Afternoon music
A few thoughts about Trump, tariffs etc
Trump is promulgating tariffs on imports from a range of countries and blocs presently major trading partners with the USA. Canada and the EU, to name but two. China, too.
As many are pointing out, tariffs reduce trade, because they make imported goods (and/or services) more expensive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff.
That view, however, though the majority one, is not universally held by economists, at least in specific historical cases: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff#Tariffs_and_the_Great_Depression.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff#Arguments_against_tariffs.
Looked at from a different point of view, there are reasons why Trump’s tariff barriers might be positive for the USA, mainly because they might allow American industry, in decline for half a century, to revive.
American tariffs go back a long way— to 1789, in fact: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tariff#Political_analysis.
“The tariff has been used as a political tool to establish an independent nation; for example, the United States Tariff Act of 1789, signed specifically on July 4, was called the “Second Declaration of Independence” by newspapers because it was intended to be the economic means to achieve the political goal of a sovereign and independent United States.[93]“
[Wikipedia].
In the short-term, Trump’s tariff’s may well cause domestic prices (within the USA) to inflate. In the longer-term, however, those tariffs may also create American jobs, and also increase America’s long-term security.
The USA is one of the few economies capable of being an autarky [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autarky]. Others would be Russia and mainland Europe (the EU, presently).
There is little doubt, though, that in those countries that produce items exported to the USA, the Trump tariffs will cause economic damage, possibly severe damage. That in turn will cause political fallout.
The USA is a huge and vibrant economy. If turned inward, that may be able to create the prosperity and job security so lacking at present in many American communities. The USA should have been isolationist in the 1940s and afterwards, as it had been in the 1930s. It seems to me that that would be a good policy now for the USA. Economic isolationism allied to political isolationism.
The USA should build up purely defensive military and naval power, but avoid doing what it has done, particularly, since 1941, i.e. interfere all over the world. If that is done, American security will thereby be increased.
Tweets seen
I agree. It may not be the whole picture, but it is a large part of it.
That second tweet by “@InFearOfKeir” is also very true.
Yvette Cooper, the Labour Friends of Israel expenses cheat, has been wanting to be a dictator for many years. May she suffer the fate of so many dictators.
That really is alarming. I have commented previously on the blog about Chinese and other androids and also other types of robot etc.
Keywords might be “genocide”, Lebensraum, and Greater Israel. They plan to settle the Gaza Strip with Jews. The same is true of the West Bank, southern Lebanon, parts of Syria etc.
Late music
Ian Robert Millard 