Here I am with radio host Jim Goddard on This Week in Money, holding forth on the chances that Congress won’t raise the debt ceiling in time and will push the US into default — if it does, “curl up into a fetal position and wait till the dust settles.”
And Jim asked if “Trump nationalism” would be better than the globalist system in place now. Better for whom? And what are the forces lined up against him on this? Sparks fly.
This is how monetary policies have crushed the value of labor. Read… The US Cities with the Biggest Housing Bubbles
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Trump campaigned on an explicitly nationalist, populist platform, but once in office has wasted no time in being subsumed into The Swamp he pledged to drain as a candidate. So “Trump nationalism” is largely a misnomer, compared to what could have been had Trump had any real principles and convictions, rather than changeable positions dictated largely by his Swamp Creature advisors and Jarvanka.
The link below is to what was probably the most effective campaign ad in recent history, in which Trump appealed to the non-members of the crony capitalist “Big Club” of George Carlin’s acerbic description that is robbing this country blind and depriving our progeny of a future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF0YpXcZw9U
Gershon Well said Carlin sure was ahead of his time May he Rest In Peace Great man indeed
George Carlin, American Hero. You are sorely missed, brother.
“It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it.” Should be required viewing for every member of the 99%.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKUaqFzZLxU
Agreed … but then again knowing Trump’s public record since the 70’s should anything you’re saying come as a surprise to anyone thats paid attention to the reality and record rather than the rhetoric , blathering and posturing ?
Answer ; Not if you looked ” Eyes Wide Open ” it shouldn’t . Fact is what you see … assuming you were looking is exactly what you got . Trump … at his finest .
FYI ; Trump takes direction and advice from no one other than himself so place the blame firmly where it belongs . On his shoulders .
I had no illusions about Trump. But the alternative was Hillary. ‘Nuff said.
Your emotional opinions about Hillary came from the same people who brought you a crooked swindler moron and told your reality TV benumbed brain that a real crook should run the country.
God forbid we should have stable competent governance if it has to come from the subject of our two minute hate.
Binky NONSENSE my dislike of Hillary was totally caused by Hillary That said I’m not all that crazy about Trump either
TJ Martin – They were saying on NPR today that Trump’s interest is in “wins” so you could put anything in front of him and if he thinks it’s got wide backing, he’ll go for it – even single-payer health insurance.
He’d doing all this blustering about NK because that’s what he perceives the masses want. Like my boss, you’ve got all these Boomers talking blood and thunder about NK. They don’t even know what to think about my plan, I call it Operation Sandwich Drop. Basically, drop a ton of food on them, widespread, so much that their rulers can’t stop it. Drop plenty of propaganda too, by which I mean, pretty much Operation Disney Drop too. Then, give theme “most favored” trade status. Allow, even encourage, trade with NK and with NK individuals. Have everyone from generals to dog-catchers thinking they can make money selling stuff to the US. Even buy useless shit from ’em. I call it the “hug of death” approach. There’s no way the evil dictatorship would stand up to it. Compare and contrast how the US’s blockade has kept the Castros firmly in power in Cuba.
“He’d doing all this blustering about NK because that’s what he perceives the masses want.”
Trump dosent understand china is playing him like a violin, goading him with DPRK ,in the hope he starts what can be turned into a trade war with china over DPRK.
For which America can be blamed.
in this game Trump is not smart enough to move china out of the “china wins all ways position” it has created for itself.
Trump put himself and America in this mess, the second he canned TPP.
+1. I agree with the above statement. There’s no such thing as “Trump nationalism”. Trump’s rule in life is to serve Trump and that means maintaining the Swamp.
Yep Trump’s just mirroring the tribalism of the masses.
I thought Trump cares so much about the planet that he is trying to preserve and protect the slime & scum of the earth.
King Jong Un rules there’s no politics at the estrogen pit and ever time I occasionally look in well there it is. Can you spell hypocritical?
