Donald Trump argues that America's problem is that it has sent its wealth overseas. Exactly the opposite is the case: America's problem is that the world's wealth came to America, and bought subprime mortgages. At the peak of the housing bubble America imported capital each year equivalent to 6% of GDP. Everyone from China's central bank to Arab sovereign wealth funds to German provincial-government banks bought American mortgage debt until the housing bubble crashed. Virtually all of the world's available savings came to the United States.
...A vast army of white-collar warriors supported the grand migration of capital. Americans dropped whatever they were doing and became real-estate agents and mortgage brokers. The financial industry recruited math whizzes from university graduating classes to manufacturer ever-more-complex financial instruments. Opportunity abounded as the world's capital knocked on America's door. Americans, to be sure, spent the money piled at their doorstep on cheap imports from China and other aspiring countries.
...Then came the inevitable crash. Home prices collapsed and well-paying white collar jobs disappeared. The brother-in-law who made $150,000 a year as a mortgage broker in 2007 was unemployed in 2009 and driving a FedEx truck in 2010--or doing nothing at all, as the labor force participation rate collapsed.
Americans became downwardly mobile, as I showed in a March 1 essay, and along came Donald Trump to tell Americans that their misery was all the fault of illegal immigrants and rapacious foreigners. Not so: during the decade before the 2008 crash, Americans were being paid for being Americans. Their forefathers had built the world's strongest democracy and most open capital markets, and they were living off the rent they charged to foreigners to come in and use it. Meanwhile Americans under 25 somehow sank to the bottom of the international rankings for skills in literacy, math and technology. If you're paid simply for being American, why not spend your high-school years with Grand Theft Auto?
Trump recalls Mortimer Duke at the end of Trading Places, shouting, "Turn those machines back on!" Building a wall with Mexico and restricting Chinese imports won't help. What Americans need is tough love. Whether they will take it is another story. But if they don't, America will look a lot like Britain in its post-industrial decline.
Except for the Military Welfare system that costs America hundreds of billion, generation after generation, and grave yards after grave yards. Somewhere, that is not included in this calculation. Why is America expected to carry first world countries? Western Europe since the early 80s matched American in population and combined GDP, but expects American to protect their source of oil and maintain open sea lanes. Their good for 'show' and 'contributions' but you know who bears both the vast bulk of the financial and operational burden.
#2
A bit about the author. Emphasis added at the last sentence:
As "Spengler", Goldman wrote about a wide range of topics, varying from music theory to culture and religion (Goldman himself is an Modern Orthodox Jew), but his main focus was geo-economic and geo-political issues. In his 2011 book How Civilizations Die Goldman revealed his worldview at length, inspired by Franz Rosenzweig and his "The Star of Redemption".[citation needed]
According to Goldman, following in Rosenzweig's footsteps, beliefs about the past and future decide the fate of nations, since the propagation of one's culture is an imitation of immortality, the desire for which is so strong that it shapes history. So a nation's future is heavily influenced by what provides it with a vision of life after death: religion. Goldman thinks that the true strength of a nation is exposed during the encounter with the modern age, with globalization and an open and changing array of perceptions and ideas. The common tendency, especially in Europe, to nationalize religion by adding to it a pseudo-Hebraic belief that the nation is the divinely 'chosen people' condemns peoples to downfall when their nationalism (and the religion it is entwined with) is ruined by political circumstances.[citation needed] When religion and patriotism are thus destroyed, a people loses hope for the future and therefore ceases to bear enough children to prevent demographic collapse.
#3
As a follow-up to #2, "bearing enough children to prevent demographic collapse."
Goldman makes some valid points but fails to mention birth control and modern medicine as the antidote for the inconvenience of children. When all else fails, follow greed and money.
#4
Anybody who was dumb enough to back some of those mortgages deserves to lose their money. Besides, when the bubble burst it was the American taxpayer who got ripped off to keep the crooked bankers and politicians afloat. The author is trying to rewrite history.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/01/2016 11:51 Comments ||
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#5
All those Euro investors in the American gambling mortgage market were there because of a ROI that offered rates their socialist governments back home wouldn't/couldn't compete with.
Whatever. Seems a lot like Kool Aid to me, but I look at things from a more practical level. Any truth here?
A key theme in this year's presidential race is competitiveness of American industry, though candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders tend to use more colorful language when describing their belief that the United States has lost its economic edge.
