K.Rose writes in Message 703:
dwise1 writes in Message 679:
....WHO ACTUALLY PAYS THEM?....HOW MUCH OF THOSE TARIFFS DID CHINA ACTUALLY PAY?...]
Don't know, suppose a lot depends on the circumstances.
Yes, of course you don't know. If you did know then you wouldn't have taken the position you have on tariffs. Also, dwise1 gave you a dead giveaway hint when he told you that the amount China paid "is a very round number." Think for a minute. What's the roundest number you can you think of, and think in a pun context where the word "round" applies to the shape of a digiit instead of the number of consecutive zeros? If your answer is "0" then Bingo! You got it!
Your answer of "don't know" is even more difficult to fathom when one counts the number of times it has been explained in this thread that the people of the country levying the tariffs are the ones who pay them. When the U.S government imposes tariffs on Chineses products, the American people pay those tariffs. Tariffs are a form of tax.
There can of course be mitigating factors. Companies in a country that has had a 10% tariff imposed on it will be motivated to find cost savings to lessen the impact of the tariffs. Or they might decide to unilaterally lower prices and take less profits. Or they might seek other markets for their products. Their government might find other trading partners or trading blocs, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the U.S. withdrew from during the first Trump administration. It is now a dynamic low-tariff (and getting lower) trading bloc with the U.S. looking in from the outside.
A question for you: Who is at the disadvantage in a trade war, the guy on the trade deficit end or the guy on the trade surplus end?
The correct question is, "Why start a trade war to solve a non-problem?" Trade deficits are a good thing. They reflect economic strength, indicating that the U.S. produces wealth at a rate so great that for years on end we've been able to afford buying much more from other countries than other countries can afford to buy from us.
Of course the size of the manufacturing sector is diminishing in the United States. That's because manufacturing is an old school way of producing wealth. It's why we let the third world do the manufacturing with its tiny profit margins while we engage in much more profitable activities.
And what do you suppose Trump is up to with this trade commotion? You have to remember, he is the master in his own arena, and he has created his arena.
You're making the mistake of thinking that because Trump has the power to cause major disruptions world-wide that he knows what he's doing, but there's been every indication so far that he has no clue. That's why the constant flip-flops. There's no long term plan based on research and analysis, only whatever Trump's whim happens to be on any given day. Then his minions are sent out to the press room or the talk shows to present rationalizations for whatever Trump has decided to do that day.
The illegal immigrant crackdown, the DOGE-ing of this engorged-to-the-point-of-destruction bureaucracy, the re-ordering of international trade dynamics, the flushing of the DEI institutionalized racial/gender discrimination, the removal of boys from girls sports, the daily announcements of new executive measures, et al., is all part of the rebuilding of our nation.
This ignores the major problems the country faces today and substitutes fear-mongering. Our priorities should be maintaining our democratic institutions, addressing climate warming, infrastructure, high employment levels, high quality jobs, halting the hollowing out of rural America, decent health care for all, fixing the immigration law, and growing GDP faster than the national debt.
And we are in desperate need of getting back in shape and rebuilding, contrary to what the gaslighters say,...
I think you're giving too much credence to what whoever you're reading or listening to or watching is saying about the other side. Whenever one side or the other says that the other side doesn't have America's best interests at heart, they're just lying. Different people will have different opinions about what is best for the country, and will disagree about priorities, but disagreement doesn't mean that one side is evil or lying, unless the evidence is against them. For example, one side might put a high priority on DEI, but it's a sincere belief, not an evil plot. On the other hand, anyone telling you the 2020 election was stolen is lying.
If your information about one side comes from the other side, don't believe them. Do your own independent research and drill down to the facts.
...contrary to the acceptance of the managed decline that has become our de facto national policy.
Again, you're giving too much credence to what one side is saying about the other. Economically and militarily there has been no decline. We're still by far the strongest nation in the world in both. GDP grew under Clinton, Bush II (until the 2008 mortgage security meltdown), Obama, Trump and Biden. The stock market, until just recently, has kept hitting one record high after another for the past 12 years. Whoever is telling you about some "managed decline" by one side is just making up stories.
And the policy of the UK, and Australia, and Canada, and New Zealand, and the EU, and Japan, and............
Is there anything you won't believe if it demonizes the other side?
--Percy
Edited by Percy, : Typos, grammar.
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