Current events discussion

[Jimi77 Premium Member]

The amount of **** that happened in Chaz was insane...andvery few to none of the crimes against person that happened in the autonomous zone were even investigated let alone formally charged

Of course they'll never really know what happened in CHAZ since Seattle basically ceded control of the area to the sedition. And how were these insurrectionist handled? With kid's gloves of course. This approach does save the governor the headache of having to pardon these folks.

Seattle police's CHOP sweep brought arrests but quick release from jail as well

After spending several hours behind bars Wednesday, Rashyla Levitt returned Thursday to the streets, protesting and confronting authorities just a day after Seattle Police Department officers swept through the area that had been known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest. “We are back with the...

komonews.com

 

[Eggs 5,000+ posts]

Of course they'll never really know what happened in CHAZ since Seattle basically ceded control of the area to the sedition. And how were these insurrectionist handled? With kid's gloves of course. This approach does save the governor the headache of having to pardon these folks.

Seattle police's CHOP sweep brought arrests but quick release from jail as well

After spending several hours behind bars Wednesday, Rashyla Levitt returned Thursday to the streets, protesting and confronting authorities just a day after Seattle Police Department officers swept through the area that had been known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest. “We are back with the...

komonews.com

Wasn’t that Chaz czar a convicted pimp?

 

[Jimi77 Premium Member]

Yes, I know that the right has been scrambling to create narrative for how the dumb guys tariffs have done anything other than caused turmoil here and abroad.

Get it through your skull.....the United States is NEVER going to manufacture those cheap goods anymore. Labor costs are too high to make it realistic. It doesn't make any sense. All the the tariffs are doing is causing those types of things to be MORE expensive for consumers. Not to mention the inputs that domestic manufacturers use to produce cause certain domestically made goods more expensive. You can't explain it because it doesn't make sense. But keep parroting the propaganda and ignore common sense.

Keep your head buried. Make sure to get all your excuses ready for when he starts hacking away at medicaid. I'm not even going to try and explain how all the grants being cut hurt Americans. Not worth wasting the time.

They're scrambling to tell the truth about the tariffs which have accomplished things beyond "causing turmoil." BTW, the potential to "cause turmoil" is part of what makes them effective.

I'm not ignoring common sense, but I get that type of narrative suits your purposes. China's GDP growth has averaged ~2x US growth for decades now, at our expense. Clearly free trade hasn't worked as advertised. Supposedly Free Trade with China was supposed to result in a new export market for the US (and Western Europe). Instead China protects it's economy, while we ship jobs overseas. And when we're talking Veitnam, Thailand, etc that's one thing our trade relationship with China is absolutely insane. Wouldn't it make more sense to foster a better trade relationship with Mexico and create an neighbor that isn't so dependent/vulnerable to the drug trade? Again there is no reason we can't make consumer goods in the US, other than "because we said so?"

Free trade has failed, but the left clutches to it like the it's the end of the world if we try to manage our economy in a more sensible fashion. Ironically, if Obama enacted tariffs, the left would be cheering him from the rooftops. Want proof? Can you imagine if Trump came out and said "The solution to universal healthcare is to tax people for not getting healthcare?"

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

You think you have to be a genius to know that low prices and high wages in a closed economy simply cannot work?

No wonder averages confuse you so much.

Averages confuse me? Ok, confuse me with an average Rob.

 

[stocker08 10+ year member]

They're scrambling to tell the truth about the tariffs which have accomplished things beyond "causing turmoil." BTW, the potential to "cause turmoil" is part of what makes them effective.

I'm not ignoring common sense, but I get that type of narrative suits your purposes. China's GDP growth has averaged ~2x US growth for decades now, at our expense. Clearly free trade hasn't worked as advertised. Supposedly Free Trade with China was supposed to result in a new export market for the US (and Western Europe). Instead China protects it's economy, while we ship jobs overseas. And when we're talking Veitnam, Thailand, etc that's one thing our trade relationship with China is absolutely insane. Wouldn't it make more sense to foster a better trade relationship with Mexico and create an neighbor that isn't so dependent/vulnerable to the drug trade? Again there is no reason we can't make consumer goods in the US, other than "because we said so?"