Lets not get hyperbolic. The election flipped in Trump’s favor due to the vagaries of the quirky electoral college and 70,000 votes spread across four states. That’s it, that’s all. As for Trump’s ‘nationalism’….Trump is an ideological wet paper bag. The Administrative State is firmly in control, they will not allow a flailing and failing Trump drive the world’s engine of commerce into the proverbial ditch.
Nicko, it was actually even closer than that – it was only the combination of Michigan & Pennsylvania that cost Clinton the Election.
Electoral College
Trump (304)
Trump faithless (2)
Clinton (227)
Clinton faithless (5)
Pennsylvania (20) for Trump – 44,000 votes (flip 22,000 voters)
Michigan (16) for Trump – 11,000 votes (flip 5,500 voters)
So flip around 27,500 voters and Clinton gets 36 electors taken from Trump.
Given that result you can bet there would be no Clinton faithless electors, although there would be at least 2 faithless Trump electors.
It’s even possible under this scenario that 2 faithless Trump electors could have flipped the election to Clinton, but we’ll leave the faithless Trump electors elsewhere.
So you get
Trump (268)
Clinton (268)
Trump faithless (2)
In fact, under this scenario, the result would have been flipped to the House and it would have been Trump v Clinton v Kasich?
Top 3 Vote Getters in the Electoral College Vote, and we may well have a President Kasich, although more likely a President Clinton via this scenario.
It was only less than 30,000 voters in Michigan & Pennsylvania who flipped it to Trump – not 70,000!
Hillary lost PA because the liberals in Philadelphia decided that poor people shouldn’t drink soda and taxed the hell out of it. Since the poor can’t afford to leave the city to shop, they retaliated in the only way they could. They voted for Trump or stayed home.
Philadelphia was always a solidly democrat stronghold until the social engineers started imposing their views. This newfound political power is going to surprise a lot of people in the next election.
Petunia – I agree with you on that. Taxing the hell out of the poor’s Faygo is not going to get them to stop drinking Faygo, and it’ll just piss them off. Education is the only way to get people to stop drinking sugar water.
Same story with Obama in his first term. Do you remember “Change you can believe in” ? So without the sustained outrage by the public, politicians say what they need to get elected then become the SWAMP as soon as they arrive in Washington.
Obama was bankrolled and groomed by Soros and Goldman Sachs. Any member of the 99% who truly believed he would bring “change we can believe in” was so mentally deficient they should be chained to a clothesline. He did the bidding of his Wall Street masters and made sure Erick Holder and Loretta Lynch would give the .1% a free hand to defraud and break the law with impunity.
“Trump campaigned on an explicitly nationalist, populist platform, but once in office has wasted no time in being subsumed into The Swamp he pledged to drain as a candidate.”
Subsumed is right, submerged being the method. It’s pretty hard to implement real change while surrounded by obstructionists not only from the opposing big government party, but from your own big government party, that party being merely “the phony opposition” due to ownership by many of the same deep pocket lobbies who own the so-called adversaries.
Political theater for the perpetually clueless who haven’t seen through the farce of actual voter choice. Dems and Reps – two sides of the same coin due to mostly-in-common ownership. A duopoly in a competitive power swapping game, like a game of ping pong with the voters being the ball.
Bones are thrown (gay marriage, gun rights) to keep the dolts going to the polls and to continue the illusion of voter choice and control, but on any policy that might affect the status quo flow of TRILLIONS of taxpayer funds and new debt accrued on THEIR tab – forget it.
That more people can’t seem to admit this OBVIOUS situation is, I think, simply due to their reluctance to face their own powerlessness. Their votes to change things for the better are always nullified by one or more votes from propagandized idiots and even when by a miracle the idiots are outvoted, the voters still don’t get what they were promised thanks to interference from the ACTUAL “government” behind the scenes.
Well said, Winston.
The only point I would use to the contrary is that, given the magnitude of the swamp, he can’t change everything in a few months.
He claims to have stopped regime change. Syria appears to be slowly winding down down due to his ending of the prior administration’s emphasis on fake freedom fighters and goofy war monger policies. Afghanistan has perhaps a $trillion in mineral wealth that the US wants to lay claim to. The continued presence exists so as not to give anyone else a chance at getting at it. Sorry to say we will never leave there, but at least is’s a little less of a quicksand swamp.
