NeverSure

1 minute ago, GinBoy2 said:

You know as well as of of us that the reason companies move manufacturing to China in general, has nothing to do with regulation or taxes, but labor cos

 

Castro's Cuba was a 3rd world tinpot Dictatorship....China is a nuclear capable Superpower with the second largest economy in the world.

 

There is a reason we have Diplomats who treat countries differently.

I don't know that. Shipping is a huge component of having things made in China, especially if the raw materials have to first be shipped to China.

Of course lowering taxes makes it more affordable to manufacture in the US.

The regulatory burden on US business has gotten out of hand and most larger businesses have to have compliance people who are experts to walk that minefield. Regulations are fully law, but they are put in place by bureaucrats, not by the legislature. The legislature creates the bureaus and gives them the authority to make regulations. Then pencil pushers who've never run a business have nothing better to do than to think up new ideas for businesses to comply with. The results are devastating.

These regulatory agencies are part of the Executive Branch which answers to the POTUS. Trump has promised to deeply cut regulations and steeply reduce taxes which will along with saving shipping costs and maintaining high efficiency make American manufacturing competitive. If it isn't enough there is always the ability to add tariffs.

Cheers.

22 minutes ago, iReason said:

 

Absolutely right.

I have nothing to "add" to that ignorant, neanderthal drival you posted.

And have no interest in addressing your childish gibes as well.

 

Yawn... 

Welcome to my ignore list.

Cheers

5 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

Then look around you. What, if tariffs were applied to all those goods would it do to US consumer prices? US companies choice to manufacturer in China to lower US consumer price, and increase their own profits.

 

You don't pressure China by hurting your own consumer base

You can reduce corporate taxes, costly regulations, and a combination of that and tariffs would restart US manufacturing. The US has long been a very good manufacturer but overburdened with costs. 

The are also robotics that while reducing costs, open up a whole new field for workers and still provide work for the suppliers, raw materials providers and all that goes with that.

While China makes most clothing sold in the US, the US with robotics can now make clothing without human intervention. Where does that leave China when we have to ship them the cotton just to make the clothes before they ship them back? 

2 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

As much as I responded to iReasons comment to you, the same is true.

 

Without reasoned argument and thought nothing is achieved. We seem to have entered an age where the internet echo chamber can validate any two line argument.

 

I think your post was wrong, totally lacking in any real substance, equally as I said to iReason his response was hyperbolic.

 

But at some point we need to recognize that the world is complex, reality TV is exactly that...TV, not reality. So unless we try to argue sensibly rather just talk radio 'fact', then democracy has a real problem

And your post has exactly what to do with the topic "Trump speaks with Taiwan's president risking China tensions?"

"Some people" seem unable to post without making it all about style or personalities. I reject your post out of hand for saying nothing about the topic.

It is entirely silly to think that China could bully the US into not taking a phone call from a democratically elected national leader who buys billions of dollars worth of arms from the US. If China doesn't like it, it's China that will suffer. China has bluffed too many for too long.

Cheers.

2 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Well that's a little hyperbolic. What would say however that the original comment fails to grasp the new reality of China. Maybe 10-15 years ago they were totally dependent on exports, essentially relying their 'workshop of the world' status.

 

However things have moved on, rather quickly in point of fact. They now have a burgeoning middle class, a technology sector which is no longer just manufacturing, but innovating, and now have a domestic market.

 

So the notion that the US could in some simplistic fashion though market forces cripple them,  is not only misguided but wholly wrong. The US isn't the largest trading partner, the EU is, and if you add Japan, South Korea, Malaysia even, the volume dwarfs the US in export terms.

 

The problem that many on this esteemed forum, and elsewhere fail the recognize is, that whatever a politician may tell you on some stump speech, complex issues very very rarely have 'bumper sticker' solutions

The EU isn't the largest importer of Chinese exports if that's what you meant. The US is. LINK

The US has several ways to snooker China if China wants to do too much bullying.  One is to put a large tariff on its exports - something Trump has suggested. Another is to starve it out of $USD, the international unit of trade. Without USD it can't engage in international trade because few if any countries will accept its money for trade.

I can think of others but I don't expect the US to tolerate China's bullying for the next 4 years at least.

Cheers.

3 hours ago, iReason said:

 

Classic ignorant, bigoted redneck gibberish.

 

'murica...

Brilliant retort. Just what I'd expect from someone who knows nothing and has nothing to add.

Cheers.

China can't afford a war with the US simply because the US is the largest buyer of its exports. Where's it going to send its crap so it can feed its people?

"With his reckless Taiwan phone call, Trump has done untold damage to the cause of appeasement and groveling." - Ann Coulter

OMG. Trump is actually putting the interests of the US ahead of China. For the first time in decades we'll have a president who doesn't bow down to China. Whatever is this world coming to?

Cheers.

