Great article. Thank you. Demonstrates how the CPC works for the common good vs the predatory practices of Western capitalism. It's going to be fascinating watching the trade war evolve--not necessarily to America's benefit. And most fascinating of all will be watching Trump's support unravel and watching his response.
Today’s the day I go to the big city (@12,000) to do the weekly shopping and banking. Even though it was storming on and off, there was a huge noon rally in front of city hall with who knows how many different factions—at least six that I could count as I drove by honking my horn. Trump’s actions have damaged all small Oregon communities—doesn’t matter how they voted, but most voted for him. IMO, mid-terms are going to be ugly.
Yes, a curious indicator. Walmart pukes killed many stores and smalltown business districts and are responsible for the many "Dollar" stores that have sprouted like weeds. IN order to really do a retro-MAGA, all those small-town businesses would need to be revived and the MegaMarts killed off. Look at the consolidation of grocers. Along with Monopoly I had a game called Acquire which was all about hotels, the goal being to corner the market through consolidation. I was good at it.
Clinton's deregulation of everything turned the usa into "Monopolies R Us". Having said monopolies which insist on no competition(once a sign of greatness) has turned most
everything into shit. Without competition there is absolutely no reason to fear once your product is shit for there is no alternative.
How many times have you experienced an update on your computer/phone/app made everything worse if not unusable
Trumps tariff's have to be coming from Musk/Thiel of WEF fame. We're so fucked
i liked this line from you karl - "Trump might try focusing on correcting that big problem first along with the vulture financiers that caused the situation in the first place. But since Mr. Trump comes from that faction of financiers, that’s very unlikely to happen. " true!
Hmmm ... I started stocking up on clothes a couple years ago. I figured it would be 1 less thing to worry about when hyperinflation hit. Clean, hole-free clothes go a long way to boosting morale. Turns out it was a good thing to do, tho not why I expected.
Many of my clothes come from other countries not affected by the tariffs. Walmart has diversified some. They should diversify more & quit being jerks.
I also got 3 hens & a roo 2.5 years ago. Last year learned about fridge-free, "water-glass" egg storage. My hens have been laying for a couple weeks this season & I'm still using last year's eggs! More expensive than store bought but at least reliably available.
My question now is whether I should fill my oil tank now, at winter prices, or wait for summer & risk an attack on Iran & closing of strait of Hormuz.
A friend had a small farm about ten-minutes away and we collaborated on chickens and turkeys, but that was ten-years ago and he moved away. We just buy firewood, food and gasoline and make most of the gifts we give.
Lol, yes I should have gotten a couple more, which I may do this year, but they're doing ok as is.
Their lives aren't "perfect", but I haven't lost anyone to predators which include black bears, bobcats, a mountain lion, feral cats, fisher cats, racoons, fox, bald eagles, chicken hawks, owls & Lord knows what else we've had roam through here.
Unlike my neighbors, at night they roost 8' up in a barn, which not only keeps them safer, but lets them feel safer so rest better. By day, they are totally free range, but with access to the barn with its many hiding places & free choice top quality pellets. So there's that...
I remember “Green Acres”. I grew up in a unique farm country town with a laand-grant university—Davis, California. Dad was an agronomist and part of the Green Revolution. I was driving a tractor as soon as I could work the clutch. UCD had experimental plots from Redding to the Imperial Valley, and I got to sow seed all over. Salad Days indeed.
For years the exploitive monopsony that is Walmart has been exposed as destroying so many suppliers, and controlling them in extremely intrusive ways. Walmart was central to the off-shoring of US production as it chased cheaper pricing abroad.
Because of that Walmart does not have a leg to stand on as it can't source at the same prices from North America. The boot is firmly on the Chinese supplier foot now, as China needs Walmart less than Walmart needs China. A great comeuppance for such a predatory organization where so many of its staff are on state social benefits because of its utterly lousy pay levels.
It will be the US population who "eat" the tariffs not the foreign suppliers, with a further burst of inflation as places like Walmart maintain their profits by passing on the cost increases to their customers.