The European influence is going away and we are less likely to use them as our model to become. The horrible TPP and fake Paris environmental agreements are history.
He has stopped the momentum of the globalists. The only remaining confirmation will be who gets to succeed Yellen. Will he nominate someone who believes in the Taylor Rule and who sees monetary policy as a function of a free society? Or will he cave and support the swamp and the free money paper flippers and the negative rate worshipers? This last bit will be what controls the future. Remove the free money and you will stop the globalists in their tracks (low rates, low wages, and flexible labor sources all gone.)
Replacing who controls the Fed will seal his place in history as a great President or as a hack who was more swamp creature than he said.
“The only point I would use to the contrary is that, given the magnitude of the swamp, he can’t change everything in a few months. ”
Look at his administration. Staffed with the very same Goldman Sachs swampers that he lambasted during the primary and general election.
You’ll see what you want to see, I suppose. Objectivity in US politics is at an all time low.
This comment and the previous replies recitalist exactly what has happened. Let me explain.
Trump won the 2016 election, against all the odds that were given. He didn’t win along traditional lines, but with a hodgepodge of supporters from all over the spectrum. He was hated by both the establishment Republicans, as well as the Social Justice Warrior segment of the left.
So he puts a coalition together. Since the democrats go with a “resistance” movement he has no choice but to include the establishment Republicans. So here we had two diametrically opposing segments- the economic nationalists and the establishment. It was basically Bannon, Miller, Hahn vs. Kelly, McMasters, Cohn, Ivanka, and Kushner. Prebius generally was more an opportunist, and Mnuchin is somewhere between the two camps, but closer to the globalists (how close is anyone’s guess).
These two segments just would not work it out. It was going to be either one or the other. The economic nationalists were outnumbered, not only from the swamp but also from the media. Fox and the NY Post was united with CNN in going after the economic nationalists. The only hope the economic nationalists had was if the same anti-globalist segment from the left fought with Bannon and Miller against policies and treaties that leave American workers in the dark.
That did not happen. Those who cared more about the Democrat/Republican game were more interested in helping the establishment smear Bannon as a Russian acolyte or a racists, even if it meant giving the swamp control of the entire administration. It comes down to hating another party more than wanting to enact policy for the benefit of the citizenry.
There is this hope on the anti-globalist left that if a non-establishment democrat makes it to office, that the economic nationalists on the right will forgive and forget the knife in the back they received from the anti-globalist left gave when they piled on with the establishment media. The anti-globalist left should have been standing with the economic-nationalists right in solidarity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNVEYO4BNKQ
The King- establishment. Wallace Foot Soldiers- economic nationalists. Cavalry- anti-globalists left.
You nail it
Using my Nostradamus-like powers of prognostication, I foresee that Trump will not be allowed to do a single thing that has a negative impact on any of our TBTF banks or their partners in crime, no matter what provocations North Korea embarks on, and despite the smoke and mirrors thrown up by our hyperventilating media pundits.
How does Gershon do it, you ask…such an uncanny gift for seeing the future…mere mortals sigh with envy.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/04/north-korea-nuclear-test-united-states-may-sanction-chinas-major-banks-to-rein-in-pyongyang.html
Trumps nationalism would be better for wages of American working class; those few who still make things in the USA. The low inflation horror story would be history. Silicon valley robber barons would have to hire domestic IT workers, and will have less money to bribe their political minions, and so on…
Someone who manufactures his own organization’s products in Mexico and China has no credibility while talking about “nationalism”. The bond market is calling his bluff.
Don’t his American hotels and resorts count for contributing anything to the US economy? But yes, please nitpick on some ties made overseas, makes sense.
#CantSeeTheForestForTheTrees
His base can’t afford them. His hotels are for the elite he has spent his entire life trying to become.
A man of the people who wipes his hand after shaking hands.
nick — what part my my question didn’t you understand? You’re a terrible debater. “Don’t his American hotels and resorts count for contributing anything to the US economy?”
