Trump's tariff wars...long post.

[TimR]

7 hours ago, Paul S said:

She always maintained that there was no way the network could sustain everyone driving electric cars, for example.

 

Everyone doesn't plug in all night every night, just like everyone doesn't stop at the petrol station every night to fill up their car. 

[TimR]

1 hour ago, asingardenof said:

Trump thinking he can get away with ignoring court orders already suggests the constitutional crisis is already present, not brewing.

 

Deepening then. 🤣

[tegs07]

Right now I’m more concerned about the US and Iran. Honestly utterly unhinged. 

[Paul S]

37 minutes ago, TimR said:

 

Everyone doesn't plug in all night every night, just like everyone doesn't stop at the petrol station every night to fill up their car. 

 

Never said they did.  Just quoting someone who actually knows what they are talking about. 

[cetera]

2 minutes ago, Paul S said:

 

Never said they did.  Just quoting someone who actually knows what they are talking about. 

Damn you and your experts....

 

[asingardenof]

23 hours ago, peteb said:

Putin seems to have imperial ambitions and all the above countries will be in his sights (with the possible exception of Poland, who might be too strong for him to attempt to invade).

Things didn't exactly go well for the last guy who had designs on invading Poland, and now that they're in the EU and NATO I don't think it would go any better for Putin.

[asingardenof]

23 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I was going through Taunton earlier (bad times) and ended up behind a Tesla which had a sticker on the back saying "I didn't know he was a nazi"

That's a bad time when you feel the need to put a sticker like that on your car.

 

But now they do know he's a Nazi I don't think just slapping a sticker on your car is exactly a ringing condemnation

[tegs07]

 

I would urge anyone who seriously thinks Russia just wants peace and has no intention of invading Europe to watch this. Even if we ignore the senior military and intelligence officers throughout NATO.

 

Even we think Latvia, Estonia and Poland are just paranoid and delusional, maybe examining this checklist will be interesting when looking at peace agreement or proposed solutions.

 

In case you think he is just another internet crank here is his background:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Zeihan

 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by tegs07

[Agent 00Soul]

1 hour ago, asingardenof said:

But now they do know he's a Nazi I don't think just slapping a sticker on your car is exactly a ringing condemnation

 

I'm not sure I'm following you.  Are you implying Tesla owners who are bothered by Musk's politics need to get rid of their cars asap?  It genuinely wasn't clear to me.

[TimR]

9 minutes ago, Agent 00Soul said:

 

I'm not sure I'm following you.  Are you implying Tesla owners who are bothered by Musk's politics need to get rid of their cars asap?  It genuinely wasn't clear to me.

 

It's just more reason to sow division and argue. It also serves as a kicking point for anyone who works directly or indirectly for Big Oil who will eventually lose their jobs due to electrification. Plus it gives those people a righteous warm feeling.

 

All very sad really. I don't know why he hasn't been ejected yet. Hive off the Car part of Tesla, rebrand and move on. 

 

The automation side can keep him and the private sector can decide with their purchasing power. 

 

 

 

[TimR]

I'm not in a position to put my money where my mouth is. I sold my soul years ago to the Americans. It's very hard to live an ethical lifestyle. I'm not a vegan, I don't have time. There are decisions we all have to justify.

 

I don't think I'm going to be buying anything American if there is an alternative and looking at the way things are going I suspect visiting the US is off the cards for a while.

 

My main worry is if anyone is working in the UK indirectly for a US company, are they at risk for being cancelled for any social media statements.

 

Imagine turning up to work on Monday and being sacked because you shared a meme about Trump. Just the fear of this will prevent people commenting or standing up. 

 

Truly a distopian 1984 style scenario, that I am really concerned is already happening. 

[tegs07]

Going to take a break from talking about the US electorate for a moment. The UK Government expenditure I think amounts to 45% of GDP,  but they still manage to raise taxes, slash benefits and investment and fail to raise GDP in any meaningful way. Big government doesn’t seem to be delivering social services or a booming economy.

 

I guess the average Brit blames the rich for being poor (tax evasion) and asset hoarding (housing and stocks) and demands action yet we have a record high number of millionaires leaving the UK for places like Dubai and record lows of wealth creation as well as a collapsing financial sector and stock market.

 

The average US Citizen tends to blame big government and its control over taxes and regulation for all their problems.

 

Is Trump and DOGE the answer?

 

(I know my thoughts on this that both the UK and the US citizens have a point in who they blame but end up voting for things that are worse).

Edited 9 hours ago by tegs07

[Steve Browning]

Aren't we better off sticking to the (vague) topic, rather than widen the discussion? This could lead to the thread being shut down, which would be a shame. Maybe leave UK politics out of it?

[tegs07]

Just now, Steve Browning said:

Aren't we better off sticking to the (vague) topic, rather than widen the discussion? This could lead to the thread being shut down, which would be a shame. Maybe leave UK politics out of it?

Q is whether Trump and DOGE are right.

