On Trade, Nukes, and Final Territorial Demands

Posted on by charliej373
by Snoron.com

By Charlie Johnston

I have always been a free trader because I am a true believer in the power of largely untethered markets to create wealth and prosperity. That said, I am very pleased at President Trump’s tariff plan – and think it is long overdue. When you look at his actual plan rather than media accounts of it (conservative media and otherwise) what he really sets up is a modified ‘mirroring’ plan. Any nation can avoid the tariffs by simply allowing American goods access to its markets on the same terms America allows access to ours. Pretty straightforward stuff. Rather than sparking trade wars, it will encourage the opening up of markets. Those countries that want to continue to inflict punitive trade restrictions on our goods will find more restrictive rules for sending theirs to our country. If they open up their markets, they have full access to ours.

Ancient wars were often fought to open up trade routes. It is telling that most countries that fought to keep their markets closed were poor – and stayed poor so long as they succeeded in keeping those markets closed. One of the greatest single leaps forward in national economic expansion was accomplished by the Russian Czar, Peter the Great. Starting with a very closed, inward-looking society, he single-handedly dragged it into the modern world. He accomplished it largely by opening vast trade networks with Europe.

The beauty of markets, when they are free and unfettered, is that they have immediate and organic feedback mechanisms. Produce what people want or need at an attractive price, you succeed. Competition keeps you on your toes, always refining your product, service and sales techniques to maintain that success and to innovate. Markets fail when they are distorted. Monopolies and cartels are the most commonly known distortions in economic markets, but government intervention is actually the most common form of economic distortion. Government distortions are perhaps the most insidious. Unlike monopolies and cartels, they start with stated good intentions, which makes it easier to sell them to an unwary public. Sadly, their effects are often more disastrous than intentionally insidious monopolies and cartels. Distort the organic feedback mechanism in markets and they simply stop performing well.

For there to truly be free trade, all markets must be open. The United States has, perhaps, the most open market in the world. We welcome goods and services from almost all nations, with very little restriction. Yet much of the rest of the world puts heavier restrictions on our goods than we do theirs. They say they want a level playing field, but only if the US has its hands tied behind its back and is carrying a 50-pound sack on its back. That is not free trade. If Trump were proposing a round of purely protective restrictions, I would be full-throated in opposing it. As nice as it sounds, that always impoverishes the nation that mounts it. But he is simply telling the rest of the world that any who fetter and weigh down US access to their markets will see their own goods fitted for fetters and weights when they cross US borders. That could cause some short-term pain to the US economy – but it will cause far more pain for the countries that already impose heavy tariffs on our products. Again, Trump’s plan calls for any country which treats our products with the same openness with which we treat theirs to be exempt from these tariffs. In the long term this gives a powerful incentive to open up markets, not to close them.

When Trump jawboned our Nato allies that they needed to pay more of their fair share for our common defense instead of leaving the United States to pick up the bulk of the bill all of the time, many establishment elites got the vapors, claiming he was undermining Nato. Instead, allies picked up the hint and started paying a bit more of their share. This is much the same.

I am for free trade, period. But those conservative commentators who think my commitment to free trade means I must simply nod my head when China charges a 25% tax on all cars coming into their country from America, while it only pays 2.5% for Chinese cars coming into America are not for free trade at all. They are for America playing the chump. Set up protective tariffs and I will get upset. Demand that other countries remove their protective tariffs or face the same, I’m all for it.

*******

Most everyone is celebrating a breakthrough in our confrontation with North Korea. Before anyone pronounces this  “peace in our time,” remember we have seen this movie before. In 1994, Pres. Bill Clinton’s Agreed Framework was supposed to end N. Korea’s nuclear ambitions. The rogue nation used the ensuing eight years to refine its nuclear capabilities while receiving vast financial aid from the US, then summarily announced it had withdrawn from the agreement in 2003 and openly operated its nuclear program again. The George W. Bush administration, still young vigorous enough to press N. Korea hard, got a new commitment from the hermit kingdom to abandon all nuclear weapons programs in 2005. But Bush got progressively exhausted in his second term and did not robustly enforce inspections or the agreement. Once again, N. Korea used the time to take US aid to refine its materials and technology until, once again, in 2009, it unilaterally withdrew from its commitment – and this time started shooting off test missiles.

