The Dire State

The US today has become the antistes of what our nation was supposed to be. We have lost sight of our founding principles where life, liberty, and the ability to not only pursue but actually achieve relative happiness has ceased to exist for millions. Never before in our brief history have, we seen so much unapologetic behavior where lives and livelihoods have been lost due to the disingenuous policies that our politicians and many corporate leaders of industry continue to unleash unto the American public.

The wheels of injustice have already started turning. No longer are we in control of our own destiny. The erosion of our founding principles has unleashed the juggernaut of invasive and destructive policy directives eliminating any chance that we the public will ever regain our moral compass. We inadvertently succumbed to false pretenses fueled by our own disillusion to the realities of our own doing.

We are now living in a world void of the pleasantries of a time long since passed. The scope of the harshness of our world is vast complicated by the destructive nature that governments impose onto the public. With no rhyme and apparently no reason the new Trump administration has set off a chain of events that are bound to have almost irreversible consequences for millions the world over.

Many can remember what Christmas and the holiday season was like many years ago. Now we are thrust into an era where apprehension confronts our failure to recognize what we have actually done to society. Could it be that the tempo of life has moved to fast or that we again have failed to learn from what history is supposed to teach us?

It is at this time of year where remembrance of things past should come into focus and awaken a sense of nostalgia that all good things in life be passed on for generations to come. And yet what have we today is an awareness like that old song by Chad and Jeremy "all good things must end some day, Autumn leaves must fall" is the fate of our world.

Bleak, yes. But there is a way to save ourselves from ourselves in a way not too many realize. With the ever-encroaching dangers of global warming, the obsessiveness of Trump, Putin and others for power, control and wealth continue to push the world toward a destiny far removed from the hopes and dreams of millions. Still, we for the most part ignored what we should have learned the lessons history is supposed to teach us.

The probability of a second Trump administration falling in line with tactics similar to Nazi Germany of the 1930's is a reality we can't dismiss as just incoherent rhetoric. We the public have to realize that we as citizens of the United States have an obligation just like what Thomas Jefferson warned us about over 250 years ago. We have to preserve our heritage and restore our democratic republic to the principles of our founding. The future is in our hands. We cannot wallow in disbelief and ignore what has happened to our nation and the world

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swirlie · F

What the USA is reverting back to is pre-American Revolutionary times in Great Britain when King George III of Great Britain was considered the epitome of tyranny and obtuse arrogance, which of course is why there was an American Revolution in the first place!

Everything in Great Britain that American colonists ran from, is now on America's doorstep exactly as it was back when King George III ruled them. Except now the king doesn't wear a thorny crown and Royal cape; he wears a two-piece suit and red tie but talks the same lingo as `ol George once did!

AthrillatheHunt · 51-55, M

@swirlie Orange man LOWER taxes. That’s the opposite of what George did. Try again

JPWhoo · 36-40, M

@AthrillatheHunt 1. Orange man only lower taxes on the rich. 2. The problem wasn’t raising taxes, it was taxation without representation. That part I put in italics is important!

swirlie · F

@AthrillatheHunt

Orange man LOWER taxes.

Orange man cannot afford to lower taxes because the USA is bankrupt and he knows it and so does Elon Musk. Try again.

AthrillatheHunt · 51-55, M

@swirlie he already did his first term . As for this time we shall see.

swirlie · F

@AthrillatheHunt
In Trump's first term, he cut taxes for the top 1% of American wage earners but offered nothing to the middle class who are actually the ones who pay America's bar tab, not the top 1%.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@swirlie

I believe that you may be getting your talking points from the US Democrat propaganda network :) The working poor in the US pay zero federal income taxes, likewise for the elderly living off Social Security benefits. The bulk of taxes are paid by the rich and by corporations. Ignoring tax credits for now, cutting taxes for someone who already pays zero taxes is a mathematical impossibility, so Democrats take advantage of the math and yell and scream about Trump’s tax cut for the rich.

The purpose of Trump tax cuts was/is to free up the US economic engine. Corporate and investment incomes are so heavily taxed in the US that US produced goods and services are no longer affordable, even for Americans. As more and more US purchased goods and services are produced elsewhere, and as they are paid for with borrowed monies at some point it will collapse the US greenback and make it worthless.

