The Trump Crime Family

[Carmine Falcone]

Jalimon, you're approaching it from too rational a viewpoint. We don't live in a rational America where people vote against the one primary party fucking them at each conceivable turn. The only people that have benefited from this administration are the rich and the racist. The current Republican electorate is readily destroying their own future and everyone else's.

As usual, Sambuca reveals he/she is what passes for "intellectual" on the right (the kind of "intellectual" that is flummoxed by basic "your" and "you're" lol), the kind of intellectual that sets up a strawman of sent kids when families are coming together. Unaccompanied children was what happened when Obama was in office. (But you'll probably also readily believe those aren't really their kids because rubes believe anything that would strain credulity of non-halfheads).

Besides it's either you own the policy--warts and all--or not. The idea of separating children as an illegal immigration deterrent was uttered not only by Sessions, but by John Kelly (on CNN last March) who was the former Homeland Security head. Ultimately though, this will merely be another tempest in a teapot. Of the poll respondents that oppose this child separation policy, guess which party members make up the lion share? That this administration still has any moral, ethical, economic legitimacy or authority to any non-wealthy person just reminds over and over that Trump is the symptom but the disease has always been America itself. Illegal immigrants can be held without splitting up families---but that was candyass America.

 

[sambuca]

As usual, Sambuca reveals he/she is what passes for "intellectual" on the right (the kind of "intellectual" that is flummoxed by basic "your" and "you're" lol), the kind of intellectual that sets up a strawman of sent kids when families are coming together. Unaccompanied children was what happened when Obama was in office. (But you'll probably also readily believe those aren't really their kids because rubes believe anything that would strain credulity of non-halfheads).

I apologize for the spelling error.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

The only people that have benefited from this administration are the rich and the racists

Guess you only read certain news. Unemployment is at a low, unemployment for blacks is at a low.
Yup, keep up the good informative posts.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

I apologize for the spelling error.

I have seen the lefties do some grammur chicking latly, know ned too bee sory.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

I can't follow your reasoning, please try to adress what I am saying, when did I talk of Hitler or women, or peeing, my god peeing or....

Never did I say you, it was posted in this thread. Try to comprehend a little better.
BTW, This is about the third time you signed out.

 

[sambuca]

And so what would you say Trump has done good so far for the american people? Giving lower corporate taxes? Very popular political measure to do. Looks good. But what happened? It happened that the rich business owner are paying lower taxes. They have since been buying back their own stocks to enrish themselves a little more. Are they investing more? Are they raising salaries? Read about it. Fuck all.

Trump lowered our corporate tax rate so it is now basically on par with Canada. That's if you include state/province income taxes. I had no problem with lowering the corporate tax rate for that some American companies was over 40% (incl. state tax). Corporate taxes have to stay competitive or you only chase investment overseas which indeed we have seen for the last twenty years. It's better for large U.S. corporations to bring money home and buyback shares than park and invest their overseas profits in foreign subsidiaries.

Now lowering personal income tax was a political ploy to gain favor for tax reform and the lower corporate tax rate. I don't think personal tax rates are sustainable and they will likely drift back up. I would also argue that at this stage in the economic cycle we don't need the boost a tax cut will bring. I'm hoping in the end that reflation will be good for investment and wages. Near zero interest rates and very low inflation for several years reflected a very weak economy.

Trump is definitely pro-growth for good and bad. Howard Schultz (Starbucks founder) a possible future Democratic Presidential candidate recently admitted the U.S. economy has to grow faster than recent years. I'm not going to say President Obama was anti-growth, but for us Center-Right Americans we heard a guy who was suspicious of business and the profit-motive. I believe he was an academian, an activist and a politician. Smart guy, but very removed from the business sector. We can argue all day if increasing regulations hurts the economy. I would think the renewed vigor of our oil & gas sector is a big positive. Obama didn't really dig that and certainly didn't encourage it.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

And so what would you say Trump has done good so far for the american people?

Regular American have not seen any benefit except loose some healthcare benefits. .

Well....

May 29, 2018

An ever-tighter labor market is likely to fuel a stronger economic performance in the second quarter, following a moderation of seasonally-adjusted annualized growth in the first quarter. In April, the unemployment rate was at its lowest since the dot-com bubble peak in 2000. This will likely bolster wage growth; simultaneously, the recent tax reform should start producing effects, boosting after-tax household incomes. Together, these dynamics should support higher consumer spending, so far reflected in robust retail sales growth and buoyant consumer confidence in April.