Both candidates despise recent trade deals, which they feel have proven that the U.S. can't compete with countries like China and Vietnam, which have far cheaper labor and less onerous environmental regulations.
But if you ask actual manufacturing executives, they're far more bullish on America's future than many of its political leaders. On Thursday, professional services firm Deloitte teamed up with the Council on Competitiveness to release its 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index, showing that the United States is the second most competitive manufacturing economy after China. What's more, global manufacturing executives predict that by 2020, the United States will be the most competitive manufacturing economy in the world.
So why has the United States been shooting up the ranks? Long gone are the days when cheap labor was the most important input for manufacturers. Total manufacturing employment in China peaked during the 1990s and has been falling ever since. And as manufacturing continues to reduce the number of workers needed, the important ingredients to success in the sector are whether advanced technologies and materials are available, and whether or not intellectual property protections are strong. The United States beats out China on both of these scores.
This is not to say that anxiety over the decline of manufacturing employment is misguided. While it's good that manufacturing firms think that the United States is a great place to do business, their success in America will not have the same impact, in terms of providing a huge number of well-paying jobs, as they did a half-century ago.
Pay for most workers has been stagnant for a generation, and opportunities for the majority of Americans without a college degree are shrinking. It's natural to look at the phenomenon of declining manufacturing employment as a political failure that can be rectified. But the fact that China has lost more manufacturing jobs than the U.S. over the past 20 years is a strong indication that playing hardball with the Chinese isn't going to do anything to increase employment in the United States.
Rather than a political failure, the decline of manufacturing employment is a natural economic process that many industries, like agriculture, have gone through in past eras. As sectors become better at what they do, they often require fewer people to get the work done.
So while it's understandable the state of manufacturing is of concern to presidential candidates, those who say they can bring back lost jobs in the sector either don't know what they are talking about, or are being disingenuous. Instead, American politicians should be lauding the fact that manufacturing executives want to do business here, even if that fact won't save the struggling American worker.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
04/01/2016 6:18 Comments ||
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#3
A plant by Beest supporters. She's the only one not called out in the article. But not sure how it supports Slick Willie's claim about how bad the last seven years have been.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/01/2016 8:12 Comments ||
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#4
And Mexico has always had the 'potential' to be far greater economically than it is, but corruption has removed so much opportunity that it is what it is. By 2020 the ruling caste will be well on its way to reducing American economic opportunity to political crony cartels to be just as moribund as Mexico or Europe.
#6
By 2020 the minimum wage in California will be $15 with corresponding hikes for the higher paid union types on top of that so I'm guessing California will miss this boom. We will not be assembling iPhones here.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/01/2016 11:57 Comments ||
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[Danger & Play] The battery case Michelle Fields filed against Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is the result of a con job, a police report reveals. We can now report that Fields conspired with Washington Post reporter Ben Terris to frame Lewandowski.
#4
It was a set up, a dirty trick. The networks swallowed it hook, line and sinker because they were eager for something, anything, to make Trump look bad. Then Lyin' Ted claims it was because of the culture of violence in Trump's campaign. It is a crock of crap. It has been truly disgusting to watch.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/01/2016 12:02 Comments ||
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#5
If he touched her, it's battery. Why can't Trump fans admit this guy was out of line?
In any kind of crowded situation, mere touching is part of the game and isn't considered battery.
Did Corey grab her? I doubt it. After watching the videos from different angles, it looks like he reached for her upper arm, not her forearm. And she way overstated what happened, suggesting he was trying to throw her to the floor. Yet her physical reaction at the corresponding moment in the video wasn't that of one who was handled roughly. She probably thought of it a few seconds too late.
Michelle can't even claim unemployment since she chose to quit.
The sum of my two cents: Seems to me she's a tweak.
#7
How many lives been destroyed by tweaks like her?
It's the MSM that follows stories like these like a pack of baying hounds.
BTW, I doubt seriously that those bruises in the picture can be admitted as evidence. They could have been makeup and they could have even been on somebody else's arm. She's gonna get laughed out of court. Question is: how many MSM stooges will be there to report it?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/01/2016 14:30 Comments ||
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#8
The video shows that the other reporter got into Cory's face immediately after Michelle was yanked back. Corey is such a queer for the Donald
Posted by: Unelet Protector of the Sith2424 ||
04/01/2016 14:45 Comments ||
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Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/01/2016 18:33 Comments ||
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#10
The media treated it like a new Zapruder film.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/01/2016 18:39 Comments ||
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#11
Normally I'm a fan of Megan Kelly, but she gave this almost 20 minutes, and treated it like a serious crime, not a misdemeanor if it was true. Her bias against Trump (and I am no fan of his) is apparent.