18 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

That's what every AC guy we've had here has said.  DO NOT let them sit idle.  Run them every week for 10 minutes.  Which we now do and don't have as many problems as we did a few years ago.  Another nice aspect of the AC is it reduces the humidity.  When the humidity reaches 85% outside during a rain, say, we turn it on and it sure is nice! LOL

I often run my AC just to remove the humidity from the house even if it isn't hot outside. Even when it's cool outside if it's humid, the furnace warms up the humid air and it bugs me. I of course have "whole house" "centralized" heating and air conditioning which is ducted to all of the rooms at once. Just lowering the temperature with the AC a couple of degrees is enough to condense all of the humidity in the air and drain it outside as water.

43 minutes ago, Xircal said:

 

Maybe Obama can preempt that by pardoning Clinton: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/would-obama-pardon-clinton-231120

 

She doesn't need a pardon. She's innocent of any wrongdoing. That's what the Democrats tell me. 

Of course the new AG might decide that Hillary had criminally violated the Emoluments Clause which prohibits officials from accepting those hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign governments such as the $25 million from Saudi Arabia. That's a serious crime.

I'll just wait and let it play out.

Cheers.

3 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Most posters bringing up Clinton and Obama are Trump supporters. Replies are met by "Trump won". Kinda circular logic there.

Not circular at all. Many of the rah rah posts against Trump are a day late and a dollar short. Trump won the election. It's time to stop campaigning. 

None of the crap posts about Trump have any meaning now. He will be POTUS in just 47 days.

Cheers.

1 hour ago, boomerangutang said:

 

Obama won two presidential elections. That's a pretty good track record.  And he won despite the best efforts of the Republican Attack Machine and billions of dollars thrown against him - along with torrents of lies and birther BS (led by you know who).   Indeed, a large % of the ding dongs who voted for McCain, Romney and Trump still believe that Obama is a Kenyan Muslim - because Trump kept railing on that pack of lies for five years.  It's a modicum of the BS that right wingers believe when they're told the same pack of lies daily.

Hey, just FYI, your side lost. You can stop promoting Obama any time now. He's outta there.

The US has had the slowest economic recovery since WWII under Obama. Obama has never had a year of 3% GDP growth. Unemployment numbers have been skewed but there are more people out of the workforce right now than ever in history. Home prices are propped up by absolute record low interest rates for 8 years. The Fed has had to keep interest rates near zero just to barely keep things afloat. Jobs have fled the country en masse. 

The community organizer who never even managed a lemonade stand has been running the country and the economy and he's made a mess. 

I've listened to libs tell me Trump couldn't win the nomination, and then that he couldn't win the White House, and now that he can't run the country. I feel like I'm in a room full of children.

Way back when Trump first announced his candidacy I started telling people on here, "Get used to saying President Trump." I took the hoots and derision from the Left. NOW get used to saying it. You act like there's still a campaign in progress. It's over.

Cheers.

The US has pussyfooted around with China for too long. "Let them eat cake". They always want things their way but it's always one-sided.

The US sells billions of dollars of military equipment to Taiwan but can't take a phone call from them. I'd say Trump is the adult in the room.

Cheers.

17 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

 

That's a very misleading map.  For example:  HRC won Nevada, but look at it, it's almost entirely red.  Yet another example of false and/or skewed news from right wingers.

Obama has been so bad that while he's been POTUS the Democrats have lost more than 900 state legislature seats, 12 state governors, 69 Congressional House seats, 13 Congressional Senate seats and now The White House to Trump. Those are the elections of 2012, 2014 and now 2016.

That's a very serious axe kicking from the people. The Democrats have been the captains of their own private Titanic.

Cheers.

7 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

 

That's a very misleading map.  For example:  HRC won Nevada, but look at it, it's almost entirely red.  Yet another example of false and/or skewed news from right wingers.

I don't know what's false about it. Hillary won just two counties but they contain Las Vegas and Reno. She got all of Nevada's 6 electoral votes. Overall Hillary won Nevada by about 2.5%. OTOH Trump won all of the other counties which are red. Nevada went for Clinton.

1 hour ago, Elkski said:

Neversure, do you travel to Thailand for vacations or just come on here to see us crazy ones talking about and living in Thailand. 

I lived in Chiang Mai in the Riverside Apartments for a year a few years ago. I've vacationed in Thailand numerous times. After being there for a year I was happy that I hadn't sold my home in the US and moved back for good.

I have friends in Thailand and still like to vacation there but my health isn't the greatest any more and it's a long trip. BTW my last couple of trips I stopped in Hawaii for a couple of days which really broke the long trip up nicely and helped a bit with the jet lag.

Cheers.

11 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

They need to be run every few weeks or so, otherwise the parts go to hell.  We turn them on just for 10 minutes every few weeks if not in use.

Someone told me the seals dry out and they leak out all of the coolant. Don't know if that's true but I run mine at least every week.