Wonder if your buddies will mock you for your spelling of lose.

 

[sambuca]

I'm kind of curious why Jalimon is so vocal about the trade disputes or whatever you want to call them. For the local crowd, I think Canada is a smokescreen for taking on China and to a lesser extent Mexico.

Jalimon, do you realize that most of this was Bernie Sanders' platform? I don't see many people here in the U.S. concerned or discussing the matter. Frankly, we don't export much to China, Mexico and a few other countries. Of course, there are a few bought & paid for economists who represent large exporters and importers whining on TV.

Look at the China you see in early 2018. China will never be the same economically and probably politically. Don't cry for China. They've been moving away from democracy and free markets the last few years as the easy growth transitioning from a poor country to a developed country has slowed.

 

[sharkman]

Trump lowered our corporate tax rate so it is now basically on par with Canada...........Trump is definitely pro-growth for good and bad. Howard Schultz (Starbucks founder) a possible future Democratic Presidential candidate recently admitted the U.S. economy has to grow faster than recent years. I'm not going to say President Obama was anti-growth, but for us Center-Right Americans we heard a guy who was suspicious of business and the profit-motive......

Finally someone who gets it! Could not have expressed in better words!

There are other material tax cuts for corporations targeted at promoting investment by companies that will:

1) improve the competitiveness of U.S. companies...with the result of
2) creating higher paying jobs

 

[sharkman]

I'm kind of curious why Jalimon is so vocal about the trade disputes or whatever you want to call them. For the local crowd, I think Canada is a smokescreen for taking on China and to a lesser extent Mexico.

Jalimon, do you realize that most of this was Bernie Sanders' platform? I don't see many people here in the U.S. concerned or discussing the matter. Frankly, we don't export much to China, Mexico and a few other countries. Of course, there are a few bought & paid for economists who represent large exporters and importers whining on TV.

Look at the China you see in early 2018. China will never be the same economically and probably politically. Don't cry for China. They've been moving away from democracy and free markets the last few years as the easy growth transitioning from a poor country to a developed country has slowed.

How many times have the U.S. warned China (including the Obama administration) to stop stealing intellectual property (software, patent infringements, copyrights, etc)???

It was about time that someone put his foot down and took action rather than just trash talk!

 

[sambuca]

How many times have the U.S. warned China (including the Obama administration) to stop stealing intellectual property (software, patent infringements, copyrights, etc)???

It was about time that someone put his foot down and took action rather than just trash talk!

The Canadians are free to think what they want. For Americans who side with China over Trump, it is borderline treasonous. We have been in a trade war for almost twenty years and only started to fight back.

Now someone needs to tell Trump to just state the facts (tariffs, intellectual property, other barriers) without a lot of rhetoric. The Chinese leaders and their people are very concerned about keeping face. The Chinese aren't not going to be rational about their high trade barriers if you back them into a corner. They'll just feel like they are being dominated by a Western power like they were in the past.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Many companies agree that China needs to stop stealing proprietary US technology. Maybe if you guys can connect the dots on how a trade war, which is ultimately paid for by consumers and certain businesses, will stop China from stealing technology. China can match any tariffs we levy so don't exactly see how tariffs are a useful negotiating tool. You actually see this sort of thing often with Trump. On certain topics, he has a legitimate or narrow point but the solution not only fails to address the problem but exacerbates it in another way.

It'd be easy to dismiss all this stuff as political differences if the one person directing it hasn't showed time and time again that he's so utterly clueless. Go read Trump's remarks on Canadians "smuggling shoes." Even if his recollection is accurate (it's not), the essence of what he said was

Canadians are coming to the US to buy our goods.

So which American business would object to that exactly? The use of "smuggling" connotes illegal activity but the rest of the sentence does not suggest resale. As in, Canadians are buying shoes in America for personal use. After all, who would buy shoes that have been scuffed or now "sound old?" :smile:. At least when some of his statements are head-scratching to the point of laughter, you might as well because thinking about how sad it all is will only make you depressed. Had Obama been this stupid, he would have been rightfully impeached three months in.

 

[sambuca]

China can match any tariffs we levy so don't exactly see how tariffs are a useful negotiating tool.

