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Politics. The feel in your country.

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  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367

    So there was another school shooting today. In Dalton Georgia a TEACHER barricaded himself in his classroom and fired a shot(s). The teacher, a social studies teacher who is also the play by play announcer of the football team has been charged with multiple felonies.

    Arm the teachers?

    You're preaching to the choir on this forum I think...
    smeagolheartProontscreamingpalm
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    Balrog99 said:

    So there was another school shooting today. In Dalton Georgia a TEACHER barricaded himself in his classroom and fired a shot(s). The teacher, a social studies teacher who is also the play by play announcer of the football team has been charged with multiple felonies.

    Arm the teachers?

    You're preaching to the choir on this forum I think...
    That's great. I think the video was pretty hilarious too, you should enjoy it then.
    Balrog99
  • MathsorcererMathsorcerer Member Posts: 3,037

    Wal-Mart and Dick's Sporting Goods are both now implementing a policy where they will not sell guns or ammunition to people under 21. In addition, Dick's Sporting Goods is simply getting rid of all semi-automatic rifles in their stores. Good for them. Corporate America seems be sensing a change in the direction of the wind.

    Voluntary changes in corporate policy are better than pieces of hastily-thrown-together feel-good legislation. I don't mind that policy at all--if you cannot buy a bottle of Johnnie Jane Walker then you can't buy a gun.
    ZaghoulProontbooinyoureyes
  • ZaghoulZaghoul Member, Moderator Posts: 3,938
    I'll play devil's advocate/pessimist and say that it's possible wally world n dicks are responding in such a fashion to keep negative press off them for selling guns in the first place. "Look, we did something. Keep buying stuff from us."
    No, I don't think big corp.'s cares much about people.

    Addition: $1/2 trillion Google banning 'gun related words' from searches from shopping, ok...
    Proont
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367

    Balrog99 said:

    So there was another school shooting today. In Dalton Georgia a TEACHER barricaded himself in his classroom and fired a shot(s). The teacher, a social studies teacher who is also the play by play announcer of the football team has been charged with multiple felonies.

    Arm the teachers?

    You're preaching to the choir on this forum I think...
    That's great. I think the video was pretty hilarious too, you should enjoy it then.
    It looked funny but w/o sound it wasn't hilarious to me. I watched some of the 1st season of Shameless and it was pretty funny (a friend of mine dvr'd some episodes during a free trial weekend). Have never had Showtime so haven't watched it since.
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    edited March 2018
    This is such a stunning, surface-level corruption that it defies belief. The President's son-in-law is securing massive bank loans after White House meetings that value in the hundreds of millions of dollars:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/business/jared-kushner-apollo-citigroup-loans.html?smid=tw-share
    MathsorcererZaghoulProontsmeagolheart
  • MathsorcererMathsorcerer Member Posts: 3,037
    I concur. Most politicians or key staff members wait until *after* they are out of office to start making tons of money peddling influence or making connections. Kushner decided not to wait, it seems.
    smeagolheart
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850

    I concur. Most politicians or key staff members wait until *after* they are out of office to start making tons of money peddling influence or making connections. Kushner decided not to wait, it seems.

    There is a big difference between the two.
    smeagolheart
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367

    I concur. Most politicians or key staff members wait until *after* they are out of office to start making tons of money peddling influence or making connections. Kushner decided not to wait, it seems.

    There is a big difference between the two.
    Yeah, a few years...
    MathsorcerersmeagolheartZaghoul
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    edited March 2018
    When it is shown to me where Chelsea Clinton, the Bush twins, or Sasha and Malia secured half a billion dollars in bank loans based on conversations they had in the White House, then we can start talking about how everyone does it. Until then, I don't think so....
    Post edited by jjstraka34 on
    smeagolheartsemiticgoddess
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    I agree there's a huge difference between the cases:
    - on the one hand an ex-president or employee relies for their income on those trying to curry favor with a celebrity, e.g. seeking a bit of publicity or to feel good about themselves.
    - on the other hand a current president or employee relies (or as a minimum gives the appearance of relying) on people seeking a specific favor through changes in laws or procedures.

    Of course Kushner's actions don't look so bad compared to Trump's very direct manipulation of the presidency to increase his business profits - but that really shouldn't be taken as the correct bar.
    smeagolheartjjstraka34
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    but but Trump stood need to a bunch of folders with allegedly blank stacks of paper and said he was not going to profit off the presidency. You mean the reality show host was only pulling a stunt? /shocked!

    image
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    Today Trump announced steel and aluminum tariffs. Because Trump wants to bring a put what he envisions the average working class American to be - a man in a hardhat with a soot covered face coal mining up steel and aluminum while working at a place with few safety or health regulations. Good times.

