Language:

en_US

switch to room list switch to menu My folders
Go to page: First ... 15 16 17 18 [19]
[#] Fri Nov 01 2024 14:10:16 UTC from LoanShark

Subject: Re: Tariffs

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

If nuts grow in your area and you are still importing them cheaper
than you can produce them that is a sure sign of an endemic problem.
Applying a tariff on nuts won't solve that endemixc problem.

I agree with this part.

Maybe I wasn't really disagreeing with *your* point per se, but more broadly with the newer populist consensus (I say consensus because you're starting to see it on both the left and the right) that has begun to emerge since 2016 or so.

Trump put these tariffs into place, Biden kept them, now both parties promise magic solutions but are short on specifics. With Harris, it's price-fixing ("crack down on price gouging", whatever that means.) Trump has his own magic promises ("I'll deflate inflation")

Much of this, in my opinion, boils down to Americans being spoiled and entitled. We want a higher standard of living than the rest of the world, which translates into "we want higher salaries, in real terms, for the same work." It's hard to justify.

I work in a field (software development) that draws from a global talent pool. Increasingly, we work remote anyway, so what separates us from the remote guy in India or the Dominican Republic (other than time zone, but the DR has the same time zone as us) who gets paid $8 an hour and has THE SAME SKILLSET, or even better, than the typical American idiot? There's little rational explanation for the American sense of entitlement.

But both parties promise to somehow bring back American manufacturing jobs that haven't existed in 75 years. Our clothing is all made with very-low-wage, sweatshop labor in Bangladesh, and textile mills in the New England areas I grew up in have been shuttered for decades because the world has moved on. Those low-paying jobs are jobs that Americans *don't want.* So both parties are full of shit.

[#] Sat Nov 09 2024 15:24:00 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

LoL. my EE newsletter . People are freaking out about Trump most likely stopping the free money flow.  ( CHIPS act in this case )  "Bla bla will be using tariffs instead of subsidies to support increased domestic  bla bla bla "

 

Oh no..  the gravy train may be derailed.. panic!  

( hint: he will also reduce regulations to help domestic industry by reducing costs )



[#] Thu Nov 14 2024 18:47:47 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

Subject: Re: Tariffs

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Much of this, in my opinion, boils down to Americans being spoiled and

entitled. We want a higher standard of living than the rest of the
world, which translates into "we want higher salaries, in real terms,

for the same work." It's hard to justify.

To some extent, yes. The other side of that is the cost of living. Workers in other places are paid peanuts, but they can also live on peanuts. Maybe not enough peanuts to own a big house and a fast car or whatever, but if we travel to those places we find that the same amount of money goes much further there.

So it's broken, but it's not ... uniformly broken. How do you fix that?

[#] Thu Nov 14 2024 19:22:39 UTC from Nurb432

Subject: Re: Tariffs

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

As long as you have 'elite think' in existence, you dont.

Thu Nov 14 2024 18:47:47 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar Subject: Re: Tariffs
So it's broken, but it's not ... uniformly broken. How do you fix that?

 



[#] Sun Nov 17 2024 13:44:14 UTC from Nurb432

Subject: Tariffs.. long term concerns

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

So i was at harbor freight last night, and it made me think a bit. some random thoughts about the coming tariffs since we know they are now coming since Trump won. And no, this isn't meant to go down the rabbit hole of right/wrong or anything. Just thinking about some of the practical implications for me, an average guy on the street trying to 'make it'. So no 'suck it up and buy American or you are a scumbag communist' debate is intended here..

Like HF, there are many American based companies where there entire business model has been built on selling cheap imports. Are most of them now going to vanish? If a 15 dollar wrench is now 45 dollars, might as well buy the better brand next door at Lowes. And, forget buying a spare, that 10mm socket that is missing, now you will go find it..

What about that 17 dollar disposable T-shirt you get from Walmart, now its 50..  so its not disposable now, and you keep it until it really wears out, and sales volume go down. Not that they go out of business since they do sell more than just imports from china, but do they implode?

What about companies who do primarily make stuff here, but using some parts or raw materials from overseas. ( like car companies, for example )  Same thing, their stuff now skyrockets even more and sales are reduced more as people keep what they have longer or just pass on it totally if its a 'luxury item'. Do they go out of business, do they implode to a fraction of what they used to be, or do we do like we did in the early 2000s and bail them out with free money in the form of tax dollars "since they are too big to fail"?

Similar, what about the farm industry, who does use some imported equipment ( or parts ).. Their operating costs go up, so does the cost of food...Even more than it is now, which is ludicrous. And as we destroy more farm land, or sell to over seas entities.. that only increases food costs for everyone.. and no not my typical rant, just reality of pricing. 

