Trump II

[Alan Klein]

It's much the same deal as Brexit, especially at the low end of the earnings scale.

There are jobs that simply cannot afford to pay higher wages for hours worked. In Scotland, there's a region in Perthshire - the Blairgowrie area and the Carse of Gowrie, a tad further south-east - that's famous for its strawberry and raspberry growing. It was a very labour-intensive job, picking those things, and hard work. At least until the end of the 50s there used to be a rush to the area during the picking period where students and others would work their butts off to make money for whatever. It became the preserve (no pun intended) of so-called travellers, a gypsy sort of caravan-dwelling group, who'd also do that work for little money. Bit by bit, the cost of labour intensified and the product, the fruit, had to fetch a higher price. As a result, the once-great local jam-making industry folded... There is a natural ceiling for everything. It's simply unrealistic to think labour costs can always be passed on; no, folks just buy something else instead. I'm sure the same situation applies in other mediums across Britain.

It exists, for sure, in the hospitality trade, where maids etc. are mostly Asian and for the simple reason that they have a more realistic grasp of the level of reward the job can be expected to be worth. So, rather than do these sorts of jobs, many of our lot prefer unemployment because it doesn't offend their "dignity" whereas low wages do. For as long as governments refuse to grasp that nettle, unemployment payments will be an astronomical drain on the economy, and the same lazy sods will blame the "foreigners" for stealing their work! Exactly the Alan K belief. I would have expected more vision than that from a guy who claims to have been in business. I had imagined it was obvious that some jobs can't attract higher levels of reward because they are then too expensive for the market, and the company will not be able to sell the product. It's always a mistake to assume your company or product is indispensable, it's not.

As for Indian engineers: they are employed because they know their onions as well as anybody else, and often a damned sight better. If they did not, no company would employ them because it would be suicide. I watched the capping ceremony video where my granddaughter got her medical degree. The number of Chinese students getting honours degrees was very high. Don't imagine for a moment that brains are the province of the WASP. Neither should one forget how advanced early Islam was in all the sciences. We owe them a helluva lot of gratitude for that; what a shame they got shunted off into a diversion they really didn't need. A waste for both groups - them and us.

So first you export industries to China. Then you import engineers from India to help British engineers lose their jobs.  This is why Brexit happened.  For the same reason Trump happened.  Too many elite and comfortable people didn't care about the rest of their country's citizens who were getting a bad deal.  While the rich and connected classes seemed to be doing OK, no one cared about the rest. Enter Trump.  Bye EU.

[LesPalenik]

So first you export industries to China. Then you import engineers from India to help British engineers lose their jobs.  This is why Brexit happened.  For the same reason Trump happened.  Too many elite and comfortable people didn't care about the rest of their country's citizens who were getting a bad deal.  While the rich and connected classes seemed to be doing OK, no one cared about the rest. Enter Trump.  Bye EU.

Export of the manufacturing facilities to China is the most noticable but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Many related job losses go unnoticed.

At one time, most of the mail orders in USA and Canada were fulfilled by the US or Canadian sellers or manufacturers. As the production of thousands (or millions?) of products moved to China, many of those items are now distributed worldwide directly by Chinese companies. The Northamerican distributors simply can't match their prices and have folded their operations. In addition, China Post has much lower shipping fees (i.e. you can order on eBay or Amazon a small battery, lens filter or another small item from China for a few dollars, whereas to order it from a US or Canadian based company the shipping alone might cost $10), so in effect also the order fulfillment and shipping services have moved overseas.

I just looked up the cost of buying a 52mm lens cap from a US or Canadian company vs a Chinese seller on eBay.
B&H Price comes to $16.95US ($6.95 for the cap,$8.10 for shipping, and $1.90 for Customs clearance (for Ontario residents).
Buying it from Henrys in Canada it would cost $20.32CAD ($12.99 cap, $5.00 shipping, $2.33 tax). 
The Chinese seller's price is 99 cents (79 cents without the Nikon logo).
One would have to feel very patriotic to order such an item from a Northamerican supplier. Or he would need it next week.

This is just one small item, but add all online orders now fulfilled each year by Chinese sellers and we are talking about billions of dollars being made outside of this continent. Meanwhile, US Mail annual losses are increasing - $5.6B loss in 2016 (Canada Post actually made some money for the last 3 years) and their solution to address the decreasing shipping volumes is to raise their prices every year.
 
