Idiot Trump: Canada Burned Washington

[_subgenius]

If it were said by anyone other than Trump, I could see it as a joke in poor taste.

because "poor taste" from Trump is unbelievable to you?

The problem is that tariffs are no joking matter.

True, but i do not think they are intended as such nor do I believe, as stated above, that Trump was "joking".

They are implemented by ignorant politicians, and incite reactions by ignorant politicians in other countries.

Glad you recognize Trudeau's ignorant reaction to the tariff's as well as his ignorance in asking the question to begin with.

They are economic dynamite that inflict damage on your own country,

Arguable.

and Trump answered an honest question by an ill-conceived remark to an event that dated back over 200 years ago.

wasn't an honest question, it was an ignorant question - but from Trudeau it was likely just his own misplaced arrogance due to a lack of wisdom. He governs by grin, entitlement, and snark...a convenience for the division II Canadian politics, but not in the big leagues.

[_Res Ipsa]

Why wasn't it an honest question? Isn't the legal basis for the tariffs National Security?

[_Themis]

Glad you recognize Trudeau's ignorant reaction to the tariff's as well as his ignorance in asking the question to begin with.

Not ignorant at all. Every country is rightly putting up their own tariffs on the US. The difference is they will target republicans riding's and products that their own people can get somewhere else without having to pay more or much more then they do now. Aluminium tariffs only make Americans pay more for aluminum. The US is not going to be increasing Aluminium production and will still need to import from Countries like Canada.

[_Res Ipsa]

Glad you recognize Trudeau's ignorant reaction to the tariff's as well as his ignorance in asking the question to begin with.

Not ignorant at all. Every country is rightly putting up their own tariffs on the US. The difference is they will target republicans riding's and products that their own people can get somewhere else without having to pay more or much more then they do now. Aluminium tariffs only make Americans pay more for aluminum. The US is not going to be increasing Aluminium production and will still need to import from Countries like Canada.

At one time, the Pacific Northwest represented 40% of U.S. aluminum production. Why? Cheap hydro-electric power from dams built by the federal government. The last smelter closed a couple years ago. Why? Billions in debt resulting from attempts to build nuke plants rolled into electricity rates. I think we'll have it paid off in 2044.

Ironically, nuclear power was sold here on the premise that it would be "too cheap to meter." Right.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Well, luckily for us he's thinking very seriously of pardoning Muhammed Ali. <- Yep, he said that.

I don't know what that has to do with him thinking Canada burned down the White House in 1812, but I suspect they're somehow related*...

- Doc

* clueless, impulsive, unaware, tiresome are probably some descriptives that might be used

[_DarkHelmet]

Well, luckily for us he's thinking very seriously of pardoning Muhammed Ali. <- Yep, he said that.

I don't know what that has to do with him thinking Canada burned down the White House in 1812, but I suspect they're somehow related*...

Maybe he thinks Muhammed Ali was falsely convicted for burning down the White House, when in fact it was the Canadians. Meanwhile, as he pardons all these people, he continues to insist the Central Park Five were guilty.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Speaking of Trump and Canada... It's always nice when our President shows up lates, does Russia's bidding, insults our international partners, and then leaves early.

Hiking through PA, a.k.a. Trump Country (no crap people were flying Trump flags everywhere there) I can see what's going on. Trump Country types, those who live in a decaying and dilapidated state, are children of the previous age. People who grew up in the 50's and 60's were born into and shaped by a world dramatically different than the one that emerged the US was the dominant industrial power in the world by default. The rest of the industrialized world was flat-out destroyed from WW2. I think people really underestimate just how bad things were in the USSR, Europe, and Asia following the devastation wrought by Japan, the Red Army, and the Axis, let alone what the Allies did. Entire countries' economies were turned to the business of war for years, and the fastest way to make your enemy surrender is to destroy their economic and military engines. We firebombed the crap out of every weapons and vehicle factory Japan had, for example, on top of dropping nuclear weapons on populated industrial areas. And it's not like we did any less to Germany and Italy, or the Axis did any less to the Soviets.

So until the economies of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Japan could be rebuilt from actual ruins, the US got to call the shots. Yes, we had lots of strong low-education, high-labor jobs in manufacturing sectors, and that meant certain indices of financial stability like home ownership were possible, but most consumer goods were still priced well out of everyday Americans' hands. Ask your parents sometime how many cars they had, or how many TVs.

Then, in the '70s and '80s, a wonderful thing began to happen. Other nations started to claw their way into industrial respectability. Their populations stabilized. Internal politics quieted down when the US and USSR weren't using them to fight proxy wars. It was suddenly possible for a company from an industrialized nation to build a factory in China or Mexico or India and produce goods for a fraction of the domestic cost, and use the relative peace of the world to ship these goods with low cost. This led to an increase in consumer spending, meaning the quality of life in industrialized nations went up as consumer goods, especially things like electronics and personal computers, became affordable for the majority of people for the first time due to the new economy.

Yes, this meant many of a low-education, high-labor jobs were going to be outsourced to countries where the currency was weaker versus the dollar, because exchange rates favored us. But it also meant that wealthy people around the world were going to invest in US currency because it was both high and stable, very desirable conditions. If the US were smart, we'd have really started to push comprehensive public education to get our public ready for a new white-collar economy. But once again, older Americans were resistant to change. They wanted to go back to the comfortable life they had known before, and not adapt to the changing world.

