The Next President is...

[BuddhaSixFour]

Always thought the middle nihilist and Jim Slife looked eerily similar.

[Biff_T]

But what about the price of eggs?  

Eggs, eggs, eggs.......

[GKinnear]

6 hours ago, BuddhaSixFour said:

Always thought the middle nihilist and Jim Slife looked eerily similar.

Hey man...@Karl Hungus has a name...better put some R-E-S-P-E-C-T on it!

[HeloDude]

According to Democrats, we’re still under Biden’s economy for another 2-2.5 years…or does this narrative change based on how well the economy is doing?

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/443180-2020-dems-trump-doesnt-deserve-credit-for-the-economy/amp/

[Lord Ratner]

1 hour ago, Negatory said:

This forum gets very quiet about real policies, which is why they love to talk about things like trans rights and abortion. 

It’s going to be a struggle for folks to justify the essentially manufactured economic austerity that is emerging all while slashing taxes for the wealthy and adding to the deficit. But, with the power of echo chamber news, they’ll find a way to believe that this is good.

Which policy would you like to discuss?

[bfargin]

Negatory: words…

Plenty of policy discussions have happened in this forum. Nothing off limits … from international relations (trade, agreements, diplomatic ties, etc), insane gov spending, the Fed Reserve, fiscal policy, social policy, education, and plenty more have been discussed.

How do you not consider the offspring and future of our country not a policy issue. Between government (academia, grants, research funding) indoctrinating everyone to be homos (can’t procreate) and/or tranies (destroy themselves) we’ll end our nation (no birth rate). Add to that our welfare system rewarding fatherless families, we’re doubling down to ensure our downfall.

Social policy matters and encouraging rational sane policies supporting and fostering strong traditional families is important if we want our nation to survive.

[uhhello]

My only thoughts:  It was going to burn down eventually.  Best to do it on our own timeline with some semblance of a plan.  While I don't think everything has been anywhere close to managed effectively in regards to massive cuts, I think it was the necessary shock to attempt to get the country back on track.  All media talks about is tariffs we're imposing, no mention of the tariffs that were already imposed on us for a long time.  It's going to be ugly but in the end I think it's necessary.  Nobody is going to change anyone's thoughts on the internet.  Just come here to see somewhat opposing viewpoints of mine.  Sadly some of the opposing viewpoints have left and it's a bit of a chamber but 

[BuddhaSixFour]

1 hour ago, bfargin said:

Between government (academia, grants, research funding) indoctrinating everyone to be homos (can’t procreate) and/or tranies (destroy themselves) we’ll end our nation (no birth rate).

This is not a thing. If you think this is a thing, you are wrong. Whoever is telling you this is a thing is a lying to you. If you believe whoever is telling this to you, you are a sucker. 

[brickhistory]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/rosie-odonnell-moves-to-ireland-amid-trump-presidency-the-personal-is-political/ar-AA1AJm0v?ocid=BingNewsSerp

 

To paraphrase ol' Robbie Frost, "And that's made all the difference..."

 

LFG!

[blueingreen]

12 hours ago, Negatory said:

This forum gets very quiet about real policies, which is why they love to talk about things like trans rights and abortion. 

It’s going to be a struggle for folks to justify the essentially manufactured economic austerity that is emerging all while slashing taxes for the wealthy and adding to the deficit. But, with the power of echo chamber news, they’ll find a way to believe that this is good.

You're probably right about the economic austerity on the horizon. I think the key is that, especially among young Trump voters, people actually want this to happen. They feel like their backs are against the wall and they have nothing left to lose. We're at the point now where people are genuinely open to the idea of purposefully crashing the economy and bursting this bubble (and make no mistake, we are in a bubble) through deflationary policies, tariffs / trade wars, etc.

There is a growing feeling of resentment and disenfranchisement among young people toward a generation of boomers for whom the stewardship of a prosperous economy (which they were the biggest beneficiaries of) seemed like an afterthought that ought to be considered once they retire and start collecting their social security checks. Big businesses have been taking advantage of illegal labor and legal programs like the H1B visa (which is basically indentured servitude under threat of deportation) to undercut domestic wages while countless young Americans are applying to hundreds of jobs without receiving a single response, let alone an interview. This influx of people also clogs up the housing market and drives up demand while Byzantine development and zoning regulations + huge asset management firms keep the supply of homes artificially low. Not to mention the damage done to the demographics and social trust of a society that imports millions upon millions of foreigners without any plans for assimilation. Social standards of decency and decorum in just the past few years have declined dramatically, which you've probably noticed while interacting with the many foreigners and dullards who now bizarrely seem to occupy the majority of customer-facing roles in businesses across the country. To be fair, COVID probably also played a role in making people socially retarded. I don't think we've ever fully recovered from that.