11 hours ago, mark45y said:

The cost of putting all distribution lines in the USA underground would be, at a minimum, $2.4 Trillion. This equals 16% of the U.S. GDP.   I wouldn't hold your breath.   https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/should-overhead-lines-be-underground/

 

How long have you lived in Thailand?  2 weeks?  I've lived here 20 years and have a good idea of costs.  This is how it works.  I say my house costs half as much as in the USA and you say but it's not as good as the USA.  Do a lot of Thai people retire to the USA?  I say my transportation expenses are half what they would be in the USA and you say but the roads are safer in the USA.  Food is cheaper in the USA and housing is cheaper in Thailand.  What percent of typical expenses are housing and what percent are food? Typical housing percent of expenses is 35%.  Typical food percent is 9%.  So which should we base our judgment on?  My wife who was 30 years younger than I in the USA cost me one million eight hundred thousand baht a year.  My Thai wife who is 30 years my junior costs me five hundred thousand baht a year.  That's a savings of one million three hundred thousand baht per year.  I'm in hog heaven and have save tons of cash. 

I don't know why you're obsessing about lines being underground. In any event in the US they are orderly and safe where in Thailand they are a mess and may well not be grounded. If you don't think the roads are safer in the US I can't help you.

Apparently for you everything is about money which I don't worry about. I care about quality of life.

If you can't afford a home in the US then yes, you should probably live in Thailand. Just remember that every time you step out your door you step into a littered, rat infested third world sheetwhole.

Cheers and have a nice weekend.

12 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

Can't wait for all those Trump supporters from the rust-belt to finally realise that they have been used and then betrayed. Their wailing and gnashing of teeth is going to be soooooo funny.

The Democrats betrayed the people in the rust belt partly by shipping their jobs to China and Mexico. They also failed to invest in infrastructure. What was formerly the auto manufacturing capital of the world is now in ruins. The last I knew Flint didn't even have safe water to drink. People who used to have good family wage jobs in manufacturing are now on welfare and food stamps and their towns are in ruins.

The Democrats have controlled those states for at least 50 years. The people have had enough of the treason from Democrats who care nothing for Americans but instead allow massive immigration by people who would harm them and by illegals who take jobs under the table for less than minimum wage. There's the treason of shipping the good manufacturing jobs out of the country leaving those people with nothing.

Trump wants to make those areas great again and he convinced the people he can. Give him a chance. What's been going on hasn't been working. The graphic below shows just what a landslide/wipe out Trump inflicted on the Democrats.

33 minutes ago, mark45y said:

No article because I asked a question.  I wrote, "What percent of USA power lines are underground?"  I'd say about 60 to 70% of USA power lines are above ground

from looking at the decaying infrastructure of the country but maybe you can find a link for the total USA and not cherrypicked locations.

As I said, the US is huge and has "miles and miles of miles and miles." It is 900 miles (1450 kms) just to drive across Texas. All of those rural places have farms and ranches which have power and there are power lines along all of those roads and none that I know of are underground. I'd say your guess of 60 - 70% might be close for towns and cities but waaaay off for the whole country. I'll bet it isn't 10%. 

The point is that any that is either under or above ground will be up to code, neatly done and well maintained unlike Thailand.

We do lose a lot of linemen to electrocution. When one guy dies, they just send up another.  

Cheers.

2 hours ago, anotheruser said:

That's the thing the price to rent in the USA is relatively high. Yet, the price to own in some areas is very reasonable. The 75 sq/m condo I live in Bangkok is 50K a month. The building is okay but it is five years old and falling apart already.

 

-snip-

 

When the housing market crashed in 2007-2008 many people not only lost their homes but their credit rating was ruined. They had to live somewhere so they rented. Many still can't or won't buy. Many waited too long until home prices rose back to about where they were before the crash and they still don't have a down payment.

You are right. With a near record low of home ownership and so many renters, rent is through the roof in most places. I could easily rent each of my two spare bedrooms for upwards of $600 per month but I don't want the hubbub. I could rent my house through an agency for $2,000 per month and move to a grass house in Isaan, LOL.

I've mentioned a couple of times in another thread that if I was poor I'd move to the rural deep South US and buy a double wide mobile on its own land for about 20K or so and even then I could rent spare bedrooms.

I'm really lucky that I own my home, have no debts and a decent income and can just coast on out of here.

Cheers.

1 hour ago, mark45y said:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/the-life-of-the-linemen-who-keep-your-lights-on/

 

What percent of USA power lines are underground?
 

The US is huge with "miles and miles of miles and miles". The lines are underground in most areas built in the past few decades and many towns and cities have be upgraded. You'll see overhead lines running cross country and in older neighborhoods.

Even so, if you see overhead lines they are neat and orderly and safe. Oh, and they are also safely grounded LOL.  

Cheers.

PS  I didn't see where your linked article said what percentage is underground, not that it really matters.