6 ms·

Honestly though, it seems like he would rather have everyone lose than take a chance that anyone but him wins. Even positive reporting of the man makes him out

• padjo 2mo ago
  He fundamentally does not understand non zero sum dynamics.
  • Avicebron 2mo ago
    The business-as-usual multi-international neoliberal supply chain model wasn't benefiting a vast number of Americans with no solution other than "don't complain look at these metrics we made up, you're doing great, don't be upset we are making billions while you struggle to afford to fix your teeth or fix your car". Something had to break and break it did. If you are so non-zero sum, what would you suggest as the fix for those issues if we kept the old model?
    • g8oz 2mo ago
      Progressive taxation.
    • padjo 2mo ago
      Americans are upset about not having any money while being the richest and most powerful country in the world. They are throwing a temper tantrum about a world order they created and are the main beneficiary of.
      • dbdr 2mo ago
        There's a class of americans that didn't benefit from that world order. However, they elected someone who pretended he was going to help them, and actually is making it even worse for them and better for those who were already benefiting.
      • WarmWash 2mo ago
        The reality is that people judge their quality of life in relevant terms, not absolute ones. Better to be absolutely poor in a poor country than relatively poor in a rich country and all that
        • padjo 2mo ago
          Some people, others are capable of being grateful for what they have.
          • deleted 2mo ago
            [deleted]
    • vel0city 2mo ago
      [dead]
    • LastTrain 2mo ago
      I would suggest not going with the dumbest rock you can find and standing behind it against all evidence.
    • dpkirchner 2mo ago
      Before engaging, let's get this settled: do you believe that the US economy operates on a zero sum basis?
      • Avicebron 2mo ago
        No it's not zero sum but it can also not be benefiting a ton of people. Which is what I said..
        • dpkirchner 2mo ago
          Here's what I don't get about this: Trump's main campaign promise was to raise prices for American consumers (via tariffs) and to harm the lowest wage earners the most (tariffs as sales taxes are regressive). Going against "business as usual" resulted in higher prices, as predicted and promised. Nearly everyone here benefited from lower prices afforded by reduced trade barriers. This isn't some obscure hidden fact.
          • deleted 2mo ago
            [deleted]
          • calf 2mo ago
            The mistake here is letting the word benefit do all the heavy lifting. You cannot define benefit in a superficial way and expect things to make sense. Notions like "let them eat cake", or trickle-down-economics, also abuse and distort the notion of benefit. "System X benefitted all Americans in a trivial way" smacks of that kind of false reasoning.
  • adjejmxbdjdn 2mo ago
    Imagine seeing American wealth increase dramatically over the past several decades, see tax burdens drastically reduced on the top 0.1%, and see almost all of that drastic increase in wealth go to that 1%, and not be able to come up with a solution other than “well, against all evidence I think trade is zero sum”. And worse, your solution then is tariffs, which are little more than a sales tax which are disproportionately paid by the poorest.
    • WarmWash 2mo ago
      [flagged]
      • misnome 2mo ago
        e.g. hurting the right people, _even if it hurts us too_
        • cheonic025 2mo ago
          [dead]
        • WarmWash 2mo ago
          It's easy to be upset when you see the wealthiest class of Americans spend all their money on cheap Chinese versions of what you build. Not even because they cannot afford your products, but simply because they can cost cut by going with China. This rot is also existential, because as domestic players die, that knowledge is also lost.
          • fzeroracer 2mo ago
            The wealthiest Americans aren't buying shit from China, I have no clue where you managed to get that point from but they're buying boutique shit from Europe or elsewhere. American-made goods have the worst cost:quality ratio for multiple reasons. Capitalism hollowing out quality, businesses capturing markets. They sit in an area which are unaffordable for your average American as a result of the middle class vanishing and not boutique enough for the wealthier ones. People voted for a wealthy man to loot everything and he's doing exactly that.