I’m seeing inflation affect goods that aren’t subject to tariffs as retailers try to mix their pricing so they can continue to offer weekly discounts. The political cost will be fall onto Vance since Trump can’t run again.
Those .Gubby Food-Stamps (the only real growth aside Debt, contributing also) are probably only redeemable in 'authorised' outlets like Wally-Mart and their lobbyists will be all over Congress-Senate Critters. Let's call it the Pelosi Time(ly)share Chronicles, not to be confused with her Botox Vagina Monologues. Not only are these public servants enjoying campaign donations from Wally's kick-backs but also catching the uptick on the share dividends. Nice work if you can get it!
These new tariffs will mean that Wally's lobbyists will now just bribe another set of critters who now chair xyz committee and dole out the contracts. The Dems (small winners) will whine while the COSTCO/other backed New Maga Republicans will benefit. For those critters who swing both ways (that's the majority) they'll lose this bundle but make up for it with a new bundle.
Long and short, the system has created a nation of beggars, dependants, spongers and financial grifters, AMAZON Plantation, one of the biggest, but across the board
I had no intention of typing the above mediocrity but got side-tracked and will follow up with my original hopefully more interesting message on the vagaries of the short & long CON of corporations and how they're now competing for scraps in the West.
Much like the example of Russia manufacturing a tank for $500k and the US, its equivalent for $5 million, why don't US Defence companies purchase Russian tanks and distribute the 950% savings among themselves OR put another way if America has all this gas/oil under its feet, access to cheap energy, wood and metals various is it only overhead costs preventing them from manufacturing stuff?
Further, is Mitt Romney's Bain Capital who dismantled their US factory bolt by bolt and moved it to Asia, gonna feel the pain of Trump's tariffs or just Joe & Jane Blow?
Consumers will pay more and thus buy less meaning retail revenues will drop and fewer will be employed so even fewer goods will be bought and thus restart the cycle. That’s why the GA Fed is so bearish.
Thing is Karl it's the land of the 'fake', boobs, ass, stawk meerkat, news, unemployment numbers, hmm, we have a new mathematical formula this month, you spin the wheel and land on a number, halve it, then deduct those who drive red cars.
PS Do you think the ball's in your court is correlated to troops, possibly many foreign mercs being surrounded in Kursk-Sumy region?
That's both fair and accurate as US superimperialism makes another transition to enable continued rent seeking, and probably nothing more than "Potemkin" factories in the US. The current politics is squabbling among crime families of the western oligarchic class. My opinion which I see no reason to change is that China will be forced to cease supply of goods to the western states, resulting in empty shelves. The next GFC won't see a Chinese rescue so the west's only option to maintain oligarchic supremacy is a tech-feudalism which is already being enacted within the EU and UK. The rest of the poodle states like Australia will follow.
It goes to the core, “designed in California, made in China”. The Chinese do the heavy lifting across the board, but particularly as they have to do the engineering. The Chinese know the areas where they need to catch up and are doing so, I don’t think government’s of the west or their advisers can get past the narrative. Harmony OS is more advance than Android, and Google’s big noise Fuchsia hasn’t surfaced with products, hmm. And the US still thinks it’s a competitor.
There might be some confusion at Walmart board-level and above, in terms of understanding the meaning of "... corporate social responsibility." Agree with you WRT the gangste tactics; I've worked out the protection racket equivalent, still trying to get a handle on the numbers racket.
There are tariffs and then there's daylight piracy.
In 2007/8 I took an Australian junior-miner into Niger looking to secure Uranium concessions.
A French company Areva, now Orano had enjoyed a monopoly for decades but the Government of Niger who had been receiving only $2 per kilogram produced in the 90's when the market price was say around $25 were still receiving $2 per kilo when the price rose in 2007/8 to well over $100. You can understand how development in the continent has been seriously curtailed.
Worse still from this $2 the Government of Niger received, some of these funds had to be held in trust to French financial institutions and only upon request could these funds be released.
Fortunately for Niger the French no longer have a monopoly on Niger's uranium with the door open to Russia, China, India, Europe, Asian mining companies from 2005. Further it looks like the French have been kicked out of the country all together. Records on the quantity of stolen resources must have been compiled yearly and if they want back into the country they'll have to agree a fair compensation on decades of pillaging.
