Sacred Symbols+, #417 | How Could Donald Trump's Return Affect the Games Industry? (Patreon)

Hello! It's me, Colin. Welcome back to another episode of Sacred+. The election season is now behind us, and America has a new president-elect. In Grover Cleveland-like fashion, Donald Trump is returning to the White House, and it looks like he'll be doing so with complete GOP control of the House and Senate, too. No matter who won, though, I knew I wanted to do an episode on the victorious candidate, and specifically how (if at all) their policy prescriptions and stances may affect our space. To do this, I called in lawyer and friend-of-the-show Rick Hoeg, and we focused-in on five topics in particular: Tariffs, Inflation, Labor, the FTC, and Expression. Could Trump's unabashedly protectionist leanings ultimately make gaming more expensive in the US? Will inflation finally be stemmed, allowing people to afford more leisure items and activities? Does the new administration's populist slant signal a softening of anti-union sentiment once common with conservatives? Will the activist FTC be dismantled by a man who seems to believe most-of-all in free, unbridled markets? Should we be worried about a Trump statement from 2019 about access to violent games? We get into all of this -- and more -- in hopes that this podcast provides some tools to you to understand what's happening (and may still happen) in our sphere. More than that, though, we hope this show is useful to you, balanced, and fair. Please enjoy.