Trump's new tariff threat could make iPhones, toys and shoes more expensive

You think the Chinese folks making the iPhones are suffering? I HIGHLY doubt that. Their standard of living is much lower than ours, I'd guess the factory workers are pretty happy on balance.

 

How can we ever export a damn thing if we artificially increase the cost of the raw materials we import? We are making our goods more expensive to the world, lowering demand just to spite our face. What you guys are advocating is idiocy.

 

And air planes.

 

1. Your post accurately describes the current state of affairs regarding our individual personal rights as Americans. Many--possibly most--are dedicated to keeping it the way it is. But some of us--hopefully a growing number--want to expand those individual rights to include having a job (or a basic living income), having access to healthcare, having access to child care, having a guaranteed retirement fund that never cancels regardless of where one works or how many times they change employers, having a guaranteed paid vacation of at least six weeks per year. Individual freedom is a wonderful thing, and some measure of that must be maintained. But unrestricted individual freedom for everyone to do their own thing without regard to how those actions impact others living around you, is a formula for a nightmare. When the population of the U.S. was 3 million total, such unrestricted freedoms were fine. Today, with 330+ millions population, a focus on protecting or expanding individual freedoms to do anything one wants, is impossible. And, with growing globalization & growing international interdependence, those limitations are spreading around the globe. Our focus must be more on the community--on society--or even the well being of the global community, than continuing to find ways to force fit individualism over the common good. We must find a new balance point between the needs of the individual & the society we all share together. Few individuals today could survive for long without the society around them. Those that could would not be the kind of people you would want as neighbors.
2. I think your personal preferences here accurately reflect those espoused by the vast majority of conservatives. But I find it seriously lacking in empathy or compassion. Those "poor & diseased" you would "hate for their awful wretchedness," have little control over their condition, and don't deserve your hatred. I find such cold-heartedness often expressed by conservatives in the news & here on this forum. And, it bothers me that so many of my fellow Americans have so much regard for themselves & so little for their fellow human beings. Trump is a shining example of such thinking, and it's the single thing I dislike about him more than his politics.

Your post is accurate in its summary of our individual rights &/or lack of. Today's reality is what we have made it over time & across generations. It demonstrates our ability to make the world what we want it to be. We can choose to continue the inequities & preserve the disparities that we've created in the past & that exist now. Or, we can consciously decide to change it & improve it. I choose the latter, & am convinced all we really have to do to change individual rights to those I list in #1 above, is to decide that's what we want & make it happen. We make our own reality, consciously or unconsciously, as individuals & as societies. Based on your descriptions in your post, I believe there's room for improvement.

 

Thanks.

 

Interesting perspective... from the porch of the plantation... happy workers, happy to be put in the yoke of the plantation...

 

That’s a lot words just to state society “needs” justifies it violating my rights.

As just one example, claiming a job is a right is the same as saying the government has the right to force someone to give me that job. There’s a word for that, slavery, i.e., forcing some to work for the benefit of others. I have too much knowledge and pride to surrender even one microsecond of my life to such rotten evil.

As to the wretched, I was referring to Mother Teresa’s thoughts on the matter in her diary. As for me, I barely give them a moment’s thought—I’m too busy living and enjoying my life to worry about those that aren’t.

And lastly, reality is real and independent of anyone’s wishes or whims. Doubt it. Eat a ice cream cone with your daughter on a sunny, summer day, and then tell yourselves it’s just a subjective delusion.

 

Ummm no, I can't really tell if you're being disingenuous or not. A common Chinese citizen can work for much less of a wage than the common American and live quite comfortably. The cost of living in China is irrefutably lower than the cost of living here.

 

If we ever neglected to import something that was more expensive to create domestically then we made a mistake. And it most certainly cost Americans real dollars.

 

wow... point flew over your head there... lol

there was no need to imagine as Trump tweeted it

 

Why any government involvement in the economy is insane, and not just tariffs, but any involvement.

How Many Cherries Make a Cherry Pie a Cherry Pie

https://fee.org/articles/feds-announce-they-will-stop-regulating-the-number-of-cherries-in-cherry-pies/?utm_campaign=FEE Daily&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=72794892&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-88ijcdcM9v82x_edPmN9vBB2DNB-ZQXy0xvkXslOhiLfgNkwuBxxL8lys8UepB4m1skqEinAAleVyrsIrXNH6fd2Ndww&_hsmi=72794892

Though it must be said, it did provide work for the bureaucrats and the cherry counters and inspectors.

 

You think China is a third world country? Curious.

 

And yesterday conservatives were singing the praises of free trade and capitalism. It's funny how almost nobody really thinks for themselves anymore. We all parrot maddow or hannity and call it a day.

 

Great idea!! We could even form some kind of, oh I don't know, trans-ocean partnership with nations that are in competition with China!

 

they are 3rd world country in term of GDP per cap. their GDP per cap is lower than mexico.

 

You denial of reality is sad - no doubt about it.

 

Free trade is the ultimate goal here. Somehow we have to force China into that and if you have a better method than reciprocal tariffs feel free to share it.

 

Point is out of context Trump tweets that fuel your imagination mean nothing to me.

 

you missed it again... lol

 

No actually I caught you again.. lol. Attempting to equate uncounted Republican votes in a congressional election to popular votes in a presidential electoral college election is either dishonest or stupid. Only you know for sure which you are.

 

Free trade...at the point of a gun. Is that like liberty, the freedom to enslave? If you believe in reason, you appeal to the mind, not resort to the fist.

 

It's like war in quest of peace. Sometimes there is no other choice. If you think we can reason China into fair trade you are mistaken.

 

If you think they can be beaten into reason, reality is about to show you otherwise.

 

So how would you go about getting China to conduct fair trade with us. Still waiting for your better idea.

 

I'm not interested in fair trade, I just want those cheap Chinese goods that make my life richer, better, and happier. And you and Trump are raining on my parade from the clouds of mystic delusions. To which I say, "Hey! You! Get off of that cloud!" And come into the light, and set my dollar free.