American Politics

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2527284]Learn how modern fiat currencies work. A coin could be minted to pay off that "debt" at any time. The "debt" is simply the amount of currency in circulation that hasn't been taxed back. Taxes are really not necessary to pay for what most of the federal government spends. As long as there is productive capacity, natural resources and labor, there is no worry of hyperinflation.[/QUOTE]Sorry, I can't speak to your "minted coin" reasoning. Simply put, most countries (or business for that matter) pay back debt, by taking-in more than they spend.

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2527284]So no, China does not have the United States by the balls, not by any stretch of the imagination.[/QUOTE] Okay, perhaps not just yet. Or it that they are just squeezing tighter?

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2527284]And tariffs are simply passed on to the United States consumer. Whether we like it or not China is here to stay. We live in a multi-polar world now. And I would say that having one superpower has not been good for the planet. I am no fan of the CCP (China was actually much more open and less oppressive before the Xi regime), but 80% of the people who have been raised out of poverty in the last 30 years are Chinese. I do think for the United States and the world cooperative efforts will yield better results than antagonism.[/QUOTE]This we can agree upon.

US Treasures are generally considered one of the safest bonds around in global investment markets. That is of course, while the world see still sees the US, as a stable country to invest in (for now).

Unstable US administrations, regimes and insurrections, like the one we just had, will only serve bolster countries like Russia and China to undermine our stability to repay our debt and the US dollar as the world's reserve currency.

[QUOTE=Spidy;2527317]Sorry, I can't speak to your "minted coin" reasoning. Simply put, most countries (or business for that matter) pay back debt, by taking-in more than they spend.[/QUOTE]My point is there is really no debt. The "debt" so to speak is simply the amount of dollars in circulation that have not been taxed back. And if the so-called debt is denominated in your currency and you are the sole currency issuer then there is no reason that you cannot pay off that so-called debt at any point. And again there is no worry of hyperinflation as long as there is productive capacity. The US is nowhere near its productive capacity. Our problems in the United States are not a result of monetary policy, they are a result of fiscal policy. And we have no one else to blame but ourselves as we have created a system of government that has legalized payola in the form of lobbying and we continue to elect politicians from two parties that are completely vested into the corrupt system.

[QUOTE=Spidy;2527256]Perhaps you should have listened.[/QUOTE]Even Democrats are acknowledging the fact that Biden's policies are bad for regular Americans.

Biden's a left wing extremist.

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2527437]And we have no one else to blame but ourselves as we have created a system of government that has legalized payola in the form of lobbying and we continue to elect politicians from two parties that are completely vested into the corrupt system.[/QUOTE]We are a country that values freedoms. That includes the first amendment and the right to make campaign contributions which relate to our interests. Calling it "corrupt" doesn't make it "corrupt. " You were right the first time though when you called it legal. There are though some disclosure requirements and limitations, and you are free to withhold support from candidates that accept $ from certain entities.

I mean in the past you've been in here supporting full on socialism in the way of worker cooperatives. The Crazy Bernies have had their chance at national politics. Better luck next time.

The Biden administration plans to review the phase one USA -China trade deal, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. Based on publicly available data, it's hard to imagine they'll find anything other than a debacle.

Driving the news: China isn't even close to fulfilling its end of the deal — having come up 42% short of its commitment, Chad Bown, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, reported late last week.

The phase one deal was meant to be the Trump administration's reward for USA Farmers, manufacturers and other business owners who had been bludgeoned by Trump's tax on American businesses via the trade war's tariffs.

What was supposed to happen: The trade war was billed as a plan to bring China to its knees by choking off the all-important American market with 25% tariffs on many imports that would rein in the USA Trade deficit, boost American exports and slow China's rise as a global superpower.

What really happened: "The trade war with China hurt the US economy and failed to achieve major policy goals," a recent study commissioned by the USA -China Business Council argues, finding that the trade war reduced economic growth and cost the USA 245,000 jobs.

Last year, the USA Trade deficit widened to its largest on record. In the fourth quarter, the USA Goods trade deficit hit its highest share of GDP since 2012 and the USA Current account deficit jumped to its highest level in more than 12 years in the third quarter.

Foreign direct investment to the USA Fell 49% in 2020 — outpacing the overall global decrease of 42%.

These trends had all been moving in this direction since 2017, and were accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic as Trump refused to remove tariffs despite their strain on businesses.

The big picture: "The tariffs forced American companies to accept lower profit margins, cut wages and jobs for USA Workers, defer potential wage hikes or expansions, and raise prices for American consumers or companies," analysts at Brookings noted in August.

The other side: China's trade surplus last year hit a record $535 billion, up 27% from 2019. Exports rose 21.1% in dollar terms in November year over year and 18.1% in December from a year earlier, touching an all-time high.

For the full year, the trade surplus with the USA Was $317 billion, 7% higher than in 2019.

Foreign direct investment to China rose 4% to $163 billion.

Reproduced from Peterson Institute for International Economics; Chart: Axios Visuals.

Most economists agree that trade deficits don't actually hurt an economy. And while the USA Trade deficit with China did decrease somewhat during Trump's time in office, the deficit increased with other countries and overall.

Meanwhile, China's trade surplus and its trade with other countries increased.

The bottom line: In addition to hurting USA Businesses and workers, tariffs also drive up prices, and inflation expectations are starting to rise.

