Trump's Trade War

[2ndRateMind]

So, looks like the cost of living is going to rise for Americans. While unemployment due to higher prices and diminished demand is going to rise for Americans, also. Not sure these tactics are how to 'make America great again'.
But what do you all think?

Best wishes, 2RM.

[Checkpoint]

So, looks like the cost of living is going to rise for Americans. While unemployment due to higher prices and diminished demand is going to rise for Americans, also. Not sure these tactics are how to 'make America great again'.
But what do you all think?

Best wishes, 2RM.

Are there really any winners in a trade war?

How does conducting or starting a trade war make America great again?

And what is meant by "to make America great again", anyway?

[2ndRateMind]

Are there really any winners in a trade war?

No. Everyone loses. Economic activity is universally depressed, because prices are higher. Someone (I forget who) said that a trade war is war in which all your gunnery is directly aimed at your own citizenry.

Of course, if you happen to be a billionaire already, that might not matter that much to you.

Best wishes, 2RM.

[Divine Insight]

Unfortunately Trump has a barroom mentality. He blames all his problems on others and proclaims that he's a victim being taken advantage of by everyone else. And this is exactly how he approaches all his problems.

He blames the whole rest of the world for the economic problems of the USA and thinks that he can get the whole rest of the world to admit that they have been victimizing the poor USA and make changes to their trade polices so the USA always wins.

This mentality neither represents any actual truth, nor will it result in any realistic solution for anyone. To the contrary he is not only endangering the economy of the USA but he's causing havoc in the entire world trade system.

He does the same thing with Steel and Coal. He seems to think that all he has to do is demand that steel mills and coal mines reopen and everything will automatically return to the way things were in the 1950's. That's neither realistic nor doable. Even if the USA did begin to produce large quantities of steel and coal, it wouldn't result in thousands of manual labor jobs anyway, because a large part of the problem is that all these processes have been automated by machines and robots. So it's never going to return to the way it used to be no matter what.

Trump also seems to resent progress. He wants to do away with online marketing like Amazon and return to the days where everyone drives down to the local mall to buy all their products. Again, that's just never going to happen.

Trump seems to basically fear and dislike progress and modern changes. So he's trying to bring the USA back to an earlier historical period. And that's just never going to happen.

Like I say, he's like someone who sits around in a bar complaining that they are the victim of a changing world and if only the world would go back to the way it was at some future time when things were better for that individual could things get bet.

It's a victim mentality. Just blame all the problems on everyone else.

That's our new president. A cry-baby victim of changing times. He has no real solutions to any problems other than to put the blame on everyone else.

And Americans are now being held hostage to his victimized mentality.

America is being run by a cry-baby who has absolutely no idea of how to solve any modern day problems.

That new "Baby Blimb" is really a good idea. Too bad they didn't have that baby crying its head off. They really should have launched it as the "Cry Baby Trump".

[2ndRateMind]

Unfortunately Trump has a barroom mentality. He blames all his problems on others and proclaims that he's a victim being taken advantage of by everyone else...

Hmmm. I can't say I'm that worried about Trump. He's clearly a travesty of human being, and the disposition of his soul is a matter between him and God. The thing that worries me is the lowest common denominator populism that saw him voted into power, and might even see him returned for a second term. I think America, and the world, deserves better. The world needs bridges between nations, not walls and wars, as if we all hated and feared each other.

Best wishes, 2RM.

[TSGracchus]

Not the least of Trump's misdeeds is stoking the fires of hatred and disunion. It is not really his fault. He is a stupid, spoiled child. He does, however, accurately represent his constituency. I foresee that there will be lots and lots of fire and blood.

[bluethread]

I agree that tariffs are not good policy, apart from for defraying the costs of maintaining customs enforcement. The problem is that people tend see the loss of employment due to foreign competition as an "unfair" trade practice. Policy makers are then pressured to do "something" and taxation is the favorite tool of legislation for many law makers. The real problem is the changing nature of the economy. the same thing happen during the industrial revolution. There was displacement and tariffs until the economy adjusted. This was one of the main drivers of the Civil War. Now, in the global information age, we have a similar problem. Then, they had to deal with the enforcing of tradesman's rights. Now, we need to address the problems with enforcing intellectual property rights. This is important because property rights are the bedrock of a stable economy.

It appears that patents are going the way of the dodo bird and quickly establishing market share and brand integrity is the way current trend. How this will all play out is yet to be seen. Hopefully history will not repeat itself and it will not result in physical war.

[Wootah]

Short term pain for long term gain seems like a good idea to me.

Also the trade war exists permanently. No one can start it and America was losing it.

[Divine Insight]

Trade wars simply aren't the way to go. There are far better ways to address these problems. It may be true that previous administrations didn't deal with these issues wisely either, but that doesn't automatically make trade wars a good idea.

One thing that is an absolute total lie is the idea that China is "Stealing" the intellectual property of American companies. That's absolute hogwash.

American companies AGREED to share their intellectual property with companies in China in order to do business there. Why did they agree to it? Because it was in their financial benefit to do so.

The idea that China is stealing intellectual property from American companies is simple false. Intellectual property is being shared by AGREEMENT.

The American companies didn't need to agree with this. They could have simply refused to do business with China. But clearly that wouldn't have been an economically wise choice. They made out far better by doing business with China on China's terms. They wouldn't have agreed to it if they weren't making out.

So trying to punish China for what American companies agreed to is nonsense.

And of course, punishing Canada, Mexico, and Europe in the process is nothing short of utter insanity. It's not a wise strategy and it's certainly not going to "Make America Great". If anything it's going to destroy America's trade relations with our best allies.

Anyone who thinks we're going to wake up some morning to a headline that reads, "American WINS the Trade Wars!", isn't thinking very rationally. That is definitely not going to happen.