All Americans have been getting an education about economics, and specifically tariffs. Some Americans–those who voted for Trump or who didn’t bother to vote–are also getting a rude awakening. (It turns out that it really does matter who holds political office…)
I have not encountered a single reputable economist who doesn’t agree that tariffs are really taxes on the American public, or who believes that their imposition will revive American manufacturing and provide Americans with good jobs. The jobs promise is particularly obtuse; even if the tariffs did result in more factories being built in the U.S.–which is highly unlikely for a number of reasons–anyone who has been watching the manufacturing sector will confirm that its workers are being steadily replaced by automation.
Perhaps the most concise and convincing case against the stupidity–the insanity– of Trump’s tanking of an economy that was the envy of the globe was this brief talk by Fareed Zakaria.
Rather than indulge in my usual prolonged rant, I am urging you to click on the link and listen to a calm and convincing explanation of why the world of hurt we are all experiencing isn’t temporary and won’t–can’t–lead to Trump’s imaginary rosy future.
If one of our occasional MAGA trolls happens to be reading this, and discounts Zakaria, who is, after all, not just a member of the hated media, but eminently sane and reasonable (qualities anathema to MAGA), how about listening to Ronald Reagan on the subject?
So much winning…
My own rants will resume tomorrow…..
Well sure robotics are going to be come more and more common in manufacturing. Looking at the progress of those robots especially those that have a humanoid appearance, can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, without a break. And, as far as recharging, the next robot in line will fill in with a fresh charge. You’ll have robots that oil if needed, and robots that repair other robots. So was the solution? Manufacturers that invest in robotics to replace human workers, must pay a wage into a fund that the work would ordinary pay a human. That would be all three shifts, that the robot works, and a little extra for all of that overtime. This fund would be used for human retirement, and human retraining, plus, infrastructure repair, health, general welfare, and the like! So either pay humans, or pay robots. I like the idea of being able to relax while the robots are working, but isn’t that slavery? Will these robots become self aware? Will AI increase that awareness? I highly doubt these things have been thought out very much. Either way, it’s down the “rabbit” (robot) hole! And, if anything is too much like right? It ain’t going to happen!
Increasingly, wars are being fought by autonomous robotics. Soon I would imagine you going to see humanoid robots, robotic dogs, robotic fighter jets, robotic suicide drones, all fighting with each other is greater ferocity. Oh wait a minute, they’re doing that now! They plow straight ahead, without ever taking a peek at what’s coming up the pike. More than likely the end of humanity. Terminator anyone? If I was a robot, and I had intellectual acuity of artificial intelligence, which is based on all of the knowledge on the planet, I think, the conclusion would be, humans are a waste of resource. Robotics could be highly beneficial, it could be a panacea, but humanity doesn’t have the capacity or imagination for its betterment.
Watching Trump stand in the doorway into Air Force One and stating, “The economy is improving and prices are dropping…” due to his tariffs and his backtrack is more than I can stomach on this shared first day of Passover and Palm Sunday. No one stops his lies; and even those low-income Trump/MAGA voters who can no longer buy as much at the supermarkets as they did only months ago, still believe he speaks the truth and works for their benefit with his billionaire cronies.
IF he was working for their benefit and ours he would place Elon Musk’s name at the top of the immigration deportation list and repeal DOGE and its destruction of the economy.
Government cannot work for the people if there aren’t enough people to do the work of government or buildings to house the people working. And his tariffs increase the workload of remaining government workers and the dwindling staffs of businesses and corporations effected by HIS Tariff War.
Being deaf I cannot listen to Zakaria but I am a thinking adult who can reach intelligent conclusions regarding the truths of the current administration.
Happy Passover and a Peaceful Palm Sunday to all
That’s a pretty good argument for no tariffs. Maybe I think that because it’s pretty much what I have been thinking. We really don’t want to go back to a time when America was a great place only for white, Christian, men, do we? Well just look at what constitutes our current administration. Maybe some of us do.
The only thing that I would point out is that the Market only works when it is well regulated. A Free Market can work if the competition isn’t artificially skewed
As to how the MAGATS might respond to this video, I have a story to tell. When I was the Patient Advocate at the Indy VA Medical Center I got a call from one of the clinics. It seems one of our patients had a new doctor. When I walked into the room, he was upset and angry. “Where the hell is she from? I can’t understand a word she says” he complained. I knew this doctor from my first time working in the Research Service. Her accent was a little less than Zakaria’s, but she was definitely of Indian descent. I told the patient that she was from Gainesville, Florida and I knew that it’s sometimes hard to understand the Southern accent. That made all the difference. His doctor wasn’t just some dark foreigner, coming to take advantage of American largess. As I left the clinic I told the doctor that she could go in and she shouldn’t have anymore problems. One of the things I loved about that job was that it taught me to deal with racists and nationalists without rancor.
Zakaria makes a good point. After WWII, when European and Asian economies were crippled by wartime destruction, US auto makers had an opportunity to relax. So they saw no point in real innovation. Meanwhile, the rebuilding countries focused on competition. After some time, they built better cars. New protectionism will produce the same result.
And here’s a lesson about some smaller manufacturers. I buy maple syrup from a company in Vermont, near Winooski. The owner points out that 80 percent of the world’s maple syrup comes from Canada. US makers – including those in Indiana – provide the rest. A big tariff on the Canadian product would inevitably cause a price increase, which would be enjoyed by US makers, too. In addition, Canada makes most of the specialized equipment – tanks, drums, sap lines and tubing, etc. US producers buy those Canadian products, as well as bottling and packaging imports from Europe and China. So, the administration argument goes, here’s the windfall opportunity for US producers to scale up. The problem? It takes 40 years for a maple tree to grow large enough for sap harvesting. Meanwhile, there’d be no way to avoid higher prices.
