Foreign Policy

[Irish YJ]

 

[EddytoNow]

well at least some folks are having fun at the G20

But look who's standing in the background wishing he could join them. Now that MBS and Putin are such good friends, where does that leave Trump?

 

[Irish YJ]

Caption contest

MBS - Hey Putin Taine, I can't believe you got away with all that US elections stuff.

Putin - Mohamed, my brother, all I had to do was pay for a few bots, make up a pee pee story, and the Dems did the rest. Those wacky libs will destroy their own country if that's what it takes to make the GOP look bad. It cost us way more in Clinton Foundation donations to control their Uranium and get them to do nothing when we invaded Ukraine.

MBS - Can you give me any advice on how to get around this whole Khashoggi thingy?

Putin - Don't worry my friend, nobody really wants to do anything about it. Just drop a few coins in the DNC piggy bank, and at the same time, toss a couple million to the NRA. I'll hook you up with Fusion GPS, and give you my homie Christopher Steele's digits.

MBS - Thanks uncle Vlad. Are we still on for shirtless brokeback riding?

Putin - Mohamed, you really have to work on your english skills.

 

[EddytoNow]

Caption contest

MBS - Hey Putin Taine, I can't believe you got away with all that US elections stuff.

Putin - Mohamed, my brother, all I had to do was pay for a few bots, make up a pee pee story, and the Dems did the rest. Those wacky libs will destroy their own country if that's what it takes to make the GOP look bad. It cost us way more in Clinton Foundation donations to control their Uranium and get them to do nothing when we invaded Ukraine.

MBS - Can you give me any advice on how to get around this whole Khashoggi thingy?

Putin - Don't worry my friend, nobody really wants to do anything about it. Just drop a few coins in the DNC piggy bank, and at the same time, toss a couple million to the NRA. I'll hook you up with Fusion GPS, and give you my homie Christopher Steele's digits.

MBS - Thanks uncle Vlad. Are we still on for shirtless brokeback riding?

Putin - Mohamed, you really have to work on your english skills.

Trump - (Thinking) But I thought we were best friends. I wonder how this is going to effect my business deals in Saudi Arabia and Russia. I better think up a couple of good nicknames for Putin and MBS. I've got to have something for my Twitter messages tonight.

Putin: (Thinking) I hope I can avoid Trump at this G20 meeting. He's a moron.

MBS: (Thinking) I hope I can avoid Trump at this G20 meeting. He's a moron.

 

[Irish YJ]

Well the China trade stuff is taking a turn.
Perhaps the outrage and fear mongering from the left was maybe exaggerated and the world is not going to end?

So far just about everything he has done on trade has come with benefit.

 

[Legacy]

Trump's trade war has cost the S&P 10% this year, JP Morgan estimates (CNBC)

At about the level as in October 2017.

 

[Irish YJ]

Trump's trade war has cost the S&P 10% this year, JP Morgan estimates (CNBC)

At about the level as in October 2017.

meh...

Jamie Morgan (JPM) is widely known as one of the most liberal CEO's out there.

And then you see today a NYT's article saying this....
The Stock Market Has Wiped Out Its 2018 Gains. But if You Step Back, It’s Still Riding High.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...albook/stock-market-correction-long-term.html

And the headline of the JPM piece is a little misleading if you actually read the article...

He seems stumped about why there is such a disconnect between what he views as strong market fundamentals and the negative way the market is acting. He discusses what he calls "the reinforcing feedback loop of real and fake negative news." In other words, he thinks that a lot of people are too negative, either out of ignorance of the fundamentals or because they want a weaker outlook to serve their political or economic agendas.

But then he throws in another, far more plausible, explanation for the market's volatility: "The risk that many market participants underestimated this year was the destabilizing impact of the US administration's trade policies...these policies might have erased up to ~10% of S&P 500 value this year."

A 10 percent reduction in the S&P 500 due to trade policy incoherence is a bold call, but it may not be far from the truth. Consider what happened Friday morning. Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow appeared on CNBC at 9:05 a.m. ET saying President Trump would consider extending the 90-day tariff truce with China if "good" progress was made on the negotiations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 100 points in the following few minutes after those remarks aired.