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/306224-us-postal-services-posts-56b-loss-for-2016

[James Clark]

So Trump just pardoned Arpaio.  Let's be sure we're clear on what for so this doesn't turn into another "Trump is racist" discussion, because the problem is even more fundamental.  Arpaio's criminal conviction was not specifically for Arpaio's disgustingly racist profiling, but for a contempt of court charge stemming from his refusal to cease blatantly unconstitutional activities despite a court order.   

To summarize - an officer of the law violates the constitution to the extent that a court holds him criminally liable, and Trump says, no, it's ok either because of an utter ignorance of Equal protection, or because it plays well to his base and he just doesn't care. 

Contemptible, as is so much of what Trump does, but this is sort of a new low for incompetence and disrespect for the office.  So... if you're going to defend Trump, let's be clear that what you're defending is the right of a police officer to defy a court order to cease violating the rights of American citizens with no cause other than they appear to be Latino.  Who's ok with that?

[Schewe]

So Trump just pardoned Arpaio.

This is what John McCain had to say...

STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON PRESIDENT TRUMP’S PARDON OF JOE ARPAIO

“No one is above the law and the individuals entrusted with the privilege of being sworn law officers should always seek to be beyond reproach in their commitment to fairly enforcing the laws they swore to uphold. Mr. Arpaio was found guilty of criminal contempt for continuing to illegally profile Latinos living in Arizona based on their perceived immigration status in violation of a judge’s orders. The President has the authority to make this pardon, but doing so at this time undermines his claim for the respect of rule of law as Mr. Arpaio has shown no remorse for his actions.”

And make no mistake, a pardon of Arpaio doesn't poll very high with Arizona residents...

SHOCK POLL: Just 21 Percent Of Arizona Residents Want Trump To Pardon Sheriff Joe Arpaio

A poll released Monday suggests that just 21 percent of Arizona residents want President Donald Trump to pardon Joe Arpaio, the former Maricopa County sheriff.

In July, a federal judge found Arpaio guilty of criminal contempt of court because Arpaio refused a federal judicial order to stop arresting people solely because they might be illegal immigrants and then delivering the arrested individuals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

According to the poll, just 21 percent of Arizona’s residents want Trump to pardon Arpaio.

But as it relates to Arpaio, don't forget that Trump and Arpaio had a bromance long ago regarding the whole birtherism issue...and Trump really seems to like the fact that Arpaio seemed to piss off so many people including judges and journalists.

Why Donald Trump Pardoned Joe Arpaio


Joe Arpaio, the former Maricopa County sheriff, represents in miniature what President Trump would
like to be more maximally—a successful American authoritarian.

President Trump had little to offer that was specific or coherent in the rambling, hate-filled speech that he delivered in Phoenix this week—the one that he later assessed in a self-congratulatory tweet as “enthusiastic, dynamic, and fun.” The speech lurched between schoolyard bragging (“I live in a bigger, more beautiful apartment” than the “élite” and “I live in the White House, too, which is really great”), the usual whining about reporters (“sick,” “bad,” “dishonest” people), and insults to Arizona’s two Republican senators, one of whom is currently battling brain cancer. The rhetorical flourishes borrowed from Fascist tropes, with their distinctive mix of vague language and unmistakable menace: the virtuous “we” and the unspecified “they,” who are trying to take away “our” customs and culture; the “thugs,” who protest the leader’s vision of America.

But there were a few moments when Trump got very particular, and one of them was when he chose to express his keen admiration for Joe Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County. In July, Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt of court, for defying an earlier court order to stop detaining people solely on suspicion of their immigration status. In Phoenix, Trump hinted that he would pardon Arpaio. He said that he wasn’t going to cause controversy by issuing a pardon then and there, but Sheriff Joe “can feel good,” he pledged, and was “going to be just fine.” Trump is likely a fan of Arpaio’s because Arapio is a fan of his—an early supporter who also went all in for birtherism, at one point sending members of a so-called Cold Case Posse to Hawaii to dig up something incriminating about Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

But Trump probably also likes Arpaio because the former sheriff represents in miniature what the President would like to be more maximally—a successful American authoritarian. Earlier this month, in a conversation with Fox News, Trump called Arpaio “an outstanding sheriff” and “a great American patriot.” It’s worth considering what it takes, in Trump’s view, to deserve such tributes. Arpaio, who served as the sheriff of Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix, from 1993 until he was voted out of office, in 2016, has a long-standing reputation for flouting civil rights, particularly those of Latinos.

