“April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, thus ending the American Civil War after four brutal years that ravaged the South. At Appomattox Court House, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was in shambles—starving, exhausted, and outnumbered. Once a proud force, it had dwindled to under 30,000 men, battered by relentless Union campaigns.
The Civil War, sparked in 1861, tore the nation apart. The South’s economy crumbled as battles most of the battles were fought in the South. Over 600,000 died (some estimates going as high as 800,000-1,000,000), cities burned, and families fractured. Grant, with his tenacious strategy, choked Lee’s supply lines, forcing the surrender. This moment marked not just the end of a rebellion, but the beginning of a long, painful reunion. Lee’s men laid down their arms, and a fractured nation took its first step toward healing.” #CivilWar #America
Someone may have linked this yesterday but I didn’t see it. Political violence seems to be normalizing. This may be happening primarily on the left now, but if it really normalizes, it won’t stop there.
“A troubling new study backs up what has become obvious since the November presidential election: the political left is seeking to normalize and use violence to achieve its fascist political goals.
This is also known as terrorism.
The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) recently issued a new report which “found that a growing number of people are willing to justify and even applaud killing in the name of politics and a warped sense of social justice,” per Fox News. “The chilling change appears to have accelerated in recent months.”
Joel Finkelstein, one of the lead authors of the report, told Fox: “What was formerly taboo culturally has become acceptable [on the left]. We are seeing a clear shift – glorification, increased attempts and changing norms – all converging into what we define as ‘assassination culture.’”
That is the study’s term for it: “assassination culture.”
According to the study, the left’s embrace of violence to achieve a political end began with the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December. After Luigi Mangione was arrested and charged with the assassination, the left immediately turned him into a folk hero. There is even a ballot measure in California called the Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act…..”
Rand Paul is objecting loudly to the tariffs. His argument reflects the overly simplistic and amoral mind-set of Libertarians in general, in my opinion. However, I do agree with his assessment that we are not being ‘ripped off’ by other countries as the President says. The American people have been sold off by the policies of our own leaders, not by other nations. But the President can’t very well say that and expect to have the cooperation he needs in Congress, since many of them were complicit. So the blame is focused outward as he tries to mend the enormous gaping holes in our manufacturing capacities. (We can’t even build ships anymore!)
I was curious about the constitutional authority to place tariffs so I looked it up. Apparently Congress has that authority, but over the years, through several acts has largely delegated it to the Presidency. I think many in Congress are regretting it about now.
“Look I’ve been as critical of tariffs as anyone but if the long term vision is domestic Nike sweatshops filled with fired DC bureaucrats, I’m willing to listen”
“BREAKING: United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent has seemed to suggest that the federal workforce fired recently “will give us the labor we need for new manufacturing,” per CNBC”
~ During a speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee President’s Dinner, President Donald Trump claimed that other countries were calling and “kissing my a**” to negotiate tariff rates just before they went into effect. ~
~ Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.
The S&P 500 was up 7.8% in afternoon trading. It had been down earlier in the morning amid worries about Trump’s trade war and whether it would cause a recession, as economists fear. But it spiked immediately after Trump sent the social media posting that investors have been waiting for. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2,476 points, or 6.6%, as of 1:35 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 9% higher. … ~
The dignity and decorum of the office has been lost nearly as long as mankind has taken office. There has been a pretense but when you read about the presidents, it quickly becomes obvious.
My personal view is that Trump has no desire to destroy economies. He is trying to get fair treatment. The countries that did not fight were given the baseline ten percent. Fighters got a reasonable response.
As to the judges: they were selected, one would hope, for their interpretation of the law and unwillingness to be swayed by anything but the law. As they are installed by different Presidents with different viewpoints, they should not agree and should not divide on party lines.
That should be true of the Senate and House as well. Standing for their constituents should mean a wide range of views, not solid blocks. Agreeing on some issues, disagreeing on others.
@2:28. Congress delegated too much authority to the Federal Reserve as well. The government has delegated too much authority to private contractors , private prisons and private detention centers, etc. No one wants to just do their job and take the heat that comes with, it seems. So we found someone willing to do it and elected him President.
