spidermike007

Life is way, way too short to waste your remaining years with someone so unworthy. Get out now. Don't wait. Either with or without the dogs. Get out like your life depended upon it.

I blame it on every American president since Reagan. Both sides are inept.

It’s a total mess. As the Ford Motor chief executive Jim Farley courageously (compared to other chief executives) pointed out, “Let’s be real honest: Long term, a 25 percent tariff across the Mexico and Canada borders would blow a hole in the U.S. industry that we’ve never seen.” So, either Trump wants to blow that hole, or he’s bluffing, or he is clueless. If it is the latter, Trump is going to get a crash course in the hard realities of the global economy as it really is — not how he imagines it. Ecosystems? Listen a bit to Beinhocker, who is also the executive director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. In the real world, he argues, “There is no such thing as the American economy anymore that you can identify in any real, tangible way. There’s just this accounting fiction that we call U.S. G.D.P.” To be sure, he says, “There are American interests in the economy. There are American workers. There are American consumers. There are firms based in America. But there is no American economy in that isolated sense.” The old days, he added, “where you made wine and I made cheese, and you had everything you needed to make wine and I had everything I needed to make cheese and so we traded with each other — which made us both better off, as Adam Smith taught — those days are long gone.” Except in Trump’s head. Instead, there is a global web of commercial, manufacturing, services and trading “ecosystems,” explains Beinhocker. “There is an automobile ecosystem. There’s an A.I. ecosystem. There’s a smartphone ecosystem. There’s a drug development ecosystem. There is the chip-making ecosystem.” And the people, parts and knowledge that make up those ecosystems all move back and forth across many economies. As NPR noted in a recent story about the auto industry, “carmakers have built a vast, complicated supply chain that spans North America, with parts crossing back and forth across borders throughout the auto manufacturing process. … Some parts cross borders multiple times — like, say, a wire that is manufactured in the U.S., sent to Mexico to be bundled into a group of wires, and then back to the U.S. for installation into a bigger piece of a car, like a seat.” Trump just waves off all of this. He told reporters that the U.S. is not reliant on Canada. “We don’t need them to make our cars,” he said. Actually, we do. And thank goodness for that. It not only enables us to make cars cheaper, but also better. All that a Model T did was get you from point to point faster than a horse, but today’s cars offer you heating and cooling and entertainment from the internet and satellites. They will navigate for you and even drive for you — and they’re much safer. When we can combine more complex knowledge and complex parts to solve complex problems, our quality of life soars. But here’s the catch. You cannot make complex stuff alone anymore. It’s too complex. And if you are not part of these ecosystems, your country will not thrive.” And trust is the essential ingredient that makes these ecosystems work and grow, Beinhocker adds. Trust acts as both glue and grease. It glues together bonds of cooperation, while at the same time it greases the flows of people, products, capital and ideas from one country to the next. Remove trust and the ecosystems start to collapse. Trust, though, is built by good rules and healthy relationships, and Trump is trampling on both. The result: If he goes down this road, Trump will make America and the world poorer. Mr. President, do your homework.

OK. Agree the origin may have been earlier. But, all Republican and Democratic presidents supported it, since then. And for good reason. The US has become increasingly unaffordable for most manufacturing. And Trump won't change that. He is dreaming and his supporters are buying into his nonsensical narrative. Nothing will change the outsourcing.

Traffic safety, and public safety has never been particularly high on the list of priorities for Thai officials. I seriously doubt anything's going to change, it's so easy these days to make a promise, or to make a proclamation or declaration, and then just completely forget about it within two weeks! It takes a special kind of insincerity to do something like that .

Nope. Wrong again. It started under Reagan, when massive outsourcing started happening, and it continued under all subsequent presidents Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Clinton, Obama and Biden, and now it's happening at a much faster pace under Don the Destroyer.

I don't think ANYONE willingly has sex with that abomination. Anyone smell sulfur in the room?

