Well, howdy there, Internet people, it's Bell again. So today, we're going to talk about Trump

saying the U.S. is going to retake Panama. On a list of things I didn't expect to talk about this week,

this is pretty high. Trump put out a couple of statements on the country of Panama and the

canal that are definitely

worth examining.

He said the United States would take the Panama Canal back because apparently he feels

the tolls are too high.

To be clear, reasserting control of the Panama Canal, which generates more than 7% of Panama's

GDP when you're taking into account indirect factors, or about 3% on direct factors alone,

would likely require military action. It seems unlikely that the Panamanian government would

just hand the canal over and the economic activity along with it.

Trump said, quote, the fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S.

This complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop.

He also said, quote,

If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed,

then we will demand that the Panama Canal be

returned to us in full and without question. To the officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly.

Obviously, there's questions about the whole military action part of this. But I'd like to clear something up

about the ridiculous fees first. Just because. The canal no longer charges a flat per ton rate for passage.

But when you look up the average per ton cost, the highest estimate I could find was about $10 per ton. Fair enough,

that's definitely more than the $1.20 per ton the canal charged when it opened. But that was also

more than 100 years ago. Adjusting for inflation from 1914, the $1.20 would now be almost $38 per ton.

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