Remembering the language of LBJ, and even Bush, Sr. with his deep doo doo, lol You are correct, Mumsee. We can always hope and pray for reform. But it’s politics.
A friend shared something said at her Bible study which must be a Southern thing, but I’d never heard it. Sweet Honey Iced Tea is the way Southern ladies hide a slipup on their speech.
Seems to me the Presidency carried a semblance of decorum from the podium. Until Clinton started talking about his underwear and playing his sax on late night tv. True they are all flawed men but the office should be respected and not bring wincing to constituents. Nj
The goals of his policies are more consistent than most politicians. He’s doing these manuvers to ultimately bring manufacturing back to the US and to make the tax policy more livable for working people.
~ Hedge fund honcho Bill Ackman joined a growing list of President Donald Trump’s billionaire backers calling for the White House to slam the brakes on tariffs just hours before Trump authorized a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most countries that went into effect Wednesday morning.
Ackman took to social media early Wednesday, asking Trump to put a 90-day pause on tariffs, arguing the president can “accomplish his objectives without destroying small businesses in the short term.”
In a lengthy post on X, Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, issued a dire warning of what could happen if the tariffs weren’t halted immediately.
“If the president doesn’t pause the effect of the tariffs soon, many small businesses will go bankrupt,” Ackman wrote. “Medium-sized businesses will be next.”
Ackman joined other billionaires, including some like him who supported Trump’s campaign for reelection, in turning a cold shoulder to the escalating tariff war. Trump claims the tariffs are necessary for leveling the playing field for the United States importers, saying, “foreign trade and economic practices have created a national emergency.” ~
And I don’t care how many times he pauses and reverses course if it’s needed to accomplish those goals. Wall Street will have to suck it up. And ultimately, so will we, because the goal of re-shoring our manufacturing is worth it. It is a matter of national survival.
Bringing manufacturing “back to the U.S.” faces all kinds of problems and, even if it can succeed, it will take years.
~ America Underestimates the Difficulty of Bringing Manufacturing Back
On April 2nd, 2025, our president announced major new taxes on imports from foreign countries (“tariffs”), ranging from 10% to 49%. The stated goal is to bring manufacturing back to the United States and to “make America wealthy again”.
These tariffs will not work. In fact, they may even do the opposite, fail to bring manufacturing back and make America poorer in the process.
This article gives the 14 reasons why this is the case, how the United States could bring manufacturing back if it were serious about doing so, and what will ultimately happen with this wrongheaded policy
I’ve been in the manufacturing industry for 15 years. I’ve manufactured in the USA and in China. I worked in a factory in China. I speak and read Chinese. I’ve purchased millions of dollars worth of goods from the US and China, but also Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Cambodia. I’ve also visited many factories in Mexico and consider myself a student of how countries rise and fall.
In other words, unlike many who have voiced an opinion on this topic, I know what I am talking about. And that’s why I felt compelled to write this article. I had to do it. I’m a first generation American and I love my country and it pains me to see it hurtling at high speed towards an economic brick wall. This article is an attempt to hit the brakes. …. (Tariffs aren’t high enough, America’s industrial supply chain for many products is weak, We don’t know how to make it, The effective cost of labor in the United States is higher than it looks, We don’t have the infrastructure to manufacture, ‘Made in America’ will take time, Uncertainty and complexity around the tariffs, Most Americans are going to hate manufacturing, The labor does not exist to make good products, Automation will not save us, Robots and overseas factories do not file lawsuits but Americans do, Enforcement of the tariffs will be uneven and manipulated, The tariffs are structured in the wrong way … ~
… And …
~ Michael Jordan sucked at baseball
America is the greatest economic power of all time. We’ve got the most talented people in the world and we have a multi-century legacy of achieving what so many other countries could not.
Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, perhaps even the greatest athlete of all time.
He played baseball in his youth. What happened when he switched from basketball to baseball? He went from being an MVP champion to being a middling player in the minor leagues. 2 years later, he was back to playing basketball.
