Sen. Elizabeth Warren missed the day when TACO was served.

The acronym, which stands for “Trump always chickens out,” is a dig at President Trump and his record of imposing or threatening tariffs and then pausing them or backing off. The concept of negotiation or playing hardball is lost on TACO servers, but the term does at least acknowledge that tariffs are not necessarily set in stone.

Our Democratic senator missed that part, as well as the market recoveries that follow the lifting or pausing of said tariffs. According to The Hill, Sens. Warren and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) are taking aim at the Trump administration over the impact the president’s trade policies will have on the finances of retirees and people close to retirement.

“The economic chaos triggered by President Trump’s disastrous tariff policy has the potential to decimate retirees’ savings,” they wrote in a letter to the White House on Friday that was obtained by The Hill. “Simultaneously, the Trump Administration has taken a wrecking ball to the Social Security Administration (SSA), limiting seniors’ access to their hard-earned benefits.”

The Social Security system has been a hot mess for decades, addressed and then ignored by lawmakers. It is predicted to run out of money 10 years from now. Warren’s 2020 campaign included a “plan” to increase  “standard Social Security and Social Security Disability Insurance benefits immediately by $200 a month – $2,400 a year – for every current and future beneficiary in America.”

Where would the money come from? The rich of course, who would have this added to the list of things their “fair share” would cover. A Treasury study from last fall showed that the rich not only pay more than the middle class, they pay more than one-third of their annual income in federal taxes and more than 45% when state and local taxes are included, but that’s irrelevant when you need a scapegoat.

What Trump is doing, as part of his Big, Beautiful Bill, is proposing to raise the standard tax deduction by up to $4,000 for people aged 65 and over, starting in 2025 through 2028. The deduction begins to phase out at $75,000 for individuals, and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Sounds like a good plan.

And yes, the stock market has been a wild ride since Trump started rolling out, then pausing or rescinding tariffs. What investors have come to learn is that while the market dives after a tariff announcement, it bounces back when it’s reversed or paused.

Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong even coined the term “TACO trade” in May, describing how some investors anticipate market rebounds amid Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff policies.

Experts have warned investors not to panic. And it would be wise to note that stocks are affected by other fiscal news. The Dow rose more than 400 points Friday after a strong May jobs report.

True, Fidelity Investments, the largest provider of 401(k) plans in the U.S., reported this week that average 401(k) balances fell 3% to $127,100 during the first three months of the year. But there are three more quarters to come. You never call a horse race after the first turn.

Slamming Trump is Democrats’ favorite hobby, and whipping up a frenzy over retirement funds and Social Security payments makes for good sound bites aimed at the base.

It isn’t, however, something to put much stock into.

Editorial cartoon by A.F. Branco (Creators Syndicate)