Free trade has failed, but the left clutches to it like the it's the end of the world if we try to manage our economy in a more sensible fashion. Ironically, if Obama enacted tariffs, the left would be cheering him from the rooftops. Want proof? Can you imagine if Trump came out and said "The solution to universal healthcare is to tax people for not getting healthcare?"

China is a country that has few, if any worker protections, and a far lower quality of life than we have in the United States. When you can produce cheap junk that people buy without thinking twice, it tends to have that effect. Again.....if you can't figure out why manufacturing of a lot of those lower quality goods is never coming back to America....then I can't help you.

Oh.....and to follow up on the first negative GDP growth quarter in over four years (never had one under Biden).....the estimate fell even further.....from -1.5% to -2.8%.

Big wins coming from the clown administration

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s running forecast for first-quarter gross domestic product slid again on Monday.

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow estimate now calls for a first-quarter GDP decline of 2.8%, down from a decline of 1.5% on Friday. As recently as Feb. 19, GDPNow predicted growth of 2.3%.

Atlanta Fed's GDPNow Estimate Falls Again

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s running forecast for first-quarter gross domestic product slid again on Monday. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow estimate now calls for a first-quarter GDP decline of 2.8%, down from a decline of 1.5% on Friday. As recently as Feb. 19, GDPNow predicted growth of 2.3%.

www.barrons.com

 

[Jimi77 Premium Member]

China is a country that has few, if any worker protections, and a far lower quality of life than we have in the United States. When you can produce cheap junk that people buy without thinking twice, it tends to have that effect. Again.....if you can't figure out why manufacturing of a lot of those lower quality goods is never coming back to America....then I can't help you.

Oh.....and to follow up on the first negative GDP growth quarter in over four years (never had one under Biden).....the estimate fell even further.....from -1.5% to -2.8%.

Big wins coming from the clown administration

Atlanta Fed's GDPNow Estimate Falls Again

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s running forecast for first-quarter gross domestic product slid again on Monday. The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow estimate now calls for a first-quarter GDP decline of 2.8%, down from a decline of 1.5% on Friday. As recently as Feb. 19, GDPNow predicted growth of 2.3%.

www.barrons.com

The manufacturing doesn't have to come back to America. What needs to happen is the deficit needs to be reduced significantly. As I said, it's one thing to have these unbalanced trade relations with Vietnam, quite another to have that type of trade relationship with first world super power. I guess you also ignored my comments about Mexico. Typical debating tactics portray everybody else as idiots and simpletons and ignore any attempt to expand the discussion beyond the simplest analyst.

I'm sure AtlantaFed will continue to drop that estimate until the actual figures come out. And exactly what has Trump done to trigger the drop in GDP? Ghost jobs, inflation, etc, all occurred under Biden.

 

[Jimi77 Premium Member]

Looks like we're going to get that minerals deal anyway. I wonder how much the UK & France are going to commit to rebuilding Ukraine.

Zelensky announces Ukraine 'ready to sign' minerals deal with US

We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story

www.irishstar.com

 

[stocker08 10+ year member]

The manufacturing doesn't have to come back to America. What needs to happen is the deficit needs to be reduced significantly. As I said, it's one thing to have these unbalanced trade relations with Vietnam, quite another to have that type of trade relationship with first world super power. I guess you also ignored my comments about Mexico. Typical debating tactics portray everybody else as idiots and simpletons and ignore any attempt to expand the discussion beyond the simplest analyst.

I'm sure AtlantaFed will continue to drop that estimate until the actual figures come out. And exactly what has Trump done to drive down GDP?

Because you are pumping out the talking points with seemingly little actual knowledge about it. Trade deficits are not inherently bad. I agree that it's probably not great to have as large a trade deficit as we have with China, but in the end, the ability to import from them benefits American consumers. Funny that when it comes to the republicans.....free trade shouldn't benefit consumers....just companies.