And that’s exactly what’s going to happen to us. ~
______________________________
I’ve heard and seen many of these points (not all) laid out in the past months by folks in shipping and industry/business. Factories here will rely on automation (not low-paying jobs — “Americans want to wear (affordable) Nikes, not make them” (to sell for inflated/unaffordable prices); it will take years for industries to relocate get up and running.
I appreciate the idea of more U.S. made goods, but it’s not as simple (or even doable) as Trump proclaims.
Two steps forward and one step back, done over and over, gets people where they need to go instead of walking backwards all the time as the track we were on previously was headed.
There has been much good accomplished in a vast array of areas by this administration so by commenting on language used, I did not mean in any way, shape, form, or fashion to discount the many things policy wise that I am very pleased about.
I always like to see any leader who has potential to be looked up to by children to use their best words in public.
But the serious question is whether it is even possible? Maybe it is, but that seems very unclear and even doubtful. Would like to see more serious discussions and opinions.
Meanwhile, we are all impacted by the economy in the U.S., you can’t just brush the ‘ups and downs’ off that easily. The see-saw actions we’ve been seeing are impacting all of us and our neighbors. None of us are probably “rich.”
If the far right wants to be taken seriously they really need to drop the “catturd” anonymous monikers and engage seriously on some of these issues, to recognize that there are nuances and legitimate other opinions.
Better our nation tap into our own resources than to rely upon the resources of our enemies! Food, drugs, clothing, energy, commerce! We must! No more big brother to the entire universe! Not a right to become a citizen but a privilege through our laws. No more special foreign government entitlement on the backs of American taxpayers. And a thorough investigation of life long senators and congressmen’s business dealings and how they and their families became uber millionaires on less than 200,000 dollar salary! Nj
But some of us are playing the long game with stocks, the smart ones are. We leave the outrage panic and chicken littling to others, those far more qualified for it, like establishment Rs and the WSJ. I’m not playing along with your stupid games. Have fun though, and when Trump is proven right yet again, you can tell us all why that’s still a bad thing.
Aj, it’s always been what we’ve all done. But get close to needing those funds for retirement and it gets tricky.
Here’s another thought I’d found, just posting it to consider:
~ A strange thing is happening on the right. A powerful and influential faction of the Republican Party wants goods to be more expensive, economic growth to be constrained and men and women back in factories — whether the rest of us want this or not.
In fact, you cannot understand President Trump’s attack on global trade (and trade with China in particular) without understanding this faction of the new right. Traditionalist, patriarchal Christians, populist economists and postliberal academics are engineering a Republican break with free trade and free markets that’s deliberately intended to remake the American economy — and American culture — from the ground up.
They don’t want to negotiate better trade deals. They want to reverse the globalization of the American economy. They want the 1950s back. … ~
That was only the intro to an article, there’s further explanation as it goes on, but any thoughts?
I’m fascinated by the far right these days — not a fan, admittedly, but it is fascinating to watch.
(We may be in for some financial disruption for a while as all of this settles down and as Trump decides what he may or may not do next; trust me, we’re all sitting still at this point, not a lot else anyone can do.)
And of course we’re “more” than our bank accounts (thankfully!).
But you’re missing the point in your refusal to think a bit more about how these issues impact regular people and the country as a whole. It’s the “party line,” I guess, but can the party line ever be wrong? (serious question)
Stock market ups and downs are common. The difference this time is this was sparked by a move by the president, so it was self-imposed by our own country is how some are viewing it. That makes it feel much different.
Will it pay off? (Very) unclear.
I remember asking a fellow high school student years ago if she was a liberal — “I’m part of the New Left” she declared.
I’ve seen both parties skitter to the far reaches of their members throughout different decades — they typically return to more centrist territory (and I still believe the U.S. is center-right and/or center-left, depending on the period and issues).
We were set up to operate from the center (with swings either way), with elections providing regular changes in leadership.
So these more extreme movements in either party don’t typically last very long, maybe a decade, maybe two at most. Voters (and party members) seem to always pull back closer toward the center and I suspect that’s a large part of how we’ve survived and how the U.S. has been so successful for nearly 250 years.