 

[ickythump1225]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q8rJlP0sIGo" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Interesting talk

 

[Legacy]

Mattis Vs. Mulvaney: The Coming Budget Clash & The Reagan Legacy (Breaking Defense, Dec 4, 2018)

We have been here before. In 1982 Caspar Weinberger and David Stockman had a similar showdown referred by President Reagan. DOD won that time. What does that have to tell us about the impending Mulvaney–Mattis showdown? And if OMB wins this time, would Mattis stay on?

Last month President Trump was briefed by his economic team and awoke to the challenge of deficits, which are large and rising. The projected deficit for FY 2019 is over $1 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and will continue to grow as baby boomers retire and interest rates increase from the historic lows of the post-recession decade. Total debt owed to the public will reach 100 percent of GDP in 2030, the level many economists use as a benchmark for economic trouble.

And all this is happening even though the economy is booming, and deficits should be falling. When the next recession hits, as it inevitably will someday, deficits will explode, and there will be little cushion to absorb them.

Alarmed by these projections, Trump directed a five percent cut in domestic spending and a $700 billion defense budget (which included the base budget plus war funding plus the nuclear elements of the Department of Energy, called “050” in Congressional budgeting). This represented a $33 billion or 4.5 percent cut from the previous plan of $733 billion.

Arms Sales Way Up – But Trump Wants More

PENTAGON: The United States signed off on arms exports worth $192.3 billion over the past year, a full 13 percent increase from the previous year — even as the Trump administration keeps pushing hard to sell more weapons, more quickly, to more allies overseas.

The massive increase was announced by the State Department on Thursday afternoon as a way to promote the release of more detail about its Conventional Arms Transfer policy, which has loosened restrictions on selling everything from guns to drones, while pushing US diplomats and officials to make selling more arms a larger part of their mission.

A list of arms deals:
Major Arms Sales (Defense Security Cooperation Agency)

 

[Legacy]

Trade, Tariffs, Treaties

Trade, Tariffs, Treaties

In recent developments,

- In spite of a recent slowdown, Mexico is now our largest trading partner Canada is second and China is third.

- The new trade deal with Canada and Mexico to replace NAFTA, called USMCA, is before the Senate for ratification. Mexico feels the best chance for passage is this year and the Admin wants ratification soon too. NAFTA remains in place, which Trump feels is one of the "worst deals he has ever seen."

- Trump a few days ago threatened to apply a 25% tariff on autos made in Mexico unless Mexico acts to stop the flow of migrants via a Tweet. This threatens to undermine the new trade deal.

- A leadership group of Republican Senators including Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and John Thune (R-S.D.) met with Trump to lobby against the tariffs Trump has threatened to impose.

- After the meeting, Sen. John Cornyn said: “The president knew the meeting was stacked with senators who thought that the tariff issue needed to be resolved or we wouldn’t be able” to pass the trade deal. “He made clear he liked tariffs as an instrument to bring people to the negotiating table. So it wasn’t necessarily a welcome message."

- Sen Grassley said: “Haven’t you heard?”, quoting Trump: “‘I like tariffs.

- Senate leadership was unsuccessful. After being told by Trump that he likes tariffs, Sen Grassley in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal said USMCA, one of Trump's biggest foreign policy achievements, is "dead" unless Trump lifts his tariffs on steel and aluminum coming from the USMCA partner countries. They've also warned Trump that tariffs are a tax on Americans and could result in considerable job losses.

- Word that negotiations with China in that trade war has hit obstacles and when Trump tweeted that he would impose tariffs on $200 billion in goods, and possibly add tariffs to another $325 billion in goods has rattled the stock market, sending it plunging. The Admin says China has backtracked on previous negotiated agreements in their trade talks.

- Trump has reiterated incorrectly that China is paying the cost of these tariffs and that they have "little impact on product cost mostly borne by China" Trump also claimed that tariff payments are "partially responsible for our great economic results." The tariff increase on the $200 billion in goods will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday. Financial institutions like Citigroup and Goldman-Sachs as well as economists from Columbia, Princeton, the NY Fed and the White House's Economic Report to the President have concluded that the American consumer and American companies that import from those countries bear the cost of tariffs.

