Germany…

I know Nigeria to be the giant of Africa, the most populous black nation in the world, blessed with human resources, mineral resources and natural resources.

The country also has one of the highest GDPs in Africa.

However, it is strange that many Nigerians are complaining about their country. Such complaints are everywhere online, all over the world.

So I am confused.

What is really wrong with Nigeria?

It depends. If you have lots of money that you can buy a house without a loan and if you don't have any parents to sponsor then it is a good idea. Otherwise it might be a bad idea depending where in Canada you are heading to. I earned a good middle income in my home country and I migrated to Vancouver 5 years ago at the age of 35. I had to start right from the bottom, lowest of the low.. Now i am finally earning a middle income in Canada but I still cannot afford to buy a one bedroom apartment. Having left behind friends, family and home, most of the times I think it is not worth it.

In short, do not migrate if you already have a good life in your home country and you are happy. Only migrate to Canada if you really have to leave your home country say there is a war or something really bad. Discrimination still exists here and its really tough for newcomers unless you are super rich. Good luck.

David Chong, Quora

The best and the most sure-fire way to avoid all these forms of nonsense is NEVER to send any money to anyone, no matter the circumstances they claim... Even your closest family members.

Whatever they claim will happen to them, let it happen.

There is nothing new under the sun...

You need to be extremely cruel.... Never send anything of value to anybody , no matter what they claim, even if they claim death.

If you can follow this GOLDEN RULE, you will avoid a lot of regrets, heartaches and disappointments from all areas.

I send money only to people I have promised before.... Or someone I am seeing face-to-face... Or someone I have confirmed beyond reasonable doubts from external/independent sources that they really need the money.

Otherwise, nobody under this heaven can come out of blue (unless my parents or wife), even my siblings and request money.

Over 90% of requests for financial assistance are fraudulent.

After all, if you die today... The scammers (even in the family) will continue to live without you.

Those who are merciful, kind-hearted and soft-hearted are the easy preys and targets of these scoundrels - 419 scammers.

They like gullible people and hate tough/cruel people.

Do not allow anyone to cause you to feel guilty for what you don’t do… Those dubious people want to make you feel guilty for not helping. But you don’t need to feel guilty as long as you’re not the cause of their problems or the issues they have.

It is better to lose customers/friends/family members/anyone's goodwill and keep your money, than to lose their goodwill and also lose your money.

Because that is what will happen at last... I have lost count of how many people that are currently regretting giving out loans, just because they want to retain goodwill.

When you're trying to please people, you end up displeasing yourself... And you will discover that those who are encouraging you to be kind and generous are themselves wicked and stingy.

Esin o dede l’oro... Araye lo ko esin loro. (It's humans being that taught the horse how to be cruel).

The best way to avoid falling for scam is NEVER to send anything of value to anyone, no matter who the person is to you or how they relate to you on this planet...

And never try to get anything for free or reap where you don't sow and never try to get rich quickly.

Follow this: You will escape/avoid all scams, lies, pretenses, fakeries, headaches, sorrow, regrets, high BP, later in your life.

Ignore this rule at your own PERIL.

Have a nice day.

PS: And scammers will be using AI also for impersonations, phishing attempts and deepfake tricks.

Just delay indefinitely and make independent calls, research and investigation before you part with anything of value.

If you can't go through the rigors, just ignore the deals.

I hope the Western World will soon pass legislation to regulate AI and deal with those who use it for evil.

The Truth about Tariffs: Busting the Inflation Myth

My wife Robin just wanted some groceries.

Simple enough.

She parked the car for fifteen minutes, and returned to find a huge scratch on the side.

Someone keyed her car.

To be clear, this isn’t just any car.

It’s a Cybertruck—Elon Musk's stainless-steel spaceship on wheels. She bought it back in 2021, before Musk became everyone's favorite villain or savior.

Someone saw it parked in a grocery lot and felt compelled to carve their hatred directly into the metal.

That's what happens when you stand out.

Nobody keys a beige minivan.

When you're polarizing, you're impossible to ignore. But the irony is: the more attention something has, the harder it is to find the truth about it.

What’s Elon Musk really thinking? What are his plans? What will happen with DOGE? Is he deserving of all of this adoration and hate? Hard to say.

