1 minute ago, gargamon said:

What kind of idiot does it take to fail when running a casino? Even with his father sending suitcases of cash and repeatedly failing to pay the contractors working for him he couldn't make it work. 

A Trump kind of idiot. Donald Trump specifically.

Reagan was right about tariffs.

 

Sometimes mild tariffs can protect an industry, but large tariffs prevent foreign competition.

 

If you don't have to compete, you don't invest, you don't innovate and the consumer gets expensive, crappy products for much longer than normal.

 

Two good examples are the UK & Thailand.  

 

Specifically, let's look at the auto industry.  Toyota sold older or less advanced vehicle models due to limited competition (AI analysis below).

 

When the market is opened up, look at what's happening with BYD.  They are selling vastly superior cars at (currently) up to 50% of the cost of an equivalent Toyota in Thailand. The public love them and market share is increasing quarter by quarter.  The same is happening in the UK.

 

So the consumer gets better technology, better value and other local companies have to step-up their game or close down.  Toyota responds by promising 10 new EV's in a couple of years (Toyota, like Musk has a habit of promising & not delivering).

 

In the USA, consumers can buy an overpriced Tesla or an overpriced, under engineered local EV and there is no incentive for local companies to invest in new products.

 

The other issue I see with Tariffs, is supply chains adapt.  Adaptation is long term and the country imposing tariffs loses out long term.  We are seeing that with Canada.  They buy their steel elsewhere; they sell their own steel elsewhere.  American trade is minimised with long-term new trading partners.  Additionally, the public start to be selective and look at where products originate, eg a Canadian may now look at his products on the supermarket shelves and avoid American products.

 

The damage is long-term.

 

Yes, Toyota has faced criticism for selling older or less advanced vehicle models in Thailand, partly due to limited competition and regulatory gaps in the local market.

Here’s a deeper look at the situation:

🚗 Toyota’s Strategy in Thailand

• Toyota dominates the Thai auto market, holding over 35% market share as of mid-2024.

• Critics argue that Toyota has delayed introducing newer hybrid and EV technologies in Thailand compared to markets like Japan, Europe, or the U.S.

• The company has focused heavily on 1-ton pickup trucks and older ICE models, which remain popular due to price and utility.

 

🧭 Why This Happens

• Limited competition: Until recently, few global EV brands were active in Thailand, allowing Toyota to maintain dominance without aggressive innovation.

• Regulatory leniency: Thailand’s emissions and fuel economy standards have historically been less strict than in Western markets.

• Consumer habits: Thai buyers have favored reliability and resale value over cutting-edge tech, which Toyota’s legacy models offer.

 

⚡ Shift Toward Electrification

• The rise of Chinese EV brands like BYD, MG, and GWM is changing the landscape.

• Toyota has begun ramping up hybrid and EV offerings, but still lags behind in full BEV deployment.

• In 2025, Toyota projected a market rebound to 600,000 units, with hybrid electric vehicles playing a larger role.

 

🧠 Bottom Line

Toyota’s reliance on older tech in Thailand was partly strategic — it matched consumer demand and faced little pressure to innovate. But with EV competition rising and government incentives shifting, Toyota is now being forced to modernize its lineup.

Would you like a comparison of Toyota’s Thai models vs their Japanese or European equivalents? I can show which tech features are missing or delayed.

10 hours ago, save the frogs said:

He blames past presidents, saying they didn't know how to use tariffs, presidents who had no understanding of business. 

 

Although many of you guys keep attacking Trump for his "failed businesses", he has a solid business background. 

 

 

6 bankruptcies and Trump and his businesses have been involved in over 4,000 legal actions from 1973 to 2016, per public records, with additional cases since. These include disputes with casino patrons, contractors, employees, and government entities, plus personal defamation and misconduct allegations

 

Solid business of griffting

10 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Before WW I, tariffs financed the federal govt.  

 

Local RE & income taxes pretty much stayed local.  16th Amendment for Fed. Income Tax was established 1913.

 

So yea, Trump has a point, and they given away too much over the years, along with funding so many international organizations, that rarely benefit the USA.

 

About time someone thought about USA first, instead of continually borrowing money to give it away.

 

 

 

 

Like billions to Argentina and Israel?

 

 

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Like billions to Argentina and Israel?

 

 

 

Could we be seeing Trump resorts in Argentina & Israel? and/or will they be buying his Trump meme coin?

58 minutes ago, stupidfarang said:

6 bankruptcies and Trump and his businesses have been involved in over 4,000 legal actions from 1973 to 2016, per public records, with additional cases since. These include disputes with casino patrons, contractors, employees, and government entities, plus personal defamation and misconduct allegations

 

Solid business of griffting

Says a pensioner.

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

A Trump kind of idiot. Donald Trump specifically.

I'm pretty sure the children are just as bad, especially the crypto-crook Barron. But don't rule out the other ”special” ones 

15 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Says a pensioner.

 

What is wrong with being a pensioner?

2 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

What is wrong with being a pensioner?

Nothing but it's 100 steps below President.

2 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

What is wrong with being a pensioner?

 

Well, there's the smell for a start. 

 

Nobody likes that old people fragrance.

 

Plus they move so slow.

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

A Trump kind of idiot. Donald Trump specifically.

A list of 14 major casinos that went bankrupt includes prominent names such as the Sands Atlantic City, the Revel Casino Hotel, Trump's Atlantic City casinos, Caesars Entertainment (which filed for bankruptcy in 2015), the Riviera in Las Vegas, and the Aladdin casino, among others.

6 minutes ago, Tug said:

Trump is a trustfund baby bet most folks here could make quite a splash with 400 million+ a bunch of rentals ehh?not to mention all the doors wealth opens for you.