Trade war fears are crushing stocks, and sell-off could keep going if there is no deal by Friday (CNBC)

A good article from the Louisville Courier-Journal on the local impact of tariffs there.
Kentuckians are paying a high price for trade tariffs

In Iowa,
Pushing Back on Tariffs
Iowa Manufacturers, Farmers Call on President Trump to Roll Back Tariffs

More Iowa farmers face trouble securing financing as planting season nears

 

[Irish#1]

In terms of trade deals we've been on the wrong end for too long, but I'm not for putting all these tariffs in place when they are going to cause a big jump in prices and hurt everyone. This is where DJT has a hard time relating to the average citizen.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Threatening the global economy in any "blunt instrument' way is civilly irresponsible (and I am no fan of that economic direction the world is taking, but at least will see that too many are too immersed in it and its consequences to meddle crudely.)

 

[Irish YJ]

In terms of trade deals we've been on the wrong end for too long, but I'm not for putting all these tariffs in place when they are going to cause a big jump in prices and hurt everyone. This is where DJT has a hard time relating to the average citizen.

Yes, on the opposite end for a lonnnnnnnnnng time. I'm no fan of tariffs, but I am a fan of pressure, and tariffs are about the only pure pressure out there. So I guess I'm a fan of the threat of tariffs. China has gone unchecked for way too long.

Even one of my least favorite dems, Chuckie Schumer, is telling Trump to "hang tough" and continue to pressure China. You have to believe the backtracking of China is in part a delay tactic as they would rather negotiate with potentially Biden.

We've improved a few deals thus far because of the threats, and playing hardball. I think we all knew China would be the roughest round of the fight.

 

[Irish#1]

Yes, on the opposite end for a lonnnnnnnnnng time. I'm no fan of tariffs, but I am a fan of pressure, and tariffs are about the only pure pressure out there. So I guess I'm a fan of the threat of tariffs. China has gone unchecked for way too long.

Even one of my least favorite dems, Chuckie Schumer, is telling Trump to "hang tough" and continue to pressure China. You have to believe the backtracking of China is in part a delay tactic as they would rather negotiate with potentially Biden.

We've improved a few deals thus far because of the threats, and playing hardball. I think we all knew China would be the roughest round of the fight.

I doubt Trump will let them wait that long. I don't mind the tariffs, it's the 25% I'm more concerned about.

 

[IrishLax]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Exclusive: The Iranian regime has told some of its proxy forces and surrogates they can attack American military personnel and assets in the region, <a href="https://twitter.com/ckubeNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ckubeNBC</a> reports <a href="https://t.co/XIsEVJYRkF">https://t.co/XIsEVJYRkF</a></p>— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/KenDilanianNBC/status/1126488406773698562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Legacy]

From an Iowa farmers' perspective on trade with China and Mexico:

'It can't get any worse': Iowa farmers suffer as U.S. trade war with China escalates
(Des Mones Register)

"Farmers, particularly soybean farmers, have been the tip of the spear when it comes to Chinese retaliation, and I'm not sure they can take much more," said Kirk Leeds, CEO of the Iowa Soybean Association.

Escalating tariffs "undercut any remnants of optimism," Leeds said. "That's what's most devastating about this."

"There are some marketers who believe we could see $6 soybeans," he said, adding that he hopes prices don't sink that far.

Good article. Apr 9th after Trump announced he may shut the border.
'Mexico touches everything we do in Iowa:' Economist says Trump's plans could hurt entire economy (qctimes) (Quad City Times)

"It's been a tough start to the year," Lovejoy said. "We have interruptions with China, and now this threat with Mexico is that last thing we need. With all of the automotive components that come out of Mexico, I don't know how they could close that border. It would put pressure on Mexico economically, but it would be a huge impact on our economy as well."

Lovejoy said about 5 percent of the company's supplies come from Mexico, and officials are now looking at alternative options for receiving electrical components and other materials. But, he added, "it only takes one part to put pressure on everything."

Economists and business groups across the country have warned against the closure of the southern border and additional tariffs, arguing the plans could threaten jobs and interrupt supply chains. Both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Retail Federation argued against the border closure on Thursday.

Chad Hart, an economist with Iowa State University, said unlike the trade dispute with China, "where it's highly concentrated within a few products or commodities," Iowa has a much broader trade relationship with Mexico.

"With China, it was all concentrated in soybeans and pork. But Mexico is a big market for us with corn, soybeans, pork, beef and more," Hart said. "Looking at the agriculture side, I'd almost argue there's no more important market than Mexico, because Mexico touches everything we do in Iowa."

