The New Yorker:

The memes responding to Trump’s seesawing tariff policy hint at a collective psychological state.

By Kyle Chayka

On April 9th, Luke Marion, a gardener and seed purveyor who runs the YouTube channel MIgardener, posted a video that recommended planting particular crops for a “RECESSION PROOF Garden.” “We’re going to talk about twenty-one varieties that you need to add to your garden to survive the oncoming recession,” Marion narrates in a foreboding tone, standing with a rake over a back-yard planter. He continues, “The time to learn to swim is not once you’re swept out to sea from a riptide.” He suggests garlic, cabbage, tomatoes, and kale, among other vegetables—produce that will cut down on your grocery bills if you grow it yourself. Marion’s video, which has more than eighty thousand views, came in the midst of President Trump’s whipsawing global tariff announcements, which headlines predicted could kick off said recession. Marion wasn’t alone in offering agricultural solutions: “Having a vegetable garden can soften the blow of an economic downturn,” another gardening YouTuber advised last week. Others proposed foraging stinging nettles as “recession prep” or building a “Hydroponic & Aquaponic survival garden.”

Anecdotally, signs of a recession are already here. Hairdressers are reporting that their clients are ordering less expensive treatments. “I’ve been eliminated from their budget,” one aesthetician told Bloomberg. Young people are hosting home cafés, making their own cappuccinos and iced matchas in lieu of patronizing coffee shops. (The price of coffee is increasing under the new tariffs, and cafés are raising prices in turn.) In Washington, D.C., and elsewhere in the nation, applications to law school are up precipitously, a classic indicator that previously freewheeling young people are seeking more secure employment. Georgetown University reported a twenty-five-per-cent increase in the size of its applicant pool. Even if investors are slightly more confident this week, after Trump backed off most of his harshest tariff rates, the changes in people’s life-style habits serve as their own kind of affective barometer. The vibes are off; Americans are panicky and confused. In their addled state of mind, any unusual consumer behavior or trend seems like it might foretell a coming crash.

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