Oh yoo hoo, little bunnies, the real result of Trumps uninformed idiocy is that we are on our way to becoming an economic backwater in global trade. Handing over hard won advantage to China and Russia who are making deals around the globe and completely reorganizing world trade while the pompous and ignorant Americans are riding high in their delusional ego trip that died in the last century. The rampant stupidity of our country is soul shattering to watch as complete nitwits control the discussion and our media barely has a clue and or they know their audience is too stupid and lacking in information to even comprehend an in death report on anything of consequence.
The global paradigms have shifted and we are being led by the absolutely clueless. I'm including Democrats in this assessment, though they are light years ahead of the confederacy of dunces.
That we are in the hands of Mnuchin a cheap and vulgar grasping want to be on the make fool is too depressing for words.
The NYTs should consider more informational reporting. Maybe reprint responsible economic articles from professional journals. Before that it could move some of its own people up to more prominent placement as opposed to how it almost hides some of the best people. If it moved editorial and the magazine off the front page it would have room for news befitting the national paper of record and a readership thirsting for knowledge.
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Well, as Clemenza once said to Michael, "Probably all the other families will line up against us ... that's alright, these things gotta happen every five years or so -- ten years. Helps to get rid of the bad blood."
We haven't had a truly major global trade war since 1930, on the heels of Smoot-Hawley that raised tariffs on hundreds of items and sparked retaliatory moves by Canada, Italy and others. Lotta bad blood built up since then.
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Even in this Administration, few lie with the equanimity of the Secretary of the Treasury. Remember the tax bill that wouldn't benefit the rich? It is a waste of effort even to figure out whether the Secretary believes his own statements.
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Has the New York Times asked for and received all of Steve Mnuchin’s travel costs as billed to taxpayers?
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Why is Putin entitled to much better treatment from Trump than our most important allies and trading partners?
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Just about everyone but Trump and Mnuchin thinks that raising tariffs is a terrible idea. Most experts seem to say it will just cause prices to go up. Why is the decision just Trump’s and Mnuchin’s? Shouldn’t the experts and congress have a say?
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Mnuchin is the antithesis of competence as Treasury Secretary. He also appears to be unabashedly greedy and self-serving. In other words he is, with a few rare exceptions, just like every other Cabinet secretary.
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China will put tariffs on all american made cars and close the plants in China. "Fasten you seat belts it's going to be a bumpy ride" Betty Davis
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The sad thing is, we can no longer read any comments or explanations coming from our own White House and assume that what we are reading is the truth. Whether the issue is trade, crime, public health or international relations, I find myself reading the source (the White House) and worrying, or assuming, that what I just read is a lie. The president is a pathological liar, and those who support him and interpret his communications and intentions lie almost as much as he does. I can not describe how sad and anxious I was when this realization struck me; when I realized that information from our White House is as suspect and potentially completely untrue as information coming from the Kremlin.
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His financial transactions for the last year, as his family’s and close friends, should be audited for insider trading.
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" Mr. Mnuchin said that decisions were being made on a case-by-case basis and that there was not a one-size-fits-all approach to deciding which countries would be exempt."
But that wasn't what "Dear Leader" said when he introduced this hot mess.
Gee, it almost looks like these guys are making it up as they go along. Great economic plan, I'm sure we'll be winning bigly soon....
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Did anyone realistically expect Mnuchin to do otherwise ? Frankly, he is not going to risk losing his job and the flights on military planes at taxpayers expense by speaking up. His wife would never forgive him. And neither would Trump.
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Its' strange how viscerally negatively many commentators -- especially, perhaps counter-intuitively, liberals -- react regarding any sort of tariff. As we saw with the college-endowment tax, many people seem to have tacitly accepted the idea that taxes exist to shape policy, to favor or disfavor certain groups or policy objectives. How wrong. Last time I checked, taxes fund the government -- nothing more, nothing less. Tariff-haters seem to see taxing imports as a sign of disapproval, of seeking to harm the global community (which, tbh, depends heavily on access to American markets). They say taxes will hurt consumers. But what about me? I just paid thousands of dollars in property taxes? That definitely hurt MY economy. I didn't hear any of these people defending me or my neighbors with a lot of overblown technical jargon about how local property taxes hurt consumers (e.g. me). Where were all these tariff-haters when NYC decided
to tax cigarettes, which now cost like 15$ a pack? Where were they when high property taxes, and lousy schools, helped drive OVER A MILLION PEOPLE from the city of Detroit? So please spare us the moaning about how stupid people are for supporting tariffs. All taxes hurt somebody, somewhere. It's all about priorities. Meanwhile, if tariffs can make some money for the federal government, then all for the better, imho.