Modern elites have a cultish obsession with talks and treaties with tyrants. It is a bugaboo of all political persuasions (though on the left it is almost a form of sacred worship). The reality is that tyrants use talk and treaties to buy time to strengthen their hand – which is exactly what N. Korea did on both previous occasions it promised to dismantle and forswear its nuclear weapons program. Germany started the 1930’s as a vastly inferior military power to either England or France. That was still the case in the mid-1930’s. With every nation Hitler gobbled up, he claimed it was his “last territorial demand,” holding off retaliation by an exhausted European elite class that desperately wanted it to be true. And with every delay, Germany kept cranking out the armaments and planes of war; arming and training its soldiers. Finally, when it had gone over the threshold of the strength it sought, it made clear, beginning with the invasion of Poland, that there would be no last territorial demand until it was stopped. The elite intellectuals of Europe were stunned: after all, they had all sorts of paper and promises from Germany.

N. Korea is not just a discrete nuclear threat. In 2009 it became nuclear arms merchant and technical advisor to several hostile Middle Eastern nations. Even if it actually kept its promise this time, it wouldn’t mean much if it simply shifted its operational capacity to, say, Iran. We can’t count on an ignorant and dishonest establishment media to keep us informed. You remember the famous Duelfer Report? That was the one that famously said there were no significant caches of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq when the US invaded. That was about the only part of the report the New York Times reported – and the rest of the American media took its cues from the grey lady. The media did not clearly report that, after the sanctions imposed in the wake of the 1991 war, Saddam played a double game of deception, trying to convince inspectors that he did not have WMD while trying to convince Iran that he did. His deception was so agile that even his top lieutenants were not sure what the truth was. The media did not report that Saddam was determined, as soon as sanctions were lifted, to aggressively reconstitute all WMD programs – and that he could be up and running within a few months. The media did not report that the Duelfer Report concluded that Saddam was a clear and present danger and that the US needed to act. Even now, over a decade later, almost everyone in the public (and the media) thinks the Duelfer Report concluded that the Iraq War was a huge mistake and miscalculation. That is the exact opposite of what the report actually said. It is hard for Americans to make good decisions when the media is almost uniformly ignorant, dishonest, incompetent and mendacious.

I am heartened Trump will not lift sanctions while negotiations are ongoing. At least he refuses to play the chump for N. Korea in exchange for paper and promises that buy time. After an agreement is reached, if an agreement is reached, there would have to be a consistently resolute inspections regime that included any outsourcing to the Middle East. American resolve would have to be unwavering while we would have to depend on the media to honestly and competently report what is actually going on in any disputes over inspections.

I believe Trump intends to resolve this crisis. I believe he is far more clear-eyed than the previous three presidents and is willing to act forcefully to deter aggression and not be played. But let a few months go by with no rockets flying, let the US catch N. Korea cheating and try to invoke sanctions – and all Kim Jong Un will have to do is get his sister to bat her eyes at the clowns who constitute the modern press corps and N. Korea will be made out to be the victim of the big, bad United States.

In short, with the best of intentions and the most hard-nosed, clear-eyed president in charge of the negotiations, this threat will not pass until the Kim regime has been toppled and consigned to the ash bin of history. I do not want war. I wish China would take Kim out. But without an honest media or opposition, I do not see how this can be ultimately resolved without regime change. Time is not on our side. It is on N. Korea’s.

41 thoughts on “On Trade, Nukes, and Final Territorial Demands”

  1. Thank you so very much, Charlie. You are Christ’s Light for us in this current darkness. You are. I appreciate your erudite sharing with great insights as well as the ways you inform and inspire us. Prayers aplenty for you and us all. I cannot lie. I want a reset. Oh I’ll behave and surrender but I think this very desire which burns in my heart – to be set free and recreate with God a civilization of Love – is not my own. Surely it’s a fire ignited by the Holy Spirit!

