Trade War or Trade as a Fulcrum?
Right now, China is pushing back on Trump like a scorned child. "Oh, yeah, well I can do THIS, see?" China has always fought dirty and has gotten away with it for so long. How can one fight this? They are kind of like the Mafia aren't they? Everyone just lives with it. Russia poisons a former spy in England, gets rebuked by the international diplomatic community and then pushes back by expelling Western diplomats as if the Russians are the aggrieved party. Ballsy, eh?
Concerning China and North Korea, I wonder who is teaching who? They hack our industries, they hack our defense complex, they steal our shit and then build an almost exact replica. Same with the damned Russians. They want to splash in the same pool with the civilized world all the while they are pissing in the water and breaking into your locker while you are basking in the sun.
I can hear it from them, "Stupid f-ing Americans! We are stealing them blind, ripping off their technology and selling them cheap shit which will break in a year and they are afraid to say anything for fear that we will stop making more cheap shit for them to buy." And the Russians are just as bad, except that they don't make anything, steal everything and just sell natural resources to keep their broke-ass economy running. Putin and his thousands of "close" oligarch friends are plundering their nation while 95% of Russians like what the government is doing for them. "May I have another one, sir?" Shows you what 100 years of socialist patriarchy will get you... a mind-numbed citizenry eager for a pittance of a handout. The 5% of Russians who disagree either emigrate, are jailed or are killed off "accidentally".
Along comes "bumbling" Trump who is actually pushing it back into their faces and what do we hear? Oh, woe is me. I might not be able to sell as many hogs to China as I did last year. Oh... my soybean sales will go down. OMG, my automobile will cost $100 more than the last model.
Ever notice that China rarely buys finished goods? They buy live hogs, they buy whole trees, they buy ore. They don't buy hams or bacon, they don't buy lumber, they don't buy steel or aluminum. We sell them our cheap raw materials and they sell us their finished goods, then we complain about the balance of trade. "May I have another one, sir?" Oh, have you ever heard of anybody buying raw materials from China? It just doesn't happen. You want rare earth metals? Nope, you have to buy batteries, solar panels or magnets from them. One thing the Chinese are not, is stupid.
Can anyone out there see the fallacy of the status quo? When China finally overtakes the US as the biggest economy, does anyone think that they will become a benevolent benefactor like the US?
The first thing the detractors will say is that the US is a warmongering country which is just as bad as the rest of them. Really? We squeak about a .02% increase in carbon emissions while China and India are belching out tons of carbon every hour. We whine about guns when Chinese citizens rarely own guns and have no way to protect themselves against tyranny. The one group that the US does NOT throw into jail is the captains of our industries and banking. As much as both sides try to circumvent it, the rule of law prevails, even if we have biased judges ruling on our laws. The Russians and the Chinese will toss anyone in jail who crosses with the ruling class. Does a private firm have something Putin want? Trump up charges and toss the owner in jail, then confiscate the company, right Yukos?
The tit for tat tariffs being threatened now by China and the US will not occur for months, if at all. Right now it is all heat and bluster with the world's media outlets acting as useful idiots in pushing the narrative.
Will the threat of a trade war bring China and Russia to the table to negotiate to Western norms, or is the kleptocracy and neo-socialist strongman model the new normal? Which would you rather have?
Note: I have not even touched on the subject of recent Sino-Russian military tactics as further reasons to avoid their influence and rule.
So, ask yourself this single question... would you rather the world be under the thumb of China, Russia or the US (whether under the control of an Obama or a Trump)? Simple question. Reply with an honest answer below:
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