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JimInOz
··Melbourne AustraliaI just thought this thread needed another joke.
Can't find a cat joke, so a rabbit will suffice.
Can't find a cat joke, so a rabbit will suffice.
Originally about tariffs and watches ... now just political rambling
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STANDY
··schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collectorFormer National Weather Service officials are saying that with the deep cuts made to the service across the country, they will no longer to be able to track severe weather events in the same way as they did before. In areas subject to severe storms this puts citizens at risk.
There are a pile of cuts like this that people will only notice when it’s too late…
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Dan S
·From an interview aired yesterday. Trump is clearly setting expectations for tariff-related price increases and/or shortages. I wonder if any of his supporters are quietly noticing the bait-and-switch from his campaign promises to lower prices on day 1.
“I’m just saying [children] don’t need to have 30 dolls, they can have three, they don’t need to have 250 pencils, they can have five,” Trump said.
“I’m just saying [children] don’t need to have 30 dolls, they can have three, they don’t need to have 250 pencils, they can have five,” Trump said.
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M'Bob
·When asked in an Meet the Press interview if it’s his responsibility to uphold the constitution, Trump replied “I don’t know.”
This, despite the oath of office he took expressly requiring him to do so.
But boy that Kamala gave some really bad interviews…
Related to above, I was thinking about what actually made America great years ago, the struggles and oppression that minorities and women collectively faced, not withstanding:
Fair play: you followed the rules, and if the outcome didn’t go your way, you congratulated the winner, and didn’t bellyache about cheating, fake news, conspiracies.
Everyone was supposed to be equal under the law. We know that wasn’t always true, but the SENTIMENT was pervasive. Not, “Let’s see how much we can get away with before getting caught.”
Personal ethics: if you found someone’s wallet on the street with money in it, you didn’t take the money, and toss the wallet in the trash. You found the owner, and gave everything back. Because it wasn’t yours.
An emphasis on the value and importance of education. By people in all walks of life. A dream was to work hard, to send your kid to college.
An emphasis on community: looking out for one another, helping those in need, being a good neighbor.
It was considered bad taste to rub your wealth or good fortune in other people’s faces. You were understated, not doing everything in your power to externally validate yourself, and scream, “Look at me! I’m special! I’m important! I’m SO much cooler, and more attractive than you!”
I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch of things. And it just might be me, but does the opposite values of what made America great sound exactly like what someone who’s claiming to make America great again is espousing?
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blufinz52
··Hears dead people, not watch rotors.I wonder if any of his supporters are quietly noticing the bait-and-switch from his campaign promises to lower prices on day 1.
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Tony C.
··Ωf Jury memberI’m sure I’ve missed a bunch of things. And it just might be me, but does the opposite values of what made America great sound exactly like what someone who’s claiming to make America great again is espousing?
I agree with your list, and the gist of your broader point, but I'll say it again: Trump is merely a symptom, albeit an admittedly a pungent one, of many of the big problems facing the U.S., not the cause. Those problems have been decades in the making.
Like the Cheney/Bush administration, which was terrible in some important respects, there is little pretense in the Trump administration, and his personal shortcomings are clearly on display. I would argue that such relative transparency, no matter how ugly, actually benefits the U.S., as both its citizens and those around the world can much more easily understand and interpret what is happening.
I don't want to get off on a tangent, but Obama, who was obviously vastly smoother, and a far more sympathetic figure, at least superficially, was responsible, or partly responsible, for some very bad, and dubious policies. Yet to this day a high percentage of Americans remain unaware of the darker side of his reign, precisely because of his powerful ability to mask it.
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blufinz52
··Hears dead people, not watch rotors.Yet to this day a high percentage of Americans remain unaware of the darker side of his reign, precisely because of his powerful ability to mask it.
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CBM1590
·I’m giving a final this morning and it gave me an opportunity to educate myself on the tariff issue, an admittedly weak area of my expertise. Taken from different credible sources across the web, here is what I found:
There have been numerous tariff imbalances implemented by other countries toward the U.S. prior to 2025. For instance:
1. China implemented tariffs as high as 34%, especially on ag and autos. U.S. tariffs 2-3%, eventually raised to 20.8%. 576.9 Billion trade deficit in 2019.
2. The EU = 25% tariff on textiles, whisky, and motorcycles; 20% VAT on U.S. imports. 28 Billion trade deficit.
3. Canada implemented a 270% tariff on U.S. dairy products and 25%on vehicles and other goods. 200 Billion trade deficit.