How about 'American' companies who see this taking place, and see an opportunity, so they undercut the imported goods to help along the bankruptcies, then skyrocket their prices afterward to make up for the losses of the cost of getting rid of their competition. Not a new tactic, and ya, i know Predatory pricing maneuvers is illegal, but i suspect "American" companies will get a free pass for a while so we will see this happen more. ( and of course, even if you get caught, your competition is gone, so you still win in the long run )

And a the talk about ' getting rid of income taxes and replacing with tariffs '. While it sounds good in a speech, the actual net result from above is we have companies going out of business and average Americans losing their jobs, and we all pay several times more for essentials than we did in insane inflation ( and skipping luxury items ).   Again, not a right/wrong discussion, just the reality of the effects on us not in the 'club'. ( the ones IN the club, they always benefit, or at the least don't feel it, but mostly they find ways to benefit..  )

 

 

Ok, random thoughts over.  Back to your regular scheduled program. Im off to the river with the dogs, while its still there. And i get to show my sister where to disperse my ( and my dogs ) ashes when i die, and where the pitch-in lunch is to be. 

 

 



[#] Fri Dec 20 2024 20:31:32 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

Subject: Re: Tariffs.. long term concerns

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Whatever collapses China is fine with me :)

[#] Sun Jan 19 2025 14:32:21 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Sort of a random 'shower thought'.  I cant really express this the way i want, so its sort of random words off the top of my head.

So everyone is screaming about fair trade, imposing sanctions on others for not being 'fair' etc.   Removing all the 'bad stuff' like forced labor, poverty, governmental manipulation, military infiltration, etc.  The reality is that the cost of living is different across the globe, or even across regions in a single country.   

Why is it unfair trade if it truly costs less to make something, and to order them to 'come up to your standards', perhaps even with government mandated price controls which is always bad.  Perhaps your cost of living is not appropriate and is higher than it needs to be, ( due to out of control inflation and not true 'value', for example ) so its really your problem there is an imbalance, not theirs ..   

It all sounds like a fascist globalist movement to me.

( and again, im talking pure math, not bad stuff that can influence prices, even here like we see with inflation and governmental involvement in the markets. That stuff should be addressed of course, but in other ways )



[#] Mon Jan 20 2025 02:00:35 UTC from zelgomer

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

The real world answer is that tariffs are used as a political chip. The US is a huge consumer for countries that need the business, so you suck our dick or we'll hurt your business with tariffs. Ironically this also hurts Americans, so it's a very puric sort of thing.

I think the idealist answer is this sort of situation. In the US, we all agree that forced child labor is bad. In China, they have less of an issue with it. But to ban such a thing here makes our sneaker manufacturing less competative with China's, so they impose tariffs to try to artificially level the playing field. Of course, it doesn't actuslly pan out that way, though, because nothing the government artificially manipulates ever does.


[#] Mon Jan 20 2025 02:05:03 UTC from zelgomer

Subject: Re: Tariffs.. long term concerns

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

business model has been built on selling cheap imports. Are most of
them now going to vanish? If a 15 dollar wrench is now 45 dollars,

Vanish? No. Backdoor deals will be made, some cocks will be sucked, and carve outs will happen. We just saw it with TikTok and he hasn't even taken office yet. The government is literally the mafia just with public consent.

[#] Mon Jan 20 2025 02:06:26 UTC from zelgomer

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Lol I forgot I was reading messages backwards and startrd replying to old posts. Whoops.

[#] Mon Jan 20 2025 19:52:03 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Normally a 50 dollar switching power supply.   Now its 250 bucks due to the tariffs in place already.

yay . grumble.



[#] Wed Jan 29 2025 23:47:43 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

"Tesla's profits over 70%"

Yes, companies need to make a profit, but if you are making THAT much you are screwing your customers. 



[#] Wed Jan 29 2025 23:50:04 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

"Meta said Wednesday it would pay $25 million to settle a four-year-old lawsuit from President Donald Trump over the social media company’s decision to suspend Trump’s accounts after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. "

 

$25M is lunch money to these people, but ts nice to be able to poke zuckerburg in the eye as a moral victory at least.

 

( and i guess its all going to the future presidential library and pay the attorney bills )

 



[#] Sat Feb 01 2025 23:13:36 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

Tariffs on Canada and mexico in effect.  Brace yourselves.. Rising prices soon.

 

( and an additional 10% on cheap Chinese stuff )



[#] Sun Feb 02 2025 14:49:32 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

And trade war begins.

Trudeau just announced 25% tariff on US goods, starting tomorrow. And of course Trump promised to raise ours if they retaliated. 



[#] Sun Feb 02 2025 15:25:19 UTC from Nurb432

[Reply] [ReplyQuoted] [Headers] [Print]

From our state legislature:   "Opening the door for local governments to start taxing deliveries"      yay ... yet another tax. ( like on local grocery delivery, door dash food, amazon )

 

 

This really need to stop. 



Go to page: First ... 15 16 17 18 [19]