Thursday, March 01, 2018

Market Drops 530 points: Trump to Impose Stiff Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum

What do I know about tariffs? Not much.  The drop in the market today of 530 points so far seems to be a reaction to the latest Trump not thought out well policy of stiff tariffs on aluminum and steel.

So I went to the NYT blogger comments section to wade through the plethora of reaction to Trump's latest idiocy of the imposition of tariffs on aluminum and steel.  My intuitive sense says that this blogger (opinion indented) had the most cogent explanation and evaluation of Trump's moronic tariff imposition:

Obviously Washington still has its fingers in its ears and looking down at the ground. Trade is globalizing around us. Tariffs used to work when we were the economic powerhouse of the world and could produce all the steel and hard goods the developing world needed. We had the resources, manpower, and the technology that made us the most creative producers and best market for the world. We were the biggest agricultural producer for a century. Times change.

The rest of the world grew their industries and is catching up and surpassing us in capacity to produce. If the other nations of the world are forced by tariffs and elimination of trade agreements with us to work around our production and marketplace, we will become less relevant . Within a decade or two import tariffs will mean nothing because we will not be a part of the global economy.

Auto manufacturers will simply relocate out of the U.S., selling to other markets because the cost of a vehicle in the U.S. will be too expensive for most of the population. The same will go for tech and all other industries. Those that cannot simply relocate their facilities will not survive when their products/services are priced too high for most Americans.

There need be no tariff retaliation or reprisals by other nations. We will simply have nothing to offer that they cannot obtain, at a better rate, elsewhere.
Make America Great again?  No, MAD.  Make America Depressed Again!

 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/business/trump-tariffs.html?emc=edit_na_20180301&nl=breaking-news&nlid=75028030&ref=headline#commentsContainer



Extreme cold snap sweeps across Europe. My comment: Climate change anyone?

Again it does not matter to our survival as a species whether some religious fanatics and others believe in climate change or not. 98 or 99% of climate scientists do. Science does what science does whether one believes in science or not.

People are dying from drought, fires, tornadoes galore, strong than normal hurricanes and ad infinitum floods. It is enough to convince me that there can be no doubt climate change is real and so is man's fossil fuel contribution the major cause of it. Man with his big brain must acquiesce to science or die swallowing mythological tripe denying it.


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RESIST.  BELIEVE THE TRUTH THAT YOUR EYES SEE AND SCIENCE CONFIRMS.  VOTE DEMOCRATIC IN 2018 AND 2020 AND
SAVE THE PLANET!

Pennsylvania churchgoers bring AR-15 rifles, wear bullet crowns to commitment ceremony. My Comment: Yep I'm not kidding

Feast your eyes upon the video below and think on the famous statement of H.L. Mencken:  "You'll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American Public."

A good book on the subject by Charles Pierce is "Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free."

To think a nation of over 300 million people should be governed by the least intellectually adept among us, who know little and are not curious about much when the issues confronting us whether in foreign or domestic policy require the highest knowledge and expertise.  Being governed by an idiot allows other nations which encourage advancement know they can rise above a nation that was once among the most advanced nations in the world. Now the US lags behind some First World nations and even behind some nations in the developing world. It is imperative we have the most intelligent, rational and intellectually accomplished govern! The larger law of nature --  survival of the fittest -- rules our planet whether we choose to accept it or not. It will prevail.  Man's big brain puts him at the top of the evolutionary chain and has made him so adept at survival because he has the ability to adapt to a variety of environmental conditions. We are a species that cannot survive most especially in harsh climates but really in any climate without the ability of man to think rationally, work together and use his cerebral abilities to successfully accommodate his environment. It makes it possible for him to survive conditions that would otherwise kill him if he did not.

Each generation builds upon the knowledge of the one before it allowing homo sapiens (Latin for wise man) to reach the startling number of a population of 6 billion. It is easier for  those in power to control those who are not educationally adept to get what those in power want. Republicans are wonderful at duping and screwing everyone else to allow policies that will make them rich at the expense of everyone else.  The intellect education develops is the gift that erases ignorance and allows man to compete with others.  When government directs the inclusion of diversity into policy we all benefit.  Each has his own talent to give to the whole. 


Government should be for all and not simply for the few.  Maybe some day this nation will figure out that it is better to be educated and smart than it is to be an unquestioning fool.

RESIST THE ASSAULT OF REPUBLICANS ON RATIONAL AND ACADEMIC THOUGHT.  VOTE DEMOCRAT IN 2018 AND 2020 AS IF YOUR SURVIVAL DEPENDS UPON IT BECAUSE IT DOES!

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/pennsylvania-church-blesses-ar-15-rifles-during-commitment-ceremony-1173647939750

NOT ANYMORE

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