Explain to a european why in the usa some people have to wait 11 hours to vote with the election being 2 weeks away ?

@whowasthatmaskedman [quote]So why not select 300 million university graduates, based on proportion of the global population, drawn by secret ballot to vote for them..It would be no trouble at all..[/quote]

Why go through all that nonsense?

Put me in charge and we'll be just one big happy planet. OR ELSE!

@beckyromero Okay.You got the job, if you are silly enough to take it. Now your mission Jim, (since you chose to accept it) is to negotiate with the rest of the planet to pay back $30 trillion and simultaniously get the American people to live on a trillion $ less than they did last year, all without printing a single $ in paper for the next decade.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman

Who said anything about "negotiating" with the rest of the planet.

I think you missed the "Or else" part. 😉

Remember, American citizens hold hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese debt.

So how about let's amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and allow our citizens to pursue Chinese assets in the Courts?

And China isn't the only country that owes the U.S. an awful lot of money.

@beckyromero Yeah......Nahh.....Sorry..Here is a conservative position.. You need to read the graph of public debt. Thats how much American businesses owe to businesses around the world AFTER deducting what they owe the US. Then add the amount of Treasury debt such as bonds in the hands of overseas business and governments. The total somes in around $30 Trillion and is out of date by a trillion plus all the stimulus money, which hasnt got into the figures yet.
And when it comes to dealing with the Chinese you would want to tread carefully. They can halt most of the manufacturing that still happens in the States, since almost everything relies on some Chinese component content.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20has%20the,highest%20out%20of%20207%20countries.

@whowasthatmaskedman

The Chinese defaulted on their World War II debt.

@beckyromero True.. But this is very different.. If the US defaults is will become a pariah state that no one will seel anything to for $US, which means they have to earn it by selling things.. And the inability to do thst is what got the US into this mess.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman

Who said anything about defaulting on U.S. federal government debt? It's unconstitutional for us to do so.

I'm talking about telling China to "pay up" and allow individuals to pursue cases in the Courts.

As for U.S. debt, about $10 trillion is owed to foreigners (out of $27 trillion).

We imported about $3.1 trillion in goods and services in 2019.

A modest 10% tariffs in imports could wipe out half of that debt in 15 years or less.

@beckyromero And would violate a bunch of WTO deals that the US relies on for protection as things stand. But thats not the issue. In a hypothetical case if Wong Int makes car parts for GM and Ford, the currently sell them to GM and Ford, no problem. But by hollowing out the value of the $US the govt risks driving the price of those parts up if the Chinese decide unilatorally to ask for more $US per Yuan or even worse, insist that the US pay in a form other that fiat paper dollars. (Remember printed $ have no backing in gold and are therefore only worth something because we all agree,. If nation like China changes its mind for poltical reasonsm which they do often do. America id screwed in a matter of months. Much of the manufacturing America has still relies on Chinese components, and China exports globally and can easily survive losing the US as a market. Or buy through other currencies.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman [quote]Much of the manufacturing America has still relies on Chinese components[/quote]

One of the things I disagree with Biden on is China trade.

We should have NEVER granted China PTNR.

I'd prefer revoking it.

We need to rebuild our manufacturing and industrial base.

We need to be making needed pharmaceuticals here in the U.S.

We need to make sure we have adequate supplies of "rare Earth" minerals and put restrictions on what can be sold to foreign entities.

We need "fair trade," not trade for the sake of it.

We need to stand up for human rights and put those above all other rights.

So-called American companies that set up shop in Communist China to take advantage of cheap labor and ship goods back here are not American companies at all. They're "transnationals" and don't deserve the same trade rights as Australian, British, Canadian and French companies in those nations.

China is dependent on the United States for roughly 24% of its agricultural imports. They tried to mess into U.S. politics by putting tariffs on soy beans. If Trump had a spine, he would have made ALL agricultural exports to China dependent on human rights. China would have squealed "interference in our internal affairs." I would have told them there's a new sheriff in town and respect for human dignity means something again.

And if the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam want our continued support in defense of their position on the Spratly Islands, then they'd better get onboard the train. Because it's leaving the station and they won't want to be left behind.

Our trade deficit with China is what has helped allow them to pay to build up their navy. Reducing that trade deficit will help increase the size of ours. The Soviets couldn't match our military build-ups of the 1980s; China can't, either if we poured money into the Navy, missile defense and air assets ... for the moment.

China is expected to double its nuclear weapons stockpile in the next 10 years, putting most of those warheads on submarines, bombers and air-launched cruise missiles.

They're going for Taiwan in our lifetime. Just as the Russian bear will be clawing at Ukraine and the Baltics.

We'd better get our collective heads out of the sand and understand what's going on in the world.

@beckyromero While there is a lot to unpack in that (I went over it twice) I cant find a thing to disagree with.
However, there are a couple of points to be raised. A nation working cohesively in its overal nationa interest will sometimes need to place nation interest above cost. So your 50c Walmart item is going to cost a dollar. and your new "American" Car, is going to be a few thousand dollars dearer. Second, its going to take many years to bring all those industires and skills back home. Skipping over the re education of the workforce and retooling of the economy for a moment, it is worth noting that China is the place where Government, Industry and finance are coordinated and heading in the same dorection (along with foreign policy).. Americans dont trust their govt and money is leaving the country as fast as it can find other places to go.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman

Yes, there will be some inflation but that can be tempered by lower taxes for lower and middle income earners offset by higher taxes on higher incomes.

A higher minimum wage and true universal health care (I prefer a Canadian-style single payer system) would also offset the pain of inflation for lower and middle income earners.

[quote] Second, its going to take many years to bring all those industires and skills back home.[/quote]

Not necessarily.

A boost in military spending will help re-build a faltering industrial base and those workers will retain those skills as industry re-emerges when they move to new jobs.

Another reason I backed Dick Gephardt for his presidential run in 2004 was he wanted a global minimum wage. It would vary from country to country but membership in the WTO would be conditioned on it.

“We need to stop the human exploitation that is going on in this world,” Gephardt told a group of Iowa Democrats back in 2004.

“I’ve been in the villages.... The [manufacturing] plants are as good as anything in the United States. But the people live on the ground. They live in the cardboard boxes that bring the products back to the United States.... They live in worse conditions than most animals do in Iowa.”

@beckyromero I completely agree about the exploitation and Chinas human right record.. But America has done nothing about it up to now, nor will they.. But more importantly that wont pay back one cent of the international debt. Nor will boosting mitiary spending. You need to make stuff other people outside the country will pay for in a currancy other than US$ or in exchange for some of the $ you already owe them.. Then pay your workers a wage., This is not an easily solved problem.😷

@whowasthatmaskedman

Hence why I said:

"Put me in charge and we'll be just one big happy planet. OR ELSE!"