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Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

washingtonstatestandard.com

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Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#141

Post by blackeyeblitzar »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #51
watwut wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is not limited to tariffs. There is consistent hostile rhetoric against Canada by multiple members of administration. And by hostile I mean threats of annexation, demands that Canada gives USA parts of its land and false accusations. Tariffs are only part of the issue. They seem the be the first USA step meant to weaken Canada economically before USA proceeds to steal from from it.

Exactly this. It's interesting watching how Americans are talking about this issue vs Canadians. Even my liberal friends in the US think it's more "Silly" and "Troll" behaviour on Trump's part -- "you're not taking that seriously, are you?" Yes, we're taking it seriously. It wasn't some one-off tweet. He's the official head of state and silence from the rest of the GOP and the US political class generally isn't exact…

> The US is the only country that has ever invaded us.

Who is “us”? Surely we need to acknowledge that Europeans invaded Canada in the first place? The “us” that can make claims about having been invaded likely is just the indigenous people of that land. Of course, this applies to America as well. I do wonder what causes all of us to view a certain set of borders as the “correct” one. I also do the same thing.

> Yes, we're taking it seriously. It wasn't some one-off tweet.

As for whether Trump’s language about 51st state or whatever is a troll: I think it’s partially that. It’s really more about calling attention to the future of Canada and whether it makes more sense for it to be a part of the US than linger on its own. I don’t think it literally means annexing it through force but more like asking whether it’s mutually good for Canada to also be among the “United States” - just as you could ask that question of whether it should be in the EU.

Trump’s aggressive way of stating this has succeeded in one sense, which is drawing attention to the idea. It has backfired in another sense, which is that it is highly disrespectful and maybe has turned Canadians off that possibility entirely. Or worse, it may permanently push Canada into the arms of China or the EU. So I do agree that it is partially a troll but still destructive.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#142

Post by fmbb »

a-priori wrote: post #106
zardo wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the very least you would expect them to start looking at other sources for arms.

Absolutely. Canada is almost certainly going to cancel or severely limit a pending F35 order, and is actively sourcing aircraft and negotiating mutual arms deals with European partners.

… which is hard to do for European plane makers that have engines with parts licensed from US companies.

Hopefully this all leads to more countries stopping relying on US trade.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#143

Post by popularrecluse »

hcurtiss wrote: post #129
ForTheKidz wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well we've only been a true "liberal democracy" for the past sixty years or so. Before that we were a de-facto apartheid state. Maybe at a stretch you could say 105 years if you go by the 19th amendment. And frankly i'm still skittish to call America pre-Trump a democracy with my full chest given the electoral college, completely bonkers division of the country into states, the senate, complete lack of a right to vot…

I don't believe any of the founders believed they were creating a "true democracy," or even that it would be desirable. Read Federalist Number 10. The modern fetishism of democracy will lead bad places.

I don't think anyone is arguing for a pure democracy where we all vote on every bill. Nice strawman tho

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#144

Post by overfeed »

epa wrote: post #100
a-priori wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's incorrect to think of Canada as being "cornered" here nor having "nothing to lose". It's the US that's isolating itself. Canada isn't 'cornered'. It has the entire rest of the world to talk to and make deals with. It has everything to lose by continuing to rely on the US, which is why you're seeing such a hard pivot toward Europe and Asia.

This is silly. US is Canada's biggest trading partner and one of the largest borders in the world. 80% of people live within 1 hour of the border. Free trade has allowed both economies to prosper. Canada has everything to gain with free trade. You are right on over reliance, but free trade benefits everyone.

It takes 2 to make a trade, and the best strategy for an iterated prisoner's dilemma scenario is tit-for-tat. The party that started the silliness should end it, but until then, Canada should rightly consider stronger ties with the Europe - they do share a border with a European country after all.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#146

Post by jaredklewis »

psychlops wrote: post #104
andy_ppp wrote: post #7

I’m surprised all the countries the US is trying to bully aren’t considering moving to the Euro as the reserve currency (even China might go along with this). It would be so damaging for the US they might actually understand they have been benefiting from a win-win situation since the end of the Second World War.

Consider that this is the point of all the machinations. The US having the reserve currency is a liability in many ways and the direct reason why it's a consumer not producer economy. Losing reserve status will be damaging to some parts of the american economy and create a boom in others. Take a look at what current tariffs are across the world. The US isn't necessarily bullying as equalizing.

> Losing reserve status will be damaging to some parts of the american economy and create a boom in others.

The primary effect of losing reserve currency status would be on the government's ability to borrow money. That's going to be a problem since US government debt to GDP ratio is >100%. We have no fiscal discipline now and neither party shows interest in making cuts or raising taxes. DOGE hasn't changed anything yet unfortunately, as daily government outflows are still roughly inline with where they were under Biden. Even if DOGE cut all discretionary spending (obviously impossible), we'd still have a budget deficit and massive existing debt burden.

If we lose reserve currency status, my guess is we'll go full Argentina with hyper inflation as the government prints money to pay debt and fund the government.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#147

Post by kube-system »

rayiner wrote: post #120
kube-system wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. * The US is able to get very cheap loans, which enables the US to throw around money when necessary to do things that are important (emergency projects, economic stabilization, etc). * The US has an extraordinary power to influence global politics due to their ability to control trade and banking systems. * The US dollar is stable in part because of its status as a trade currency. And a stable currency is extrem…

But that sounds bad! Why should we be borrowing all this money from foreigners when we’re a rich country? What if I want the U.S. to build stuff, instead of moving money around and trying to “influence global politics.” I’d also love a sane domestic politics that acknowledges that borrowing money from foreigners every year because we can’t square our spending with our taxing is a bad thing.

> Why should we be borrowing all this money from foreigners when we’re a rich country?

The crazy thing is, most of the money that the US borrows from is from their own citizens... not foreigners.

I don't know why everyone presumes that US debt is mostly or entirely owed to other countries. It isn't.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#148

Post by psychlops »

overfeed wrote: post #136
psychlops wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consider that this is the point of all the machinations. The US having the reserve currency is a liability in many ways and the direct reason why it's a consumer not producer economy. Losing reserve status will be damaging to some parts of the american economy and create a boom in others. Take a look at what current tariffs are across the world. The US isn't necessarily bullying as equalizing.

> Losing reserve status will be damaging to some parts of the american economy and create a boom in others. Which parts will benefit from higher inflation? The only reason the US has been spared from >20% inflation after engaging in what would be called "money printing" by American press when practiced by a 3rd world country is that there are deep pools of unused reserves slowing the overall velocity. Americans don't…

> Which parts will benefit from higher inflation?

All domestic producers which produce products that cost less than imported competitors.

I agree with you. The question to be answered is what kind of economy do americans want to have going forward. It's great to be in America at present, but what happens if global relations continue to deteriorate and fracture?

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#149

Post by yeahwhatever10 »

andy_ppp wrote: post #7

I’m surprised all the countries the US is trying to bully aren’t considering moving to the Euro as the reserve currency (even China might go along with this). It would be so damaging for the US they might actually understand they have been benefiting from a win-win situation since the end of the Second World War.

You should read a book https://www.amazon.com/Trade-Wars-Are-Class-International/dp...

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#150

Post by psychlops »

kube-system wrote: post #126
psychlops wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China would absolutely not want to have a reserve currency. Their export economy would be destroyed overnight.

Doesn't China currently address this by having two currencies, with one dedicated to offshore use?

Perhaps? I can't imagine that either could take the loss of production capacity the way the US has. The global inflation of product prices alone is staggering to consider.
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