Yes, China can match any tariffs. However, they cannot match the mathematical impact of American tariffs. Simple math shows American tariffs on $500 billion of Chinese imports will have more mathematical impact than Chinese tariffs on the $130 billion we export to China. I say mathematical impact because China is smart and applying tariffs to industries that concentrate in areas of our country where Trump's support is strongest. So the Chinese are thinking they can have political impact even if they cannot have the same mathematical impact.

It's not being dramatic to say we are at an inflection point with our trade with China. China has had a free pass for about twenty years and allowed to violate international norms in trade. They are now making a push into acquiring "stealing" technology and requiring foreign companies doing business there to transfer it to China. Think about the fact that Google and Facebook aren't even allowed in China. As some commentators have noted, this is a optimal time to take on China.

Econ 101 taught us that the Smoot-Hawley Act 1930 (raising tariffs) as one of the causes or an aggravation of the Great Depression. The reality was the United States was the world's largest trade surplus country throughout the 1920s. Countries running chronic trade deficits in the 1920s didn't experience the pain the United States experienced in the 1930s.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Rather than wax poetic on some arcane point, go read the comments of Senators that met with Wilbur Ross today. You can find the transcript on CSPAN. Several Senators, including many from states that Trump's carried are bemoaning what the tariffs are doing to everything from agricultural products to steel and aluminum. But a trade war is easy to win, no?

Take on China on stealing technology if you must, but this whole approach of international trade as a zero-sum game is where the yahoos in currently in power err. Everyone practices protectionism of some sort, but ultimately still work together because it's in the interest of both countries. Canada may prohibit US dairy from entering its borders but then turns around to have a service trade deficit with the US. That's just one example of how it plays out in the real world. The world is far too connected now to think every country will internally meet all its economic demands. (BTW, I'm not typing all this in some unfounded notion that I'll convince you. It's a good way to avoid shit I should actually be doing)

 

[sambuca]

Unfair trade with China creates certain winners and losers in the U.S. but it also results in a chronic leakage from the U.S. economy of $350 billion. Of course, the winners are going to moan about rocking the apple cart. The losers are out of business, out of work or going out of business. Their voice is easy to ignore.

You wrote "The world is far too connected now to think every country will internally meet all its economic demands." That's absolutely incorrect unless you're talking about bananas. The U.S. economy is likely the least trade dependent country in the world. International trade is to our benefit, but not necessary to meet our internal demand for key items.

Taking on China on technology, as you agreed, is at the crux of the whole matter. It's an enormous part of the trade calculus. China trade also doesn't benefit the U.S. That was never the intention. Never!! It was a geopolitical bet that China would be more friendly globally and with its neighbors. It was also a bet that they would gravitate toward more liberal politics internally. Neither has come to fruition. More money and economic growth has caused the Chinese regime to tighten its hold.

Again, Canada is a sideshow relative to China and other countries pursuing mercantilist policies. There's an arcane word mercantilist.

 

[jalimon]

its not that complicated. either the usa needs to gets rid of union and reduce labor cost by 60% and production and development will be brought back to the usa or implement socialist measure to redistribute the health of the ultra rich and rich people...

 

[sambuca]

its not that complicated. either the usa needs to gets rid of union and reduce labor cost by 60% and production and development will be brought back to the usa or implement socialist measure to redistribute the health of the ultra rich and rich people...

All we are asking for is tariff elimination or tariff reciprocity. Then there's the serious matter with respecting intellectual property.

 

[jalimon]

Ok but in the meantime we need to start asking all online giant like amazon, netflix, google, uber, arbnb and all future giant of the new economy (mostly american) to pay their taxes and declare revenue in the country the buyer resides. Implementing that will make the USA loose more $ then current trade deficit.

Cheers,

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

Our own governments are fucking us more over tariffs than Trump.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/rep...nd-behind-us-canada-price-gap/article8412498/

 

[sambuca]

I'm guessing the Globe and Mail is not some bastion of conservatism. Anecdotally, it never makes sense for us Americans to buy clothes and other merchandise in Canada. It makes no matter what the exchange rate this always holds true. This suggests your tariffs are a hidden goods tax. If you were physically producing a substantial amount of an item inside Canada, Americans should typically see a lower US$ price when the US$ rises vs. the C$.

When the US$ rises, I do see a benefit traveling to Canada booking hotel rooms, eating in restaurants, purchasing maple syrup and of course booking escorts.