They don’t want to negotiate better trade deals. They want to reverse the globalization of the American economy. They want the 1950s back. …
Seriously that’s the best “they” can come up with??! So now Trump and those who support him are patriarchal and desire to make women subservient? Please…..to suggest such is manipulative and further propaganda news which so called journalists do best! Nj
Yesterday I read the article written by Molson Hart DJ linked @7:47. It’s a wonderful puff piece for China and I doubt Xi could have written it any better. In spite of that, I almost felt sorry for the author who sounds very accomplished. He says he went to China at the age of 24, taught himself to speak, read and type Chinese, founded an educational toy business and is very successful. He’s rightly concerned because a 125% tariff on his toys might well bring an end to all that success, so it’s hard to blame him for trying to convince Americans of all the reasons manufacturing would probably not happen in the US. If I didn’t value a more honest and unbiased opinion, I wouldn’t blame him at all.
I was torn between frustration and humor, but when I read this part of the article, humor won, although I am shaking my head. This is one of the 14 reasons manufacturing just can’t come back to America:
“8. Most Americans are going to hate manufacturing
Americans want less crime, good schools for their kids, and inexpensive healthcare.
They don’t want to be sewing shirts.
The people most excited about this new tariff policy tend to be those who’ve never actually made anything, because if you have, you’d know how hard the work is.
When I first went to China as a naive 24 year old, I told my supplier I was going to “work a day in his factory!” I lasted 4 hours. It was freezing cold, middle of winter, I had to crouch on a small stool, hunched over, assembling little parts with my fingers at 1/4 the speed of the women next to me. My back hurt, my fingers hurt. It was horrible. That’s a lot of manufacturing….”
—-
I haven’t seen a more ignorant opinion claiming to be born of experience since Hillary’s “basket of deplorables” speech. I do hope he doesn’t go bankrupt from the tariffs. But I’ve sewn shirts for a living, so rather than projecting his own feelings onto people he obviously doesn’t know or understand, I hope someday this first generation immigrant is able to learn what real Americans do want, and what we can accomplish when we are willing to sacrifice to get it.
Wandering Views 
“80 years ago today, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged at the Flossenburg Concentration Camp in Germany.
Bonhoeffer remains an inspiration to millions of Christians and others around the world for his teachings and courage – especially to me.
I’ve visited his home, office, church and the exact spot of his death. I can’t explain why this man’s life has deeply impacted me – but it has.
Today, his example of sacrifice and discipline should be celebrated and emulated by everyone.”
https://x.com/RichardGrenell/status/1909961093574754456?t=KBV3_MQNmLf4ZFOJa0rkBg&s=19
LikeLiked by 3 people
“April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, thus ending the American Civil War after four brutal years that ravaged the South. At Appomattox Court House, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was in shambles—starving, exhausted, and outnumbered. Once a proud force, it had dwindled to under 30,000 men, battered by relentless Union campaigns.
The Civil War, sparked in 1861, tore the nation apart. The South’s economy crumbled as battles most of the battles were fought in the South. Over 600,000 died (some estimates going as high as 800,000-1,000,000), cities burned, and families fractured. Grant, with his tenacious strategy, choked Lee’s supply lines, forcing the surrender. This moment marked not just the end of a rebellion, but the beginning of a long, painful reunion. Lee’s men laid down their arms, and a fractured nation took its first step toward healing.” #CivilWar #America
https://x.com/ManifestHistory/status/1909927302172967282?t=ILBrGqeV9ZNfp6QbJoi5zQ&s=19
LikeLiked by 2 people
China is intensifying it’s persecution of its Christians.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/04/08/china-moves-to-formally-end-christian-missionary-activity/
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Someone may have linked this yesterday but I didn’t see it. Political violence seems to be normalizing. This may be happening primarily on the left now, but if it really normalizes, it won’t stop there.
“A troubling new study backs up what has become obvious since the November presidential election: the political left is seeking to normalize and use violence to achieve its fascist political goals.
This is also known as terrorism.
