11 hours ago, pomchop said:

Having traveled a lot all around the world for 50+ years I have seen the good the bad and the ugly of a wide variety of countries from rich to poor.  I have seen people who literally have nothing.  There are millions of people who do not have easy access to clean water to drink.  There are people who were born into poverty with little to zero chance ever to escape their "fate". Their are people who die of all sorts of diseases for lack of a vax shot or a hospital or a doctor.

 

Then there is the USA where the vast majority of people overall lead not such bad lives.  Most have a place to live, a nice car, a 55 inch tv, smart phones, etc.   Want water? Press a button.  Want a/c?  Press a button. Want 300 channels on your 55 inch tv? press a button. Want to go somewhere? Get in your car and take off.

 

 Most Americans  live a life that billions of people who were not born on third base like the majority of  Americans.  Many live under brutual dictators.  People constantly die trying to get into the USA for a reason because they know that it offers them the hope of a better life.

 

Yes America has a lof of poor people and a lot of problems.  BUT take a look around the world and most would agree that most Americans have had it much better than billions of their fellow citizens of planet earth. To be born a white american male is very very different to being born a dirt poor cambodian kid.

 

So what the hell are so many americans so very angry about that they are ready to roll the dice on a convicted felon huckster who wants to disrupt the world and "make america great again" at the risk of sending it into a total tailspin? Of course ideally the goal is always to make tomorrow better than today but that does not mean you need to burn the entire country /world down and risk it all on a "concept"?

 

  Bottom line is with some exceptions America has been a great place to live for decades and with all it's warts will likely continue that way in spite of all the whining about what a <deleted>hole country it has become.

 

  Why so angry?

 

Despite people in most western countries having a much higher standard of living, this does not appear to equate with happiness.

One travel blogger from the US claims people in Bangladesh seemed less miserable than most americans. 

 

8 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

Get your calculator out, and borrow a brain from someone who has one......

 

How exactly is what he is doing going to erase the deficit and make things better? Have you ever designed and built a factory, considering everything from labor costs to worker skills to tax incentives to power and transport sourcing? Not easy, not done quickly, and sometimes makes no sense---even if one could get behind tariffs.

 

Now on another topic....

 

Since homo sapiens (or their ancestors) walked out of Oldavai Gorge, exactly how many sovereign governments have repaid their debt? Exactly how many?

 

The system is always based on confidence and a collective agreement to suspend disbelief. That is the great secret of civilization, apparently lost on MAGAs. "Service" debt is all that has ever counted.

 

Anyone who has followed POTUS' career knows he knows nothing and has zero skill. He could never service his own debt, so he couldn't lead others to collectively suspend their disbelief. He defaulted on loans and defaulted on junk bonds. 6 bankruptcies.

 

Like sovereign governments, however, he long had his own "Central Bank". Ours is called the Federal Reserve. His was called "daddy". His father 1) gave him a massive allowance from the age of 3 until dad's death, 2) co-signed every loan POTUS took until his death, 3) once walked into an Atlantic City casino and bought $3.2 million in chips so that POTUS could take the cash and repay a personal loan due in NYC, 4) left POTUS almost half a billion dollars in inheritance.

 

Still, POTUS failed...as his tax returns show. Two things bailed POTUS out. One was that Mark Burnett created a fantasy and made POTUS a Game Show Host, which actually earned POTUS some income, as well as fooling the goobers of US society into believing the guy is some sort of success. The second thing was that---for some reason---Russian oligarchs put money into SIVs (Special Investment Vehicles) at Deutsche Bank and loaned the money to POTUS, or as Junior said, "We get all the money we need from Russia". The SIVs at DB are off balance sheet, but also callable.

 

So we have a lifelong failure, save for Mark Burnett and oligarchs, who somehow thinks tariffs will mean Americans will knit t-shirts just like women in Bangladesh. NOTHING In the tariff plan has anything to do with reducing the deficit. Nothing. Oh, and all the "cost savings" of DOGE amount to not even a rounding error in a single year's budget, much less the total National Debt. DOGE slashing the IRS workforce had the IRS itself estimating it will result in a yearly loss of $500,000,000,000 in tax revenues because people will know they can get away with cheating. Toss in POTUS planned tax cut---which economists estimate will add more than a $trillion a year in new budget deficits, and it should be clear even to MAGAs that POTUS really has no plan for slashing the deficit.

