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Hi Everyone. It is too bad individuals can't be sued for day one promises that were not kept. Instead of a fix, things have been made worse. I was unaware that day one was now expected to take two years to accomplish.
Please explain. I'm not getting your inference.
Hi Wayne sure. It seems that the President made a number of day one promises in order to get voters on his side. Fix inflation and the economy is one and it was going to get better on day one. It didn't and now by most accounts it is worse. Today it was mentioned on the news and web that he figured it would take two years to fix the manufacturing lack. It would be key to making things better for the economy (perhaps I agree that it might) but it is hardly on day one. Too bad there is no real recourse at this time to do anything about such broken promises. I am sure that many folks are chagrin with the way things are going. Politicians often make promises, but in all the time I have been around I have not seen anything like what is happening now. I agree that changes were (are) needed, but I don't see the present direction as being the best way. Other folks may see things in a different light and they certainly are entitled to so, that is the way the system is supposed to work. I personally see our democracy being eroded before our very eyes.
Oh, yes. Got it. I am hopeful that the negotiations of increased tariffs will work. It always sounded like a good idea to me and seems like we should have equalized tariffs decades ago. So I have guarded optimism. Only time will tell. I must admit, though, that I am concerned with how the rest of the world views the United States today. And I am particularly concerned with our stance towards Russia. Fingers crossed about it all.
Your local dungeon dweller here. Our country is facing a reckoning with what our neoliberal finance capitalism has wrought for us over the years. It traded the tried and true industrial capitalism that government subsidizes to keep the cost of living low for now our finance capitalism that spawned globalism. Leading to privatization and monopolization like a parasite on the public and chasing the Wall St. unearned income route. Our exorbitant dollar advantage with trade further corrupted our trade spending on credit with countries we incentivized to build up their manufacturing and industry. Trading with IOU bonds and a trade deficit now that is enormous. So Trump wants to decrease that deficit essentially on the backs of we the people. We pay for higher tariffs. Not the country its leveled at. His indiscriminate trade war with the world can be an incentive to further just not DEAL with our crazy selves. Eschewing our large market. They can trade amongst themselves more so than we can with what few countries we haven't pissed off. They have things to trade with. They became self reliant. We aren't now. We're our own worst enemy. What foreign entity will want to bring their manufacturing here on the pretense of low taxes with an administration that changes their minds every half hour? Not to mention the time it takes to accomplish that and the investment commitment. Tariffs only are effective for targeted industries to become competitive over time and investment with world trade. Not a friggin carte blanche trade war! With everyone! Some say Trump will make "deals" with countries to mitigate the tariffs. What ever. Its just more chaos added on in the world as is with our national security debacles have been. That we spend trillions on. Where's Musk to put his efficiency wizard wand on that?
Try to overcome your faith and denial in reality with whatever ideology cobbled together over the years. Our press and media is so shallow to the complexity of our empire management system. They merely go with the flow. They don't ask hard questions to the politicians. They don't ferret out the contradictions that always arise. These fellows do. And they go for the logic that media and politics have no clue. At least as has been pointed out by non mainstream good journalism, is that Donald Trump is not a politician. He's crude, rude, obtuse and a pathological liar. But he doesn't mind showing to all the deformities of the empire for what it is. A fraud. So commit a little time letting your guard down to contemplating some reasoning that isn't maybe what you're accustomed to. Maybe it'll sink in, maybe not. But for me at least its more tangible and real than the puppet show on tv or reading mass media. https://michael-hudson.com/2025/04/can-the-world-unite-against-u-s-trade-weaponization/
+2 on that. I also have serious concerns about revoking visas and potential mass deportations. After they are all gone will we need to carry ID at all times too. I wonder what percentage of Americans can prove they really are Americans.
So far Trump's 2nd term is eerily similar to 1930's Germany. And his core group of oligarchs, particularly Musk are chillingly fascist. The empire is teetering.