In the early 2000's the Kazakhstan National Oil Company/Government were receiving only 2% of the profit/production ($136 million from memory) from Chevron's JV with Exxon Oil Asset in the country. Chevron/Exxon insisted that they recover their investment before a more equitable profit share. The terms will be much more favourable today for our Kazak brethren.
The Brits/US/EU enjoyed a nice profitable time during the Shah's reign in Iran. You can understand why the West now despise Iran.
Point is one by one thanks primarily to China, Russia and other competition to the western vultures we're witnessing a global shift in asset Management.
Taxes & Tariffs are the refuge of a dying concern.
BRICS will oversee fair-trade sustainable practices. Don't you just love competition?
Here comes the nattering nabob of negativity...It's likely that I'm misreading things but, many of the comments here read thusly: "Trump is stupid because he's wrecking things that are bad, creating more bad in the process"
We know that Walmart became a predator in the markets, inverting the supply/distribution model we were taught in B-school and everyone applauds the rapacious wealth extraction as evidence of good business practices. Why do people defend demonstrably harmful and corrupt actions when under the guise of business? Entrenched beliefs.
It should be obvious by now that Trump is not playing the game you want him to. The world is moving on. "American's" have suffered mightily since the advent of global business consolidation practices of the late 60's and early 70's, Reagan's inversion of market fundamentals with the trickle down theory, through the Trilateralist shenanigans of Slick Willy Clinton, the ownership society of Bush, the repeal of appropriate banking regulation, the staggering wealth transfer of 2008, rent seeking, wage parity, etc. The entirety of the last 60 years has been shit for the average American and it's specifically due to a lunatic worship of the lie of free markets and Capitalist wealth redistribution.
Look at Detroit. I have a hard time understanding why anyone is opposed to the natural death of an unnatural and harmful paradigm.
So Trump has chosen a tactic which seeks to disrupt the cozy relationships developed over the years. Relationships that act to harm the interests of the average Joe. Joe, understands this. Joe supports this. Joe wants a job at a fair wage. Joe remembers fondly his grandfather's job at the mill/factory. Joe remembers when one man working could buy a house, a car, support a family and mom could stay at home and raise the kids. Not all of this is true, but it lives in the imagination and Joe longs for a place in a society he can understand.
And Joe is angry that a seemingly endless parade of feckless backstabbing narcissists have taken all of that way. So Joe hears a message of hope and he responds. Trump has been honest about there being pain involved in a move to "America First" and Joe is cool with that. Are you?
Is doesn't matter. Putin is right. The world is moving toward a multi-polar world whether you like it or not. If America is to find a place in it, the old ways must be challenged. Will he make mistakes? Of course, but I think he's right to spur investment "at home." And that entails tipping over some apple carts.
Do you recall the Billy Joel hit song "Allentown" and when that was released? That was 1982 when everything he sang about was already in the dumps. So, the process began well before Reagan. The decision to "ruin" America was made during WW2 because of the fear of the average worker and his unions, the need to honor the last piece of New Deal legislation--The Full Employment Act of 1946--meant an excuse was needed to keep the arms factories going. By 1948, there was a crisis amongst aircraft makers, with many on the edge of bankruptcy because there wasn't a massive demand for commercial air service and the planes it would require. So, Truman engineered the 1948 Berlin War Scare that saw billions spent to bailout the airplane industry while also planting the seeds for the war on labor related to the Anti-Communist Crusade. Eisenhower allowed the MIC and its CIA partners to continue to grow and become more powerful. His Farewell Speech lamentation was a very poor confession for what he had allowed to occur. So, the political-econimic seeds of capitalist implosion were planted then. The USA's society was also dysfunctional thanks to its racism and de facto apartheid policies, a dysfunction that still exists today.
The problems and contradictions that exist within the Outlaw US Empire are many and have very deep roots that are not easily seen thanks to a media that is incapable of truth telling and an educational system that's similarly handicapped. Add the massive level of corruption to the mix that's been around since Frank Capra made "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in 1939 and the "Yes Men" society exposed in the 1956 film "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit," and you expose the roots of America's social malaise. Add to that the very hard lesson/message within "South Pacific" that hit Broadway in 1949, the film in 1958, and the painting's complete. Few today are able to look back at all that because few know of its existence.