#12
You trump people are going to look back at this in a few months, see your own pretzling and bending to exucse Trump adn his minion's bad actions, and say to yourself "I was fucking mentally ill, what happened to me"
Posted by: Ominter Spawn of the Huns9166 ||
04/01/2016 19:31 Comments ||
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#13
1. He grabbed her without her permission.
2. He did it hard enough to leave bruises.
3. Tapes (all of them) and eye witnesses coroborate this.
Its battery. Stop being moonbats about it. A simple admission and an apology would have stopped this entire thing. Instead Trump and his minions lie "I Never Touched her"... and then you guys break your backs bending over to make excuses.
Its pathetic. Its a cult. You're behaving like cultists.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/01/2016 20:05 Comments ||
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#17
Get in their faces.
Get loud.
Say nasty things.
Get touched, knowing a camera is on you.
Fred Phelps smiles.
I was watching Fox the morning of the Brussels bombing, and they took five minutes out of breaking coverage to bash Trump for his outrage of the day. I thought it was obvious and tasteless. Haven't been back.
#19
Well I am disappointed.
Not even good ones. Rantburg deserves better.
Say you got an "I","T"
Followed by apostrophe, "s"
Now what does that mean?
You would not use "it's" in this case
As a possessive
It's a contraction
What's a contraction?
Well, it's the shortening of a word, or a group of words
By the omission of a sound or letter
#20
Well I am disappointed.
Not even good ones. Rantburg deserves better.
Say you got an "I","T"
Followed by apostrophe, "s"
Now what does that mean?
You would not use "it's" in this case
As a possessive
It's a contraction
What's a contraction?
Well, it's the shortening of a word, or a group of words
By the omission of a sound or letter
[Right Scoop] Bloomberg's John Heilemann told CBS This Morning that the new abortion controversy for Trump comes on the heels of bad week for him, about as bad a week as he’s had in a long time:
If you think about this controversy coming on the heels of the Corey Lewandowski arrest for battery, coming on the heels of the fight that Trump and Ted Cruz were in where many people thought that Trump went over the line in terms of criticizing Ted Cruz’s wife in a kind of unpleasant way -- it’s the most sustained bad set of news cycles Trump has had in awhile.
Heilemann isn’t willing to predict Trump’s political death over this, but says the abortion controversy is certainly not going to help him and it appears that Trump is headed for a clear and decisive defeat to Ted Cruz in a week.
#1
Heilemann isn’t willing to predict Trump’s political death over this
There must be desperate rejoicing and celebration going on across the establishment. Look we're committing suicide for November!!!
Get a grip. You have a very serious problem with the population and you're not paying attention to the issues that gave Trump his momentum. You have no more concern for the 'consent of the governed' than that other cabal.
#4
There are five candidates left in the race. Four of them are career, life-long denizens of the political class (and Cruz supporters who object need to tell me the last time Cruz was not earning his keep in the political realm - and yes, litigating in the Supreme Court is a political occupation).
Trump is the lone player who has not effectively devoted his life, full-time, to politics.
Four of the candidates, if they become President, will wake up each morning thinki9ng "How can I get reelected, and when is my next fund-raising gig?" - because that is how political schmucks are - period.
For better or for worse, I think that Trump will wake up each morning saying "Well, one more day to try to salvage this unholy mess - what can I do today, to try to make America great again?"
I cannot imagine Trump - or anybody - "fixing" America - a country with 100 million parasites living off the sweat of 47% of the population. But - at least Trump will TRY - and I'd like to see him get that chance.
There have thus far been 29 GOP primary contest that awarded delegates. 20 of those contests were NOT caucuses - and Trump has won 16 of those. The other four were Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Idaho.
And - of states with black populations above 8%, Trump has won 16 out of 18 - Texas and Ohio being the other two. Wisconsin is 6.7% black - so I am guessing it will not go to Trump. But - he is likely to sweep the six remaining April contests - out of them, only Rhode Island has a black population below 10%. Unfortunately, only Delaware among them is "winner-take-all" for delegates.
#4
Polls on this potential matchup have been consistent, and they are not driven by love of Hillary. They are driven by negative views of the candidates. Hillary has the largest negatives of any presidential candidate ever. People know her, and they don't like her. Problem is that Trump's negatives are even higher.