4. India = 13% tariffs across the board compared to 2-3% U.S. tariffs. They went as high as 70% on vehicles and 50% on ag products. 7 Billion trade deficit.
5. Turkey implemented up to a 60.3% tariff on some ag products compared to the 2.7% tariff implemented by the U.S.
In the year 2024, the U.S. had a trade deficit of 826 Billion from China, the EU, Mexico, and Vietnam alone.
(Trade deficits are not solely due to tariffs, but are a significant contributing factor, as are other economic issues).
I followed up with a query to a AI platform. Want an interesting read? Go to your AI source of choice and type in the following question: Has there been a tariff imbalance implemented by other countries toward the U.S. prior to 2025? Please provide the source of the information.
Am I a staunch fan of what is going on right now? No. Could this have been handled better and more diplomatically? Absolutely yes. Will we all make it through this administration, regardless of how you feel? Yes.
There have been numerous tariff imbalances implemented by other countries toward the U.S. prior to 2025. For instance:
1. China implemented tariffs as high as 34%, especially on ag and autos. U.S. tariffs 2-3%, eventually raised to 20.8%. 576.9 Billion trade deficit in 2019.
2. The EU = 25% tariff on textiles, whisky, and motorcycles; 20% VAT on U.S. imports. 28 Billion trade deficit.
3. Canada implemented a 270% tariff on U.S. dairy products and 25%on vehicles and other goods. 200 Billion trade deficit.
4. India = 13% tariffs across the board compared to 2-3% U.S. tariffs. They went as high as 70% on vehicles and 50% on ag products. 7 Billion trade deficit.
5. Turkey implemented up to a 60.3% tariff on some ag products compared to the 2.7% tariff implemented by the U.S.
In the year 2024, the U.S. had a trade deficit of 826 Billion from China, the EU, Mexico, and Vietnam alone.
(Trade deficits are not solely due to tariffs, but are a significant contributing factor, as are other economic issues).
I followed up with a query to a AI platform. Want an interesting read? Go to your AI source of choice and type in the following question: Has there been a tariff imbalance implemented by other countries toward the U.S. prior to 2025? Please provide the source of the information.
Am I a staunch fan of what is going on right now? No. Could this have been handled better and more diplomatically? Absolutely yes. Will we all make it through this administration, regardless of how you feel? Yes.
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redzer007
·There are errors in your research, if you want an example, examine how tariffs get applied to US dairy imported in to Canada, specifically TRQ. Its a lot more complicated than implementing a 270% on dairy.
I also think you are wrong on your trade balance with the EU, think it's closer to 50B, but the point is is tiny when considered as percentage of the circa 1.5T in trade between the two
Point being, don't think anyone has issues with tariffs as an economic lever, they undoubtedly have a place. But in my opinion that's not what the current US administration is attempting.
I also think you are wrong on your trade balance with the EU, think it's closer to 50B, but the point is is tiny when considered as percentage of the circa 1.5T in trade between the two
Point being, don't think anyone has issues with tariffs as an economic lever, they undoubtedly have a place. But in my opinion that's not what the current US administration is attempting.
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CBM1590
·There are errors in your research, if you want an example, examine how tariffs get applied to US dairy imported in to Canada, specifically TRQ. Its a lot more complicated than implementing a 270% on dairy.
I also think you are wrong on your trade balance with the EU, think it's closer to 50B, but the point is is tiny when considered as percentage of the circa 1.5T in trade between the two
Point being, don't think anyone has issues with tariffs as an economic lever, they undoubtedly have a place. But in my opinion that's not what the current US administration is attempting.
Errors, maybe. I just reported the numbers I found with no commentary other than this is a complicated issue (see my quote above). I’m not an economist, and again, I was just trying to understand the issue more clearly. I never expressed my views or claimed to be an expert. I’m a science dude. I just wanted the numbers.
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Tony C.
··Ωf Jury memberCan you give an example or two of these policies?
Orwell himself wouldn't believe it if he were told that Obama had won a Nobel Peace Prize.
There were many terrible domestic policies as well. It was on his watch that the TBTF banks were bailed out after the 2008 crisis, creating tremendous moral hazard, and widening the wealth gap significantly. The ensuing economic policies then set the stage for where the U.S. is today.
Etc., etc., etc.
Edited:
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Archer
··Omega Qualified Watchmaker(Trade deficits are not solely due to tariffs, but are a significant contributing factor, as are other economic issues).
Errors, maybe. I just reported the numbers I found with no commentary other than this is a complicated issue (see my quote above). I’m not an economist, and again, I was just trying to understand the issue more clearly. I never expressed my views or claimed to be an expert. I’m a science dude. I just wanted the numbers.