Indeed. The roots of corruption go even further back, as you know. I have a tiny amount of Pueblo Indian blood in my veins and am familiar with the hideous legacy of General Custer, the War of 1812, malaria infected blankets given to starving frozen people, the Trail of Tears, etc. My grandfather had his skull bashed in as a Union organizer. One of his brothers, a Democrat, was killed in an arson fire he started in an attempt to frame the Republicans. All of which have precedents traceable through time.
And each of these cycles has been analyzed by variously educated and intentioned people and bread crumbs are scattered in places seemingly far apart - from the Strauss–Howe generational theory to The World as Will and Representation by Schopenhauer, from John Locke through Thomas Payne, from the Magna Carta to The Communist Manifesto.
This is a very important concept. The Great Dialogue. It's also germane that politics is downstream of human consciousness. A manifestation of the communal unconscious - the astral plane made real, if you will.
Subject to forces beyond mere mortal flesh. Trump is just a symbol. Putin also, the difference being Putin is aware of the larger forces at work and bends his will to support his society's transition. Trump believes he's on a mission from God. Both of them working with forces wholly beyond their control.
We can go all the way back to Adam & Eve laying out blame if we want. But the reality is that we are where we are now. We have to deal with the real situation today -- the US is de-industrialized, over-indebted, and over-committed internationally. Bitching about who screwed up in the past (I blame Lincoln!) is not going to help.
For about the last half century, the US has had oceans of regulations, complex tax laws that no-one understands, and positive encouragement to businesses to offshore their production. This has resulted in the loss of jobs for workers, the loss of tax revenues for government, and the loss of skills which will take another half-century to rebuild -- along with disguising the unemployment by creating millions of make-work government jobs. What are we going to do?
We are not going to vote our way out of this situation, and we are not going to solve it painlessly. The choice is pain today or bigger pain tomorrow. A place to start is to get out of NATO, cut military expenditures drastically, impose tariffs at the same time as rolling back regulations to encourage more production in the US. President Trump is trying, but he faces a lot of domestic & international opposition from the usual suspects.
Exactly. And it's taken a lot for me to accept the Teflon Don as being a change agent. Not necessarily a problem solver. I don't think that the changes which survive will be decided by anyone. They will come about through error, compromise and resentment, setting the stage for the next round of the Grand Dialogue.
So in that regard, I'm a huge fan of Trump even though I disagree with almost everything he's doing with regard to foreign policy. We have yet to regret the mess Israel is making - and the response to the recent attacks on the Houthi may surprise many in the US. It's dangerous to think the American Navy is invincible. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode...
There are many other places to get out of that aren’t NATO—All of the Western Pacific is an excellent example with 5-75,000 troops, air force and the Naval fleets. None of that has the politics of NATO impeding their return home and permanently closing those many bases. And the overhead of all those territorial possessions acquired during WW2 need to be let go and rule themselves. The declining Empire needs to cease being an Empire so it can somewhat smoothly transition to normal nation status.
It’s important to know where the fault lies so it doesn’t get repeated or those that did the deed aren’t allowed near power again.
Wouldn't it be great if we could exclude the hereditary power structure from power? Didn't work out too well for the French...China seems to have stabilized following Mao's painful experiment...I'm not a spiritualist by any means, but I think the "problems" of nations are spiritual more than political. If people were "better" politics would be easier...maybe?
You know Karl, I would love to read your take on why the West feels compelled to make China an enemy. I don't get it.
Great article. Thank you. Demonstrates how the CPC works for the common good vs the predatory practices of Western capitalism. It's going to be fascinating watching the trade war evolve--not necessarily to America's benefit. And most fascinating of all will be watching Trump's support unravel and watching his response.
Today’s the day I go to the big city (@12,000) to do the weekly shopping and banking. Even though it was storming on and off, there was a huge noon rally in front of city hall with who knows how many different factions—at least six that I could count as I drove by honking my horn. Trump’s actions have damaged all small Oregon communities—doesn’t matter how they voted, but most voted for him. IMO, mid-terms are going to be ugly.
