jas007

Traditionally, China may move "slowly," as you say, but right now, they may not have that luxury. As for Trump and the midterms? This thing will be over long before the midterms. Trump's big focus is on China, and he thinks tariffs are the way to go. I'm not so sure he's going to flip flop quite so soon.

To be sure, China has enough manufacturing capacity to supply Planet Earth with capacity to spare. As for plenty of "money"? They have a central bank and can print money, as can the US Federal Reserve. Just yesterday they lowered rates and decided to print more. They also have US bonds as part of their reserve, but weaponizing those would be counterproductive. A well educated and generally happy workforce? Perhaps. I'm afraid, however, that you don't understand the importance of the US market and why its importance isn't strictly a matter of the number of consumers in the USA vs the number of consumers in the world. Things aren't so simple. In any event, politics and economics are intertwined. They always are. And in this case, the importance of the US dollar as the world reserve currency cannot be emphasized enough. It's a political weapon and it works. The stage is set. The actors are Xi and Trump. One is on shaky political grounds and has little time to spare before the wheels to his economy start falling off. Without the US market, it all comes to a halt, sooner rather than later. Trump, on the other hand, has the US Federal Reserve backing him up, not necessarily because that's what they want to do, but because it's what they will do to protect the credit markets. And the Fed can print all the money it wants with much of the resulting inflation exported abroad. One of the benefits of having the world reserve currency. Is there a limit to that strategy? Sure, but that limit will not be reached before China has to fold. Whether or not the US is being "driven into the ground" because Trump wants to "suck up to Putin" is irrelevant to the more immediate outcome. The upshot: Trump will get at least some that he wants. Neither side may be entirely happy, but that's usually how deals work, right? Time will tell. I think I'm right, but I could be wrong.

Let me guess. You think I'm the one that doesn't understand economics? Why don't you enlighten everyone? We'll wait.

Some people can't string two sentences together, but they think they understand things they don't understand and they have an agenda. That's their way of "contributing."

How do they measure inflation in Thailand, and how accurate is that measure in reflecting real consumer prices for essentials like food and energy?

I don't think so. Why would that be the case? Trump's tariffs may well result in more inflation and higher prices, but the Fed can and will print whatever money is necessary to keep the credit markets alive. That's a given. That's policy. Inflation will result, but that effect is not instantaneous. Will store shelves soon be empty? Of junk from China, perhaps, but so what? I think that food will still be available. People can wait to buy new junk. No one is going to riot because they can't buy new Barbie Dolls or new appliances. Anyway, the people forecasting trouble don't see trouble happening for six weeks or so. By then, China will be in big trouble, politically. So long as Trump stays the course, he wins.

Sooner or later, "the people" reach a breaking point. That seems to be a point many here fail to acknowledge.

This problem is hardly unique to Thailand. Consumers don't like higher prices and they want the government to "do something." But the government is in a bind. They could raise interest rates and slow the economy and perhaps dampen inflation that way, or, they could lower rates to stimulate an already faltering economy while in the process creating even more inflation. The usual choice is to protect "the economy" with the hope that people will adapt to the higher prices that result from lower rates. Just this morning or yesterday, China lowered its rates to protect the "economy." Guess who pays? In the USA, Trump wants the Fed to lower rates to help "the economy.." Again, guess who pays.

Once again, you miss the point. You're not seeing the big picture. It's not a matter of dead kids lying "at the feet of" Russia, as if the resolution of the issue of fault settles anything. Even if you're right about the fault issue, so what? No one ever said the world is a fair place. It's not. And in this case, being "right" and continuing a losing battle is simply asking for more grief. "I'm right and it's all Russia's fault" does not justify killing more kids and endangering the world. I guess if Zelenskyy wants to take that position and gets away with selling that nonsense to the Ukrainian people, that's what will happen, but why should the USA be involved? Trump should know better.

For sure. But sometimes, I can find exactly what I want without having to fool around too much, so I may pay a little extra. But, as another poster has said, a lot of the stuff is probably made in China, so until this tariff thing is settled, ordering products made in China from the USA Amazon might not be such a good idea.

Once in a while, I buy things from the USA Amazon and those purchases are shipped to Thailand. Depending on what you buy, the import duties aren't too much and the shipping may be free. Maybe tall that will stop, if the tariffs go into effect.

I don't know about the media in Ukraine, but if it's anything like the media in the Western world, it's pretty much all propaganda. Over and over, the people who consume the media are fed the same lies. And eventually, those lies become the "truth." It's almost humorous. And once people are brainwashed, they're beyond salvation. Look at the COVID scam. They had most of the world believing that a deadly virus was circulating that could somehow be stopped by flimsy masks and plastic partitions between booths in restaurants. One-way isles in grocery stores and six feet of distance between people in public spaces. And god help you if you were caught outside enjoying life without a mask and a vaccine passport. And if you didn't wish to partake in their "vaccinations," you were an agent of death, a killer of grandmothers, on the loose. Fast forward to today, and you're a "fascist" if you don't subscribe to Zelenskyy's fantasies. And again, people believe the nonsense because that was how they were programmed.

For Trump, it's a blast from the past and a symbolic gesture, for sure. There's no good reason why that place needs to be a prison. I never went there, but I can remember standing around in San Francisco looking at it. That was back in the days when San Francisco was still a civilized place.

I am. You are the perfect example. Anyone buying into your nonsense would have to deny a lot of reality. You'd have to believe that Russia would stop, apologize, and return all captured territories to Ukraine, including Crimea. You'd have to believe that, despite massive help over the past few years from the US and from the EU, none of which was successful in stopping Russia, that somehow, more aid is necessary and would result in a Ukrainian victory. You'd have to believe that kids won't be slaughtered by the thousands. And that even if they are, "so what"? And you'd have to be indifferent to the consequences of WW IIII breaking out and possibly escalating to a nuclear armageddon. So tell me, who's brainwashed?

Apparently, the people opposing the tariffs have a couple of legal theories. And while the cases are not frivolous, once you factor in the political aspects, the courts may well be reluctant to wade into the matter. I'd be surprised if the issues are settled anytime soon.