The Trump Economy: A One-year Report Card

It is almost impossible to take the heat out of a discussion of Donald Trump’s economy, but it’s worth a try. Concurrent with the drastic changes he has imposed, other equally if not more powerful forces are at work. Our country has never seen economic shifts so deeply disruptive, and yet ultimately encouraging, operating at the same time.

In this course we will try to better understand the numbers behind five of the most important current developments:

  • Trade and the deification of the tariff
  • Exploding deficits and debt and what this might mean
  • Immigration and labor force issues both here and abroad
  • Sun, wind, and batteries and the revolution in energy costs
  • The onslaught of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In our last class (Class 6), we will try to sort it all out. Please wish us luck! There is no assigned book, but I will provide articles that I hope you will find helpful.

 

Class Recordings:

Class 1: February 10, 2026

Class 2: February 17, 2026

Class 3: February 24, 2026

Class 4: March 3, 3026

Class 5: March 10, 2026

Class 6: March 17, 2026


Group Leader: Carroll Perry
Venue: Online
Meets on: Tuesday 1 PM to 3 PM
Starting: February 10
Sessions: 6
Class Size: 20
Teaching Style: Seminar
Weekly Preparation: 1 hour

Carroll Perry taught economics at Phillips Andover for the last twelve years of his career. Prior to that, he spent 25 years as an international banker with BankBoston and lived in Latin America and Asia. Carroll is a graduate of Williams College and earned an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins. After college, he and his wife served in Brazil as Peace Corps volunteers.