    Also the market dropped 400 points on this news. Also shares of companies that use steel and aluminum in particular tanked such as Boeing.
    MathsorcererThacoBellProont
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367

    Today Trump announced steel and aluminum tariffs. Because Trump wants to bring a put what he envisions the average working class American to be - a man in a hardhat with a soot covered face coal mining up steel and aluminum while working at a place with few safety or health regulations. Good times.

    Also the market dropped 400 points on this news. Also shares of companies that use steel and aluminum in particular tanked such as Boeing.

    Well somebody has to put on a hardhat and get soot on his face. Is it better if that person is Chinese? Just curious...
    smeagolheart
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367
    There are always unintended consequences. Why do other countries do it then? Afraid to face the music?
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Tariffs boost the sales of local goods. The US auto industry failed HARD when it had to compete with the Japanese auto industry. Tariffs and increased import taxes are the only reason we can stay competitive in our own country. Says alot about us.
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367
    ThacoBell said:

    Tariffs boost the sales of local goods. The US auto industry failed HARD when it had to compete with the Japanese auto industry. Tariffs and increased import taxes are the only reason we can stay competitive in our own country. Says alot about us.

    But most of our raw materials come from abroad including steel and aluminum. Also, the consumers pay the brunt of tariffs in higher prices. Not so sure our Wa-Mart accustomed youngsters will appreciate higher prices. Seems like the Republicans are treading dangerous waters to me...
    ThacoBellscreamingpalmProont
  • WarChiefZekeWarChiefZeke Member Posts: 2,651
    I am not a steel and aluminum market expert so I lack the context for why this would be good or bad but I am not opposed to tariffs on principle. China protects its industries with tariffs and other trade barriers to great effect and has been doing so for a long time. I can see the logic in lowering taxes and putting up trade barriers to encourage domestic investment but we'll see where it leads.
    Balrog99UnderstandMouseMagicProont
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Balrog99 said:

    ThacoBell said:

    Tariffs boost the sales of local goods. The US auto industry failed HARD when it had to compete with the Japanese auto industry. Tariffs and increased import taxes are the only reason we can stay competitive in our own country. Says alot about us.

    But most of our raw materials come from abroad including steel and aluminum. Also, the consumers pay the brunt of tariffs in higher prices. Not so sure our Wa-Mart accustomed youngsters will appreciate higher prices. Seems like the Republicans are treading dangerous waters to me...
    I read that the majority of Republicans were actually against this and it is only be announced as a distraction to every other god damn thing happening in the white house atm.

    Trump also choose the worst option presented to him which was a 24% tariff, then rounded up to 25 because it sounded better.

    I do giddily hope this turns into a trade war. Entertainment at its finest.
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367

    I am not a steel and aluminum market expert so I lack the context for why this would be good or bad but I am not opposed to tariffs on principle. China protects its industries with tariffs and other trade barriers to great effect and has been doing so for a long time. I can see the logic in lowering taxes and putting up trade barriers to encourage domestic investment but we'll see where it leads.

    As does Japan. I guess we'll find out how a trade-war affects us. Not much data on it yet...
  • smeagolheartsmeagolheart Member Posts: 7,963
    Balrog99 said:

    I am not a steel and aluminum market expert so I lack the context for why this would be good or bad but I am not opposed to tariffs on principle. China protects its industries with tariffs and other trade barriers to great effect and has been doing so for a long time. I can see the logic in lowering taxes and putting up trade barriers to encourage domestic investment but we'll see where it leads.

    As does Japan. I guess we'll find out how a trade-war affects us. Not much data on it yet...
    Yeah maybe china puts a big tariff on american beef in retaliation. I guess we'll see
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367

    Balrog99 said:

    I am not a steel and aluminum market expert so I lack the context for why this would be good or bad but I am not opposed to tariffs on principle. China protects its industries with tariffs and other trade barriers to great effect and has been doing so for a long time. I can see the logic in lowering taxes and putting up trade barriers to encourage domestic investment but we'll see where it leads.

    As does Japan. I guess we'll find out how a trade-war affects us. Not much data on it yet...
    Yeah maybe china puts a big tariff on american beef in retaliation. I guess we'll see
    Argentina already supplies most of our beef so not sure a tariff on that would affect us much. Besides, I don't think they're a big beef consumer yet...
  • jjstraka34jjstraka34 Member Posts: 9,850
    edited March 2018
    So far, Trump's big moves on tariffs have been to prop up Whirlpool and a dying steel industry, at the risk of raising prices for consumers on countless products that come from China, India, and Canada. But I'm sure a guy who went bankrupt running a CASINO knows exactly what he's doing.....