A really nasty, vindictive, jealous comment—indicative of the left’s mentality and maturity levels these days.
Carlada, please provide verifiable figures to support&answer your question, please. While you’re researching, provide same for the ‘nitpick’ products. Your response would be much stronger with these rather than falling back on what are now very old &thin, ad hominem ‘right’ vs ‘left’ statements. Thank you.
91B20 – another who doesn’t understand the concept of a question. Surely you aren’t thick enough to see value-added contributions of owning such US businesses (per your request, devoid of any research on your part):
Real Estate:
Donald Trump is well-known in the real estate world and has sold some of the most expensive properties in the U.S. The Trump Organization real estate portfolio includes properties in Virginia, Illinois, Florida, New Jersey, Nevada, California, New York, Connecticut and Hawaii. New York makes up the bulk of this portfolio with ownership of some of the most expensive and tallest properties in the state.
Hotels:
The Trump Organization owns hotel properties and also licenses Trump’s name to properties around the world. Trump hotels can be found in Illinois, Nevada, Florida, New York and Hawaii.
Golf Courses:
Miami, Florida; Ferry Point, New York; Los Angeles, California; Bedminster, New Jersey; Charlotte, North Carolina; Colts Neck, New Jersey; Hudson Valley, New York; Jupiter, Florida; Palm Beach, Florida; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Westchester, New York.
Casinos:
The Trump Organization owns a stake in Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc.
Other:
Trump Jets LLC, Trump Productions LLC.
And you’re targeting his neck-ties?! Please, give me a break. Take a look at the list and question your motives if you ever plan on winning an election with (D) behind your candidate’s name.
Doesn’t any American company make sheets or mattresses to use in his properties?
#fakefoliage
Carlada – they bring in a lot of of Russian money it seems.
Carlada, as a mere spectator here, all I asked for (politely, by the way) were NUMBERS to support your argument, in which I made the assumption you had, or were willing to provide them. A non-quantifiable statement is, in short, opinion-just like those of the respondents to your statement. Provide the numbers your questions asked and you truly win your debate, slam-dunk! Instead, no figures, and were back to the tired, right-left ad-hominem smoke. Being a spectator, I don’t know why you think I need to do the research to prove your points -they’re YOUR assertions. Your questions (and those countering your questions) are opinion without proof. Opinions based on appearances give us Enrons. Or Trump U.’s. Have a better day.
You are falling for Trump’s forest of lies. The one thing that these months of Trump’s mis-administration prove is that Trump lies like a rug and does not keep his promises. As to some promises, he must have known when he made them that he could not keep his promises: e.g., the claim that he could get Mexico to pay for the hugely expensive border wall.
It is not a question of nationalism versus globalism. What we have been seeing for decades is various nations taking advantage of the weaknesses and corruption of our politicians with help from our U.S. millionaires that have invested in Chinese (and other foreign) factories: the trade barriers, formal and informal, created by China, for example, could have been fought over before the WTO, or if necessary by a U.S. exit from the WTO.
Other nations might join us. China has not just taken advantage of the U.S.
However, I will believe in Trump’s threats against China, when I see them actually enacted. Trump has now been well compensated by the millionaire Chinese “communists.” See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/23/business/trump-china-trademarks.html?mcubz=3
They are not fools. They know how to bribe quietly and discreetly. I predict that the Trump family will be getting sweetheart deals from those “commies” for decades.
As to not raising the debt limit and causing the U.S. to default, if the Republican congress is stupid enough to do it (or rather to not raise), the results may cause Americans to finally wake up and realize that they are being led by a gaggle of incompetents that should be investigated and as to their numerous crimes/bribes, incarcerated.
Mike I heard when he doesn’t get his way he has a tendency to chew on the rug but it’s just a rumor
I’ve heard he only has one nad.
“You are falling for Trump’s forest of lies.”
No. I am not that simple minded, and I’ll leave it at that.
Pulling back from globalism in general may be better for some jobs and wages. That’s still hypothetial since the state of US trade and offshoring of labor has not stopped or been drastically altered.