Ideas work the same way.

Take tariffs, for example.

Tariffs have become the Cybertrucks of economic policy. People either love them or hate them. Even if they don’t understand what they are and how they work. (Most don’t.)

That’s why, in my latest podcast (link below), I wanted to explore the “in-between” truth about tariffs.

And like Cybertrucks, I guess my thoughts on tariffs are polarizing.

Greg Gutfield mentioned me on Fox News. Harvard professors hate me now. (I wonder if they also key Cybertrucks?)

But before I show you what I think about tariffs… I have to mention something.

We’re Headed to Austin, Texas
This weekend, my team and I are headed to Austin. By now, you should probably know why.

Yes, SXSW is happening. But my team and I are doing something I think is even better.

We’re putting on a FREE event on “Tech’s Turning Point.”

AI, quantum, biotech, crypto, and more—it’s all on the table.

Just now, we posted a special webpage with the agenda.

Click here to check it out and add it to your calendar.

The Truth About Tariffs
People love to panic about tariffs causing inflation.

They wave around the ghost of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff from the Great Depression like it’s Exhibit A proving tariffs equal economic collapse.

But let me pop this myth:

Tariffs don’t cause inflation. And no, I'm not crazy (despite what angry professors from Harvard or Stanford might tweet at me).

Here's the deal.

Inflation isn’t when just a couple of things become pricier. It’s when your entire shopping basket—eggs, shirts, Netflix subscriptions, bananas, everything—starts costing more because your money’s worth less.

Inflation means your dollars aren’t stretching as far as they used to.

Take the 1800s.

For nearly a century, 97% of America’s revenue came from tariffs. Income tax? Didn’t exist. And guess what inflation was? Basically zero. Maybe 1% a year.

The economy was booming, and tariffs funded nearly everything. So, why do people suddenly think tariffs cause inflation today?

Tariffs are taxes on imports, yes, but prices are set by supply and demand—not tariffs.

Let me give you a simple example.

Imagine fancy potato chips from Canada cost $10, and a 20% tariff pushes that to $12. Everyone panics—prices rose! Inflation!

Nope.

If I only have $100 to spend and the price of my favorite chips goes up, I either stop buying chips or I buy, say, fewer newspapers.

If everyone stops buying newspapers because they’re overspending on chips, newspapers lower their prices or go out of business.

Overall spending stays the same, and inflation doesn’t budge.

Three quick scenarios:

We buy pricier chips, but fewer other things: Inflation unchanged.
Manufacturers shift to the U.S. to avoid tariffs: Inflation unchanged (and more jobs here).
We stop buying fancy chips: Prices drop again. Inflation? Still unchanged.
The only thing that actually causes inflation is printing money.

Between 2020 and 2022 alone, 40% of all money ever created in history appeared overnight.

That’s why inflation shot up afterward—not because of tariffs.

Back to tariffs today.

Still No Inflation
Unlike the infamous Smoot-Hawley blanket tariff (imagine Oprah handing out tariffs: "You get a tariff, and you get a tariff!", today's tariffs are strategic.

Trump slapped tariffs on chips from Taiwan because we shouldn’t rely on a single foreign supplier for vital tech components—especially if that supplier might get invaded.

Now Taiwan Semiconductor is investing $100 billion in American manufacturing.

Strategic win, no inflation.

Then there’s Canada and Mexico—our friendly neighbors with weirdly huge tariffs on things like milk and butter (299% tariff on butter—really, Canada?).

Trump’s not blanketing everything with tariffs; he’s pressuring trade partners to lower theirs.

If they do, everybody wins. If they don’t, well, then we have a strategic trade chess game—but still no inflation.

In short, tariffs are about strategy, security, and fairness—not inflation.

Yes, blanket tariffs from the Great Depression era were dumb. Obviously. Today's targeted tariffs? Smart.

Listen to the whole podcast to hear why I think this.

And by the way, if you see a Cybertruck, don’t key it. Robin doesn’t care about your politics; she just likes her weird truck.

Maybe read a good book, relax, and leave cars alone.

(And yes, nobody keys Volkswagens, even though they were basically created by Hitler. Strange world we live in.)

Author: James Altucher