    Liked by 11 people

    1. I’m with you on the reset Beckita.
      My parents went through the Cuban missle crisis scare when I was but 2 years old. We were living in Florida, just across the bay from Tampa’s central command which is probably a main target for a nuke and I grew up in the shadow of such a threat until the wall in Germany came down.
      Afterwards, there was always the thought that there might be a nuclear war since they still existed but it became a very distant thought for quite awhile.
      Now many of those old thoughts of being nuked have somewhat returned, deadened a bit by the absolute retarded calamity one would lead to on a world-wide scale but with the world already acting retarded, the insanity of it is just another day in the life of those fallen from grace into one more act of folly. The lack of a reason the Florida school shooter did what he did may be a herald of future nonsense in our world for if the Spirit gives wisdom, knowledge and understanding, these things must surely be lost when the Spirit is rejected.
      Heaven help us.

      Liked by 5 people

      1. Yes, Phil. In the Midwest, we regularly had our “duck and cover” civil defense drills.

        May the Lady of All Nations, intercede for us NOW via her special prayer:

        Liked by 8 people

        1. Beckita, when I knelt to pray the Rosary at Adoration yesterday, the above prayer card of Our Lady of All Nations lay right below me on the seat in front of me. There were no other cards around, so I assume someone left it there. It was a very special surprise. Our church is small, but I’ve never heard anyone speak of Our Lady of All Nations. After saying the prayer, I put it back for others to find.

          Liked by 9 people

  2. I trust N. Korea as far as I can toss their leader. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could possibly believe their proposition. Not worried about Trump. He’s no buffoon. But N. Korea’s “olive branch” move makes me more nervous than their nuke tests. I’m with you Beckita–reset, please. So hard to be patient. My phone alarm just went off–it’s 3pm—to remind me it’s time to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet!

    Liked by 9 people

  3. Charlie,

    Some really great posts lately – keep it up! The Pro-Life Update was very heartening! We cannot let up on the prayers or get discouraged.

    Happy Fourth Sunday of Lent to all! For you Latin Riters, it is Laetare Sunday. For us Byzantines, it is the Sunday of St. John Climacus!

    Prayers and Love to ALL!

    Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem
    O Lord and Master of my life, drive away from me the spirit of despondency, carelessness, love of power, and idle chatter. (Prostration)
    Rather grant to me, Your servant, the spirit of wholeness of being, humility, patience, and love. (Prostration)
    Yes, O Lord and King, grant that I may see my own faults and not condemn my brother; for You are blessed to the ages of ages. Amen. (Prostration).

    Liked by 13 people

  4. Sorry to contradict you Charlie, but the US has 14 FTA with 20 countries. Mexico has 10 FTA with 45 countries and Chile is just behind Mexico. So, Mexico and Chile are the ones who have more free trade agreements with more countries.We (I’m Mexican))are the more open markets in the world,believe it or not.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Ah Maribel, I admire your patriotic support of your country, but free markets are not measured solely by the number of trade agreements. Mexico is somewhat on the rise, but its economic freedom score only ranks 63rd in the Heritage Foundation’s respected rankings. The U.S. only ranks 18th. On the bright side, you are certainly right that trade is one of the brightest features of the Mexican economy, which is primarily hampered by very heavy over-regulation and serious problems with governmental integrity. The best news is that Mexico is rich in natural resources, so with real reform of government integrity and scaling back of regulation, Mexico’s economy could skyrocket. The five freest economies are in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland. I have occasionally thought that Singapore is what China would be had it not suffered the tragedy of communist takeover.

      Liked by 7 people

      1. I know that Charlie. I know what Mexico’s humble position is in the world ( for now). I was not comparing it with the American economy ..that would be silly on my behalf ( I studied a long time ago a masters degree in international business, though I’ve been just a mom and housewife for 26 years: but my brain still works!) I was just talking about its openess and the US is no longer the most open economy. It can be the biggest, but has been more protective than many other countries in the last years.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. I really do admire your patriotism. Mexico has enormous upward potential – and it is people like you that love it and want it to be what it can be that will ultimately make it so…and want it to be truly under God. I remember someone – maybe you – once reminded me that Our Lady is Mother of the whole world…but her home is in Mexico (where the tilma is). That stuck with me. I think Mexico is going to have an important role to play in helping us all through these troubled times. God bless you.