Farmers are all in favor of the new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada (USMCA), which is held up in the Senate by Republican leadership over Trump's tariffs.

Trump tweeted today which was quoted in the Des Moines article:

With the over 100 Billion Dollars in Tariffs that we take in, we will buy agricultural products from our Great Farmers, in larger amounts than China ever did, and ship it to poor & starving countries in the form of humanitarian assistance. In the meantime we will continue to negotiate with China in the hopes that they do not again try to redo deal!

and

Tariffs will bring in FAR MORE wealth to our Country than even a phenomenal deal of the traditional kind. Also, much easier & quicker to do. Our Farmers will do better, faster, and starving nations can now be helped. Waivers on some products will be granted, or go to new source!

....If we bought 15 Billion Dollars of Agriculture from our Farmers, far more than China buys now, we would have more than 85 Billion Dollars left over for new Infrastructure, Healthcare, or anything else. China would greatly slow down, and we would automatically speed up!

U.S. to add 30,000 seasonal workers as soon as this week known, giving H-2Bs, which will go only to returning foreign workers who have had the visa before, over the past three budget years.

 

[Legacy]

Trump Allows High-Tech U.S. Bomb Parts to Be Built in Saudi Arabia

When the Trump administration declared an emergency last month and fast-tracked the sale of more American arms to Saudi Arabia, it did more than anger members of Congress who opposed the sale on humanitarian grounds.

The Yemen Resolution and the Historical U.S.-Saudi Security Relationship

On April 16, President Trump vetoed S.J. Res. 7, a joint resolution directing the United States to end support for the Saudi-led military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The veto was the second of Trump’s presidency and the second time a U.S. president has vetoed legislation related to the U.S.-Saudi security relationship. Saudi Arabia has now been the topic of more presidential vetoes than almost any other country—outranked only by China in modern presidential history.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Great/ scary thread: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1. Today, the head of the Air Force's acquisition said consolidation in defense contractors is so extreme it's a national security concern. There is just no longer much competition. <a href="https://t.co/myGNMCv6sV">https://t.co/myGNMCv6sV</a></p>— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) <a href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1144622157684772864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

American capitalists are public enemy #1.

 

[Legacy]

Publishers pray Trump tariff plan won’t cause Bible shortage (Al.com from AP)

Religious publishers say President Donald Trump’s most recent proposed tariffs on Chinese imports could result in a Bible shortage.

That's because millions of Bibles — some estimates put it at 150 million or more — are printed in China each year. Critics of a proposed tariff say it would make the Bible more expensive for consumers and hurt the evangelism efforts of Christian organizations that give away Bibles as part of their ministry.

A major American steelmaker has lost 70% of its market value since Trump slapped steep tariffs on the metal last year (Business Insider)

President Donald Trump has sought to make the US steel industry more competitive through protectionism, but tariffs levied last year have accelerated the decline of some of its largest players.

Bloomberg reported Sunday evening that a 25% tariff on imports of the metal has accelerated the decline of some of the mills Trump vowed to protect. The metal titan US Steel has lost $5.5 billion, or roughly 70%, in market value and idled two furnaces since the president announced the move in March 2018 on national security grounds.

Trump's steel tariffs cost US consumers close to $900,000 per job, analysis finds
(Fox Business)

When President Trump first imposed steel tariffs more than a year ago, he billed them as a means of job creation and a way to revitalize a sluggish but once-thriving industry.

While the 25 percent tariff on imported steel did provide a boon to the manufacturers – raw steel prices surged last year after the announcement – it’s come at a steep cost to the American consumer, according to new calculations from the Peterson Institute of Economics.

For each new steel job created, the average U.S. consumer pays a staggering $900,000, said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute; at best, that could create 8,700 jobs across six to eight steel firms.

U.S. Steel's big bet on the future cheers workers, but efficiency could squeeze jobs (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

U.S. Steel’s pledge to invest $1 billion in the Mon Valley Works was cheered on Thursday with multiple standing ovations by workers in orange coveralls and about a dozen politicians and local officials gathered on a stage erected in a cavernous industrial building in Braddock.

Now, the company faces a tall challenge in rolling out the new technology — the first of its kind in the United States — while building and maintaining a workforce to run it, steel industry experts said.

The announcement will not necessarily create any new jobs at the complex, which currently employs 3,000 people. And it could lead to losses, experts say.

