A copy of this movie on VHS was my security blanket as a kid. Love me some John Hughes.

This isn’t one of the scenes I think of first when recalling this masterpiece of an 80’s movie, but it sure does seem relevant right now. (Not that I want to be going out of my way to learn anything from Ben Stein..)

It’s Tariff Tuesday for Canada, Mexico, and China thanks to executive order from down south on the basis of “economic emergency”. It’s no surprise that people are thinking back to nearly a century ago – the last time the US attempted such aggressive tariff action, which was an effort to stem the economic recession of the 1930’s. “It did NOT work, and the United States sank deeper into the Great Depression.”

The bored teens were played for the laugh, but the apathy sure does seem like a portent to current day woes.