          Liked by 6 people

  5. Hi Charlie. The part about nukes and North Korea is plenty ominous of itself, but leading with a photo of a hydrogen bomb detonation makes it kind of terrifying. Is this just to emphasize the reality we live in? Do you think a nuclear attack is a real possibility? Despite the signs, I just can’t imagine one ever being used because the effects are global — everyone suffers.

    (Castle Bravo, 1954, nearly 3 times bigger than expected)

    Like a tiny bit of the sun cracked open on earth, these beasts are strangely beautiful to behold. Yeah, these are terrifying times.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Oh, I don’t think there will be wide-scale nuclear war, Patrick…but I would not bet against a nuclear exchange or two. I hate the refusal of people generally, in extreme times, to contemplate the horrible possibilities. I think that refusal very much enables those possibilities and enables them to become reality. All of Europe deluded itself about Hitler for a decade – and the delusion gave Hitler the time to gather his forces to become the nightmare they did not want to contemplate. It is the most recent historical large-scale example, but not anywhere near the only one. Rwanda and Cambodia are smaller scale recent such instances. Look the facts in the face – and don’t impute compassion and rationality to obsessed monster. That is a formula for doom.

      Liked by 6 people

      1. Charlie!!! my mom at hospice drank 3 glasses of water this morning!!! I might be in denial..but I hope she’s getting up on 8…I lit up St. Joseph yesterday at our local church (15 candles) and am beginning a novena for her today. I have asked my 3 sibs to join along politely, but we will see. It’s good to feel a lighter heart this morning. I’m probably in denial again, but at least there is a spark of hope.. we are all going to give her water all day..lol first time in 4 days she’s had a sip!!! I think a lot lately about Jesus and Lazarus and how He wept when He discovered Lazarus had passed. Oh dearest Jesus, Lord of life…please bless Jeanne Boissoneault and all the whole world! May Our Mothers Heart Triumph asap! Also… there is a fellow next to my mom… mid 50’s.. dark hair who they say is dieting of cancer. He called out to me as I walked past his room to tell nurse he needed more pain meds. He is always alone. I have yet to see a soul enter his room. I’m going to go into his room today if he will let me. I ask you Charlie to pray for him to recover if it is God’s will. love to you all..sorry..this is in the wrong spot but I’m on a cloud 9 this am….xoxo TNRS

        Liked by 9 people

        2. God bless you, Linda. I hope she rallies. I felt similarly when my Mom started taking a little food and water again for a bit before she passed. I called one of my closest friends after it was finished. He asked me why I was crying so copiously when I KNEW that God is and where we go. I replied in a similar vein to what you have – reminding him that when Lazarus died, Jesus (who is Lord of all things) wept.

          Liked by 10 people

        3. Linda, thanks be to God. Cherish each moment. Bless you for offering to spend time with the gentleman with no visitors! Love abounding. I will keep both in my prayers. ❤

          Liked by 6 people

        4. We’re all praying with you, and for your Mum, Lynn. And also for the man suffering in pain from cancer.

          Psalm 23 is probably the most well known of all the psalms, no doubt because it speaks so eloquently to our hearts when we are in need of help, and there appears to be no human intervention available. Using it as a prayer has helped me immensely when I’ve not known what else to do. I try to pray it slowly, one line at a time, pausing to consider it’s meaning, and also to allow the Holy Spirit to quicken the words within me.

          (I changed “me” to “us” so that you could pray the psalm for both your Mum and yourself at the same time)

          A Psalm of David
          ———————–

          “The LORD is our shepherd; we shall not want.

          He maketh us to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth us beside the still waters.

          He restoreth our souls: he leadeth us in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

          Yea, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil: for thou art with us; thy rod and thy staff they comfort us.

          Thou preparest a table before us in the presence of our enemies: thou anointest our heads with oil; our cup runneth over.

          Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life: and we will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

          Liked by 4 people

  6. Thank-you, Charlie. My goodness you can take very complicated subjects and make them comprehend-able (is that a word?). Anyway, thank-you for this!
    I will join the others here and continue to pray and pray, for the president, for our country and for the salvation of the whole world – Our Lady of Nations, pray for us!
    And, as always, praying for all here.
    God bless our endeavors,
    katey in OR
    ✝💜🌹💙🙏🏼💗

    Liked by 8 people

  7. I wonder…

    The Soviet Union fell apart after Russia was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?

    Has the Church ever considered consecrating China, North Korea, or even the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?

    What worked in one case may work in all other cases…

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Al. St. John Paul II consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984. I don’t believe further consecrations are necessary to fulfill Our Lady’s request but should be noted the consecration never happened in Our Lady’s requested time frame. Personally I believe a Pope will consecrate Russia at a later date when dire circumstances necessitate this action. Hence the following quotation, “In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, which will be converted, and a period of peace will be given to mankind.” Our Lord Himself confided to Sister Lucy, regarding the consecration, that “It is never too late to have recourse to Jesus and Mary.”

      Liked by 6 people

      1. BD and Al, the prayer, The Act of Entrustment to Mary, can be found here. It was actually an entrustment of the third millennium to our Mother. In his Apsotolic Letter, NOVO MILLENNIO INEUNTE, which was released at the end of the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope St. John Paul II spoke to his desire to influence the entire world and its peoples by virtue of Duc in altum!, that we would cast out into the deep for the sake of souls. The Apostolic Letter is found here. However, Our Lord and Our Lady accomplish all that is Abba’s desire in His Plan will be tremendous. There have been so many promises given via many an authentic message, so that it will be most interesting to see how God harmonizes the whole picture. In the fully Church-approved apparitions of The Lady of All Nations, Blessed Mother speaks to the importance of the Fifth Marian Dogma being proclaimed. It’s been hotly contested throughout its journey of being presented and promoted. To this day, signatures are being collected to present to the Holy Father, requesting that he proclaim this dogma. Here is the site if one chooses to support the cause.

        In Our Lady’s own words, from this link:

        More than once, our Mother addressed the theologians directly and explained to them the theological content and great significance of the dogma: “Tell your theologians that they can find everything in their books… I am not bringing a new doctrine.” (Apr. 4, 1954) “The Church will encounter much opposition on account of the new dogma.” (Aug. 15, 1951) AND: The Lady of All Nations promised a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit and through this, true peace for the nations. “And the Lady stayed with her Apostles until the Spirit came. So also may the Lady come to her apostles and nations throughout the whole world, in order to bring them the Holy Spirit again and anew… Once the dogma, the final dogma in Marian history, has been proclaimed, the Lady of All Nations will grant peace, true peace, to the world.” (May 31, 1954)

        Also Pope John Paul II used the title Coredemptrix several times. For example, he said in the general audience on September 8, 1982, “Mary, despite being conceived and born without the stain of sin, has participated in a admirable way in the sufferings of her divine Son, to be the Coredemptrix of humanity.”

        When the concept Coredemptrix is properly explained, it becomes clear that through this Mary is not placed as an equal to Jesus as if she were God. Co-Redemptrix indicates much more that she, as the Immaculata and the New Eve, in perfect union with her divine Son, suffered in a unique way for our redemption. She did this in total dependence upon Jesus and living entirely from Him.

        Liked by 5 people

        1. It was a thought…

          With prayers, the answers are usually “yes”, “no”, or “wait”; I guess we have to wait in trust now…

          Liked by 3 people

  8. Free trade and protectionism are both at play here. But the big question missed is tax evasion. Free trade doesnt imply tax evasion but sad part is most companies land up paying <1 or sometimes 0 percent. Many motor companies did receive tax payer handouts from many overseas countries during the GFC but closed shop when the handouts stopped. Then is the big legislative rort that allows multinationals oil, gas and mining companies to take natural resource while differing and ultimately paying no tax while the jobs they do create are too insignificant and the entire nation is forced to compete at global prices when tax payers own the resources and these companies are not contributing their fair share of taxes.