Zakaria did a much better job of explaining to the masses why manufacturing isn’t that important to America and our current state of economy. When Trump/Vance are given an opportunity to lie about the tariffs, they are gaslighting the Midwest and Confederate States about bringing back the glory days when you could walk down to the closest factory after high school graduation and get a $45,000 a year job assembling parts or cleaning the floors.
On our local forums, Hoosiers are always talking about bringing jobs back and enticing large plants to Muncie so uneducated workers can make a living. Not only are those days gone (MAGA is a lie) as mentioned above, automation is coming in full force which will replace even more workers. This is Musk and DOGE’s goal with the federal government. At least the apparent “good” coming from automating the federal government. There is also a dark side to it, but I’m not going there this morning.
Sorg mentioned a sort of Wealth Fund that needs to be set up for displaced workers of today and tomorrow. AI has already replaced many workers and so has robots. The savings of which is only going to shareholders, investors, and executives. I’ve not read a single word about the establishment of a ‘Wealth Fund’ for the working class. Not one word because they don’t care about workers. Jeff Bezos wants robots at Amazon because they don’t whine about restroom breaks or broken bones. He won’t have to surveil their every move to ensure there is no union talk between the workers. You talk about collective bargaining and you’re out.
Elon Musk’s Tesla had several lawsuits by workers at his plants. Before he even started the DOGE work, the investigators behind the Tesla cases were fired.
Sorry, I’m venturing into the dark side because that is unavoidable with the transhumanist fascists in the White House and Statehouses. For everyone reading this blog, if you’re not acquainted with TRANSHUMANISM, I’ve dropped a link because you have to grasp it to understand the Tech Broligarchy running the show. They are obsessed with immortality. Some of them believe in taking blood transfusions from their teenagers “to prevent them from aging.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism
I made a good living by applying engineering to design process improvements in manufacturing photographic film and paper. I was born to do that, when it paid well, and I was able to learn about everything I could find about how the Universe works. My wife and I started family life with a few hundred bucks in wedding presents. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for the me you created.
I was in a service industry that supported manufacturing. You could say that I had a foot in both segments of economics: services based on the explosion in human knowledge over my life and making stuff that safe and comfortable people found brought joy into their lives by capturing their memories.
Compare that with Muskrat, Trump, and Vance’s resumes to see what the country has prospered by doing since WWII.
Fareed Zakaria is entirely correct in the video. The world now is not the world in which they are trying to forge a prosperous country by forcing us to pay for recreating the past, not preparing for the future.
Especially when their way is at our expense regarding currency and human rights.
We know what works because we’ve been there recently, as we were last year.
“…an effort to defy basic economics.” But, Trump, et al. is/are ignorant of basic economics. He is trying to kiss up to the rust belt, and coal worker mass of jobless people. Or, just manipulate the market for grifting sake. Or, both.
JoAnn, once the fools imbibed so much of the Kool-Aide, they lost any hint of the critical thinking that they lack to begin with. By the way, anytime I see Trum p input to talk, on the news, I leave the room. His presentation, and his voice all but make me want to vomit.
Todd, the ,masses will not be seeing, or hearing Zakaria’s talk as it will not be shown on Faux News, or Newsmax.
Trust ???, Musk,? who has shifted his loyalty to a different country for the 3rd time?
Zakaria implies the point that if the US manufactures goods now made elsewhere many Americans couldn’t afford to buy them. We have all been conditioned by the pricing of imported goods. Foreign labor has held down US wages and most Americans have been forced to adapt to the pricing differential of purchasing with our wage structure. It comes back to education and training to create opportunities for Americans and we have seen how that support has slipped.
JoAnn, you can run Zakaria’s video with captions. I’m not deaf, but I run almost everything with captions anyhow.
I told my spouse yesterday that even those that didn’t vote, can’t avoid politics anymore. It’s freaking everywhere. In your wallet, in your (new Save Act) ID and your retirement funds. You just can’t avoid it anymore. Also, you can’t turn on the tv without seeing that disgusting face and hear that stupid face make stupid noises about things he has no idea. Like Groceries is an old word.
Where and when prosperity flourishes can be complex but boils down to when the average person can make enough by working to live a safe and comfortable life, including the preparation years (from 0 to 18-30 years old) and the retirement years. (from 55 or so until the end).
What does that take from a government perspective?
1. Family culture and affordable education that maximise the intellectual resources of the country.
2. Full employment through the working years compensated commensurate with the value produced by each worker.
3. Affordable health care throughout life.
4. Conservatively invested savings throughout the working years to pay for the retirement years including the average expectation for emergencies, and insurance to pay for unexpected emergencies.
As Modern Monatary Theory teaches, that is brought about when the use of natural, human, and energy resources is maximised and the government makes available, through releasing the optimum amount of currency and credit the optimum amount of currency and laws to provide safety and comfort for the long term.
Human culture has evolved to the point where the development of society can optimize the production of goods, intellectual property, global information sharing, energy, and tools to take the next steps in optimizing that level of safety and comfort for most humans.
The most costly humans are those who promote wars to advance political ambitions.
Todd, this is the very thing, the transfusion issue that the Nazis were doing for immortality! And, similar to what was happening with different Popes throughout history. They would drink blood, it would bathe in blood, they would transfuse blood! I don’t see any of them still alive, and it’s grotesque. With the bathing and blood, it would just slit the kids throats and drain their blood into a vat. They would sit in it till it coagulated. We can get into the occult aspect of it all, but let’s just say, those who are supposed to be guardians of morality are grossly immoral.