While that lowers costs for companies and can make products cheaper, it creates a need to re-train workers and consolidate or eliminate jobs.

The United Steelworkers union, which represents roughly 15,000 workers employed at U.S. Steel, applauded the company’s announcement Thursday, calling it “much-needed job security” that “demonstrates a commitment to operate in the best interests of its employees.”

US Steel announced it will idle two of the blast furnaces where it makes steel, one in its flagship mill in Gary, Indiana, near Chicago, the other in Ecorse, Michigan, near Detroit as well as one in Europe. The idled furnaces in the U.S. will cut production by about 200,000 tons of steel or more a month. U.S. Steel has announced its second quarter earnings will be lower than expected due to softer demand and lower prices.

 

[MJ12666]

According to this article the tariffs imposed by Trump have nothing to do with U.S. Steel's results or stock price. The main drivers are basically higher production driven by the added capacity that have contributed to a decline in U.S. steel prices and a slowing global economy and waning steel demand. Steel demand has softened across the United States and Europe (as detailed below).


U.S. Raw Steel Output Ticks Down, Capacity Remains Below 80%

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-raw-steel-output-ticks-124712691.html

U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Jul 6 slipped on a week-on-week basis as American steel mills continued to operate below 80% of their capacity.

The steep tariffs on steel imports, which the Trump administration levied in March 2018, helped U.S. steel industry capacity break above 80% (the minimum rate required for sustained profitability of the industry) last year after remaining below that level for years. The tariffs drove up production capacity of U.S. steel producers amid lower imports. Improved capacity also provided a boost to U.S. steel production.

The Trump administration’s trade actions also largely helped U.S. steel companies to rack up solid earnings in 2018. The tariffs provided a boost to U.S. steel prices last year, driving profits and cash flows of American steel makers including United States Steel Corp. X, Nucor Corp. NUE and Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD.

The trade actions also incentivized a number of U.S. steel makers to invest heavily on ramping up production capabilities and upgrading facilities. However, higher production driven by the added capacity has contributed to the sharp decline in U.S. steel prices this year. A slowing global economy and waning steel demand are other factors for the decline in steel prices. Steel demand has softened across the United States and Europe.

 

[PraetorianND]

I'm LOVING the newfound fiscal conservatism as it relates to presidential decisions. Let's keep the scrutiny up and not forget about it in 6 years. Actually analyzing unit economics is great stuff and I wholly applaud looking at ROI of new taxes, initiatives, and whatever else.

 

[Legacy]

According to this article the tariffs imposed by Trump have nothing to do with U.S. Steel's results or stock price. The main drivers are basically higher production driven by the added capacity that have contributed to a decline in U.S. steel prices and a slowing global economy and waning steel demand. Steel demand has softened across the United States and Europe (as detailed below).


U.S. Raw Steel Output Ticks Down, Capacity Remains Below 80%

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-raw-steel-output-ticks-124712691.html

That's the way I read the articles and status of the steel industry especially with U.S. Steel who needed to close old plants, modernize, retrain employees and may cut labor. From the Fox Business article:

But the increase in production came at the same time that demand began to cool, eventually sending steel prices sharply lower. Growth in the US and elsewhere is expected to continue to fall in the coming months, as stimulus measures fade and trade tensions persist.

The divide created a complicated scenario for companies like US Steel, according to Bloomberg. That's because they use older and more costly equipment than companies such as Nucor, which run cheaper furnaces that can better compete in the new market.

I wouldn't say that tariffs are not having an impact in that they have allowed the steel industry the time to invest in modernization and new plants with the slowdown in demand. Nucor has made similar investments as U.S. Steel, but has not lost nearly the market value and may have gained market share. Targeted protectionism may help in these cases, especially if the result is included into renegotiated trade policies and supply chains that are advantageous. What would have improved the industry's status and demand would have been if the tax code changes had required repatriated money to be invested in capital improvements as required in the 2004 one and if an infrastructure policy agreement had been reached. Job creation in the steel industry with lower demand and modernization may still be negligible or negative no matter what politicians say. Certainly corporate tax cuts help the industry. Penn Reps continue to introduce Right to Work bills which would favor the industry but may result in job losses long term.

 

[Legacy]

I'm LOVING the newfound fiscal conservatism as it relates to presidential decisions. Let's keep the scrutiny up and not forget about it in 6 years. Actually analyzing unit economics is great stuff and I wholly applaud looking at ROI of new taxes, initiatives, and whatever else.