So, make no mistake, this isn't just about racism but a flagrant abuse of power and in general, Trump's admiration for an asshole.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

So Trump just pardoned Arpaio.

Yes!!! Finally a recognition for a true American hero.

... you're defending is the right of a police officer to defy a court order to cease violating the rights of American citizens with no cause other than they appear to be Latino.  Who's ok with that?

Well, when you twist it like that... In reality, he was simply hunting down illegals, what every sheriff and every law enforcing officer in every street, city, county, and state should have been doing long time ago. If it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, it is an illegal duck 

[Schewe]

And other one bites the dust (he really wasn't much)...

Sebastian Gorka Is Forced Out as White House Adviser, Officials Say


Sebastian Gorka was forced out of his role as a White House adviser, according to two administration officials.

Sebastian Gorka, an outspoken adviser to President Trump and lightning rod for controversy, has been forced out of his position at the White House, two administration officials said on Friday.

One of the officials said that the president’s chief of staff, John F. Kelly, had telegraphed his lack of interest in keeping Mr. Gorka during internal discussions over the last week.

Mr. Gorka, a deputy assistant to the president, had been on vacation for at least the last two weeks, that official said.

Reports are that Kelly informed Gorka his security clearance had been revoked...

But it seems Gorka isn't going quietly...

The Federalist, a conservative website, published portions of what it called a resignation letter written by Mr. Gorka.

“[G]iven recent events, it is clear to me that forces that do not support the MAGA promise are – for now – ascendant within the White House,” Gorka wrote. “As a result, the best and most effective way I can support you, Mr. President, is from outside the People’s House.”

“Regrettably, outside of yourself, the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will ‘Make America Great Again,’ have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months. This was made patently obvious as I read the text of your speech on Afghanistan this week…

“The fact that those who drafted and approved the speech removed any mention of Radical Islam or radical Islamic terrorism proves that a crucial element of your presidential campaign has been lost…

Ouch...

Next? Maybe Steve Miller?

[Schewe]

Trump narrowly avoided disaster by almost losing Gary Cohn. While Trump likes to take credit for the stock market, truth be told Gary Cohn and the prospect of Gary's implanting tax reform/reductions is what is making the market go up. notice the market dropped on rumors Cohn might resign...

Gary Cohn urges Trump team to do more to condemn neo-Nazis


Demonstrators in Charlottesville earlier this month

Gary Cohn, the top White House economic official, said the Trump administration “must do better” in condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists following the violent protests in Charlottesville this month that sparked one of the biggest controversies of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Mr Cohn, a Jewish-American who was president of Goldman Sachs before becoming head of the White House national economic council, told the Financial Times he faced “enormous pressure” to quit after the uproar over Mr Trump’s reaction to the clashes in the Virginia university city that left one woman dead.

--snip--

“This administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities,” Mr Cohn said in his first public comments on the issue.

“I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position,” the former banker said during an interview about economic policy.

“As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post . . . because I feel a duty to fulfil my commitment to work on behalf of the American people. But I also feel compelled to voice my distress over the events of the last two weeks,” he said.

“Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK,” Mr Cohn added. 

“As a Jewish American, I will not allow neo-Nazis ranting ‘Jews will not replace us’ to cause this Jew to leave his job. I feel deep empathy for all who have been targeted by these hate groups. We must all unite together against them.” 

“I have to do what is best for me and my family. I have had numerous private conversations with the president on this topic [and] I have not been bashful saying what I think.” 

Mr Cohn said officials who had been upset by Mr Trump’s remarks — who reportedly included Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser and a former Goldman executive — had each taken their own decisions about how to respond. “This is a personal issue for each of us. We are all grappling with it. This takes time to grapple with.” 

So...the Dow was +30.27 today not because of Trump but because Cohn committed to stay. For that I'm grateful (I have a lot of stocks).

[Schewe]

Well, this can't be good (for Trump)...just in case anybody forgot about Russia interfering in the election.


Washington lobbying firms receive subpoenas as part of Russia probe

Lawyers for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, have issued subpoenas to several prominent Washington lobbying firms as the probe examines the finances of two former Trump campaign advisers, according to people with knowledge of the requests.

The subpoenas asked the firms to answer questions and provide records regarding their interactions with the consulting firms led by Michael Flynn, a former national security adviser to President Trump, and Paul Manafort, former chairman of the Trump presidential campaign, these people said.