 

Instead, POTUS is slaughtering pensions, insurance company funding, 401Ks, etc., as the markets tank.

 

And the biggest joke of all? Even MAGAs might laugh if they knew the actual story of where the impetus for the tariff plan originated. Perhaps I'll start another thread to discuss that. Just Google "Ron Vara".

You should keep your posts short, is the only way anyone would read them

35 minutes ago, hotsun said:

You dont seem to understand there were only two options, trump or america turning into the UK. what do you want americans to do?

The UK has free medical care. That is a wonderful thing the older you get. 

1 minute ago, bannork said:

The UK has free medical care. That is a wonderful thing the older you get. 

Why do you all pretend like the news stories posted here from the UK dont exist? The only threads you click on have trump in the title

5 minutes ago, hotsun said:

Why do you all pretend like the news stories posted here from the UK dont exist? The only threads you click on have trump in the title

There's something fascinating about a nation voting for a man whose so full of lies and nonsense. It's extraordinary really.

 

1 minute ago, bannork said:

There's something fascinating about a nation voting for a man whose so full of lies and nonsense. It's extraordinary really.

 

Your brain is mush. Back to reality with you

12 hours ago, KhunLA said:

...whatever is bad for the USA, is usually good for expats.  I await inflation and a good COLA.  Any luck, and the exchange rate will hold steady for this year, and not drop too much, the next couple years.   If so, hopefully offset by inflation, and COLA.

Any idea what the 2025 US CPI and COLA will be this month (this week actually)? I'm guessing around 3% but could a bit less.

The tariffs are clouding the issue. I see here many MAGAs barking about the deficit. Okay......

 

Tell us, where in all of this drivel spewing from the golf course, is the data on how the deficit will be slashed? Put up some numbers. What's the time frame and what aspects of the messiah's Master Plan actually impact the yearly deficit?

 

What kind of factories and production facilities do you expect to be built, and how long will it take for these to bear fruit? What happens to 401ks and insurance company funds (should there be a natural disaster requiring policy payouts) and pensions while waiting for all of this? What about consumers who must spend more just to buy what they need to survive? How about job layoffs resulting from the decline in the world economy while this fantastical production switch is occurring? How are the tax cuts POTUS promises going to help the deficit? MAGAs still believe in trickle down?

 

Blind faith is nice if one is an Elmer Gantry and is trying to get the faithful to fund another Gulfstream, but when an economy, markets, world alliances, pensions, insurance funds, etc. are at stake, a little analysis is a lot more useful than having faith in a clown who bankrupted 6 casinos.

4 minutes ago, hotsun said:

Your brain is mush. Back to reality with you

Reality today US style. Financial markets in free fall after inheriting a bull market from Biden.

The US without friends. Canada, Japan, India, S. Korea, UK, various Commonwealth countries in talks with the EU to form a free trade association.

 

12 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

MAGAs still believe in trickle down?

They probably do - and probably don't know who coined the expression. BTW, did the University of Chicago get its budget slashed? 🧐

Just now, bannork said:

Reality today US style. Financial markets in free fall after inheriting a bull market from Biden.

The US without friends. Canada, Japan, India, S. Korea, UK, various Commonwealth countries in talks with the EU to form a free trade association.

 

Thats nice..do you have any of your own thoughts though?

3 minutes ago, bannork said:

Reality today US style. Financial markets in free fall after inheriting a bull market from Biden.

The US without friends. Canada, Japan, India, S. Korea, UK, various Commonwealth countries in talks with the EU to form a free trade association.

 

So you think Trump should spend spend to keep bull market going 555

 

How dumb can you be 

28 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

...people in Bangladesh seemed less miserable than most americans. 