    Then is the other aspect where jobs can be oursourced with no tax penalities. This has not worked well as people tend to get frustrated with overseas call center agents who have their hands tied and many cases comparisions are made disregarding quality of work. However such policies have made millionaries billionaries and starve the hard working class who are just pointless debt slaves some who have contributed millions for a <1% salary increament over a decade. Yet the same companies want a hostile brain dump to cover themselves if they sense you are looking elsewhere. They thrive on market being flooded by cheap labour.

    The result of tax deficits is end of claiming for dependant tax offset for next tax generation at the cost of such loopholes or deliberated tax rorts acts while increasing taxes in other ways that hurt the common man.

    President Trump has done so much here on both these fronts. However this question needs to be answered as it is not morally right. It is the same as stealing which is against our moral values. Decreasing taxes should be followed by indept scrutination whether the effects trickle down to the working class and doesnt land up as dividends for co share holders or as mega bouses for the management.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Nailed it Charlie!
    Enjoyed our meal together last year with your sister and nephew at Shoneys’ in N. Alabama.
    Charles LaFleur

    Liked by 2 people

  11. Hi Charlie

    I am no subject expert but am a contrarian who loves to understand alternate views and
    here is an interesting article worth reading http://www.debtdeflation.com/blogs/2011/09/30/1000000-economists-can-be-wrong-the-free-trade-fallacies/.

    Prof steve keen was one of the few economist who predicted the GFC. His mathematic models are based on the great Irwin Fisher who gambled his wealth on several wrong calls but then was renowed for his theory of debt deflation that explained the deflationary death spiral and cause of the great depression. He eventually got it right! Maganomics!

    As keen points out every element of society and academics has been brain washed with the neoclassical/keynesian school of economic though that disregard the role of privare debt in societies that result in financial meltdowns.
    Furthernore their stellar arguments are never backed up by mathematical models and feedback loops. They are just like the darwnist who hold the fort tightly and will not cede any terrority to alternative schools of thought. It is no suprise they have never been able to forsee any financial crisis. Only after it happens they believe in the positive talk and confidence factor such as “green shoots” is all it takes.

    Steve predicted a zero or negative interest rate for a decade with a japan style stagnation in 2007. He believes debt morataria was the only way out and the reboot works only if given to the masses which is suprising that trump tax rate cut seems to have had a big boost when it trickled down but the wheels were falling off many companies despite the bailouts.

    However steve greatly underestimated the extent to which governments tend to interfere/manipulate and hence he made the mistake of making some immediate forecast that never happened! The debt though still remains. Who knows if its the case of kicking the can down the road.

    I do know who Trump is mostly targeting and i cannot imagine why most politicans want to sell their assests and natural resources to chineese owned companies and all they love saying is “china china china” never their citizens first.

    Like

    1. Sorry, Josh, but I don’t buy it. Keen is an interesting observer who has had some real insights – and some near-crackpot blunders. His debt-deflation insight is probably his most persuasive argument…but it is NOT an argument that any economist from the Mises-Hayek-Friedman school had not already known well. I was not a Keynesian, even when I was in college and Richard Nixon was saying we were “all Keynesians now” (a sentiment that largely drove his terrible domestic policy blunders). Keen tends to use only theory, with little reference to real, observed results (the ‘results’ he cites in most of his arguments are the results he says we would get if we all followed his theories) And he is sloppy. He critiques older economists and does not accurately understand what they were saying – or misrepresents them to try to bolster his points. Even his critique of Karl Marx (whose theories I hold in contempt) was useless because it misinterpreted Marx badly.

      As for trade, his critique painfully stays away from observed data and sticks to how he says things ought to operate. I don’t like theoretical arguments that ignore actual real world data that contradict them in order to make their case. The primary triggers of the great depression were a host of paper trades that did not actually increase productivity, but simply accelerated the velocity of money. Then, in panic, Herbert Hoover enacted a host of protective tariffs, which triggered a real trade war. Then Franklin Roosevelt mounted a heavy regulatory regime which targeted almost all business, which prolonged the depression by nearly a decade. If you want the best short history of the depression I know of, that develops its theory from observable facts rather than trying to fit the facts to its favorite theory (as Keen constantly does) try Amity Schlaes “The Forgotten Man.”

