341–350 of 356 posts
It seems to me, the US gov't no longer cares much for the new multiplier, so this is just a cynical way to put negotiating pressure on them.
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Its a battle for who is the world economic power in 20 or 30 years. The american public doesn't understand what is at stake here. Unfortunately the media is calling Trump a buffoon, when the trade war, and possible subsequent economic hit to the USA, is vital to our long term economic future.
If it is indeed a battle, like you say, infrastructure investment in wind + solar, reliable public transportation, a public health system, and free public education would do us 100x more than playing silly games with China.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its a battle for who is the world economic power in 20 or 30 years. The american public doesn't understand what is at stake here. Unfortunately the media is calling Trump a buffoon, when the trade war, and possible subsequent economic hit to the USA, is vital to our long term economic future.
Yea but what about 50 years? 100? 300? I don’t see a world where the US can maintain hegemony forever, it’s going to be multilateral.
The long story to this is that the Chinese dont like what Trump is doing, he is the first to stand up to their tactics. The thing is, if Trump doesn't get reelected, a democratic candidate will most likely not continue the trade war. China has every incentive to place pressure on the us stock market in the hope that it ruins Trumps chances at reelection. So they play this long waiting game, in the chance that Trump d…
I'm not so sure. The democrats have been largely silent about the trade war (beyond using it as ammo against Trump). I think no matter the administration, a lot of the existing executive branch would like to see this through.
So, really, is there any doubt that this is true? China's currency exchange rate has been abnormally stable for a long time, and the Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Reagan administrations all knew it was the result of currency manipuliation. They just found it politically unpalatable to admit it out loud. The real question would be, why is the U.S. finally admitting this out loud? 1) amping up a trade war 2) decoupli…
> why is the U.S. finally admitting this out loud? 4) The US President is not well. He saw that the stock market went down, so he tweeted a thing. This then became policy simply because he tweeted a thing. As the US lurches from crisis to crisis, this will be forgotten, as many things have before [0,1,2], and there is not a good chance that the thing will be enacted. [0] https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/tru…
1. That China manipulates its currency to improve its economic competitiveness
2. Restricts access to its domestic markets
3. Uses North Korea in negotiation leverage
4. Uses trade deals to capture foreign territory (e.g. the Sri Lankan port project)
Using an ad hominem (“not well”) to discount the democratically elected, leading political actor of a country, seems to be a uniquely American trait (I grew up in India, where we know our politicians are corrupt, but highly intelligent rational actors).
Ad hominems are not a useful tool to try and understand motivations of political actors. It’s ok to say ‘I don’t know why’ when the reasons for an action seem opaque.
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If it is indeed a battle, like you say, infrastructure investment in wind + solar, reliable public transportation, a public health system, and free public education would do us 100x more than playing silly games with China.
Clean energy will never beat oil, its a pipe dream. Oil packs too much energy per barrel, its not even worth discussing. Reliable public transportation has nothing to do with competing for industries on a mass scale, it helps but I really dont see how it could cause a categorical change. Education does nothing if you have no good jobs to employ people with, education reform is largely a myth, hundreds of millions hav…
Battery tech has more room for improvement than the hard chemical/physical limits of oil.
2) Job creation is a farce. We don't more oil riggers any more than we need more lamplighters and switchboard operators. If you want to ensure everyone has a good quality of life - a basic income looks more promising.[2]
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-ion_battery
[1]: https://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/ArthurGolnik.shtml
[2]: https://tcf.org/content/commentary/universal-basic-income-ve...
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If having two different exchange rates -- "offshore" and "onshore" -- doesn't say currency manipulator, I don't know what does.
Every currency has onshore and offshore rates. For example, you can buy dollars or Eurodollars, which is simple US currency kept offshore. Eurodollars have different exchange rates because they don't have the reserve requirements from the Fed. i.e: it's less regulated. The RMB has a heavier regulation whereby the exchange rate isn't allowed to fluctuate. This does increase the difference in value for the onshore and…
It means the Trump family will make a bunch of money on the volatility, and the US will capitulate in a few months.
> Trump family will make a bunch of money on the volatility, Why not just set up a foundation and request all the governments who want arm deals or other favors to donate it. Forcing China do devalue its currency seems like a very complicated way of going about it.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-inc-podcast-donald-...
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Clean energy will never beat oil, its a pipe dream. Oil packs too much energy per barrel, its not even worth discussing. Reliable public transportation has nothing to do with competing for industries on a mass scale, it helps but I really dont see how it could cause a categorical change. Education does nothing if you have no good jobs to employ people with, education reform is largely a myth, hundreds of millions hav…
1) Energy density matters. You cite no data to back your claims up, in fact the opposite is true. Lithium batteries pack just as much energy per kg. Lithium is at 41.7 kJ per gram [0], Oil is at 45 kJ per gram [1] Battery tech has more room for improvement than the hard chemical/physical limits of oil. 2) Job creation is a farce. We don't more oil riggers any more than we need more lamplighters and switchboard operat…
2.) Job creation is a farce? So lets just give everyone money? We passed NAFTA and destroyed the mid west, 15 years later everyone in those states realized what happened and then voted for Trump. The whole nation was caught off guard by something that was hiding in plan sight. Government policy directly affects where companies put jobs. Ignoring and completely arguing against this is a really radical position.
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Yea but what about 50 years? 100? 300? I don’t see a world where the US can maintain hegemony forever, it’s going to be multilateral.
Why would we willingly give up this fight? Isnt that idea defeatist? "Well in 100 years, theres no way we can continue, so may as well give up now".
Lee Kwan Yew has a pretty good book on the subject, it's worth considering.