It is only by trade, interaction, and competition that a nation is able to keep up with its rivals...and improve its own citizens’ standards of living.
As for the gold situation, I DO NOT believe the US has the gold we claim to hold. It has never had a REAL audit. Every time someone tries to conduct an audit it is blocked by whatever administration is in power. If I were another country I would want my gold in my hands also!
Even that was not a full audit. Every term for 26 years Ron Paul tried to push thru an audit bill for a full audit and it was always blocked. Smells like a dead skunk to me.
Yep, Jim, it is a "dead skunk". Well put! There was never any "full" audit. And, frankly, why hasn't there been? The simple answer is usually right - because the gold we are told is there - "isn't there. And, then if it was there, why wouldn't there be a "full audit"? Well, because it isn't there. And, the world's biggest gold reserve is in China - somewhere north of 30,000 tons. And slowly as the world turns gold will once again be money and fiat currencies will have a place but will be tied to "real" money. At that time the US$ will fall apart and we peons are in for a rude awakening. And those that think America will always have its hegemony - time to wake-up and smell the coffee. It will take awhile because there is so much US$s floating around the world and everyone is trying to get something for it before it sinks below the waves. IT IS COMING! and much sooner than the vast majority thinks. Going to be ugly, Folks!
Trade should be determined and implemented by individuals, businesses and companies at their discretion. Not controlled by political control and regulation.
"It is only by trade and interaction that a nation is able to keep up with it rivals". You know, I think there are many, many other variables outside of trade that make a nation competitive and self-determining. Bill impleys, through his TDS brand of critical thinking, that Trump's tariff position in the international trade conflicts will somehow be part of the American demise. Tariffs are a tool that governments employ to normalize balance of trade, and in the case of Canada's Bombardier, where 50% of their product is sold in America, to increase American employment by requiring Bombardier to build its product in America. Hey guys that is just good power business. It is not for the timid but that is the nature of power economics. It is not surprising to me that Bill would find it offensive as a writer and pundit who has never engaged in international economics.
You're showing your pro-Trump proclivity by defending his protectionist tactics and accusing Bonner of peddling TDS bias.
DJT's tariffs simply makes more of what we buy evermore costly and simultaneously diminishes choice.
Why are your championing less choice; higher prices?
And why are you second guessing US manufacturers who seek to remain profitable by finding lower cost labor and materials abroad?
Surely, since they remit their profits to the US and the taxable portion to the USG, wouldn't you rather they remain profitable than go out of business?
Well I do have proclivitities for Trump and his policies. His immigration policy in particular. While many in the main stream media proclaim that the tariffs have cost Americans, I have yet to see it. Yes, tariffed products are more expensive, so buy American. You also mentioned that American businesses know what is best to remain profitable and manage labor cost by manufacturing over seas. To what end? Profits are good but at the cost of stripping American clean of its ability to manufacture? Take our pharmaceuticals for example, we have to reley on China for life saving drugs. Also computers and electronics, auto parts and metals used in technology and defense applications. So yeah government intervention in some industries from time-to-time is necessary; a balance is necessary.
Yes, it is stunning to realize that our Naval vessels sailing in harms way have dispensaries replete with Made in China medicines.
Baffling too since this stunning revelation has been well known for some time
But it is disappointing that you believe a USG functionary, including DJT, knows better than Mr. Market who should make what
Also disappointing to learn that you are a modern day Luddite.
Will you -- like them in their day -- destroy factories using modern technology (e. g., robots) that achieve efficiencies with fewer to no people by creating lower unit costs and higher profits?
Few among us like change, but without accepting and adapting to it, progress stultifies.
But others, including me, wonder if the pace of change is becoming too fast and too disruptive.
Case in point: Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic and Open AI researcher resigned this week by criticizing both companies for racing ahead toward superintelligence without adequate safeguards.
One of his colleagues confirmed Coxon's sentiment on X by saying "it's a <10% probability that AI could kill all humans within ten years."
Our species has had a great if destructive run. If we're eliminated by AI, then I hope another species but one less quarrelsome will one day at least acknowledge our achievements
Yikes Jimm I am Ludite because I have an opinion or two that is not consistent with your world view. Jimm you disappoint all who have read your comments.
The use of tariffs can also be an excellent source of corruption. Case in point is the giant Brazilian meat packer JBS. JBS had made a $5 million donation to the Trump inaugural fund. The CEO had a private meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on August 20 and miraculously the next day Donnie paused the 26% tariff on Brazilian beef. It would be interesting to know if JBS brought an envelope stuffed with cash to the visit. Especially since the company had been convicted of bribery in the past.
Let me change it to "is probably being used". Especially since a president can grant waive or suspend tariffs. Or do you think JBS made the $5 million donation aka bribe with no ulterior motive? Check out the criminal history of the Batista brothers at the helm of JBS.
Yes, Bombardier has plants in the US but they manufacture wings and flight control components. However, the plane is 100% assembled in Canada and 50 % of the finished product is sold in America. Trump wants the plane manufactured 100% in America for the sake of America jobs. The world is hard place and if you have power via negotiations and business incentives (tariffs) that is how things work in capitalic system. Canada can respond to this situation to protect its interest, which at this point may be to move all of its manufacturing to America where its greatest market share resides. It just business.
Yes Mt. T. wants and reality will catch up to him when the rest of the world catch on to His "art of the deal." Now say that North Dakota has a plant in North Dakota and South Dakota say I want You to Manufacture in My South Dakota. What will be the consequences ? May be Hypothetical , but may not Be !