Follow the bouncing ball. Every month I get a social security check from the government. Since the US is broke the government has to borrow the money to cover that check. With that SS check I purchase a car made in Korea, a refrigerator made in China and internet connection to a big computer in Canada. So half of my SS check gets passed on to Korea, China and Canada. Take a step back and see where that money came from, it was money the US Treasury borrowed that I sent to Korea, China and Canada. Do any of those dollars come back to the US to offset or pay back the money the US had to borrow for my SS check? No, US goods and services are too expensive. Koreans, Chinese, Canadians don’t buy “made in America” for the same reasons why Americans don’t. Too expensive. If it comes back at all it comes back in the form of a loan to the U S Treasury, money the Treasury can borrow to cover my next month Social Security payment. So how can the government help restore US economic sustainability? Only 3 options: lower corporate taxes, lower investment income taxes and put tariffs on imported goods and services.

swirlie · F

@Heartlander

So how can the government help restore US economic sustainability? Only 3 options: lower corporate taxes, lower investment income taxes and put tariffs on imported goods and services.

Oh, you poor man! Obviously you've never studied Economics 101.

You really need to stop investing your attention into those MAGA Party propaganda networks if you ever expect to learn what makes an economy tick.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@swirlie

:) I was there before MAGA. Back then it was just about Make America Sane Again.

Somewhere in one of my junk drawers is an old cigar box full of assorted foreign coinage. Left over pocket change from my military flying days. My favorites are the French “NF” coins; the “F” for the Franc, and the “N” for new. New? Geez, what happened to the old Franc? Answer' it became worthless and was replaced by the new Franc at a 100 to one exchange rate.

I imagine that a 100 to one exchange from our old dollar to a new dollar would bring cheers to a bunch of lefties in the US and Canada, but for the rest of us it would likely be an unsettling experience.

swirlie · F

@Heartlander
Tariffs induce inflation which means the cost of living goes up FOR AMERICANS on imported goods coming into the USA.

If Canadian-made goods are imported into the USA and tariffs are put on those goods, it is Americans who pay more for those goods, not Canadians. That is what inflation is... the inflated cost of buying goods on American store shelves. Why do you think that putting tariffs on imported goods would be a smart thing for America to do?

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@swirlie the tariff is collected by the US government which can then give it to the American consumer in one way or another. The American consumer can then pay the higher price because he/she now has more money. Then when the consumer goes to the store SURPRISE, next to the foreign import is a US made comparable product at a comparable price. If used right the tariff will subsidize the US made product, along with creating US jobs and wealth. A process made far more difficult if Democrats are successful with raising corporate and investment taxes.

swirlie · F

@Heartlander
That tariff is added directly to the cost of the item in question. When that product is purchased, it is also taxed at the purchase price, which means the government charges tax on the tariff portion as well. It's the increase in sales tax revenue that goes to the government, while the US consumer pays the price of the item plus the US-imposed tariff, plus the tax on the item, plus the tax on the tariff-portion on those imported goods.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@swirlie the tariff is collected by the federal government and sales taxes by state and local governments. Expect lots of local discussions about the state and local sales tax on the tariff part. Those battles will be fought at City Hall and the county court house. Those are fun fights where local citizens expect to either pay lower taxes or insist on knowing what they will get in return.

Tariffs aren't aren't about milking foreign manufacturers. They serve as incentives for foreign makers to put their plants in the US, and encourage both US and foreign investors to invest in the USA

swirlie · F

@Heartlander
You have probably adopted that economic perspective because that's what those right-wing websites have obviously been peddling to their dedicated readers to make the prospect of tariffs seem like the logical choice for the US government to make by imposing tariffs on foreign imports.

Wow! Are you folks in for a major wakeup call! Get out your wallet Heartlander and just carry it in your hand because you'll be needing it more often than you think by the time Trump gets finished hijacking your economy and the chickens start coming home to roost!

Warren Buffett has already cashed-out 90% of his holdings in the NYSE recently, to which he commented that he's just getting ready for an impending "fire sale"!

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@swirlie :) not only am I NOT a Democrat I am also NOT a Republican. Lately though I’m very impressed with Trump’s picks for cabinet and assorted VIP positions.

I’m somewhat following Warren Buffet’s pullback example. Or is he following mine? It will take some time to pull the US out of the skid, and Democrat saboteurs view stalling Trump as a sacred mission. Trump will outsmart them and succeed anyway. So short run cautious and long run bullish. A time for caution also considering how a stronger dollar may have an inverse impact on the value of non-US companies.