      I am neither impressed with anything for being conventional nor contrarian. Those are just postures. I am interested in whether it matches facts and evidence. There are times and circumstances when it makes sense to restrict trade in the short term. But history has over and over again shown that one of the most critical keys to national wealth is robust trade. I have never seen a critique that successfully contradicts that – and Keen’s is one of the weakest.

      Liked by 2 people

  12. The North will invade the South, Yo-Jong is far more deadly than Jong-un himself.

    Like

  13. Hi Charlie

    Michael Hudson relays the same thing and their arguments of private debt and financial instability seem more compelling to me as they describe the sorry state of the world economies more accurately. Maybe they are both from the Minsky camp ?

    Sure keen made a silly bet and had to walk 200kms for it but the bad debt still stands today 🙂 i dont agree with everything he says but tend to agree with the too much private debt isnt good and the false assurance of trying to sign up every working person to a big mortage as its a safer bet than lending to companies and innovation, debt is good when used in the correct context. It was in 2010 since i last read about them.

    I do support Trump with his tariffs mostly targeted towards China as i dont like the games China plays as well as their aggressiveness to many nations.

    I do not subscribe to the free trade belief as it is never free specially when multi national companies allude to paying their fair share of taxes that are needed to paying for infrastructure and services in the country they operate. Its often 0 or very minuscle. Whether this goes into the pockets of the elites or goes into creating more jobs in the home country doesnt make it ok. I am hoping that the rescue touches the deepest form of truth and honesty for everyone otherwise i do not subscribe to such a one sided bipartisan rescue. Everyone needs to have the same moral values and hoping that God pays attention to every minor detail.

    God Bless:)

    Liked by 1 person

  14. I too am a firm believer in open markets. And I too applaud what Trump is doing re: the tariffs.

    Pretty sure Trump is not much in favor of tariffs or embargos. What he is trying to move us toward is BALANCED trade. An economist named Peter Morici put his finger on the problem of unbounded trade deficits years ago.

    A net $800 billion trade deficit acts as a tax on the domestic economy. $800 billion goes out and does not recirculate back into the American economy. It is an effective drag on US demand for US products made in America. A huge tax not recognized as such.

    The trillions worth of effective demand channeled away from US producers and workers to third world and Developed World producers has raised millions of people out of dire poverty. But the cost on Americans has been severe. Call it structural.

    Now, the two greatest contributors to America’s trade deficit have been China and Saudi Arabia and other oil exporters. China sells us toys and large screen tvs. Oil Exporters sell us energy. Both act a s a drag on the US economy and must be addressed. America is making progress on the energy front. Drill, baby, drill. America is now exporting energy. China is another case. The Chinese economy is on the verge of being the largest in the world. Time to halt the damage to American workers to hold up these rich nations.

    Trump has proclaimed that the era of the US sacrificing its own citizens to stabilize the rest of the world is over.

    Trump is telling these rich nations that our policy going forward is going to be you will have to buy as much from us as we buy from you. And if not we even up the playing field for Americans by imposing tariffs. Balanced trade. We can no longer tax our domestic economy to the extent of the trade deficit and stay a strong country.

    My suggestion is that if rich foreign countries have such a concern for the welfare of certain workers, industries and producers in their countries then those Governments can cut the American people a check for the tariffs owed …. payable in U.S. dollars. Call it Payment in Lieu of Tariffs. It works for their workers and it works for our workers. Win Win.

    Liked by 4 people

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Published by charliej373

Charlie Johnston is a former newspaper editor, radio talk show host and political consultant. From Feb. 11, 2011 to Aug. 21, 2012, he walked 3,200 miles across the country, sleeping in the woods, meeting people and praying as he went. He writes on cultural, global and political issues from an orthodox Catholic perspective. He emphasizes that we find God most surely through the ordinary, doing the little things we should with faith and fidelity. His constant refrain is that, to live real joy, we must acknowledge God, take the next right step, and be a sign of hope to those around us. He lives in the Archdiocese of Denver in the United States.