I gotta admit that Trump 2.0 is even dumber than Trump 1.0, one would've thought
that he learned his lesson during his 1st presidency, but I digress.
When WalMart is hurting from the tariffs, the end of the empire can't be that
far behind, can it?
Yes, a curious indicator. Walmart pukes killed many stores and smalltown business districts and are responsible for the many "Dollar" stores that have sprouted like weeds. IN order to really do a retro-MAGA, all those small-town businesses would need to be revived and the MegaMarts killed off. Look at the consolidation of grocers. Along with Monopoly I had a game called Acquire which was all about hotels, the goal being to corner the market through consolidation. I was good at it.
Clinton's deregulation of everything turned the usa into "Monopolies R Us". Having said monopolies which insist on no competition(once a sign of greatness) has turned most
everything into shit. Without competition there is absolutely no reason to fear once your product is shit for there is no alternative.
How many times have you experienced an update on your computer/phone/app made everything worse if not unusable
Trumps tariff's have to be coming from Musk/Thiel of WEF fame. We're so fucked
i liked this line from you karl - "Trump might try focusing on correcting that big problem first along with the vulture financiers that caused the situation in the first place. But since Mr. Trump comes from that faction of financiers, that’s very unlikely to happen. " true!
Hmmm ... I started stocking up on clothes a couple years ago. I figured it would be 1 less thing to worry about when hyperinflation hit. Clean, hole-free clothes go a long way to boosting morale. Turns out it was a good thing to do, tho not why I expected.
Many of my clothes come from other countries not affected by the tariffs. Walmart has diversified some. They should diversify more & quit being jerks.
I also got 3 hens & a roo 2.5 years ago. Last year learned about fridge-free, "water-glass" egg storage. My hens have been laying for a couple weeks this season & I'm still using last year's eggs! More expensive than store bought but at least reliably available.
My question now is whether I should fill my oil tank now, at winter prices, or wait for summer & risk an attack on Iran & closing of strait of Hormuz.
A friend had a small farm about ten-minutes away and we collaborated on chickens and turkeys, but that was ten-years ago and he moved away. We just buy firewood, food and gasoline and make most of the gifts we give.
If I was that rooster I'd want at least 6 hens bud.
Lol, yes I should have gotten a couple more, which I may do this year, but they're doing ok as is.
Their lives aren't "perfect", but I haven't lost anyone to predators which include black bears, bobcats, a mountain lion, feral cats, fisher cats, racoons, fox, bald eagles, chicken hawks, owls & Lord knows what else we've had roam through here.
Unlike my neighbors, at night they roost 8' up in a barn, which not only keeps them safer, but lets them feel safer so rest better. By day, they are totally free range, but with access to the barn with its many hiding places & free choice top quality pellets. So there's that...
I remember “Green Acres”. I grew up in a unique farm country town with a laand-grant university—Davis, California. Dad was an agronomist and part of the Green Revolution. I was driving a tractor as soon as I could work the clutch. UCD had experimental plots from Redding to the Imperial Valley, and I got to sow seed all over. Salad Days indeed.
That be one of my most favourite songs
'I know I's can't rede or rite
But I's can drive a tractor'
Thanks for the insightful article and some info re yourself, nice.
For years the exploitive monopsony that is Walmart has been exposed as destroying so many suppliers, and controlling them in extremely intrusive ways. Walmart was central to the off-shoring of US production as it chased cheaper pricing abroad.
Because of that Walmart does not have a leg to stand on as it can't source at the same prices from North America. The boot is firmly on the Chinese supplier foot now, as China needs Walmart less than Walmart needs China. A great comeuppance for such a predatory organization where so many of its staff are on state social benefits because of its utterly lousy pay levels.
It will be the US population who "eat" the tariffs not the foreign suppliers, with a further burst of inflation as places like Walmart maintain their profits by passing on the cost increases to their customers.
I’m seeing inflation affect goods that aren’t subject to tariffs as retailers try to mix their pricing so they can continue to offer weekly discounts. The political cost will be fall onto Vance since Trump can’t run again.