WTF? (Referring to below)
Trump says US should start manipulating the dollar (AP)

President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused China and Europe of playing a “big currency manipulation game.” He said the United States should match that effort, a move that directly contradicts official U.S. policy not to manipulate the dollar’s value to gain trade advantages.

In a tweet, the president said if America doesn’t act, the country will continue “being the dummies who sit back and politely watch as other countries continue to play their games — as they have for so many years.”

Trump’s own Treasury Department in May found that no country meets the criteria of being labeled a currency manipulator, although the report did put China and eight other countries on a watch list.

Republican Party Platfrom, 2016:

We cannot allow China to continue its currency manipulation, exclusion of U.S. products from government purchases, and subsidization of Chinese companies to thwart American imports.

Trump on the Fed:

“As well as we are doing from the day after the great Election, when the Market shot right up, it could have been even better - massive additional wealth would have been created, & used very well. Our most difficult problem is not our competitors, it is the Federal Reserve!”

He advocates switching to the gold standard and having the Fed manipulating interest rates to zero in one year to weaken the dollar in order to boost U.S. exports and encourage more borrowing, which one of his recent Fed nominees now advocates in a change of her prior position.

Last month Trump said he has the power to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell “if I wanted to, but I have no plans to do anything.” but has repeatedly criticized him.

Jerome Powell told a hearing in Washington: "The law gives me a four-year term and I fully intend to serve it." The Fed chairman can only be fired for cause. Powell also told Congress:

“You’ve assigned us the job of two direct, real economy objectives: maximum employment, stable prices. If you assigned us [to] stabilize the dollar price of gold, monetary policy could do that, but the other things would fluctuate, and we wouldn’t care. We wouldn’t care if unemployment went up or down. That wouldn’t be our job anymore. There have been plenty of times in fairly recent history where the price of gold has sent a signal that would be quite negative for either of those goals. No other country uses it.”

Should any financial institution be in danger of bankruptcy due to lending at zero interest rates, the Republican Party platform says:

Republicans believe that no financial institution is too big to fail. We support legislation to ensure that the problems of any financial institution can be resolved through the Bankruptcy Code.

The self-described "King of Debt" is very familiar with the Bankruptcy Code. Any changes to the Republican Party principles in their Platform for 2020 will be worth examining.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Dammed ba$tard wants to play risky dice-roll games with every citizen in the country's personal economic plans. I worked my whole life to set up a stable retirement situation; not being wealthy, that meant being a minor capitalist within a retirement plan. Messing with "my" dollar messes with my fundamental retirement future --- whether that would go "up" or "down" is an uncontrollable gamble, given the complexities of this huge system. Screwing with others' funds is just fine for you, you ba$tard, as you can just run away and hide and buy the "Story" of what happened with your petty cash, while the people caught by your gambles suffer. Chicken power plays do not constitute a citizen-oriented presidency.

Get the He!l out of my life, you meddling megalomaniac!!!

... kind of thing which makes you want to join a militia.

 

[PraetorianND]

What a comical amount of gaslighting. You’re equating not raising rates to China’s MASSIVE currency manipulation? You’re equating being critical of federal reserve policy with somehow driving the country to bankruptcy? Laughable.

Obama was FAR more destructive to the economy than you will ever realize because of your obvious bias. Do you have any concept of what quantitative easing is or what it did to this country? Do you understand that this entire country was on the verge of implosion due to MASSIVE deficit and QE that far outstrips anything Trump has done by orders of magnitude.

Over Obama’s entire 2 terms interest rates were dropped to historic lows while also instituting the largest QE policy in the history of the world. Obama gave away trillions to bankers to buy shitty assets, and borrowed money to do it. We pay more to creditors to manage our debt than the rest of our spending combined. And, just like in the housing bubble, it’s all good until you raise rates. In the housing bubble nobody defaulted until rates went up, exactly what Trump is critical of. That’s EXACTLY what the fed did the second Trump won the election. As soon as he won they started raising rates. They raised rates more in the first year of Trump’s presidency than the previous 8 years combined. The effect is that all the money Obama borrowed to pay for QE to artificially inflate the economy came due in the form of interest payments under Trump.

