MORNING HEADLINES | President Donald Trump and his advisers reportedly are saying his policies may cause short-term pain but will produce big gains over time. But economists are skeptical of those arguments, saying some of the administration’s policies seem to be “actively harming people.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently said Trump’s policies are worth a possible recession. And Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a South Carolina native, went further:
“The market and the economy have just become hooked,” he told CNBC. “We’ve become addicted to this government spending, and there’s going to be a detox period.”
Inflation remains stubborn, according to economists, and Trump’s tariffs will likely make it worse. Measures of consumer and business confidence have plummeted and stock prices have tumbled in the midst of Trump’s policies and the uncertainty they have caused.
“It’s the kind of language that you use when your policy isn’t going great and you can see that it’s actively harming people,” said Sean Vanatta, a financial historian at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
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In other recent headlines:
Nearly 6,000 more homes on the way in five-mile section of West Ashley. An estimated 5,800 housing units are in the works, with many of them expected to come online within the next year. And all are within a 5-mile drive, led by the long-delayed Long Savanna development.
Lowcountry school districts drop millions of tax dollars on legal fees. Hundreds of pages of district transparency reports have revealed just under $3 million was spent on lawyers, lawsuits and legal fees between July 2023 and June 2024.
Charleston entrepreneur puts down roots with brick-and-mortar. Nancy Terebecki-Smith, founder of the Lowcountry Street Grocery bus is trading wheels for walls. The space is in the Cannonborough-Elliotborough neighborhood, accompanying other local businesses like Paper Canopy, Philosophers and Fools, and Charleston Candle Co.
Charleston businesses that sell European alcohol face tariff troubles. Wine could soon be much more expensive if the United States imposes a tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits, with a 200% tariff on products.
Downtown Charleston’s Planters Inn sold. A 64-room high-end boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Charleston’s historic City Market area is under new ownership by Crystal Creek Capital, a private equity real estate firm with assets in Wyoming and Colorado.
Charleston VA mobile unit brings aid to veterans. A Ralph Johnson VA mobile medical unit is traveling the Lowcountry making sure veterans who can’t make it to the facility downtown are getting care.
CSU announces new residence hall construction approval. The new residence hall will mirror Barbara C. Mead Hall, which was built in 2019, and will house 216 students.
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