 

Ever been to Bangladesh? I have.. dump. Maybe the people there are less miserable than Americans right now, but is that much of a claim?

The importation of cheap, sub-standard, garbage from China is an addiction that may prove to be more difficult to wean off of, even than heroin.

 

Who is to blame?

Not China.

 

Americans are not willing to pay for quality.

Importers are competing to offer ever-lower priced garbage to American air heads.

 

It is not logical that the US can run a trade deficit forever.

However, the average American is not logical.

Few Americans are willing to make short-term sacrifice for long-term health and prosperity.

 

Therefore, Trump cannot win with the American Public firmly behind him.

 

They will always undermine any president that does not feed and enable their addiction.

 

 

1 hour ago, hotsun said:

You dont seem to understand there were only two options, trump or america turning into the UK. what do you want americans to do?

Well let’s just think about that for a minute #1 trump felon,fraudster,rapist,con man,business failure on an epic scale,pathological liar,hides all records….trusts our enemies over our allies….or vote for an experienced qualified woman……no sir I think it’s you that doesn’t understand.

Just now, hotsun said:

Thats nice..do you have any of your own thoughts though?

Because the takeaway from the info posted by bannork requires explanation?

12 hours ago, KhunLA said:

No understatement there.  Title from my favorite news source, RTNews, but just Google the title, and you get plenty of the same reports.

 

Also stated 'hand in there', which is the sad part, as he actually thinks people care, or see the long game.  They don't, and don't care.   Why it will all fail miserably, very fast.  Even worse, nothing will have time change for the good, and people don't want to sacrifice at all, short or long term, for the benefit of future.

 

TBH, I'm the same ... but ... I never had to depend on the system to take care of me.  Why it will fail, and if no immediate improvement, come midterms, as Senator Cruz suggests, Reps will face a 'bloodbath' at the polls  

 

... and the deep state will be back in control.

 

All good for me of course, as not there, and whatever is bad for the USA, is usually good for expats.  I await inflation and a good COLA.  Any luck, and the exchange rate will hold steady for this year, and not drop too much, the next couple years.   If so, hopefully offset by inflation, and COLA.

 

He stated the same while campaigning, and first week in office, but people aren't going to 'buy USA', and manufacturing won't come back quick enough.   Good plan in theory, but people haven't go the intelligence, or care about the future.   Everyone lives in the now, and want 'free sh!t'  

 

Oh well, such is life.   

Maybe good idea in theory, but bad plan in action.

21 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Any idea what the 2025 US CPI and COLA will be this month (this week actually)? I'm guessing around 3% but could a bit less.

Don't know, don't care.  They'll tell me their BS COLA number pulled out of someone's orifice, at the end of the year, and it will show up in Jan 2026's DD 

10 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Who is to blame?

Not China.

Nope. It was Reagan, Bush(s) and Clinton that facilitated offshoring manufacturing for American companies which enthusiastically pursued a race to the bottom for wages in Asian countries, particularly China. Trump is trying to wind back the clock with sanctions - but that clearly won't work. I don't know what would work to be honest. Why would the US oligarchs and Captains of Industry spend all that money to build factories in the United States again and hire fat dimmwits to run the machines and do the paperwork? Meantime, Americans and the world will end up in a recesion through tariffs as consumers tighten their belts and only buy what they need. Has Elon built any new factories in the US?

3 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Don't know, don't care.  They'll tell me their BS COLA number pulled out of someone's orifice, at the end of the year, and it will show up in Jan 2026's DD 

It's USDOL that does it via the CPI anuual changes.

1 minute ago, ronnie50 said:

It's USDOL that does it via the CPI anuual changes.

That's funny.  Apparently, there was no inflation a few years, since I retired ... 

 

... there's also honest politicians  

 

13 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Don't know, don't care.  They'll tell me COLA at the end of the year, and it will show up in Jan 2026's DD 

Trump, Vance, and both Trump's economic advisors have stated they want a weaker US dollar. How do you think that will affect your SS and COLA.