Those .Gubby Food-Stamps (the only real growth aside Debt, contributing also) are probably only redeemable in 'authorised' outlets like Wally-Mart and their lobbyists will be all over Congress-Senate Critters. Let's call it the Pelosi Time(ly)share Chronicles, not to be confused with her Botox Vagina Monologues. Not only are these public servants enjoying campaign donations from Wally's kick-backs but also catching the uptick on the share dividends. Nice work if you can get it!
These new tariffs will mean that Wally's lobbyists will now just bribe another set of critters who now chair xyz committee and dole out the contracts. The Dems (small winners) will whine while the COSTCO/other backed New Maga Republicans will benefit. For those critters who swing both ways (that's the majority) they'll lose this bundle but make up for it with a new bundle.
Long and short, the system has created a nation of beggars, dependants, spongers and financial grifters, AMAZON Plantation, one of the biggest, but across the board
I had no intention of typing the above mediocrity but got side-tracked and will follow up with my original hopefully more interesting message on the vagaries of the short & long CON of corporations and how they're now competing for scraps in the West.
Much like the example of Russia manufacturing a tank for $500k and the US, its equivalent for $5 million, why don't US Defence companies purchase Russian tanks and distribute the 950% savings among themselves OR put another way if America has all this gas/oil under its feet, access to cheap energy, wood and metals various is it only overhead costs preventing them from manufacturing stuff?
Further, is Mitt Romney's Bain Capital who dismantled their US factory bolt by bolt and moved it to Asia, gonna feel the pain of Trump's tariffs or just Joe & Jane Blow?
Consumers will pay more and thus buy less meaning retail revenues will drop and fewer will be employed so even fewer goods will be bought and thus restart the cycle. That’s why the GA Fed is so bearish.
Thing is Karl it's the land of the 'fake', boobs, ass, stawk meerkat, news, unemployment numbers, hmm, we have a new mathematical formula this month, you spin the wheel and land on a number, halve it, then deduct those who drive red cars.
PS Do you think the ball's in your court is correlated to troops, possibly many foreign mercs being surrounded in Kursk-Sumy region?
Eurasia's winning. Big Brother Land is losing. Check out this, https://www.rt.com/business/614243-china-processor-faster-us-rival/
That's both fair and accurate as US superimperialism makes another transition to enable continued rent seeking, and probably nothing more than "Potemkin" factories in the US. The current politics is squabbling among crime families of the western oligarchic class. My opinion which I see no reason to change is that China will be forced to cease supply of goods to the western states, resulting in empty shelves. The next GFC won't see a Chinese rescue so the west's only option to maintain oligarchic supremacy is a tech-feudalism which is already being enacted within the EU and UK. The rest of the poodle states like Australia will follow.
Some are going to be in for a big surprise. Check out this short info-item, https://www.rt.com/business/614243-china-processor-faster-us-rival/
It goes to the core, “designed in California, made in China”. The Chinese do the heavy lifting across the board, but particularly as they have to do the engineering. The Chinese know the areas where they need to catch up and are doing so, I don’t think government’s of the west or their advisers can get past the narrative. Harmony OS is more advance than Android, and Google’s big noise Fuchsia hasn’t surfaced with products, hmm. And the US still thinks it’s a competitor.
Any good news coming out of Outlaw US Empire? Oh my God!
Yeah, we got another excellent storm with plenty of rain and snow, so no drought and hopefully a lower fire threat this season.
There might be some confusion at Walmart board-level and above, in terms of understanding the meaning of "... corporate social responsibility." Agree with you WRT the gangste tactics; I've worked out the protection racket equivalent, still trying to get a handle on the numbers racket.
There are tariffs and then there's daylight piracy.
In 2007/8 I took an Australian junior-miner into Niger looking to secure Uranium concessions.
A French company Areva, now Orano had enjoyed a monopoly for decades but the Government of Niger who had been receiving only $2 per kilogram produced in the 90's when the market price was say around $25 were still receiving $2 per kilo when the price rose in 2007/8 to well over $100. You can understand how development in the continent has been seriously curtailed.