The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) recently issued a new report which “found that a growing number of people are willing to justify and even applaud killing in the name of politics and a warped sense of social justice,” per Fox News. “The chilling change appears to have accelerated in recent months.”
Joel Finkelstein, one of the lead authors of the report, told Fox: “What was formerly taboo culturally has become acceptable [on the left]. We are seeing a clear shift – glorification, increased attempts and changing norms – all converging into what we define as ‘assassination culture.’”
That is the study’s term for it: “assassination culture.”
According to the study, the left’s embrace of violence to achieve a political end began with the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last December. After Luigi Mangione was arrested and charged with the assassination, the left immediately turned him into a folk hero. There is even a ballot measure in California called the Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act…..”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/04/08/nolte-55-of-leftists-believe-its-justifiable-to-assassinate-trump-thanks-to-apps-like-bluesky/
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What a sad thing, Debra, both the persecution and people thinking violence and assassination of those you disagree with is okay.
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Rand Paul is objecting loudly to the tariffs. His argument reflects the overly simplistic and amoral mind-set of Libertarians in general, in my opinion. However, I do agree with his assessment that we are not being ‘ripped off’ by other countries as the President says. The American people have been sold off by the policies of our own leaders, not by other nations. But the President can’t very well say that and expect to have the cooperation he needs in Congress, since many of them were complicit. So the blame is focused outward as he tries to mend the enormous gaping holes in our manufacturing capacities. (We can’t even build ships anymore!)
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2025/04/08/rand-paul-absolutely-a-fallacy-u-s-getting-ripped-off-because-of-trade-deficits/
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I was curious about the constitutional authority to place tariffs so I looked it up. Apparently Congress has that authority, but over the years, through several acts has largely delegated it to the Presidency. I think many in Congress are regretting it about now.
https://www.usconstitution.net/executive-tariff-authority/
LikeLiked by 1 person
A wise admonition to the President from Victor Davis Hanson:
https://x.com/VDHanson/status/1909303554529243290
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Look I’ve been as critical of tariffs as anyone but if the long term vision is domestic Nike sweatshops filled with fired DC bureaucrats, I’m willing to listen”
https://x.com/iowahawkblog/status/1909323512340234651?t=6Vl0vhB4-NC4EKkpvPOyxw&s=19
“BREAKING: United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent has seemed to suggest that the federal workforce fired recently “will give us the labor we need for new manufacturing,” per CNBC”
https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1909306680040685998?t=KjFmAC5ch651kNASl28i0w&s=19
Clearly Trump’s “learn to code” moment. 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trump could certainly choose better words at times.
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Thanks for the VDH Debra.
Love that guy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good.
https://x.com/FDRLST/status/1910016667595268342?t=HldmGTc6DOGStyyYynR3pA&s=19
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It’s a trade war.
~ During a speech at the National Republican Congressional Committee President’s Dinner, President Donald Trump claimed that other countries were calling and “kissing my a**” to negotiate tariff rates just before they went into effect. ~
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So much for the dignity and decorum of the office🥲 it has been lost for a long time
nj
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Trying to keep up this morning … :
~ Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%.
The S&P 500 was up 7.8% in afternoon trading. It had been down earlier in the morning amid worries about Trump’s trade war and whether it would cause a recession, as economists fear. But it spiked immediately after Trump sent the social media posting that investors have been waiting for. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2,476 points, or 6.6%, as of 1:35 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 9% higher. … ~
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I agree with this piece of Iowa common sense:
~ Grassley says Congress ‘delegated too much authority to the president’ on trade ~
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The dignity and decorum of the office has been lost nearly as long as mankind has taken office. There has been a pretense but when you read about the presidents, it quickly becomes obvious.
mumsee
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My personal view is that Trump has no desire to destroy economies. He is trying to get fair treatment. The countries that did not fight were given the baseline ten percent. Fighters got a reasonable response.
mumsee
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As to the judges: they were selected, one would hope, for their interpretation of the law and unwillingness to be swayed by anything but the law. As they are installed by different Presidents with different viewpoints, they should not agree and should not divide on party lines.
mumsee
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That should be true of the Senate and House as well. Standing for their constituents should mean a wide range of views, not solid blocks. Agreeing on some issues, disagreeing on others.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 1 person
@2:28. Congress delegated too much authority to the Federal Reserve as well. The government has delegated too much authority to private contractors , private prisons and private detention centers, etc. No one wants to just do their job and take the heat that comes with, it seems. So we found someone willing to do it and elected him President.