As for "trans rights" (a ridiculous neologism that didn't exist before 2014) and abortion, they're part and parcel of the neurotic and parochial worldview that dominates modern progressive politics. The science is clear: There are only two sexes (I refuse to use the word "gender," which is a loaded term popularized by freaks like John Money who explored their psychosexual fetishes and pathologies through medical experimentation on vulnerable children). I'm not a bleeding-heart Pro-Lifer but the Pro-Abortion crowd in America seems to view any limitation on abortion as some kind of dire violation of fundamental human rights (as if the baby gestating inside a pregnant woman isn't human?). Even the most progressive countries in Europe have abortion policies that would be considered strict in the US, usually something like a 8 - 14 week cutoff, often with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother (exceptions account for a tiny fraction of abortions; most are elective).

It's easier and more approachable to discuss these social and moral issues, which is probably why people prefer to talk about them compared to the finer points of other "real policies" (whatever that means, like social issues aren't "real").

[SurelySerious]

Why not advance your business interests in exchange for legal favors?

[disgruntledemployee]

12 hours ago, blueingreen said:

Words...

In chatting with some younger gens, the ones that talk 'burn it all down' say it, I think, because they can't/won't figure out how to compete in the world/reality we are in.  They think if it's all torched that it levels the playing field. They think they can then gain an advantage.  Maybe for an instant, but when it comes to success, I think there are two main types, sharks/hunters and prey/sheeple.  The shark is successful today and will be successful tomorrow in any new world.  The sheep will remain sheep.  That saying, dog eat dog world, will likely always be valid.

-‐----------------------

As for the Trump 2.0 experiment, how's everyone's investment portfolio looking?

[blueingreen]

21 minutes ago, disgruntledemployee said:

In chatting with some younger gens, the ones that talk 'burn it all down' say it, I think, because they can't/won't figure out how to compete in the world/reality we are in.  They think if it's all torched that it levels the playing field. They think they can then gain an advantage.  Maybe for an instant, but when it comes to success, I think there are two main types, sharks/hunters and prey/sheeple.  The shark is successful today and will be successful tomorrow in any new world.  The sheep will remain sheep.  That saying, dog eat dog world, will likely always be valid.

-‐----------------------

As for the Trump 2.0 experiment, how's everyone's investment portfolio looking?

You're not wrong, I just think there's more to the story. I'd say that among my generation (Z), 80% are neurotic lemmings who get anxious about ordering a pizza on the phone, and 20% are some of the smartest, most capable, and forward-thinking people I've ever met. The problem is that the "American Dream" wasn't meant for just the sharks/hunters who are able and willing to ferociously compete. They'll always do fine, regardless of the circumstances. Maybe that dream also wasn't meant for neurotic lemmings, I don't know. It just seems to me that you were supposed to be able to follow the rules, do your best in school, stay out of trouble, go to college or work in the trades, etc. with a relative guarantee of employment, property, family, and peace. Now, educational institutions have been hollowed out and a college degree's value has been inflated into oblivion (nearly 40% of Americans now have a bachelor's degree).

The truth is that older generations did not have to work as hard to afford the standard of living that younger generations are seeking today. The data is pretty clear when you look at median home price compared to median wages over time. For many smart and well-meaning young people, affording a home in a nice neighborhood while supporting a family is simply a mathematical impossibility.

The question is, what happens to a society when lots and lots of young people, especially young men, become restless and disenfranchised with little to no economic, social, or marital prospects?

[HeloDude]

47 minutes ago, disgruntledemployee said:

As for the Trump 2.0 experiment, how's everyone's investment portfolio looking?

So in 2019, Dems said the Trump economy was due to Obama, but less than two months in, this is all on Trump…which is it?  Honest question.

[BuddhaSixFour]

1 hour ago, HeloDude said:

So in 2019, Dems said the Trump economy was due to Obama, but less than two months in, this is all on Trump…which is it?  Honest question.

Fair question. Generally, I’d say that to the extent the president is responsible for the performance of the economy, there is a big lag of even a year or two.