Big bird, Oscar, Kermit, Ms Piggy and Stevie. A shame, Mr. Henson isn't around.
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Munchkin and his boss The Wizard are off to Oz.
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It is a given that Donald Trump is an economic illiterate but what is baffling is why individuals who should know better are so willing to humiliate themselves in the service of a universally loathed US president.
One of Trump's first acts upon assuming the presidency was to cancel the TPP. This was a US initiative carefully negotiated over a number of years.It would have opened up markets to the US in the Pacific rim and was intended to blunt Chinese economic influence. The remaining 11 partners signed onto a revised agreement sans the United States.
Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro could be two of the stupidest individuals on the planet if they honestly believe there will be no reciprocity to their ill conceived tariff plan. Like it or not we live in a interconnected global economy. The world will move forward with or without the US. At some point it will be decided the United States is a write off and it is better to move ahead without US obstructionism and intransigence. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the globe is no longer willing to be held hostage to the whims of the US electorate and its silly president. Trump's simple minded pap may appeal to his equally simple minded supporters but it will have no resonance with other far more intelligent world leaders.
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In every Republican administration since 1945 there has been a major recession. When the present GOP continue creating tariffs ,give millions in tax breaks to the wealthy, corporations and workers you are setting up a recession and government ceases to exist scenario. These same bad GOP keep getting elected and I am always amazed at the GOP supporters must have smaller brains as to allow this to keep occurring.
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Trump, the master of bankruptcy, is taking his first steps to bankrupting this country.
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When Hillary spoke of the basket of deplorables, she was referring to people like Mnuchin, not Trump supporters in general.
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Considering this guy produced a 1 page analysis of how great the tax cuts were going to be how can we have any confidence in what he thinks might happen. Of course there will be a trade war
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Protecting an industry that cannot complete on the world stage is not good business sense. Countries must evolve and find new industries that better serve their expertise. This is where scientific research is so important. Look at China. Their economy is booming cause they were willing to produce what people wanted.
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This guy is a complete fool and not taken seriously by a soul...we pray he the next one out. shocking that someone of his ilk was hired.
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To Trump he is the expert he needs, an excpert at making him look good. Smart people can't and won't do that.
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Give the Trump family a few hundred million-- viola! tariff exemption!
Easy as pie.
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Let's call it what it is: redistribution of wealth. If they perform as intended, tariffs will raise consumer prices in the US to sustain higher wages for American workers. This is not a value judgment, just an economic fact. For years I have voluntarily purchased higher priced American made goods to achieve the same purpose. On the political side, the left has traditionally been accused of plotting the redistribution of wealth from the haves to the have nots while conservatives are seeking a horizontal redistribution within the middle classes that leaves the wealthy untouched. Again, a simple economic fact that awaits the judgment of the electorate.
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Except of course if targeted tariffs on US goods sold overseas result in job losses in other industry sectors in the US. In that situation one industry gains as the other loses whilst the American consumer pays more.
& obviously the steel and aluminium industries that may be "defended" by tariffs are often just not competitive, so propping up old, out of date and inefficient plants is likely to simply delay a market adjustment when the tariffs fail. In the end, they always do.
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I would be very surprised if these tariffs resulted in wage increases. I worked in the aluminum industry for 30 plus years and the raises we got (seldom) were only based on amount of product sold and price, ie supply and demand.
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I, too, have voluntarily purchased American-made goods to achieve your stated purpose. But I personally believe that these tariffs will raise consumer prices in the U.S., and companies will make greater profits, especially thanks to their recent tax cuts. But I do not believe they will lead to higher wages for American workers. I think companies will pay more to their shareholders in the form of dividends and further invest in automation that will continue to wipe away manufacturing jobs.
Anyone who sees tax cuts and trade barriers as a means to sustain higher wages is looking at a mirage. I agree it is a redistribution of wealth, but from the bottom to the top.
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