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Remembering the language of LBJ, and even Bush, Sr. with his deep doo doo, lol You are correct, Mumsee. We can always hope and pray for reform. But it’s politics.
A friend shared something said at her Bible study which must be a Southern thing, but I’d never heard it. Sweet Honey Iced Tea is the way Southern ladies hide a slipup on their speech.
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Seems to me the Presidency carried a semblance of decorum from the podium. Until Clinton started talking about his underwear and playing his sax on late night tv. True they are all flawed men but the office should be respected and not bring wincing to constituents. Nj
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Agree, NJ.
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I like a good performance from the podium as well as the next guy, but if I had to choose, I’d rather wince at a man’s language than his policies.
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Biden was a constant wince!!! 😳
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But … these ‘policies’ are all over the map.
Will the ‘pause’ be reversed tomorrow? Or next week?
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(And what comes out of the mouth … see scripture).
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The goals of his policies are more consistent than most politicians. He’s doing these manuvers to ultimately bring manufacturing back to the US and to make the tax policy more livable for working people.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Some of the background to today’s “pause”:
~ Hedge fund honcho Bill Ackman joined a growing list of President Donald Trump’s billionaire backers calling for the White House to slam the brakes on tariffs just hours before Trump authorized a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most countries that went into effect Wednesday morning.
Ackman took to social media early Wednesday, asking Trump to put a 90-day pause on tariffs, arguing the president can “accomplish his objectives without destroying small businesses in the short term.”
In a lengthy post on X, Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, issued a dire warning of what could happen if the tariffs weren’t halted immediately.
“If the president doesn’t pause the effect of the tariffs soon, many small businesses will go bankrupt,” Ackman wrote. “Medium-sized businesses will be next.”
Ackman joined other billionaires, including some like him who supported Trump’s campaign for reelection, in turning a cold shoulder to the escalating tariff war. Trump claims the tariffs are necessary for leveling the playing field for the United States importers, saying, “foreign trade and economic practices have created a national emergency.” ~
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And I don’t care how many times he pauses and reverses course if it’s needed to accomplish those goals. Wall Street will have to suck it up. And ultimately, so will we, because the goal of re-shoring our manufacturing is worth it. It is a matter of national survival.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Bringing manufacturing “back to the U.S.” faces all kinds of problems and, even if it can succeed, it will take years.
~ America Underestimates the Difficulty of Bringing Manufacturing Back
On April 2nd, 2025, our president announced major new taxes on imports from foreign countries (“tariffs”), ranging from 10% to 49%. The stated goal is to bring manufacturing back to the United States and to “make America wealthy again”.
These tariffs will not work. In fact, they may even do the opposite, fail to bring manufacturing back and make America poorer in the process.
This article gives the 14 reasons why this is the case, how the United States could bring manufacturing back if it were serious about doing so, and what will ultimately happen with this wrongheaded policy
I’ve been in the manufacturing industry for 15 years. I’ve manufactured in the USA and in China. I worked in a factory in China. I speak and read Chinese. I’ve purchased millions of dollars worth of goods from the US and China, but also Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Cambodia. I’ve also visited many factories in Mexico and consider myself a student of how countries rise and fall.
In other words, unlike many who have voiced an opinion on this topic, I know what I am talking about. And that’s why I felt compelled to write this article. I had to do it. I’m a first generation American and I love my country and it pains me to see it hurtling at high speed towards an economic brick wall. This article is an attempt to hit the brakes. …. (Tariffs aren’t high enough, America’s industrial supply chain for many products is weak, We don’t know how to make it, The effective cost of labor in the United States is higher than it looks, We don’t have the infrastructure to manufacture, ‘Made in America’ will take time, Uncertainty and complexity around the tariffs, Most Americans are going to hate manufacturing, The labor does not exist to make good products, Automation will not save us, Robots and overseas factories do not file lawsuits but Americans do, Enforcement of the tariffs will be uneven and manipulated, The tariffs are structured in the wrong way … ~
… And …
~ Michael Jordan sucked at baseball
America is the greatest economic power of all time. We’ve got the most talented people in the world and we have a multi-century legacy of achieving what so many other countries could not.
Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, perhaps even the greatest athlete of all time.
He played baseball in his youth. What happened when he switched from basketball to baseball? He went from being an MVP champion to being a middling player in the minor leagues. 2 years later, he was back to playing basketball.
And that’s exactly what’s going to happen to us. ~
______________________________
I’ve heard and seen many of these points (not all) laid out in the past months by folks in shipping and industry/business. Factories here will rely on automation (not low-paying jobs — “Americans want to wear (affordable) Nikes, not make them” (to sell for inflated/unaffordable prices); it will take years for industries to relocate get up and running.
I appreciate the idea of more U.S. made goods, but it’s not as simple (or even doable) as Trump proclaims.
And meanwhile … ?
https://www.molsonhart.com/blog/america-underestimates-the-difficulty-of-bringing-manufacturing-back
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@7:28: Wall Street will have to suck it up
No, we all will have to “suck it up” — and I am doubtful many Americans have that kind of financial wherewithal, let alone political patience.
There will be the next elections always around the corner …
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Two steps forward and one step back, done over and over, gets people where they need to go instead of walking backwards all the time as the track we were on previously was headed.
There has been much good accomplished in a vast array of areas by this administration so by commenting on language used, I did not mean in any way, shape, form, or fashion to discount the many things policy wise that I am very pleased about.
I always like to see any leader who has potential to be looked up to by children to use their best words in public.
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Oh bother, it’s too hard, let’s just knuckle under to our globalist masters is what I’m hearing.
So predictable.
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But the serious question is whether it is even possible? Maybe it is, but that seems very unclear and even doubtful. Would like to see more serious discussions and opinions.
Meanwhile, we are all impacted by the economy in the U.S., you can’t just brush the ‘ups and downs’ off that easily. The see-saw actions we’ve been seeing are impacting all of us and our neighbors. None of us are probably “rich.”
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AJ, there are many who are dealing with this on the front lines and I think it’s worth listening to them.
I know it’s not snarky or “X” enough for some, but these really are serious issues and none of us has all the answers.
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If the far right wants to be taken seriously they really need to drop the “catturd” anonymous monikers and engage seriously on some of these issues, to recognize that there are nuances and legitimate other opinions.
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Better our nation tap into our own resources than to rely upon the resources of our enemies! Food, drugs, clothing, energy, commerce! We must! No more big brother to the entire universe! Not a right to become a citizen but a privilege through our laws. No more special foreign government entitlement on the backs of American taxpayers. And a thorough investigation of life long senators and congressmen’s business dealings and how they and their families became uber millionaires on less than 200,000 dollar salary! Nj
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Sorry Dj,
But some of us are playing the long game with stocks, the smart ones are. We leave the outrage panic and chicken littling to others, those far more qualified for it, like establishment Rs and the WSJ. I’m not playing along with your stupid games. Have fun though, and when Trump is proven right yet again, you can tell us all why that’s still a bad thing.
https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1910131042863685668?t=u805Foj2_QbMkcUj_Sxagw&s=19
“I did not panic. Stayed chill.
Did not sell a single share.
Everything was down bad.
Now it’s ripping green.
Up & down.That’s the way it always goes.
Losing your mind changes nothing.
There is more to life than money.
Your value is not your bank acct
Your nation is more than GDP”
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Aj, it’s always been what we’ve all done. But get close to needing those funds for retirement and it gets tricky.
Here’s another thought I’d found, just posting it to consider:
~ A strange thing is happening on the right. A powerful and influential faction of the Republican Party wants goods to be more expensive, economic growth to be constrained and men and women back in factories — whether the rest of us want this or not.