[peteb]

25 minutes ago, tegs07 said:

I guess the average Brit blames the rich for being poor (tax evasion) and asset hoarding (housing and stocks) and demands action yet we have a record high number of millionaires leaving the UK for places like Dubai and record lows of wealth creation as well as a collapsing financial sector and stock market.

 

The average US Citizen tends to blame big government and its control over taxes and regulation for all their problems.

 

 

Unfortunately, I don't think that the average Brit does blame the (super) rich, but rather immigrants, foreigners in general and 'scroungers' on the welfare state (even they appreciate the welfare state and NHS in general). The average septic seems to think that they are temporarily embarrassed billionaires and don't want to be paying tax when the money rolls in (this time this year Rodney / Hank)! 

 

[tegs07]

Can shrinking the size of government and making it more efficient work though? 

 

Is anything that Musk has done so far leading to positive results?

 

Edit: I guess I am asking due to confirmation bias. I don’t like them and have negative opinions about their motives so probably seek articles that confirm my opinions.

Edited 8 hours ago by tegs07

[Count Bassy]

13 minutes ago, tegs07 said:

Can shrinking the size of government and making it more efficient work though? 

 

Is anything that Musk has done so far lead to positive results?

If you can identify inefficiencies then make cuts to jobs, and still perform the same service then that's one thing (and good thing).

What Trump/Musk are doing is simply closing departments & firing people Willy Nilly, and then waiting to see what happens. Randomly getting rid of people does not improve efficiency. Trump/Musk don't seem to have the nounce to realise this, or simply don't care (probably the latter)

 

[binky_bass]

Musk has said himself during the cringeworthy oval office interview a little while ago that 'they will get things wrong', so in their mind that probably absolves them of any problems with the method of 'fire everyone the re-hire those we actually need'. There's no doubt at all that Musk and Trump are anything other than reckless fools out for their own advancement and ensuring they don't get thrown into the gulags for past, present and future sins. In my humble opinion, anyone's that gives either of them a shread of consideration of being more than that are deluded. 

 

Trump and his inner circle have had back channel contact with Russia for decades, going back to the 80s. I've no doubt whatsoever that Putin has a great deal of 'dirt' on Trump that is probably somewhat directing decisions and action in the US. 

 

We're all getting dragged closer to the abyss by a handful of megalomaniac sociopaths. See you at the bottom. 

Edited 8 hours ago by binky_bass

[binky_bass]

Within my industry, I've spoken first hand with people that have engaged with Russia, specifically to set up a franchise of an existing entity within the entertainment business. They experienced systematic corruption at every level, they had officials directly ask for bribes, they had unsolicited contact from 'unaffiliated officials' requiring them to pay sums into accounts before 'things could move'. They were advised by their security details that the hotel provided was most likely under surveillance and to not engage in ANYTHING within the hotel room that could be used against them. They were also offered 'comfort girls' during their stay, which were all declined, (likely due to the advice from their security detail). Had they accepted, the expectation was that they'd have been on camera during any intimate moments. I'm lead to believe that said 'comfort girls' had been encouraged to offer rather 'niche' services to increase the embarrassment of anyone caught on film. 

 

I'm a sensible chap for the most part and don't generally subscribe to conspiracy theories, but I believe what was told to me regarding the above. If Russia are willing and able to go to that length for something relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, what would they do over decades with a man like Trump? 

 

There is plenty of accessible information out there about Trump's links and contact with Russia over the last 40 years. He is, in my opinion, 100% compromised. 

Edited 8 hours ago by binky_bass

[Pseudonym]

1 hour ago, tegs07 said:

Q is whether Trump and DOGE are right.

 

That depends on (a) whether their underlying project has any merit (which is open to debate), and (b) whether the chosen targets make any meaningful progress towards the stated aims (which they most certainly do not). All of these stunts, in whatever country, seem to rely on the disparity between how angry voters get about government waste, and how little said voters actually understand about government expenditure.

 

The financial markets, which after all are inhabited by at least some people who can count, are unpersuaded that this guff is anything other than political in nature. Much the same applies to analyses of tariff "policy."

[Pseudonym]

1 hour ago, tegs07 said:

Can shrinking the size of government and making it more efficient work though?

 

In some cases, yes. Agencies and departments can certainly get bloated, which makes them subject to mission creep, span-of-control malfunctions, and incentives to fabricate unnecessary projects in order to justify the scale of their bureaucracies.

 

 

1 hour ago, tegs07 said:

Is anything that Musk has done so far leading to positive results?

 

If you define positive results as making government more efficient, absolutely not. At best, it might displace federal activities onto other forms of government (state and local, for example), but it is extremely unlikely to be more efficient without planning -- and there is no planning. These people are serious but they are not serious people.

[Pseudonym]

2 hours ago, TimR said:

There are decisions we all have to justify.

 

We do? Why? To whom?

[Geddys nose]

The PM has been going on about Trident as a deterrent but even that is compromised by the US-

 

 

https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-trident-nuclear-program/