But most businessmen don't become President. Biden tried for 50 years won once.

4 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

But most businessmen don't become President. Biden tried for 50 years won once.

And we are paying the price unfortunately.

8 minutes ago, Tug said:

And we are paying the price unfortunately.

• Second-quarter GDP growth revised up to a 3.8% rate
• Consumer spending accounts for the upgrade to growth
• Weekly claims for unemployment benefits drop 14,000 to 218,000

The U.S. stock market reached new record highs in late October 2025, driven by strong tech earnings, optimism over a potential U.S.-China trade truce, and expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts

2 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

• Second-quarter GDP growth revised up to a 3.8% rate
• Consumer spending accounts for the upgrade to growth
• Weekly claims for unemployment benefits drop 14,000 to 218,000

 

Always post a source with your claims

1 minute ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

Always post a source with your claims

Not my claims. Facts.

 

https://www.reuters.com/business/us-second-quarter-gdp-growth-revised-sharply-higher-2025-09-25/

 

 

Source now posted TWICE

2 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Not my claims. Facts.

 

https://www.reuters.com/business/us-second-quarter-gdp-growth-revised-sharply-higher-2025-09-25/

 

 

Source now posted TWICE

 

Then always post a source with any claims.

6 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

President Trump via Truth Social on the Supreme Court tariff case:

 

Trump is completely lost in space, he knows nothing about globalization or the inherent ecosystems within it, and he is simply engaging in populist protectionism which will result in massive job losses, and a shrinking of the American economy, and will contribute to the increasing irrelevance of America, and our allies dependence on other nations. Nations they can trust, and nations that are dependable, unlike the US. 

1 minute ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

Then always post a source with any claims.

Not my claims. They are facts posted on the internet which you failed to read because MSNBC did not report it. I'm not responsible for your level of knowledge. You are. If you are too lazy to read facts before your Trump rants that is on you.

2 hours ago, stupidfarang said:

6 bankruptcies and Trump and his businesses have been involved in over 4,000 legal actions from 1973 to 2016, per public records, with additional cases since. These include disputes with casino patrons, contractors, employees, and government entities, plus personal defamation and misconduct allegations

 

Solid business of griffting

 

 

Yes, but to be fair, most of those 4,000 legal actions are him defending sexual assault allegations.

 

 

3 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Trump is completely lost in space, he knows nothing about globalization or the inherent ecosystems within it, and he is simply engaging in populist protectionism which will result in massive job losses, and a shrinking of the American economy, and will contribute to the increasing irrelevance of America, and our allies dependence on other nations. Nations they can trust, and nations that are dependable, unlike the US. 

https://www.reuters.com/business/us-second-quarter-gdp-growth-revised-sharply-higher-2025-09-25/

 

• Second-quarter GDP growth revised up to a 3.8% rate
• Consumer spending accounts for the upgrade to growth
• Weekly claims for unemployment benefits drop 14,000 to 218,000

The U.S. stock market reached new record highs in late October 2025, driven by strong tech earnings, optimism over a potential U.S.-China trade truce, and expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts

 

•  
• Quote

 

8 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

• Second-quarter GDP growth revised up to a 3.8% rate
• Consumer spending accounts for the upgrade to growth
• Weekly claims for unemployment benefits drop 14,000 to 218,000

The U.S. stock market reached new record highs in late October 2025, driven by strong tech earnings, optimism over a potential U.S.-China trade truce, and expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts

 

• Unemployment rose to 4.3% in August, the highest since 2021.

• ADP reported 42,000 new jobs in early November, reversing September’s 32,000 job loss—but still below healthy growth benchmarks.

• Bank of America data suggests underlying weakness in consumer job stability, despite surface-level economic strength.

Bank of America shares troubling new jobs data

2 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Not my claims. They are facts posted on the internet which you failed to read because MSNBC did not report it. I'm not responsible for your level of knowledge. You are. If you are too lazy to read facts before your Trump rants that is on you.

 

Always post a source with your claims, it's an AseanNow rule

3 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

• Unemployment rose to 4.3% in August, the highest since 2021.

• ADP reported 42,000 new jobs in early November, reversing September’s 32,000 job loss—but still below healthy growth benchmarks.

• Bank of America data suggests underlying weakness in consumer job stability, despite surface-level economic strength.

Bank of America shares troubling new jobs data

Rose by 0.1% lol

 

How desperate and pathetic

 

 

Just now, Harrisfan said:

42,000 new jobs in early November, reversing September’s 32,000 job loss—but still below healthy growth benchmarks.

 

Just now, Harrisfan said:

Rose by 0.1% lol

 

How desperate and pathetic

 

 

 

Dis you miss the unhealthy jobs growth? 

 

UNHEALTHY

Just now, Harrisfan said:

Why are you talking about Trump's penis?

 

Do you normally answer a question with a question?

Just now, JBChiangRai said:

 

Do you normally answer a question with a question?

What's wrong with you?

2 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

 

Dis you miss the unhealthy jobs growth? 

 

UNHEALTHY

Unhealthy is an emotional word used by lefties. It is not rational.

11 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

• Unemployment rose to 4.3% in August, the highest since 2021.

• ADP reported 42,000 new jobs in early November, reversing September’s 32,000 job loss—but still below healthy growth benchmarks.

• Bank of America data suggests underlying weakness in consumer job stability, despite surface-level economic strength.

Bank of America shares troubling new jobs data

The average annual unemployment rate under President Barack Obama was 7.41%

 

https://www.investopedia.com/unemployment-rate-by-president-8637843

The average year-over-year inflation rate under Joe Biden was 4.95%. 

 

https://www.investopedia.com/us-inflation-rate-by-president-8546447