But Trump came in and started banging the sticks around far more aggressively than anyone else ever has in my lifetime. You can see the markets reaction responding to him minute by minute. What he’s doing is different and I think he owns the consequences. It’s fair to look at his actions and draw a line. There isn’t some blanket “if your economy after x months” rule. It’s situational and this situation is radically different. 

Edited March 13 by BuddhaSixFour

[icohftb]

2 hours ago, HeloDude said:

So in 2019, Dems said the Trump economy was due to Obama, but less than two months in, this is all on Trump…which is it?  Honest question.

Seems to me the stock market confusion is a direct response to the tariff roller coaster ride.

(Stock market =/= economy)

 

[ViperMan]

This guy gets it.

17 hours ago, blueingreen said:

Big businesses have been taking advantage of illegal labor and legal programs like the H1B visa (which is basically indentured servitude under threat of deportation) to undercut domestic wages while countless young Americans are applying to hundreds of jobs without receiving a single response, let alone an interview.

Yep.

17 hours ago, blueingreen said:

This influx of people also clogs up the housing market and drives up demand while Byzantine development and zoning regulations + huge asset management firms keep the supply of homes artificially low. Not to mention the damage done to the demographics and social trust of a society that imports millions upon millions of foreigners without any plans for assimilation.

The other dimension here is that increased demand for housing - through artificially increasing the population - places downward pressure on wages. This effect is across ALL jobs. ALL careers. Not just menial, day-labor type employment. So not only does the cost of available housing increase, the amount of work required to net yourself housing goes up also, driving a further divide. For everyone.

17 hours ago, blueingreen said:

You're probably right about the economic austerity on the horizon. I think the key is that, especially among young Trump voters, people actually want this to happen.

We (still) haven't fully flushed out the recession from 2008, and all these present effects are still downstream from that and now all the COVID spending too. Banks withheld housing after the crash, lest they really get caught holding the bag. Post 2008, banks stopped foreclosing on certain delinquent mortgages. In 2019, some people saw this coming:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-bubble-era-home-mortgages-are-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-2019-02-25

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-bubble-era-mortgage-trick-could-smash-major-us-housing-markets-2019-03-18

In 2024 some of these mortgages are now coming back to bite:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/zombie-mortgages-debt-haunt-homeowners/

All that cash which should have been collected from people who "spent" that money on housing found its way into other parts of the economy, instead. Personally, I don't have any questions on why the price of stuff is so high. We injected fake dollars into the system during the run-up to 2008, and we did it again during COVID. When you mainline billions upon trillions of dollars into the economy without concurrent economic productivity to absorb those dollars, you get what we have now. It's simple arithmetic. It sucks that there will be pain, but we're not choosing this course presently. We made this choice a long, long time ago, and much like global warming, much of it is baked in at this point. We kicked the can in '08. We kicked it again in '20. We're eventually going to have to pay the piper, and the sooner, the better.

@Negatory, I think you're mistaking a desire for austerity, with folks' acceptance that the cure is going to be painful.

Edited March 13 by ViperMan

[17D_guy]

https://theaviationist.com/2025/03/13/portugal-f-35-plans/

We'll see if they follow through.

[disgruntledemployee]

@HeloDude

I said investment portfolio, not economy.  I was tempted to follow what Buffett did, cash out.   Those above they answered it well enough for me.

[HeloDude]

3 hours ago, Banzai said:

Yeah agreed. So to fix it we should embrace the policies of promising everyone $5k from DOGE, raise taxes on the working and middle class via regressive tax policies like tariffs…

So you’re against all the tariffs and regulatory taxes/fees that existed before Jan 20th?

[ClearedHot]

On 3/13/2025 at 12:12 PM, disgruntledemployee said:

As for the Trump 2.0 experiment, how's everyone's investment portfolio looking?

If you are basing your assessment on two months of the stock market, have not made hedges and actually made money off these events...then you are most certainly a sheeple.

[Banzai]

19 hours ago, HeloDude said:

So you’re against all the tariffs and regulatory taxes/fees that existed before Jan 20th?

Whataboutism at its finest.

[BashiChuni]

wow -6 we are so fucked.

dork.

[GrndPndr]

Actually, it's a good time to buy!

[HeloDude]

3 hours ago, Banzai said:

Whataboutism at its finest.

Nah, just pointing out that you and other progressives didn’t have a problem with tariffs before January 20th, as well as the other taxes/fees that raise prices on goods/services that are also considered “regressive”.