Worse still from this $2 the Government of Niger received, some of these funds had to be held in trust to French financial institutions and only upon request could these funds be released.
Fortunately for Niger the French no longer have a monopoly on Niger's uranium with the door open to Russia, China, India, Europe, Asian mining companies from 2005. Further it looks like the French have been kicked out of the country all together. Records on the quantity of stolen resources must have been compiled yearly and if they want back into the country they'll have to agree a fair compensation on decades of pillaging.
In the early 2000's the Kazakhstan National Oil Company/Government were receiving only 2% of the profit/production ($136 million from memory) from Chevron's JV with Exxon Oil Asset in the country. Chevron/Exxon insisted that they recover their investment before a more equitable profit share. The terms will be much more favourable today for our Kazak brethren.
The Brits/US/EU enjoyed a nice profitable time during the Shah's reign in Iran. You can understand why the West now despise Iran.
Point is one by one thanks primarily to China, Russia and other competition to the western vultures we're witnessing a global shift in asset Management.
Taxes & Tariffs are the refuge of a dying concern.
BRICS will oversee fair-trade sustainable practices. Don't you just love competition?
Here comes the nattering nabob of negativity...It's likely that I'm misreading things but, many of the comments here read thusly: "Trump is stupid because he's wrecking things that are bad, creating more bad in the process"
We know that Walmart became a predator in the markets, inverting the supply/distribution model we were taught in B-school and everyone applauds the rapacious wealth extraction as evidence of good business practices. Why do people defend demonstrably harmful and corrupt actions when under the guise of business? Entrenched beliefs.
It should be obvious by now that Trump is not playing the game you want him to. The world is moving on. "American's" have suffered mightily since the advent of global business consolidation practices of the late 60's and early 70's, Reagan's inversion of market fundamentals with the trickle down theory, through the Trilateralist shenanigans of Slick Willy Clinton, the ownership society of Bush, the repeal of appropriate banking regulation, the staggering wealth transfer of 2008, rent seeking, wage parity, etc. The entirety of the last 60 years has been shit for the average American and it's specifically due to a lunatic worship of the lie of free markets and Capitalist wealth redistribution.
Look at Detroit. I have a hard time understanding why anyone is opposed to the natural death of an unnatural and harmful paradigm.
So Trump has chosen a tactic which seeks to disrupt the cozy relationships developed over the years. Relationships that act to harm the interests of the average Joe. Joe, understands this. Joe supports this. Joe wants a job at a fair wage. Joe remembers fondly his grandfather's job at the mill/factory. Joe remembers when one man working could buy a house, a car, support a family and mom could stay at home and raise the kids. Not all of this is true, but it lives in the imagination and Joe longs for a place in a society he can understand.
And Joe is angry that a seemingly endless parade of feckless backstabbing narcissists have taken all of that way. So Joe hears a message of hope and he responds. Trump has been honest about there being pain involved in a move to "America First" and Joe is cool with that. Are you?
Is doesn't matter. Putin is right. The world is moving toward a multi-polar world whether you like it or not. If America is to find a place in it, the old ways must be challenged. Will he make mistakes? Of course, but I think he's right to spur investment "at home." And that entails tipping over some apple carts.
Do you recall the Billy Joel hit song "Allentown" and when that was released? That was 1982 when everything he sang about was already in the dumps. So, the process began well before Reagan. The decision to "ruin" America was made during WW2 because of the fear of the average worker and his unions, the need to honor the last piece of New Deal legislation--The Full Employment Act of 1946--meant an excuse was needed to keep the arms factories going. By 1948, there was a crisis amongst aircraft makers, with many on the edge of bankruptcy because there wasn't a massive demand for commercial air service and the planes it would require. So, Truman engineered the 1948 Berlin War Scare that saw billions spent to bailout the airplane industry while also planting the seeds for the war on labor related to the Anti-Communist Crusade. Eisenhower allowed the MIC and its CIA partners to continue to grow and become more powerful. His Farewell Speech lamentation was a very poor confession for what he had allowed to occur. So, the political-econimic seeds of capitalist implosion were planted then. The USA's society was also dysfunctional thanks to its racism and de facto apartheid policies, a dysfunction that still exists today.