The USA Current account deficit also is helping further weigh down the value of the dollar, economists say, another factor that could boost inflation.

"Washington D. C. —For a long while now, the climate has been undergoing a change to become more like the climate it feels it should be. While many have embraced this, a number of intolerant people just won't accept this change. This includes 78-year-old President Joe Biden, who, in another example of executive overreach, signed numerous executive orders to try to stop the climate from evolving.

"I remember how the climate was back when I was a kid and going to the movies only cost a nickel," Biden rambled to the press, "and that's the way it always should be!

This is a stark change from the Trump administration, which always accepted the climate and didn't force it to be something it didn't want to be. President Trump even helped the climate undergo carbon dioxide treatment to assist in its change.

The new Biden executive orders effectively deny the climate's existence, saying they will only accept the climate as valid if it's cooler. Experts are unsure what psychological effects this will have on the climate, but many expect it to lash out with hurricanes and such. . ."

Semisatire Babylon Bee.

[QUOTE=Spidy;2527317]Sorry, I can't speak to your "minted coin" reasoning. Simply put, most countries (or business for that matter) pay back debt, by taking-in more than they spend..[/QUOTE]Simply put: A debt that cannot be repaid, won't be repaid. (Economics 101).

Simply put, most indebted countries (or businesses for that matter) either default or have their debts restructured, or have their infrastructure and assets sold off and 'privatized'.

The fiat money issuer can theoretically 'mint' a trillion-dollar coin and stick it in the Federal Reserve's Treasury account. The concept has been out there for a while now.

Quoting Abraham Lincoln is in vogue these days. Hey, he had a war to attend that was draining the coffers, so he instituted a 3% income tax on everything over $800 per year. And he taxed imports to prove that tariffs work against those trying to rape the good old USA. Ronnie "Star Wars" Ray Gun had a few zingers: "trees cause pollution, ketchup is a vegetable" tomato 🍅 Said he dint trade rockets for hostages in Lebanon, though the facts dispute his feeling. George HW Bush pardoned all the culprits in this scandal to protect himself. USA has a checkered history in central and South America and around the world.

[QUOTE=Beijing4987;2527547]Quoting Abraham Lincoln is in vogue these days. Hey, he had a war to attend that was draining the coffers, so he instituted a 3% income tax on everything over $800 per year. And he taxed imports to prove that tariffs work against those trying to rape the good old USA. Ronnie "Star Wars" Ray Gun had a few zingers: "trees cause pollution, ketchup is a vegetable" tomato 🍅 Said he dint trade rockets for hostages in Lebanon, though the facts dispute his feeling. George HW Bush pardoned all the culprits in this scandal to protect himself. USA has a checkered history in central and South America and around the world.[/QUOTE]Don't forget Iran Contra and all that white shit they dealt and all the Nicaraguans who were killed and all the crack heads who they helped create.

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2527437]And we have no one else to blame but ourselves as we have created a system of government that has legalized payola in the form of lobbying and we continue to elect politicians from two parties that are completely vested into the corrupt system.[/QUOTE]If what you're saying is, "....we need to take money out of politics", then I agree. Especially 'big donor money'.

[QUOTE=Golfinho;2527500]Simply put: A debt that cannot be repaid, won't be repaid. (Economics 101).

Simply put, most indebted countries (or businesses for that matter) either default or have their debts restructured, or have their infrastructure and assets sold off and 'privatized'.[/QUOTE]Sure if you've defaulted on your debts. The US has never defaulted on its debts.

I was referring to actually paying off your debts.

[QUOTE=Spidy;2527317]Simply put, most countries (or business for that matter) pay back debt, by taking-in more than they spend.[/QUOTE]The US debt will never be repaid. Be under no illusions. But no need to lose sleep over it.

Look it up on the internet. From "the creature from Jekyll Island 🌴: "The method by which the Federal Reserve creates momey out of nothing: the concept of usury as the payment of interest on pretend loans; the true cost of the hidden tax called inflation; the way in which the Fed. (Creature) creates boom-bust 💥 🕳 cycles" A tv program hosted by Glenn Beck discussing this may have led to the cancellation of said TV program.

The US defaulted when it went off the gold standard.

[QUOTE=Spidy;2527561]Sure if you've defaulted on your debts. The US has never defaulted on its debts.

I was referring to actually paying off your debts.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;2527473]We are a country that values freedoms. That includes the first amendment and the right to make campaign contributions which relate to our interests. Calling it "corrupt" doesn't make it "corrupt. " You were right the first time though when you called it legal. There are though some disclosure requirements and limitations, and you are free to withhold support from candidates that accept $ from certain entities.

I mean in the past you've been in here supporting full on socialism in the way of worker cooperatives. The Crazy Bernies have had their chance at national politics. Better luck next time.[/QUOTE]The longer I live away from America, which has been two decades plus now, the more I find the American definition of freedom comical and sad. Freedom? Well, I when you don't have to worry about healthcare costs, education for your children, a nice pension, a living wage, and enough time off to enjoy it, and to pursue some of the things that you enjoy, and have a good social safety net under you in case you lose your job, then you're free. As long as you're stressed and worrying where the next paycheck comes from and have to, "work for a living," then you're really not free.

And yes I do believe that the balance of power between labor and capital must be maintained and the only way to maintain it is through proper regulation and legislation.