In fact, you cannot understand President Trump’s attack on global trade (and trade with China in particular) without understanding this faction of the new right. Traditionalist, patriarchal Christians, populist economists and postliberal academics are engineering a Republican break with free trade and free markets that’s deliberately intended to remake the American economy — and American culture — from the ground up.
They don’t want to negotiate better trade deals. They want to reverse the globalization of the American economy. They want the 1950s back. … ~
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That was only the intro to an article, there’s further explanation as it goes on, but any thoughts?
I’m fascinated by the far right these days — not a fan, admittedly, but it is fascinating to watch.
(We may be in for some financial disruption for a while as all of this settles down and as Trump decides what he may or may not do next; trust me, we’re all sitting still at this point, not a lot else anyone can do.)
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And of course we’re “more” than our bank accounts (thankfully!).
But you’re missing the point in your refusal to think a bit more about how these issues impact regular people and the country as a whole. It’s the “party line,” I guess, but can the party line ever be wrong? (serious question)
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Stock market ups and downs are common. The difference this time is this was sparked by a move by the president, so it was self-imposed by our own country is how some are viewing it. That makes it feel much different.
Will it pay off? (Very) unclear.
I remember asking a fellow high school student years ago if she was a liberal — “I’m part of the New Left” she declared.
I’ve seen both parties skitter to the far reaches of their members throughout different decades — they typically return to more centrist territory (and I still believe the U.S. is center-right and/or center-left, depending on the period and issues).
We were set up to operate from the center (with swings either way), with elections providing regular changes in leadership.
So these more extreme movements in either party don’t typically last very long, maybe a decade, maybe two at most. Voters (and party members) seem to always pull back closer toward the center and I suspect that’s a large part of how we’ve survived and how the U.S. has been so successful for nearly 250 years.
This political season, too, will pass.
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amen to Mumsee comments
jo
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They don’t want to negotiate better trade deals. They want to reverse the globalization of the American economy. They want the 1950s back. …
Seriously that’s the best “they” can come up with??! So now Trump and those who support him are patriarchal and desire to make women subservient? Please…..to suggest such is manipulative and further propaganda news which so called journalists do best! Nj
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Aj, you read very ‘selectively’ :-).
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Nj might be viewed as reading selectively but her critical thinking skills formulated the gist of the message😁Nj
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Yesterday I read the article written by Molson Hart DJ linked @7:47. It’s a wonderful puff piece for China and I doubt Xi could have written it any better. In spite of that, I almost felt sorry for the author who sounds very accomplished. He says he went to China at the age of 24, taught himself to speak, read and type Chinese, founded an educational toy business and is very successful. He’s rightly concerned because a 125% tariff on his toys might well bring an end to all that success, so it’s hard to blame him for trying to convince Americans of all the reasons manufacturing would probably not happen in the US. If I didn’t value a more honest and unbiased opinion, I wouldn’t blame him at all.
I was torn between frustration and humor, but when I read this part of the article, humor won, although I am shaking my head. This is one of the 14 reasons manufacturing just can’t come back to America:
“8. Most Americans are going to hate manufacturing
Americans want less crime, good schools for their kids, and inexpensive healthcare.
They don’t want to be sewing shirts.
The people most excited about this new tariff policy tend to be those who’ve never actually made anything, because if you have, you’d know how hard the work is.
When I first went to China as a naive 24 year old, I told my supplier I was going to “work a day in his factory!” I lasted 4 hours. It was freezing cold, middle of winter, I had to crouch on a small stool, hunched over, assembling little parts with my fingers at 1/4 the speed of the women next to me. My back hurt, my fingers hurt. It was horrible. That’s a lot of manufacturing….”
—-
I haven’t seen a more ignorant opinion claiming to be born of experience since Hillary’s “basket of deplorables” speech. I do hope he doesn’t go bankrupt from the tariffs. But I’ve sewn shirts for a living, so rather than projecting his own feelings onto people he obviously doesn’t know or understand, I hope someday this first generation immigrant is able to learn what real Americans do want, and what we can accomplish when we are willing to sacrifice to get it.
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Sorry if I mixed names of posters up!
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