The problems and contradictions that exist within the Outlaw US Empire are many and have very deep roots that are not easily seen thanks to a media that is incapable of truth telling and an educational system that's similarly handicapped. Add the massive level of corruption to the mix that's been around since Frank Capra made "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in 1939 and the "Yes Men" society exposed in the 1956 film "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit," and you expose the roots of America's social malaise. Add to that the very hard lesson/message within "South Pacific" that hit Broadway in 1949, the film in 1958, and the painting's complete. Few today are able to look back at all that because few know of its existence.
Indeed. The roots of corruption go even further back, as you know. I have a tiny amount of Pueblo Indian blood in my veins and am familiar with the hideous legacy of General Custer, the War of 1812, malaria infected blankets given to starving frozen people, the Trail of Tears, etc. My grandfather had his skull bashed in as a Union organizer. One of his brothers, a Democrat, was killed in an arson fire he started in an attempt to frame the Republicans. All of which have precedents traceable through time.
And each of these cycles has been analyzed by variously educated and intentioned people and bread crumbs are scattered in places seemingly far apart - from the Strauss–Howe generational theory to The World as Will and Representation by Schopenhauer, from John Locke through Thomas Payne, from the Magna Carta to The Communist Manifesto.
This is a very important concept. The Great Dialogue. It's also germane that politics is downstream of human consciousness. A manifestation of the communal unconscious - the astral plane made real, if you will.
Subject to forces beyond mere mortal flesh. Trump is just a symbol. Putin also, the difference being Putin is aware of the larger forces at work and bends his will to support his society's transition. Trump believes he's on a mission from God. Both of them working with forces wholly beyond their control.
We can go all the way back to Adam & Eve laying out blame if we want. But the reality is that we are where we are now. We have to deal with the real situation today -- the US is de-industrialized, over-indebted, and over-committed internationally. Bitching about who screwed up in the past (I blame Lincoln!) is not going to help.
For about the last half century, the US has had oceans of regulations, complex tax laws that no-one understands, and positive encouragement to businesses to offshore their production. This has resulted in the loss of jobs for workers, the loss of tax revenues for government, and the loss of skills which will take another half-century to rebuild -- along with disguising the unemployment by creating millions of make-work government jobs. What are we going to do?
We are not going to vote our way out of this situation, and we are not going to solve it painlessly. The choice is pain today or bigger pain tomorrow. A place to start is to get out of NATO, cut military expenditures drastically, impose tariffs at the same time as rolling back regulations to encourage more production in the US. President Trump is trying, but he faces a lot of domestic & international opposition from the usual suspects.
Exactly. And it's taken a lot for me to accept the Teflon Don as being a change agent. Not necessarily a problem solver. I don't think that the changes which survive will be decided by anyone. They will come about through error, compromise and resentment, setting the stage for the next round of the Grand Dialogue.
So in that regard, I'm a huge fan of Trump even though I disagree with almost everything he's doing with regard to foreign policy. We have yet to regret the mess Israel is making - and the response to the recent attacks on the Houthi may surprise many in the US. It's dangerous to think the American Navy is invincible. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode...
There are many other places to get out of that aren’t NATO—All of the Western Pacific is an excellent example with 5-75,000 troops, air force and the Naval fleets. None of that has the politics of NATO impeding their return home and permanently closing those many bases. And the overhead of all those territorial possessions acquired during WW2 need to be let go and rule themselves. The declining Empire needs to cease being an Empire so it can somewhat smoothly transition to normal nation status.
It’s important to know where the fault lies so it doesn’t get repeated or those that did the deed aren’t allowed near power again.
Wouldn't it be great if we could exclude the hereditary power structure from power? Didn't work out too well for the French...China seems to have stabilized following Mao's painful experiment...I'm not a spiritualist by any means, but I think the "problems" of nations are spiritual more than political. If people were "better" politics would be easier...maybe?
You know Karl, I would love to read your take on why the West feels compelled to make China an enemy. I don't get it.
That's Like The Pot Calling The Kettle Black...LOL