Problem is, other countries didn't agree to freeze time like the US wanted to do. They kept developing. If we'd kept up along side them, implementing social democratic policies, pushing for fairer labor practices around the globe, and being a cosmopolitan leader in world politics, we'd still be high on the hog and reaping the benefits of a global economy.

Instead, the US decided to have a collective freakout because "OMG BROWN PEOPLE ARE ACHIEVING PARITY" and try to put the brakes on globalization. Nope. You can either ride the coming wave or get swamped under it, and "nationalists" in the US and Britain world chose "swamped under" big time.

And why? Because they're old. Because globalization is new. Because it represents the idea that they may have to change. That their lives weren't already perfect. That their kids might have better ideas than them, and to old and arrogant people like Baby Boomers, this is an unforgivable condition.

So we're stuck with a bunch of dying old Boomers trying to get back to their "glory days" of youth, when they understood the world and things happened they way they wanted them to happen. But those days are gone, and they are not coming back, no matter how many "nationalists" with bad hair you elect.

- Doc

[_Res Ipsa]

Well said, doc.

[_Gunnar]

Thanks for that insight, Doc Cam! It sure further clarified my own understanding of what is happening nowadays!

[_Jersey Girl]

Oh hell no. Before I reply let me remind you about your comments in Prison about how you like the way Jersey folks speak their minds.

Speaking of Trump and Canada... It's always nice when our President shows up lates, does Russia's bidding, insults our international partners, and then leaves early.

Hiking through PA, a.k.a. Trump Country (no crap people were flying Trump flags everywhere there) I can see what's going on. Trump Country types, those who live in a decaying and dilapidated state, are children of the previous age. People who grew up in the 50's and 60's were born into and shaped by a world dramatically different than the one that emerged the US was the dominant industrial power in the world by default. The rest of the industrialized world was flat-out destroyed from WW2. I think people really underestimate just how bad things were in the USSR, Europe, and Asia following the devastation wrought by Japan, the Red Army, and the Axis, let alone what the Allies did. Entire countries' economies were turned to the business of war for years, and the fastest way to make your enemy surrender is to destroy their economic and military engines. We firebombed the crap out of every weapons and vehicle factory Japan had, for example, on top of dropping nuclear weapons on populated industrial areas. And it's not like we did any less to Germany and Italy, or the Axis did any less to the Soviets.

So until the economies of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, and Japan could be rebuilt from actual ruins, the US got to call the shots. Yes, we had lots of strong low-education, high-labor jobs in manufacturing sectors, and that meant certain indices of financial stability like home ownership were possible, but most consumer goods were still priced well out of everyday Americans' hands. Ask your parents sometime how many cars they had, or how many TVs.

Then, in the '70s and '80s, a wonderful thing began to happen. Other nations started to claw their way into industrial respectability. Their populations stabilized. Internal politics quieted down when the US and USSR weren't using them to fight proxy wars. It was suddenly possible for a company from an industrialized nation to build a factory in China or Mexico or India and produce goods for a fraction of the domestic cost, and use the relative peace of the world to ship these goods with low cost. This led to an increase in consumer spending, meaning the quality of life in industrialized nations went up as consumer goods, especially things like electronics and personal computers, became affordable for the majority of people for the first time due to the new economy.

Yes, this meant many of a low-education, high-labor jobs were going to be outsourced to countries where the currency was weaker versus the dollar, because exchange rates favored us. But it also meant that wealthy people around the world were going to invest in US currency because it was both high and stable, very desirable conditions. If the US were smart, we'd have really started to push comprehensive public education to get our public ready for a new white-collar economy. But once again, older Americans were resistant to change. They wanted to go back to the comfortable life they had known before, and not adapt to the changing world.

Problem is, other countries didn't agree to freeze time like the US wanted to do. They kept developing. If we'd kept up along side them, implementing social democratic policies, pushing for fairer labor practices around the globe, and being a cosmopolitan leader in world politics, we'd still be high on the hog and reaping the benefits of a global economy.

Instead, the US decided to have a collective freakout because "OMG BROWN PEOPLE ARE ACHIEVING PARITY" and try to put the brakes on globalization. Nope. You can either ride the coming wave or get swamped under it, and "nationalists" in the US and Britain world chose "swamped under" big time.

And why? Because they're old. Because globalization is new. Because it represents the idea that they may have to change. That their lives weren't already perfect. That their kids might have better ideas than them, and to old and arrogant people like Baby Boomers, this is an unforgivable condition.

So we're stuck with a bunch of dying old Boomers trying to get back to their "glory days" of youth, when they understood the world and things happened they way they wanted them to happen. But those days are gone, and they are not coming back, no matter how many "nationalists" with bad hair you elect.

- Doc

Glory days? Comfortable life? Not adaptable to a changing world?

Whatthefuckareyoutalkingabout?

Did you forget about...

The onset of nuclear weapons?
Duck and cover school drills?
Cuban missle crisis?
Tonkin Bay resolution?
Vietnam War?
Civil rights movement?
Feminist movement?
Space program?
Development of technology?

You slammed and gutted an entire generation. The baby boomers facilitated world change like every other generation has and every generation builds itself up on the backs of the last. I damned died when I read your above.