Didn't expect to see the 'numbers don't matter' excuses this early into the term. Just goes to show what a disaster things have been already. Don't worry.....they're about to pivot to policies that are going to help average Americans and create optimism within the markets any second now. lol.

 

[Jimi77 Premium Member]

Because you are pumping out the talking points with seemingly little actual knowledge about it. Trade deficits are not inherently bad. I agree that it's probably not great to have as large a trade deficit as we have with China, but in the end, the ability to import from them benefits American consumers. Funny that when it comes to the republicans.....free trade shouldn't benefit consumers....just companies.

Didn't expect to see the 'numbers don't matter' excuses this early into the term. Just goes to show what a disaster things have been already. Don't worry.....they're about to pivot to policies that are going to help average Americans and create optimism within the markets any second now. lol.

Did I say trade deficits are inherently bad? Most economist would argue that trade deficits are inherently good. We agree that massive trade deficits with China are bad; we are quite literally paying to build their navy in exchange for cheap goods. When it comes to either party they've been pro-business for as long as any of us have been alive. Medicare for example was written with the "donut hole" specifically by insurance companies because they didn't want the liability of insuring the elderly, but they didn't want to lose them as a consumer base. Again Obamacare was clearly more pro-business than pro-consumers.

The real difference between the republicans and the dems is the liberal voting base is hyper-aware of when GOP policies benefit corporations and blissfully unaware when Dem policies benefit corporations. Furthermore, anything short of completely demolishing the system will always result in the corporations/wealthy benefitting the most because that is just the nature of having wealth and power.

 

[spokey9 5,000+ posts]

China is a country that has few, if any worker protections, and a far lower quality of life than we have in the United States. When you can produce cheap junk that people buy without thinking twice, it tends to have that effect. Again.....if you can't figure out why manufacturing of a lot of those lower quality goods is never coming back to America....then I can't help you.

So try nothing and keep funding a hostile nation through trade...

 

[stocker08 10+ year member]

Did I say trade deficits are inherently bad? Most economist would argue that trade deficits are inherently good. We agree that massive trade deficits with China are bad; we are quite literally paying to build their navy in exchange for cheap goods. When it comes to either party they've been pro-business for as long as any of us have been alive. Medicare for example was written with the "donut hole" specifically by insurance companies because they didn't want the liability of insuring the elderly, but they didn't want to lose them as a consumer base. Again Obamacare was clearly more pro-business than pro-consumers.

The real difference between the republicans and the dems is the liberal voting base is hyper-aware of when GOP policies benefit corporations and blissfully unaware when Dem policies benefit corporations. Furthermore, anything short of completely demolishing the system will always result in the corporations/wealthy benefitting the most because that is just the nature of having wealth and power.

Obamacare helped to get millions of people who weren't previously insured, insured. We're going backwards so that Trump can pass his wealth transfer tax cuts.

I realize that both the repub and democrat politicians are bought and sold by the wealthy. There's absolutely no doubt about that. The main difference is that the repubs have shown for decades that they will trample the average American for the benefit of the wealthy and the corporations. The current dismantling of government organizations and regulations.....and the impending tariffs/cuts to major safety nets in order to pass tax cuts benefiting few proves that unequivocally.

So try nothing and keep funding a hostile nation through trade...

You realize that China and Russia are tied at the hip.....and we're currently trying to not only give Russia part of Ukraine.....but also trying to help jumpstart their economy.

Interesting stuff....huh?

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

Rob, strokerAce? Do either one of you work for Trump or his administration? I am willing to go with... No.
That means neither one of you know what this administrations plans and goals are. Clearly you don't listen this admin when they give you an idea of those plans and goals. Do you think it is more productive to claim they plan to **** America and side with Communism just because Orange Man Bad? Does that sound like either of you are speaking rationally or intelligently?