This administration is led by people that do not know the concept of planning and incremental goals towards realizing higher standards of living. They're people of wealth made mainly by finance reaping unearned income from it. As the Scottish economist of the 18th century Adam Smith coined the term for economic rent, "making income in their sleep". And the head of this administration particularly feels his overbearing egotism and threats work wonders at speeding up unrealistic goals. China did not become the leader of REAL GDP by pushing countries around this way. They worked methodically with planning and trying out methods which if not applicable were replaced with ones that were better. But it obviously is a successful methodology. However our short term thinking empire management system scoffs at that. Holding onto their cold war mentality and inflexibility to realize another economic system may be superior to what ours has become. Socialism and Communism was an economic concept prominent in the US from the early part of the 20th century. Making gains in Unionization and from Roosevelts administration the socialism of Social Security for the benefit of older adults. The most popular program ever in this nations history. But post WWII the forces of Laissez-faire coalesced to undermine the Communist and Socialist parties of this country. McCarthyism was used to root out and demonize these concepts as un-American. Over the decades more and more methods and planning was evolved into what there is today in our financialized neoliberal concept of economics. All this took time and planning. It can be argued its success was phenomenal. For the top 10% of our population. Particularly the top 1%. But at the expense and erosion of the middle class comprising the 90% of the population. Our current office holders have embarked on a bombastic fraud in trying to bully our way into becoming an economic manufacturing leader again. The antithesis of neoliberal finance short term thinking. It really shows to the world, the abject falsehood of our perceived exceptionalism concept. Its rotten to the core. And now on full display worldwide. It's pitiful.
The sheer arrogance of where the Trump administration is coming from is wonderfully documented by Ben Norton's Geopolitical Economic Report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnajhDMAWVA Like a mafia shakedown to the world to perpetuate the US empire by paying homage to the US dollar and our military complex. Backed and financed by our billionaire think tank philosophy of American exceptionalism. China says: Bring it on. I think this explains things for us better than any other means of communication.
Yeah, a trade fight with China is a no win. We need them a lot more than they need us. There is a whole world out there for them to sell to, but not nearly as many places for us to get the things we need or want. Today's on-off, ramp up tariffs are certain to undermine US credibility and trustworthiness. That's if there is a lot left. Allies that have been harmed already are far less likely to support us in the future. I figure four years of the present insanity and the US will be the largest "third world" country on earth.
The great reckoning for our country. Maybe he's the catalyst for finally waking up to all the chronic unworkable aspects of our government and society having gone on for so long. I'd certainly hope it would be. But know better. I think a ground roots third party needs to emerge to break the cycle of the two dysfunctional party's. Trouble is making that so. Citizens United would have to be abolished, and lobbying curtailed. It's all the money game in politics and corruption. Maybe the world collectively needs to give us some economic lumps on the head to realize, we're not THE most exceptional nation on earth. And cooperation and dialogue has to be foremost. China looms large in that regard.
Hi Everyone. Since the President is generally ignoring law and not very responsive to the Supreme Court I wonder what is next. It seems like everyone is going to have to register in some form or another...to what end I wonder. How many of you can actually prove you are an American citizen? How would you do it? I can almost see the day when you are questioned by some official to show your magic card. No card..oops off to El Salvador. All this while most of our elected officials deny any responsibility to the folks that elected them. They seem too afraid of losing their jobs to do work for the public good.
Trump seems to be following the recommendations of Project 2025 very closely. Which he denied knowing anything about as a candidate. Along with his own half baked ideas. Mainly this insufferably stupid trade war. Based on false assumptions and his and existing State Department arrogant exceptionalism. Trump learned his obstinate form of lie then deny from the tutelage of one of the most notoriously loathsome creatures ever to pass the bar exam. Roy Cohen. Who was a lawyer representing another equally loathsome political creature in the form of Senator Joseph McCarthy. We're dealing with a degenerate with no business being in the position afforded him out of a populous strung along for decades coping with lameness without end. No amount of threats or intimidation will move the Chinese from holding their ground to thwart his plans. He's already backed off substantially because of the market place doing what it does to protect their sole interests. Money. I worry the most with what may happen with the Iranian situation should talks break down with the nuclear proliferation demands claimed by his administration. Irony precedes this as Trump ended the treaty with Iran during his first administration. And Israel only wants the US to go to war with Iran. Which would be catastrophic and world wide they say. These are indeed wacky times we live.
This man knows what's going on and what could be done about it. But the distorted mindset of our policy makers is as set as concrete. Like a path leading to a cliff. The gravity of it all is our downfall. https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/04/14/michael-hudson-robber-barons-trump-tariffs/
Negotiations with the Trump administration for trade tariffs has become chaotic. Fancy that! From The Moon of Alabama. They don't know their nose from their big toes. And the stock market is going haywire again from the lack of cohesion the Trump team speaks with little common sense. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/04/phase-1-impose-tariffs-phase-2-phase-3-profit.html#more