    No one actually cares about buying American, they just want cheap shit. And that includes Trump, who built his buildings with.....imported Chinese steel and aluminum. And when he wasn't importing those goods, he was putting money in the pockets of the Genevese and Luchese crime families by using concrete, which the New York mafia controlled for decades:

    http://www.newsweek.com/how-donald-trump-ditched-us-steel-workers-china-505717
    semiticgoddessThacoBellsmeagolheartProont
  • booinyoureyesbooinyoureyes Member Posts: 6,164
    Balrog99 said:

    I am not a steel and aluminum market expert so I lack the context for why this would be good or bad but I am not opposed to tariffs on principle. China protects its industries with tariffs and other trade barriers to great effect and has been doing so for a long time. I can see the logic in lowering taxes and putting up trade barriers to encourage domestic investment but we'll see where it leads.

    As does Japan. I guess we'll find out how a trade-war affects us. Not much data on it yet...
    There's a reason Japan's recessions last forever


    Tariffs harm most people, but helps a small group of people (manufacturing sector) immensely. Its one of the classic political economy problems where the benefits are highly concentrated and the negatives are dispersed.

    The beneficiaries (in this case, the Trump/Sanders crossover voters) are highly motivated to support tariffs, as they have so much to gain. Meanwhile, the costs are so dispersed that no individual consumer has a great incentive to fight back (except perhaps those manufacturers who rely on the raw materials being taxed) , since they individually only pay a small fraction of the overall cost.
  • ZaghoulZaghoul Member, Moderator Posts: 3,938
    edited March 2018



    No one actually cares about buying American, they just want cheap shit. And that includes Trump, who built his buildings with.....imported Chinese steel and aluminum. And when he wasn't importing those goods, he was putting money in the pockets of the Genevese and Luchese crime families by using concrete, which the New York mafia controlled for decades:

    I have a little different take on it. Seems to me that one result of no one caring to buy American (or make/ grow as much stuff in America) because of wanting the cheapest crap possible left us not manufacturing as much as we once did. It would also seem to have left factories deserted, and more and more people out of work. That's those who have taken themselves out of employment- not the fallacy of unemployment used now by seeing how many people are claiming unemployment ins., which cuts people off now MUCH earlier than it did in the crash of '08. This country is different than it was when I got out of high school in the 80's when it comes to ready made jobs. That is the way I have seen things change anyway. It used to be working at mills paid pretty good right out of high school for many, and those jobs are just not as plentiful. Sure, some of it has to do with changing technology but not all. Now it's even getting harder to land jobs even after college and racking up student loan debt.
    If this is the way it goes, then wanting the cheapest made product, most likely from overseas, winds up hurting more than it helps. Yeah, buying it cheap cause there is not as much money to spend without as many jobs, or racking up credit card bills because, what the heck, might as well just get it (making it even worse).
    I'll put wal mart in with all this as well. A wal mart shows up in some smaller places and businesses seem to go under. Give it to em cheap, people can't resist, and it just seems to lead to unintended consequences.
    Im not an economist, just a guy watching the decades change things, in person. If I see things wrong, I'll admit it, but I'll need more than a bunch of figures from trumped up politicians lying to me about how darn good the economy and unemployment rates are. Especially after the housing market crash going on 10 years ago now.
    semiticgoddessBalrog99
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @jjstraka34 Fun fact, I used to work for a dollar store chain. I would pretty often get customers that always sung the praises of any item that had "Made in America" stamped on it, regardless of its quality. I made the mistake once of mention that just beneath the big stamp was "Assembled from foreign parts" in small writing. Never did see that guy again.
    Zaghoul
  • screamingpalmscreamingpalm Member Posts: 37
    "Deadly Innocent Fraud #5: The trade deficit is an unsustainable imbalance that takes away jobs and output.
    Facts: Imports are real benefits and exports are real costs. Trade deficits directly improve our standard of living. Jobs are lost because taxes are too high for a given level of government spending, not because of imports." https://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/powerpoints/7DIF.pdf

    We would be fools to support these tariffs or undermine our trade deficit that we benefit immensely from. We receive massive amounts of labor and finished goods in exchange for accounts at the fed. We continue to listen to idiots and ignore the ones who get it right.
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