Here's a chart of the actual tariffs charged by various countries...
You can clearly see that the countries you cite very high tariffs from, do not actually charge those tariffs. The big scary 270% tariff on dairy from here in Canada is an often used talking point by Trump and his people, but in fact the US does not even sell their full quota of tariff free dairy products under the current free trade agreement into Canada, so no one is paying 270%
Unfortunately a cursory glance at numbers is not going to give you a full picture - you don't need to be an economist to know that.
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Wlcutter
·The list is depressingly long. He was extremely militaristic, and facilitated a number of highly damaging neoliberal-insprired "operations" on his watch. They included Libya (2011), and the U.S. sponsored coup in Ukraine in 2014, which was a huge catalyst for Russia's subsequent actions, which obviously resonate loudly today. He also chose policies in the Middle East that are directly related to much of the instability in the region today, and his record in Iraq and Afghanistan are also highly dubious.
Orwell himself wouldn't believe it if he were told that Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize.
There were many terrible domestic policies as well. It was on his watch that the TBTF banks were bailed out after the 2008 crisis, creating tremendous moral hazard, and widening the wealth gap significantly. The ensuing economic policies then set the stage for where the U.S. is today.
Etc., etc., etc.
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ErichPryde
·Trade deficits are not solely due to tariffs, but are a significant contributing factor, as are other economic issues
note that we could rewrite this "other economic issues are also significant factors." Either a more comprehensive breakdown is needed or a bit more research, because significant factors should never be ignored.
You probably could ask for other significant factors from AI on a nation by nation basis. That sounds like a lot of work so maybe start with either the largest trade deficits or our allies?
Edited:
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ErichPryde
·Unfortunately the denials never get the same attention as the accusations. You risk always being on the defense and losing opportunities to get your message out.
I definitely agree on this, I may be communicating poorly but I think it's about messaging and not as much about defending individual accusations.
So along these lines, I didn't seem to recall Biden saying a whole heck of a lot about the defund movement very loudly. I did some brief looking and could really only find his 2022 State of the Union Address that touches on it. Did he address it much? Did he make it a major part of his action plan? One of my biggest criticisms of Biden is that he did not cheerlead his achievements in employment, the economy, foreign relations. It's almost hilarious that there is this perspective amongst the Republican Party that he was a bad president, because on paper, his administration did well. Biden himself said that he should have been more vocal about his achievements.
Can you point me at anything else where either Harris or Biden was very vocal on this particular topic in terms of messaging? And also, I think it's really worth considering, how does the Democratic Party offer consistent messaging to some of these key attacks (without being case-by-case too defensive) going forward? It's not good enough to say "they aren't fighting fair," we know that. It's literally their schtick. What's the counter?
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texasmade
·I definitely agree on this, I may be communicating poorly but I think it's about messaging and not as much about defending individual accusations.
So along these lines, I didn't seem to recall Biden saying a whole heck of a lot about the defund movement very loudly. I did some brief looking and could really only find his 2022 State of the Union Address that touches on it. Did he address it much? Did he make it a major part of his action plan? One of my biggest criticisms of Biden is that he did not cheerlead his achievements in employment, the economy, foreign relations. It's almost hilarious that there is this perspective amongst the Republican Party that he was a bad president, because on paper, his administration did well. Biden himself said that he should have been more vocal about his achievements.
Can you point me at anything else where either Harris or Biden was very vocal on this particular topic in terms of messaging? And also, I think it's really worth considering, how does the Democratic Party offer consistent messaging to some of these key attacks (without being case-by-case too defensive) going forward? It's not good enough to say "they aren't fighting fair," we know that. It's literally their schtick. What's the counter?
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Dsloan
·Stop following the Obama messaging of "when they go low, we go high". Republicans have stopped with the pretense and decorum years ago. As much as I hate to say it but if Democrats want to win, they need to be willing to get dirty.
This is how I've thought of the Dems the last few years. They just don't understand the game that's being played.
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Dan S
·Well as a scientist I'm sure you realize that numbers can mean different things depending on how they are framed.
Here's a chart of the actual tariffs charged by various countries...
You can clearly see that the countries you cite very high tariffs from, do not actually charge those tariffs. The big scary 270% tariff on dairy from here in Canada is an often used talking point by Trump and his people, but in fact the US does not even sell their full quota of tariff free dairy products under the current free trade agreement into Canada, so no one is paying 270%
Unfortunately a cursory glance at numbers is not going to give you a full picture - you don't need to be an economist to know that.