Odds are that won’t happen and Trump will be able to blame Congress for the failure to drastically alter trade and business law…
Trump over the past 18 months has said just about everything–and its opposite. The desire among many, especially some ostensibly on the Left, to cherry-pick statements of his, then fixate on when they are going to be executed, or who in the “deep state” is thwarting their implementation, would be amusing if it weren’t so sad. It’s like watching people still defending Obama out of the mistaken notion that he “really meant” to be a good, progressive guy who worked for the little people if “the powers that be” hadn’t tied his hands.
When are Americans going to wake up and realize that the people they elect are in it for themselves, the members of their class, and their big-money donors?
Thank you James, as your last sentence is spot-on. There are a few exceptions, but in general it is very true.
I will try to abide by Wolf’s request to keep his site’s comments out of the political spectrum, but much of our nation’s and the world’s economic activities are guided by the political machine in DC. Also, history which has been written by politics, such as the repeal of Glass-Steagall, plays a large role in today’s events.
The repeal of Glass-Steagall would be a huge step in the right direction, but given the Swamp Creatures that dominate Trump’s inner circle, it’s not going to happen.
I think you mean reinstatement.
1) NK is a proxy to hit China, a rising power and a real threat. NK isn’t a real threat. US hitting the Asia region with nukes for the 3rd time, isn’t very likely. The effect of it is : the globalization cycle that have expanded since 1972, for almost 50 years, will now start to shrink (it’s shrinking already).
The chief engineers : Nixon vs Trump. We will see how, – this time, –
China will save China from itself !!
2) The biggest victims are US co flourishing in China w/too much built in CAPEX .
3) Boehner spikes are likely gone for good, because he is gone.
4) Gov shut down will require “Emergency Measures”. Bypassing the useless law makers will enable the president to achieve the following :
– liquidate the current health care system, that his supporters are so obsessed about.
– change & reduce entitlement.
– adjust defense spending.
– enable a shrinkage & retreat in stages from defense obligation, but not
before exhibiting a sample of US fire & fury.
– CONSOLIDATE US global position, adjusting to the growing risk.
– the US have no need to protect supply lines of finished goods from China to the US and supply routes into China. It serve jobs creation in
China, not in the USA. He might even attempt to block some.
– macro manage US influence zones. Trump isn’t a micro manager. He will delegate power to few chosen/proven strong hands to manage their geographic zone.
All in order to reduce risk. Some areas will be left for the pirates.
– reduce debt. he has the experts to do it. The same experts have the
know how to take advantage of a collapse and they will buy US debt for $0.25 per $1.00.
The American people will be convince to voluntarily, for a limited time,
give up some rights and willingly accept a reduced & limited freedom.
– The US was born 240 years ago, with a lot of Spinoza, but normal
life expectancy of an empire is 250 years.
– stages, from 1st steps to decline :
1) Larry Ferreiro book : Brothers at Arms.
2) Sir john Glubb pdf : The Fate of Empires.
Both stunning !!!
Michael Hit China? That’s an insane idea if I’ve ever heard one
Debt ceiling or no debt ceiling, it’s only going to take a few percentage rise in rates before the interest expense consumes all tax receipts in the US and a bunch of countries
http://thesoundingline.com/sovereign-debt-crisis-interest-expenses-already-consuming-large-portions-tax-revenue/
central banks will never let interest rates rise again. Instead they will flood the investment community with as much cash as needed to keep interest rates low forever. Of course this will mean the end of their currencies – all currencies will be hyper inflated, worthless electronic tokens and soon. The time has arrived.
Currencies are a confidence game and the game ends when people lose confidence. People are finally starting to lose confidence and the dam is ready to break. Of course they plan to start over with new currencies – will people let them, I think yes, most people are primarily concerned with getting something for nothing.
The question you people are not asking:
Is he/will he be better than the other alternative that was proposed?
How would another four years of the Clinton Family Enterprise in the White House and government turned out for the USA?
IMO it would have been a disaster.