The requests suggest that Mueller’s investigators are looking closely at Manafort and Flynn, both of whom face possible legal jeopardy for allegedly failing to disclose that foreign governments or parties may have been the beneficiaries of their consulting and lobbying work, as they seek potential links between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin.

A spokesman for Manafort declined to comment, while a lawyer for Flynn did not respond.

[Schewe]

Trump's Order Bans Military From Accepting Transgender Recruits

President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military on Friday to reject openly transgender people as new recruits but authorized Defense Secretary James Mattis to decide how to handle transgender personnel already serving in the armed forces.

Trump also ordered the military to stop paying for gender reassignment surgical procedures by March 23 except to protect the health of someone who has already begun the process of reassigning sex, according to a senior White House official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The Defense Department will have six month to consider how to handle openly transgender people currently serving in the military under a memorandum that Trump signed on Friday, official said. The memorandum directs the department to consider unit cohesion, applicable law and resources in making the determination, the official said.

Well, at least he didn't do this in a tweet...

[Rob C]

So first you export industries to China. Then you import engineers from India to help British engineers lose their jobs.  This is why Brexit happened.  For the same reason Trump happened.  Too many elite and comfortable people didn't care about the rest of their country's citizens who were getting a bad deal.  While the rich and connected classes seemed to be doing OK, no one cared about the rest. Enter Trump.  Bye EU.

The difficulty with tying to explain anything to you, Alan, is that you don't appear willing (able?) to take any new information into your mind, digest it and understand what has been explained.

Your single response turns not into consideration of the new thought, but into defence, rejection and instant reversion to cant; in other words, your mind is a closed loop, with you imprisoned within. Set yourself free; have a look beyond the borders of your self-created cage.

I explained, clearly and with examples, the vicious circle of increasing decline that overpayment for low services produces; the same holds true in the other direction, where overpayment of high skills, where they are not severely limited in supply (there are thousands of engineers) leads to exactly the same thing: somebody else can always do it just as well, possibly better, and if you hold out for top dollar, you'll often get nothing. Trump should know that better than most, don't you think?

The only way you can 'protect' your single country is by building walls and laying minefields, not just with Mexico, but around the entire US perimeter and, as with some other totalitarian (where you're headed) states, not so much to keep invaders out, as your own people captive within.

Do that, and your much-vaunted national sense of flag-waving, comparatively recent heritage (and European identity derived from your ancestors) will vanish as you turn into a sort of post-apocalyptic land of hillbillies, gunmen and junkies. And you won't even have Hollywood left to keep the money rolling in from the rest of the world. Alternatively, you could forge a new relationship with the Castro familia and feel quite at home.

Either way, you'd bring down not just your own spot under the Sun, but the rest of us with you. Which is why we care.

[Alan Klein]

The difficulty with tying to explain anything to you, Alan, is that you don't appear willing (able?) to take any new information into your mind, digest it and understand what has been explained.

Your single response turns not into consideration of the new thought, but into defence, rejection and instant reversion to cant; in other words, your mind is a closed loop, with you imprisoned within. Set yourself free; have a look beyond the borders of your self-created cage.

I explained, clearly and with examples, the vicious circle of increasing decline that overpayment for low services produces; the same holds true in the other direction, where overpayment of high skills, where they are not severely limited in supply (there are thousands of engineers) leads to exactly the same thing: somebody else can always do it just as well, possibly better, and if you hold out for top dollar, you'll often get nothing. Trump should know that better than most, don't you think?

The only way you can 'protect' your single country is by building walls and laying minefields, not just with Mexico, but around the entire US perimeter and, as with some other totalitarian (where you're headed) states, not so much to keep invaders out, as your own people captive within.

Do that, and your much-vaunted national sense of flag-waving, comparatively recent heritage (and European identity derived from your ancestors) will vanish as you turn into a sort of post-apocalyptic land of hillbillies, gunmen and junkies. And you won't even have Hollywood left to keep the money rolling in from the rest of the world. Alternatively, you could forge a new relationship with the Castro familia and feel quite at home.

Either way, you'd bring down not just your own spot under the Sun, but the rest of us with you. Which is why we care.

This has nothing to do with Trump or America.   It has nothing to do with economic theory.  Trump was elected after Brexit.   Nationalism is not new.  It will cause the collapse of the EU or at least major reorganization. Your arguments are for globalism which many people the world over reject especially when they see their jobs lost to foreigners.  They reject politicians favoring  policies that put outsiders and the inside elite first. 

