Investors - What does Dr. Seuss have to say about tariffs?

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When my kids were small, I read to them regularly each night.  Dr. Seuss was a favorite. 

The Seuss books always seemed to be kind of silly books with very different stories and characters.  It took me time to really understand that there was much more to them than met the eye.  Sort of like the Disney movie "Toy Story", there are a lot of other connotations other than the obvious story.  The kids didn't get it, but adults did.

My youngest son loved Dr. Seuss's book "The Sneeches and Other Stories".  I can't tell you how many times I read that book.  I think I could read it in my sleep.  

One of the stories in the "The Sneeches and Other Stories" book was "The Zax". In "The Zax", there are two Zax, one that always travels North and one that always travels South.  One day, they meet toe to toe and both refuse to move slightly to the right or left to let the other pass and be on their way.  They stand there for years while everything builds up around them, stubbornly immobile to compromise.

It looks like the US and China are currently the Zax in terms of the tariff standoff.  Will pathways be built around the "Zax" by others to keep things moving?  We don't know for sure, but I would bet that business leaders and other countries are adjusting their paths to keep their economies moving.

Next time you see a Dr. Seuss book, read it carefully between the lines.  There is always something new to learn, no matter where it comes from!

Be safe, be smart, be prepared, be well read and be successful!

Copyright 2017 Mark T. McLaren