Like Trump or hate Trump, he is the President and the following will be changed by his administration:
1. The Courts
He has already appointed one Supreme Court Justice and will probably get to appoint one or more. That will set the future direction of the Court for years to come.
Lower Court Judges will also be appointed and then be able to continue to influence the US for years after as well. Just as all those Clinton and Obama appointees are throwing wrenches into Trump’s proposals and actions, his appointees will get to do the same to the next person that becomes President.
2. Immigration
Slowly the change is coming to illegal immigration enforcement. Even though I don’t live in the USA I still think that this is one of the most important aspects of the failure of both parties over the past: enforcement of the laws on the books against illegal immigration.
Illegal immigration changes the way people look at the law and law enforcement. Why should people obey the law if a country can not even determine who enters and leaves the country.
Massive illegal immigration as has happened in the USA changes the character of the country to the detriment of those already in the country in terms of economics and safety.
I’ve gone through the process of getting PR in two different countries and the time, money, and effort is huge. I’m in favour of controlled legal immigration. If a country can not defend its borders, why even be called a country.
3. The election of Trump has been a huge wake up call that shows everybody the extent to which both parties are in favour of keeping control over the middle and lower classes.
Any achievements he is able to put into effect means that he has to beat the DEMONrat part, the REPUKE party, the Washington Bureaucrats, the corrupt intelligence agencies, the enshrined corporate kleptocracy, and all the other leeches that suck money and power from Washington…..
One has to wonder how he gets anything gets done at all!
One benefit from his election has been to expose all of the above and especially the actions of the left. It has shown its true colours, hypocrisy, and stupidity and as a result no matter how bad Trump does, it will be a long, long time before it ever gains the trust of a majority of people in the USA.
His wife is an illegal immigrant. Or rather, ‘was’ because her status has been legalized.
Was she “illegal” when he married her or was she here on some sort of visa i.e. Student, H1B? Big difference
But Hillary wasn’t a illiterate lunatic with histrionic personality disorder and she can read and talk in paragraphs.
The idea of Trump reading a book is nonsensical.
Yes Dems should have run younger male. You can’t have everything in a candidate or a Pres.
But in Trump you have nothing, an empty vessel still striving to be one of the elite he was elected to dethrone. His newest chief of staff, Kelly, stares at the floor as Trump defends Nazis.
A man of the people who wipes his hand after shaking hands.
Trump may do the US one HUUUGE favor.
By inhabiting the office, the last remnant of monarchy in the English speaking world, he may cause Americans to create a system where every second word is NOT ‘the Pwesident this, the Pwesident that. the Pwes the Pwes…’
Move on from your warmed over Brit system circa 1800.
Britain did.
“Illegal immigration changes the way people look at the law and law enforcement. Why should people obey the law if a country can not even determine who enters and leaves the country.
Massive illegal immigration as has happened in the USA changes the character of the country to the detriment of those already in the country in terms of economics and safety.”
Yeah… no. Not at all. Illegal immigration has literally ZERO effect on how people view the law. You think people see illegal immigrants and all of a sudden decide “well, sure seems OK to rob this store because Pedro over there overstayed his visa”?
“One benefit from his election has been to expose all of the above and especially the actions of the left. It has shown its true colours, hypocrisy, and stupidity and as a result no matter how bad Trump does, it will be a long, long time before it ever gains the trust of a majority of people in the USA.”
Yeah… I don’t know how to even begin to address just how dumb this is.
Smingles,
No doubt where your political leanings are: you’d never make in the military as all you’d be doing is left, left, left and not know that to march you have to go right, left, right………….
The election of Trump showed how disgusted people were with the left.
The continued stupidity of the left as shown by antifa, the idiotic ramblings of the MSM and politicians in the democrat party, and ridiculous statements and actions by left leaning numbnuts such as Kathy Griffin have doomed the left to waste away.
The dominance of the repuke party at the state and local levels except in those bastions of nuttiness – California and New York prove this fact.
Lee,
Right on the money.
The far-left voters, as evidenced here (“he chews on rug”, “he has one nad”), will never grasp reality.