We all get to find out if Trump's ideas work, in real time. And, during most of our lives, the world has not been in a more precarious situation, either economically or in a geopolitical sense.  The changes Trump wants to make are drastic and, for the most part, unprecedented. 

 

In any event, the alternative to Trump was Harris and the destruction of what was left of America. And so the voters chose Trump. And yet his plans may be overly optimistic. The status quo developed over decades and centuries, both economically and with respect to the established international "rules based order."  And unfortunately, over the years, America has grown increasingly bankrupt, both economically and as a superpower.  US hegemony is being supplanted by a multipolar world.  

 

Will Trump succeed?  I'd like to think so, but I'm probably more of a realist. The forces allied against him are massive, and the established economic order will not simply disappear.  At the end of the day, the Western Central Banks control the Western world's finances. It's a world of fiat currencies and money manipulation and the name of the game is currency debasement to keep the system operational.  So, look for lower rates and a "race to the bottom" in the currency markets.  And yet at some point, that game will no longer work.  How long will it last?????   It's the only game in town for the Western world, so it'll probably go on for a while.  Trump has some breathing room. But the Western economy does not exist in a vacuum, especially in a world of scarce resources and a shifting geopolitical structure. 

 

Trump also wants to realign the geopolitical world.  He says he wants peace, but does he?  It doesn't seem that way, at least in the Middle East, which is about to turn into a major mess thanks to the Neocons at the State Department.  It's almost a lost cause, at least in the Middle East. 

 

Bottom line:  Trump probably won't be successful.  In some areas, perhaps.  I'm not holding my breath, though, on a shake up of the entire world order.  

Remember when Trump was going to bring peace to the Middle East but the only thing that happened was more war and his son in law made billions?

1 minute ago, KhunLA said:

That's funny.  Apparently, there was no inflation a few years, since I retired ... 

 

... there's also honest politicians  

 

In the first 2 years, there was actually deflation. Remember that those were the years of the Great Recession?. In 2015 it was 0.1%

Here I think is a good talk that both sides could learn from.

 

6 minutes ago, bunnydrops said:

Trump, Vance, and both Trump's economic advisors have stated they want a weaker US dollar. How do you think that will affect your SS and COLA.

I guess it depends on the inflation rate vs. the devaluation rate of the dollar. Higher inflation increases COLA. By itself that could be a good thing. But, of course, that depends on the value of the dollar. If its decline in value decreases more than inflation raises the total number of dollar a recipient receives, then it's a problem. But it depends on a country by country basis. For instance, right now, despite the general decline of the dollar, it's gotten stronger in relation to the baht. Whether that lasts, who can say?

30 minutes ago, bunnydrops said:

Trump, Vance, and both Trump's economic advisors have stated they want a weaker US dollar. How do you think that will affect your SS and COLA.

I'll let you know Oct 2025, when the magical, imaginary COLA # is released.  Hopeful both on the positive side of things, or at least, one offsets the other.

 

Most of it goes into the savings / investing account anyway.

51 minutes ago, placeholder said:

In the first 2 years, there was actually deflation. Remember that those were the years of the Great Recession?. In 2015 it was 0.1%

Most pension and SS systems have a minimum bar the CPI must rise to in order to add the COLA to a pension/SS. Like more than 2% I think. Not sure of the minimum bar. Two or three years ago was the big CPI rise and COLA - 8%? I missed that one unfortunately.

3 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I agree 100%.  He's a 'lame duck'' already, and the career politicians, such as Cruz, are already distancing themselves from him.   Even though he doesn't have to worry about midterm election, 22 other Reps in the Senate do.   Reps having the most to lose come 2026.

 

Only 1 retiring vs 4 Dems retiring, so there's a plus for the Reps.  Vance & Rubio's seat need to be refiled,   Ohio could go either way, more likely go Dem.  Florida should be safe for Reps.

 

Fairly certain the Reps will lose the Senate in 2026.  

 

Even Adolf Hitler, a dictator who supposedly had absolute power, complained that he could not get his generals to do what he asked them to do.

 

Absolute control is always an illusion. Even for Hitler. Even for Trump.