The battle is between the rich elite who care little about nationalism, only their bottom line,  and patriots the world over who put country and their own economic well being first.   Most people reject fealty to the gnomes in Brussels who told Brits how to live. They care little about the titans in Silicon Valley who want to replace their American workers with cheap foreign labor.  Hillary argued that position and lost and they lost in Britain as well for the same reason. 

It's not just Trumpers.  Even the left and Democrats who supported Sanders got it.   Countries have to figure out how to help thir people left behind by the recession of 2008 as well as trade policies that seem to make them poorer. Nationalism and patriotism are more powerful forces than internationalism.

[Rob C]

You see? Repeating the same old catechism, and attributing to me a love for globalism.

I am far more pragmatic than that; what I see is inevitable has already been explained by one Mr K. Canute. You have to deal with the reality of life, not your idealised version of it.

And on the contrary, it has absolutely everything to do with the USA: it does not exist in a vacuum, though many of its people do, apparently.

As for the battle between the mega-rich and the rest of us, they need us just as much as do we them; few get rich by being dumb - comedy stars apart, as faux dumb. Without us grunts, who do you imagine your "filthy rich" demons would have to supply the immense support systems they need?

First course has arrived; lunch more important than indigestion.

Rob

[James Clark]

Yes!!! Finally a recognition for a true American hero.

Well, when you twist it like that... In reality, he was simply hunting down illegals, what every sheriff and every law enforcing officer in every street, city, county, and state should have been doing long time ago. If it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, it is an illegal duck 

You're ether trolling or grossly misunderstanding the Constitutional principles involved.  Not sure which but I suspect the former...

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

The difficulty with tying to explain anything to you, Alan, is that you don't appear willing (able?) to take any new information into your mind, digest it and understand what has been explained.

Your single response turns not into consideration of the new thought, but into defence, rejection and instant reversion to cant; in other words, your mind is a closed loop, with you imprisoned within. Set yourself free; have a look beyond the borders of your self-created cage.

I explained, clearly and with examples, the vicious circle of increasing decline that overpayment for low services produces; the same holds true in the other direction, where overpayment of high skills, where they are not severely limited in supply (there are thousands of engineers) leads to exactly the same thing: somebody else can always do it just as well, possibly better, and if you hold out for top dollar, you'll often get nothing. Trump should know that better than most, don't you think?

The only way you can 'protect' your single country is by building walls and laying minefields, not just with Mexico, but around the entire US perimeter and, as with some other totalitarian (where you're headed) states, not so much to keep invaders out, as your own people captive within.

Do that, and your much-vaunted national sense of flag-waving, comparatively recent heritage (and European identity derived from your ancestors) will vanish as you turn into a sort of post-apocalyptic land of hillbillies, gunmen and junkies. And you won't even have Hollywood left to keep the money rolling in from the rest of the world. Alternatively, you could forge a new relationship with the Castro familia and feel quite at home.

Either way, you'd bring down not just your own spot under the Sun, but the rest of us with you. Which is why we care.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

You're ether trolling or grossly misunderstanding the Constitutional principles involved.  Not sure which but I suspect the former...

Hehe...you got me.

Or not. Perhaps I am just exploiting the gray area and pushing the envelope, like sheriff Arpaio?

You see, what he does (I suspect, I am not that familiar with the details) is what is otherwise allowed for federal agents. Federal agents are allowed to basically profile racially and suspend other constitutional protections for about two thirds of the US population, under the "100-mile" rule.

Worth noting is that he was not sentenced for the above (lack of grounds?), but for defying a court order. People are jailed for that for laughing, yawning, or chewing a bubble gum in court.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Hehe...

[digitaldog]

Yes!!! Finally a recognition for a true American hero.

You probably don't like true hero's who served their country (unlike Trump) and got captured, and find racists who break the law true American hero's. Pathetic. Sad.

[digitaldog]

The difficulty with tying to explain anything to you, Alan, is that you don't appear willing (able?) to take any new information into your mind, digest it and understand what has been explained.

Remind you of anyone? Hint: small hands small mind.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Remind you of anyone? Hint: small hands small mind.

Reminds me of this:

"Small minds discuss people.

Average minds discuss events.

Great minds discuss concepts."

What does it tell you about this obsession with Trump?

[pegelli]

What does it tell you about this obsession with Trump?

That his concepts suck