I posed a simple, probing question “Don’t his American hotels and resorts count for contributing anything to the US economy?” which quickly drew the ire and contempt of said folks. No retort, no answer, no contemplation, just uneducated disdain.
Perhaps, when one is living in a van down by the river, albeit in “civilization” vs. “flyover country”, one’s perception of reality can get a bit skewered…
Actually, I agree with OP. Picking and choosing the laws to enforce undermines it all.
“How would another four years of the Clinton Family Enterprise in the White House and government turned out for the USA?”
Depends on what your skin colour and gender are. I am trying to figure out how to become white and male. No success yet.
“I am trying to figure out how to become white and male.”
In white males need not apply America (Unless you millions in cash (cash not ill-liquid assets)) that would be a very stupid thing to do.
Lee – “I’ve gone through the process of getting PR in two different countries and the time, money, and effort is huge.”
Public Relations?
I can commiserate with the “Dreamers” who have been made fair game for INS now. My parents moved me to Hawaii when I was just turning 6. I grew up speaking the local patois outside the home and fairly proper English in the home. I ate the local foods, grew up knowing the local customs, knew the local legends both ancient and “urban” variety, knew the local politics, etc. I basically grew up a “local”. I had no choice in this, it’s my parents who plopped me down there. I’m the wrong color to be a local, though. They hate whites there. I do have two sisters who live there and they live with a level of hypervigilance that I will no longer put up with. Job prospects for whites are dim. I got the hell out as soon as I could, in my mid-20s.
But what if something happened in the USA where I had to “return” to England? (father’s side) Or Lithuania (mom’s side)? I mean, England might be kinda OK, but I don’t know a lick of Lithuanian.
My understanding is the DACA people are very closely screened, this isn’t like Reagan’s blanket amnesty of millions of immigrants crooks and straight-arrows alike. Oh, but that’s OK, Saint Reagan did it!
PR = permanent residence visa
Trump has done the complete opposite of what he said he was going to do. When people vigorously campaign on an issue, then so obviously reverse course after an election, you have to wonder whether a vote is worth your time. Smells a lot like taxation without representation.
Trump is trying to do what he promised and is getting zero help from his captured party. If his opponents on his own side think they will push him aside and continue business as usual, they are in for a rude surprise in the next election.
And that next election is just 14 months away.
To a Brit or Canadian etc. the odd thing about the US is that it’s ALWAYS election season and campaign time.
But when our jaws really drop is when we see a video, not undercover, of a Texas judge at some annual bash working a room full of lawyers for campaign contributions.
Keerist
As usual, in life, choices are about relative outcomes. “Trump populism” (or just plain populism, as it should be called), only had any chance to be put into practice by electing Trump. Is Trump keeping all his promises? Please be realistic when evaluating government/political processes/answering this question.
Unfortunately the electorate only has certain choices at election time. The alternative was viewed by enough people to be worse than Trump. That’s just the reality.
“Unfortunately the electorate only has certain choices at election time. The alternative was viewed by enough people to be worse than Trump. That’s just the reality.”
Sort of… in a really convoluted way, considering literally millions more Americans thought Trump was the worst of the two main choices… but those are the rules.
Hillary vs The Donald, a choice between the plague and cholera, although a vote for The Donald was probably one of the fattest midfingers shown to the establishment in modern times.
To keep in mind, every empire rises, has its heyday and then declines. The Roman empire is gone, the Byzantine empire is gone, Alexander’s empire is gone, the Ottoman empire is gone, the Habsburg empire is gone, the Spanish empire is gone, the German empire is gone, the Soviet empire is gone, the French empire is gone, the British empire is gone ….
And the US empire shows every sign to be in decline while we see the latest round in the disintegration of British influence. The US resemble more and more mid 3rd century Rome.
“although a vote for The Donald was probably one of the fattest midfingers shown to the establishment in modern times.”
The problem with midfingers like that, is that they regularly tend to turn out, to be VEY VERY expensive, for the people who gave them
d You’re right many times they do but oh boy is it worth EVERY penny
“The US resemble more and more mid 3rd century Rome.’