The US has been on a steady decline for at least 30 years. The quality of life is slipping, the cost of living is outrageous, it's people are disenchanted and bitter, and things are not looking promising with the leadership of a circus goon who wants to be king. The irony is that Trump is harming the US most of all. Trump’s tariffs are basically a form of tax on US citizens. And that it is a regressive tax, because rich or poor, Americans will pay the same amount of tax when they buy an import on the tariff list. The US government is collecting this tax. The US government would do better to raise income taxes on the most well off people in its society. People who can afford the tax more easily. It’s a far more equitable and effective way to raise taxes. It’s how governments do it in well run countries. Trump is a failed capitalist. It is fairly easy to get wealthy if you are willing to steal most of your fortune from unsuspecting small contractors. Yet he still went bankrupt. That requires a special kind of skill. Or another level of grifting. His tax hike proposals would end up being a disaster. If they were highly targeted tariffs, only imposed upon goods other states were subsidizing, making it impossible to compete, that makes sense and would be good policy. But, blanket tariffs end up being punitive for the American consumer and American companies forced to operate overseas due to the silly costs of manufacturing in the US. They are a tax. Trump lies when he says other nations will pay for them. He lies when he says companies will pay for them. Consumers will pay, so it becomes a tax. Be bold, big Don and for once be honest. It is a tax hike. And it could slow down the economy and result in a massive loss of jobs, and major inflation. Very dumb policy.

The man who cannot negotiate his way out of a paper bag, gives away the store to the UK. Just wait for the China deal. More Trump concessions.

Seems you have not been spending much time in the US lately. If inflation is at 3%, why is it that every time I return two to three times a year, every one of my staples has gone up 10 to 15%? Surely you have an answer for that? Or would you prefer to stick with your fairyland government fake narrative?

All in an average day of one of America's greatest grifters. He has re-defined what it means to be a con artist.

Likely not an issue. Between his age and his diet, he is likely totally impotent. So, watching is about the best he can muster at this late stage of his sad life.

Closer to 3% actually.

Yet, it seems as if inflation is currently raging at 22% in the US. Great work Don.

They need a couple of fall guys, it would appear, as they're going after anyone but Thaksin himself, who is completely above the law, any and all laws.

It's just not fair, don't they know who I am? Don't they know how great I am? Don't they know that I am the most incredible human being on the planet? Don't they realize I'm the smartest guy in America? Don't they know how handsome I am? I'm am so confused, flustered, unhappy and bitter. I can't stand it when someone says no to me. I am the king.

Glad to hear. Based on their wealth I certainly hope that represents hundreds of millions of baht, each.

No. It is highly likely his minions called their Chinese counterparts and begged them for this meeting. Trump has severely overestimated the influence of the US, and nations around the world are just saying NO to his highly obnoxious bullying! The US needs China. Badly. Trump is in very deep, self created doo doo.

He says the expenditure would lack public benefit? Since when is that a consideration for parliament? Is this guy a saint in our midst? Considering the will of the people is quite a stretch for these so called leaders. Is this a miracle?

A dose of reality is waking up the wise prognosticators? Amazing. Who would have thought?

Reminds me of the Borat films!!

Gates is absolutely amazing and what his plans are for mankind are even more amazing. This world needs more super rich folks like him, and it makes me wonder if Thailand will ever see anyone of this sort, with a grand vision for helping humanity. It's your puts to start contrast to guys like Thaksin, Trump and Musk! Truly tiny men with no sense of obligation to society.

A very weak negotiator will give away talking points before the negotiations start, that is the very definition of Trump, he's never been a good negotiator, nor a particularly good businessman, he knows how to steal money, and he knows how to grift, but that's about it. We all knew he would cave in, China is holding all the cards in this game.

There's no question that Putin has it within himself to be a genocidal madman, on the level of Hitler, if given the right opportunity. He would have no compunctions as the man has no moral barometer, and no integrity whatsoever. Also, he seems to enjoy inflicting pain upon common people, and his thirst for power knows no boundaries.

He will be. Not soon enough. He might not even make it through the entire 4 years.