Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 69. Sunrise is 5:40 and sunset is 8:02, for 14 hours, 22 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 78.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Starin Park Water Tower Committee meets at 6 PM, and the Landmarks Commission at 7 PM.
This day in 1718 is the traditional date on which Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville founds the city of New Orleans,
John Imes, Village President of Shorewood Hills, writes of the damage that tariffs will do to small businesses:
The sweeping tariffs imposed by the current administration are already fueling inflation, disrupting supply chains, and pushing small businesses to the brink. Local retailers, independent producers and small manufacturers — the very backbone of our neighborhoods — are being hit hardest.
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The problem is clear and devastating: suppliers can’t get the goods they need, vendors are questioning whether they can stay afloat and customers — grappling with rising prices and financial anxiety — are pulling back from shopping locally. Sales reps are going unpaid as orders are canceled, and stores of all sizes are bracing for empty shelves. In short, the social fabric that binds our communities is beginning to fray under the weight of uncertainty.
The National Retail Federation recently warned that these tariffs threaten the American dream — and they’re right. Small businesses aren’t just part of our economy; they’re central to our national identity, job creation, innovation and the strength of our local communities.
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The stakes couldn’t be clearer. Without immediate action, we face shuttered storefronts, lost jobs and an avoidable recession. According to Gallup, Americans’ economic outlook is now worse than at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic or the global financial crisis — a sobering indicator of just how fragile the moment is.
This is not a partisan issue. It’s a matter of economic survival, community resilience and protecting the American dream for generations to come.
See John Imes, Small businesses are the backbone of America — but right now, tariffs are breaking their backs, Wisconsin Examiner, May 7, 2025.
How big are these tariffs? Here’s hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones commenting on their magnitude:
Trump’s tariff strategy has become a cornerstone of his economic policy — and a lightning rod for criticism. In recent months, his administration has slapped a staggering 145% tariff on Chinese imports, escalating an already tense trade war. China quickly retaliated with its own tariffs of 125%.
According to Jones, even if the White House walks those tariffs back to 40% or 50%, the damage is already done.
“Even when he does that … it’d be the largest tax increases since the ’60s,” Jones said. “So you can kind of take 2%, 3% off growth.”
(Emphasis added.)
See Shannon Carroll, A billionaire hedge fund manager has a chilling stock market warning (‘Paul Tudor Jones said that even if Trump walks back his tariffs, markets are headed “to new lows”‘), Quartz, May 6, 2025.
N.B.: I’ve no personal financial complaint in this: this is a community loss, a statewide loss, and a national loss.
Sh2-46 nebula captured by the VLT Survey Telescope – 6,000 light years away: