Molly Jong-Fast interviews Platypus Economics Justin Wolfers about why presidents are usually blamed for economic outcomes they don’t fully control, but argues this time several major disruptions *are* politically driven—especially a renewed trade war that he says has hurt manufacturing and become “good money after bad.” They discuss how the Trump budget and policy incentives allegedly shifted resources upward and led to millions being kicked off SNAP, framing these impacts as personal and immediate for families. Wolfers also explains the child tax credit through the lens of helping children rather than judging parents, and then turns to why consumer sentiment is so negative even when some indicators (markets, spending) look okay—focusing on fears that prices will rise faster than wages because people believe bosses set pay rather than market forces. The conversation touches on concerns about political pressure for rate cuts, skepticism about “stagflation,” criticism of rosy or dishonest economic messaging, and closes with what might restore confidence: a credible fiscal plan to reassure bond markets and, more broadly, less “idiosyncratic”—or “dumb”—policy making.Subscribe to Fast Politics and listen 4x a week for interviews just like this on your favorite podcast app: https://episodes.fm/1645614328