What A Day Trump, Iran And A Brewing Economic Crisis
28 snips
Mar 11, 2026 
Matt Berg, Washington correspondent who tracks global headlines, and Rogé Karma, Atlantic staff writer focused on labor and the economy. They dig into sudden February job losses and messy revisions. They trace how tariffs, pandemic scarring, and war-driven oil shocks froze hiring. They compare present risks to 1970s stagflation and weigh how Iran escalation and funding fights could tip the balance.
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Tariffs Have Slowly Sapped Job Growth
- Tariffs acted like a chronic disease on the job market rather than an immediate heart attack.
- Rogé Karma notes 90% of 2025 job gains occurred before Trump's Liberation Day tariffs, which then slowly depressed hiring and investment.
Uncertainty Has Frozen Hiring Despite Low Unemployment
- Widespread political and economic shocks froze hiring even when unemployment looked low.
- Karma lists the pandemic hiring boom, great resignation scarring, mass deportations, tariffs, and the Iran war as compounding uncertainty that cut investment.
Oil Shock Could Trigger 1970s Style Stagflation
- The US economy risks 1970s-style stagflation if oil supply is cut off.
- Karma compares a potential Strait of Hormuz closure raising oil to $200–$300 a barrel to the 1973 Arab oil embargo feeding inflation across agriculture, manufacturing, and transport.