The First 100 days

There are losers in any kind of punitive action on trade policy. There's no denying that. I think the rationale is that because we are a bigger purchaser of Chinese goods and services than China is of American goods and services, China has more to lose. We might lose some Chinese soybean customers, but they stand to lose far more in sales of electronics, clothing, etc.

Pulling out of the TPP was dumb. I think people (including Trump) just kneejerk assumed that it promoted more trade with China when it likely would have made it easier to reduce trade with China. If there were specific problems with TPP, then those should have been addressed. We shouldn't have just walked away from the table.

I think the hope is that the trade deficit can be used to leverage greater enforcement against IP theft within China. We can probably do more on our end to prosecute IP thieves when people in the US enable theft, but obviously the real bad apples are much easier for China to prosecute, because that's where they are.

However, even if the tariffs work and China agrees to some major crackdown on IP thieves, do we trust them to live up to their end of the deal? It's a little like the Iran nuclear deal. We are negotiating a deal with a country that is ideologically hostile to us and that we do not and cannot assume will honor its word, and that reduces the value of any concession they might make.

 

I think those would be valid positions if China did not prop up their failing/less-competitive entities. As a state, they provide services/support to their industry that we don't. They systematically enable their individual corporations to leapfrog technologically with IP theft. How can we expect a US business that is doing it by themselves, to compete with a similar Chinese company that has substantial support from the state? When we engaged with China 30 years ago and opened up the international community and invited them in, we hoped that they would eventually move towards a truly open economy but they haven't. I think we have to impose severe penalties on them to make them understand they can't continue in this way.

 

I completely agree. Trump's chief failing is that he doesn't know how to cooperate with anyone. His "my way or the highway" approach fails as often as it succeeds. You need allies to make a lot of things happen in the world, especially when your political system is one of alternating power/priorities every 4-8 years. China has the ability to wait Trump out. We had to do something and I think the tariff's were our best option but I think we would have had more leverage against China if we had a few more people in our corner right now.

 

Would Paul Krugman write this article today?

 

Ha! Not gonna happen.

 

Nope, and that's why I consider him a political hack rather than a serious economist.

 

9 People Showed Up for a KKK Rally in Dayton, Ohio. They Were Drowned Out by 600 Protestors

Anyone who grew up in the South in the 70’s and 80’s know that racism today is way down compared to then (whether in terms of hateful actions or just prejudice). Only leftists who suffer from confirmation bias and young people who are too stupid to know how stupid they are think otherwise.

 

There was a good article a few months ago somewhere on the interwebs stating that we live in an age of virtue signaling manias.

 

The evolution of Tucker Carlson has been interesting to watch
This take is fairly evolved and/or definitively non-stardard

 

A lot of people don’t understand the distinction between foreign factories set up by American companies to supply the US market vs the foreign market. Yes, the majority were built as part of an offshoring movement seeking lower wages and send the goods back to the US. However, a good many were built to serve the foreign market that could not be efficiently reached by factories on American soil (e.g., many sophisticated foreign companies insist their suppliers be located in their region). A lot of multinationals fall into the latter category. Multinationals don’t generally produce low cost goods where labor costs are a high percentage of the overall cost.

 

Tucker is wrong on 1 thing, big time. It is not the Koch brother or Libertarians that determine the Republican platform or provide Republicans' funding.

I mean even him saying that makes me think he doesn't have a valid opinion.

Plus he criticizes Austrian economics, like the US has ever followed Austrian economics or even classical economic theory since the 19th century. The reason the economy is in the sad state it is in is because of government activity trying to save capitalism or protect industries since the Wilson administration and the activity of the banks and government together to continually enlarge the money supply.

If Tucker even understood Austrian economics he would understand that.

Instead he agrees with Warren's call for a new New Deal.

 

The White House rented out four Mercedes E-Class limousines from an Irish funeral home for President Trump’s two-day visit to the country, The Guardian reports. The U.S. government is reportedly paying JP Ward & Sons, a family funeral services home, $233,748 per car for the rental—or almost a million dollars total. It is unclear what the president might need the limousines for, as his public schedule outlines him flying to destinations. Trump will reportedly fly to Shannon airport Wednesday night, and then fly by helicopter to his Doonbeg golf resort after meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. He will then fly to Normandy for D-day commemorations, return to Doonbeg, and fly back to Washington, D.C. on Friday.

If the limousines are used to visit the village of Doonbeg—an eight-mile round trip—the cost would work out to $116,879 per mile with the expense of the rentals, according to The Guardian. A JP Ward & Sons employee told the newspaper she did not know anything about rentals to President Trump.

The funeral home previously rented cars to Michelle Obama during her 2013 trip to Ireland for $114,000.

Irish funeral firm rents out four limousines to Trump for $1m

 

He has to have someplace private to shag the local ladies, don't you know.

 

Do we have Trump now?

 

Wow
If that is true whoever authorized that should be fired. and made to pay it back.
It is not in keeping with Trump's history.

 

This just in: LH is now worried about bloated government spending and waste.

 

Trump set another record! He spent more than $3 trillion in the first eight months of our fiscal year! Winning!


Monthly Treasury Statement

 

Congress

 

GOP controlled Congress

 

It's a disgrace. If only we had a party that actually wanted to spend less. . .

 

House is where spending bills originate. Dems control the house, or hadn't you noticed?

Nevertheless, that the Federal government has a budget this large is nauseating to me, no matter who you want to pin the blame on. There is more than enough blame to go around to all of those ******* hogs at the trough.

Yet AOC thinks congress needs a raise.

 

We're under the FY18 budget. This is still the work of the GOP. I don't see the Democrats leading much of a push to cut spending though.

 

Hahahahaha, budget? What budget?

 

Tough job, maybe the toughest.

 

Well, it's what they call a budget. They ultimately passed a colossal omnibus appropriations act, which isn't how it's supposed to work.

 

Bring back Da Mooch.

 

Oh no Biden started tweeting. Tweeting is outrageous!

He tweets nonsense that Trump inherited Obama and Biden’s economy. Well first you don’t make excuses for your economy that 1.5% is the new normal if your economy is doing great. You don’t claim it’s impossible to bring manufacturing jobs back and then mock Trump asking does he have a magic wand.

Also how can you claim it’s Obama/Biden’s economy if Trump pretty much deregulated every single regulation that Obama put on businesses. Trump also brought down the Corporate gains tax from Obama’s 35% down to 21%. He has true lower unemployment with a better participation rate. Obama’s was the lowest since the Jimmy Carter days. Also how can you not get the GDP over 3% for any one year when Obama spent $10 trillion to stimulate the economy. Because the fruit cake spent money on things like the study of black birds. How does that create new jobs? Or give $500 million to Solyndra and take photo opt bragging about the future jobs it will create only for them to file bankruptcy 6 months later. There’s cash for clunkers and I could go on all day at how much of a failure he was.

Polls are wrong once again. Trump in a landslide 2020.