No, the USA more and more resembles a 3rd world hellhole with a bunch of uneducated idiots, gangs, crime, selective enforcement of laws, and a police and surveillance state.
Wonder if the place can ever be turned around…………….I wish you all the luck in the world especially to those that still believe and work for the betterment of the country.
“Wonder if the place can ever be turned around”
The reunification of North America, under a political system other than the current insane US political and state system, with out the, out of date, set in stone, US Constitution.
Will achieve that.
Its a when.
Probably after the US finally goes broke, and implodes (which is also a, WHEN).
One very quick question from the UK, I’ve never understood with the US.
Why have a debt ceiling? Every two-three years the same argument comes around again.
The budgets are so huge in the USA, for an accountant to go in and say okay we’ll take 5% off this and 5% off that cost. I get the sense Trump thought he would go in and do that similar to a normal business.
As we can see currently the defence budget won’t be going down anytime soon.
Why have a debt ceiling? Every two-three years the same argument comes around again.
It’s pure Kabuki theater, where Wall Street’s GOPe hirelings make a show of pretending they’re fiscally responsible before folding like a cheap suit and saddling future generations with even more trillions in unpayable debts, for the exclusive benefit of their billionaire donors.
There are various fiendish torture devices in the Tower of London that we might ask to borrow someday when these clowns and their profligate spending and waste cause our financial system to collapse.
Thanks Gershon,
The stretching torture device is on its way across the Atlantic.
Best Regards
Steve
UK
The UK and US aren’t in similar positions re: their ability to deficit finance.
The UK went bust in 1973 and had to get an emergency loan from the IMF after a run on the pound.
The pound has by far the smallest economy supporting an SDR reserve currency and with China entering the club it looks smaller.
Discipline on UK budgets and pound has been administered by external forces and could be again.
At the moment the US dollar is the cleanest dirty shirt in the laundry and
has no serious competitors as a reserve currency. Yes the euro is up but maybe next month some other (Greek, Italian, Spanish etc.) crisis will send it back down.
The only PRESENT discipline or limit on US debt is internal, so that is where debt limit talks happen.
Moody’s – one of the three rating agencies that assigned AAA ratings to toxic-waste mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) bundled by the TBTF banks and sold to gullible “investors” during the last housing bubble – is making noise about downgrading the US credit rating if the US defaults on any of its debts. They don’t say what they’ll do when Yellen cranks up her printing press to hyperdrive and prints away all those debts and obligations, debasing the dollar to wheelbarrow money.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/05/moodys-if-the-us-defaults-it-wont-regain-its-top-notch-debt-rating.html
It’s hard be less cynical, but I’ll bet Uncle Warren has some well placed bets, in the bond markets.
That’s the reason he owns Moody’s (Its his research department) get a ratings agency to do your research, legitimate inside information.
That’s why they are always a day late and a dollar short (AKA Warrens delay)
Wolf seems to feel the key to the US debt ceiling crisis is China which is the primary beneficiary of monetized government spending. Capital flight from China is stopped and the availability of Treasury bonds to pay for trade with China is likely to slow or stop, (and you do not want the BIS to settle in dollars) and then Trump wants to put trade sanctions on any country which trades with NK.
as far as Congress goes be careful about what you assume. Democrats are assumed to be a rubber stamp, but if Trump keeps linking the debt ceiling increase with the Bush/Trump wall, then enough Dems might pull back from that assumed position to sink the increase. GOP hubris on the matter is WE control it, and surprise, you may not after all. If Dems can put the blame on Trump and win some populist swing votes for the upcoming midterms, they will. Dems in true blue states are rock solid against Trump, so its a matter of being smart, as Wolf says.
– I think I brought “Wolfstreet” to the attention of “Howestreet” (in Canada). Because I posed a few questions to guests that were interviewed on Howestreet.com. In one of those questions I referred to an article/a thread here on WolfStreet.
Do you remember how long ago that was?
– I even have the email I send to them. Watch your email inbox.