We have been doing business with Russia for many years and have shared a diplomatic relationship with Russia for over 200 years. Trump mending things with Russia is not him being a puppet for Putin. It is him doing his job, like many presidents before him, many Democrats. Business with China? Since 1784. You two have no real complaints here except Trump. Why don't you two mellow out and let him do his job. Maybe show some respect as he is there, doing something the two of you couldn't do even though you act like you know better from the safety of your keyboards.

 

[spokey9 5,000+ posts]

You realize that China and Russia are tied at the hip

Not tied at the hip...China is propping them up...but you're good with just funding them through trade...

 

[Jimi77 Premium Member]

Obamacare helped to get millions of people who weren't previously insured, insured. We're going backwards so that Trump can pass his wealth transfer tax cuts.

I realize that both the repub and democrat politicians are bought and sold by the wealthy. There's absolutely no doubt about that. The main difference is that the repubs have shown for decades that they will trample the average American for the benefit of the wealthy and the corporations. The current dismantling of government organizations and regulations.....and the impending tariffs/cuts to major safety nets in order to pass tax cuts benefiting few proves that unequivocally.



You realize that China and Russia are tied at the hip.....and we're currently trying to not only give Russia part of Ukraine.....but also trying to help jumpstart their economy.

Interesting stuff....huh?

Obamacare also forced millions of people who were foregoing healthcare insurance to buy it vs paying additional taxes, which of course bumped up insurance premiums. I'm not saying Trump's solution is any better since the system is (IMHO) irreparably broken or maybe a better description would be perma-phucked. Our healthcare system is like an old junker car that you replace the water pump, then the alternator, then the starter, then the radiator.... and eventually you figure out it just isn't worth fixing anymore.

I don't support all of Trump's cuts. Ie, I don't want to see CFPB go; I think cutting Fannie/Freddie loose is very risky. I accept that Trump's political agenda doesn't match mine point for point, nor do I expect it to. Our spending is ridiculous and we don't even know where the money goes - why tf is the gov't paying millions for Politico? Our gov't is literally pushing some weird DIE/*****/*****/CRT/Woke agenda through it's bureaucracies. How would you feel if USAID had been hijacked to push pro-2nd amendment, pro-life, etc agenda? The spending problem has been an issue forever, with Carter, Bush v2 and Obama all talking about doing something about it, Clinton doing a little about it and Trump appears to be poised to more than previous administration. And in all fairness, I put the blame for the explosive increase in deficit spending at Reagan's doorstep. And Trump and Biden can share the blame for the recent insano increase in deficit spending.

China and Russia might be tied at the hip, but they are in a love/hate relationship and are simultaneously each other's greatest ally and greatest enemy. Ukraine doesn't have a choice but to cough up a chunk of land, that's the price of peace in this case. I sure as fawk am not willing to commit troops nor do I want our allies to commit troops in an effort to reclaim that land. Russia sure as fawk isn't going to accept a peace deal that doesn't include lifting sanctions. Are you suggesting we enforce some economic punishment on Russia like Europe tried to do to post ww1 Germany?

 

[Jimi77 Premium Member]

Rob, strokerAce? Do either one of you work for Trump or his administration? I am willing to go with... No.
That means neither one of you know what this administrations plans and goals are. Clearly you don't listen this admin when they give you an idea of those plans and goals. Do you think it is more productive to claim they plan to **** America and side with Communism just because Orange Man Bad? Does that sound like either of you are speaking rationally or intelligently?

We have been doing business with Russia for many years and have shared a diplomatic relationship with Russia for over 200 years. Trump mending things with Russia is not him being a puppet for Putin. It is him doing his job, like many presidents before him, many Democrats. Business with China? Since 1784. You two have no real complaints here except Trump. Why don't you two mellow out and let him do his job. Maybe show some respect as he is there, doing something the two of you couldn't do even though you act like you know better from the safety of your keyboards.

Trump = racist, misogynist, transphobe, fascist dictator seems to be about all they have. Now they're all bent out of shape over projections of GDP dropping. Did they have a freak out over -2.85% GDP growth in 2009? I don't recall the libs blaming Obama for that.