But sure, Trump is some kinda of monster who’s trying to destroy the economy by advocating no rate increases... by the way, rate increases were supposed to be a reaction to control inflation, which is also low. Rate increases are not necessary or justified in the current climate per the Fed’s own guidance.

 

[RDU Irish]

Not a fan of the trade war, however if you are going to do it you need to work from a position of strength. "Winning" is a relative term in a trade war.

All this hand wringing over the poor farmers is laughable though - huge corporate operations these days, the imagery of the poor family farm is so false it isn't even funny. Just another example of corporatism at work in our federal government.

Substitute "Obama" for ba$tard in these comments and you can come to the many of the same conclusions. Also ironic to bitch about your capital market exposure when the S&P just hit 3000 - same folks who predicted Dow 3000 if Trump won with a possible return to feudalism. Don't let politics skew your investment decisions.

 

[Legacy]

The 2020 Republican Party platform should read:
- We will manipulate our currency to the extent other nations do.
- The Fed's monetary policy decisions are an existential threat to our economy. We favor the dissolution of the Fed that Congress enacted.
- Monetary policy and interest rates for borrowing should be controlled by the President.
- With zero interest rates for borrowing limited only by our financial institutions, banks will be able to provide vast liquidity to the markets and keep the dollar weak.
- No bank is too big to fail and the Bankruptcy Code can deal with bank failures. We do not favor any bailouts.
- Sometimes recessions are good.

On another topic, the State Department is being called to task by a bipartisan group of Senators for authorizing arms sales to the Saudis by declaring another "emergency". Ted Cruz called it an exercise in "foolishness" that flouted federal law.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said during a Foreign Relations Committee hearing,

“The process that the State Department followed for these weapons sales, not to put too fine a point on it, was crap. The simpler process is follow the damn law and respect it.”

Cruz, who regards Saudi Arabia as one of the United States' “problematic allies,” noted that none of the weapons approved has been shipped in the 47 days since the emergency declaration.

“And for whatever reason, the administration — in what seems to me to be a not-fully-baked decision-making process — decided to circumvent the constitutional responsibility of Congress and act unilaterally. If the department had a year to gaze at its navel and consider this, the department had 30 days to take it to Congress and follow the law, and it was foolishness not to.”

Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the panel, said:

“How would sales that will not be delivered for many, many months immediately respond to an emergency? In fact, not only did the department not make a persuasive case, you made no case since last October after Jamal Khashoggi was literally butchered on orders from the highest levels of the Saudi government.”

Cruz told R. Clarke Cooper, the assistant secretary who leads the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs under Pompeo.:

“Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it is simply Democrats that are concerned about this. I voted with the administration on the substance because of the threat of Iran, but I tell you, from my end, if the administration does it again and there is not a live and exigent emergency, you will not have my vote, and I predict you will not have the vote of a number of other Republicans as well."

Lindsey Graham has previously called for the Senate to take actions against the Saudis over the "brutal murder" of Jamal Khashoggi in a statement:

“I firmly believe there will be strong bipartisan support for serious sanctions against Saudi Arabia, including appropriate members of the royal family, for this barbaric act which defied all civilized norms,. While Saudi Arabia is a strategic ally, the behavior of the Crown Prince – in multiple ways – has shown disrespect for the relationship and made him, in my view, beyond toxic."

Graham also said:

“I fully realize we have to deal with bad actors and imperfect situations on the international stage. However, when we lose our moral voice, we lose our strongest asset.”

Trump said on the involvement of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Khashoggi’s death, "it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” and noted that King Salman and the crown prince have vigorously denied any knowledge of the planning or execution of Khashoggi’s murder.

 

[Legacy]

US House votes to block Saudi, UAE arms sales, bucking Trump veto threat

Caption this.

 

[Irish YJ]

Caption this.

"When the House tries to fock with me on arm sales, i'll do a sword dance before I veto their asses."

and

"Do you think it's possible to get AOC, Omar, or Talib into a Saudi embassy some how?"

 

[ulukinatme]

We've seen how this ends:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Peshwa Warrior Trump<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DonaldTrump?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MAGA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MAGA</a> <a href="https://t.co/s9JOb5e7DR">pic.twitter.com/s9JOb5e7DR</a></p>— mad-liberals (@mad_liberals) <a href="https://twitter.com/mad_liberals/status/1098364052047306754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
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