#5
#2 I could be proven wrong, but I refuse to believe the American people will elevate the Hildebeest to the highest office in the land.
Particularly if she gets indicted. I find it hard to believe this poll. Hildabeest is about as elite, insider, corrupt, evil and Beltway Party as you get. The tide seems to be moving against the tired same ol, same ol this year. Regular folks are tired of getting screwed.
h/t Instapundit
The intent of this essay is to advance several observations about how we plan and fight wars, in order to shed light upon why we are performing so poorly. We invaded both Afghanistan and Iraq with inchoate plans and inadequate forces to establish post-war security and governance. After winning the first battle in both countries, President George W. Bush offhandedly decided to build democratic nations, a task for which our State Department and US Agency for International Development had no competence or interest. By default, the mission fell to our military, also without competence but with unflagging devotion and determination.
...On balance, the results in Iraq or Afghanistan were not worth the costs in American casualties, money, and global influence. Several policy lessons may be drawn. When you get a, virtually, identical advice from KSA and Israel---you listen to it?
#1
As Anti-US US OWG Globalist POTUS Obama + aligned intended.
Again, "HOW FAR IS TOO FAR", "HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH", ETC. POWER + INFLUENCE FOR EX-SOLE-SUPERPOWER-SOON-TO-ONE-OF-MANY-OWG-CO-SUPERPOWER(S) AMERIKA TO UNILATERALLY OR ASYMMETRICALLY GIVE UP IN THE NAME OF US-LED ANTI-US OWG-NWO WIDOUT BEING EXISTENTIALLY THREATENED OR DESTROYED IN THE PROCESS???
The "Great Game" doesn't end just because the USSR imploded + the US-World want to begin exploring + colonizing deep space.
[DAWN] IN the beginning this appeared to be a scoop. A national identity card was found at the site of the bomb kaboom in Gulshan-e-Iqbal in Lahore. It gave details about a young man hailing from Muzaffargarh. He was in his 20s, beard, a madressah education and all. He had been living in Ichra, Lahore, for some years. It was reported that he now gave religious lessons to children for a fee.
There was something odd about this suspect. History tells us that jacket wallahs -- and it was quickly established that this was a suicide kaboom -- are usually brought from outside. Using an asset who had lived in a big city for many years to carry out a suicide kaboom would be a bit of a waste considering that he could be so much more usefully employed in other activities in future, such as facilitating a bomb assault. A suicide kaboom could best be left to an outsider tutored to take the plunge.
Yet there was something about the revelation that made it credible: Muzaffargarh. Apparently the refrain about southern Punjab
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2016 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11127 views]
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[DAWN] In a comprehensive and scathing survey of textbooks published by the KP Textbook Board, Tahira Abdullah sums up all that is wrong with them. In Textbooks of Hate or Peace? she says the books glorify war, ‘otherise’ non-Muslims, take a uni-dimensional view of reality, distort history and stereotype women.
Textbooks of English, Urdu, Pakistan studies, social studies, Islamiat. general knowledge, geography and history published under three different governments that have ruled KP since 2002 have been analysed. What emerges clearly is that any subject can be used as an agent for pushing a narrow religious agenda. This in turn can be exploited for the attainment of nefarious political goals by those in office.
The conclusion? The MMA, the ANP and now the PTI (in coalition with the Jamaat-i-Islami) have wreaked havoc on the minds of KP’s children. Tahira points out that the different ideological complexion of these three rulers has not made much of a difference.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Prayer leaders and other religious holy mans are an under-used means of pushing action to combat climate change, experts and religious scholars said at a multi-faith meeting on Thursday. Depends on how much money's in it...
Religious leaders have the moral standing to call on people and businesses to consider the environmental impact of their activities and take a bigger role in reducing their own carbon footprints and finding ways to cope with the growing impacts of climate change, experts said at a multi-faith meeting in Islamabad.
Pakistain Ulema Council's Maulana Tahir Ashrafi said imams [prayer leaders] could have "unprecedented influence" in bringing action on climate change.
But first, he said, "they need training to both understand and communicate the issues accurately in a country hard-hit by climate-related drought, flooding, crop losses and other problems."
"We religious leaders in Pakistain can talk about climate change with people as long as we become knowledgeable about climate change and its other facets," he maintained.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2016 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Danger & Play] The battery case Michelle Fields filed against Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is the result of a con job, a police report reveals. We can now report that Fields conspired with Washington Post reporter Ben Terris to frame Lewandowski.