The Dutch indeed pulled some gold out of the USA, and also Canada, however leaving about 18% of their gold reserves with each of those countries. The gold removed from the Americas went to Holland, not London.
However, Dutch gold also went from Holland to London - a center of international trade in gold.
The gold sent to London, increased their London holdings to 32%, and it meets international standards, and so can be easily sold, if crisis requires. The Dutch retained 31% of their gold reserves in their own country.
The gold from the Americas is reported to be of a lesser standard.
I have no knowledge of why the Dutch would do such a swap; unless perhaps they intend to re-refine the gold from the Americas to a higher and more marketable standard.
In any case, they did not pull all their gold home, but left 36% on the far side of the Atlantic. For now.
The reasons given by the Dutch Central Bank - geopolitical unrest, etc - probably refer as much to the nearby war in Europe as to the chaotic global efforts of the USA. They weren't specific.
Before 1853, Japan was under the Tokugawa shogunate, which enforced a strict isolationist policy known as Sakoku, limiting foreign influence and trade for over 200 years.
Characteristics of Sakoku
Limited Foreign Trade: Japan restricted trade primarily to the Dutch and Chinese, expelling most other foreigners.
Cultural Impact: The isolation led to a unique development of Japanese culture, free from significant foreign influence.
-
Internal Stability: This period was marked by peace and stability within Japan, allowing for economic growth and cultural flourishing.
Mr Carney is the Prime Minister of Brookfield. His government filings show he is over 90% invested in the US and less than 1% in Canada. His goal is to pad his Brookfield Funds by Net Zero-ing Canada into poverty so by the time the end of his 2-term he will be a billionaire.
What Carney does or doesn’t do for his own finances isn’t really the issue here, is it?
The issue is what Canada should be doing with its own economic risk.
Diversify.
Ask any small-business owner who started out depending on a single client. “All your eggs in one basket” ring a bell? The arrangement can work wonderfully, right up until the basket gets dropped.
And doing less trade with one customer doesn’t mean doing no trade with them. It means taking some of that business elsewhere, to other customers willing to enter into mutually beneficial agreements rather than one-sided ones.
We should absolutely look more closely at Carney, Brookfield, and who benefits from the capital flows behind all of this. I intend to.
But that is a separate question from whether Canada should reduce its dependence on a single dominant trading partner.
Carney should negotiate a trade deal with the USA, first since 73% of export trade is done with the USA. Reducing this dependence will be an uphill battle, meanwhile workers will lose their jobs and business large & small will most likely relocate to the US.
During the last election campaign, Carney said that China posed a 'security threat' and now he is shaking hands with Xi and making deals. It was 'elbows up' against Trump during the campaign and after the election he called Trump 'transformative'.
I have no faith that Carney will do what's best for Canada. He will only do what's best for himself.
The joy of isolation. The US remains obsessed with cars, so it will be interesting to see how the US people respond when they discover that the US has already lost the EV car race and they are stuck with expensive rattletraps that need constant maintenace and prehistoric fuel.
Keep in mind that prehistoric fuel is what generates most of the electricity for those electric cars because wind and solar are more expensive to operate and are less reliable. Also, the electric car lost the battle with ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles in the early 1900's for the same reason as today....inefficient batteries. Never mind the devastating environmental impact mining for the critical minerals the batteries require cause.
Apparently some prefer the China Model that the USA should oppress it's people, force them into gray collar factories at pitiful wages to made products so cheap that the rest of the world will but them because price rules.
So, what is it that remains for the USA to trade after the politicians & billionaires moved everything off shore!? Better get something started to trade.
As for the gold situation, I DO NOT believe the US has the gold we claim to hold. It has never had a REAL audit. Every time someone tries to conduct an audit it is blocked by whatever administration is in power. If I were another country I would want my gold in my hands also!
Jim Marshall
...the last audit was in the 1950's!
Even that was not a full audit. Every term for 26 years Ron Paul tried to push thru an audit bill for a full audit and it was always blocked. Smells like a dead skunk to me.
Jim
Yep, Jim, it is a "dead skunk". Well put! There was never any "full" audit. And, frankly, why hasn't there been? The simple answer is usually right - because the gold we are told is there - "isn't there. And, then if it was there, why wouldn't there be a "full audit"? Well, because it isn't there. And, the world's biggest gold reserve is in China - somewhere north of 30,000 tons. And slowly as the world turns gold will once again be money and fiat currencies will have a place but will be tied to "real" money. At that time the US$ will fall apart and we peons are in for a rude awakening. And those that think America will always have its hegemony - time to wake-up and smell the coffee. It will take awhile because there is so much US$s floating around the world and everyone is trying to get something for it before it sinks below the waves. IT IS COMING! and much sooner than the vast majority thinks. Going to be ugly, Folks!
Sir you are 100% correct!
Jim
Trade should be determined and implemented by individuals, businesses and companies at their discretion. Not controlled by political control and regulation.
What?
Capitalism?
You do know it's out of fashion this year...
"It is only by trade and interaction that a nation is able to keep up with it rivals". You know, I think there are many, many other variables outside of trade that make a nation competitive and self-determining. Bill impleys, through his TDS brand of critical thinking, that Trump's tariff position in the international trade conflicts will somehow be part of the American demise. Tariffs are a tool that governments employ to normalize balance of trade, and in the case of Canada's Bombardier, where 50% of their product is sold in America, to increase American employment by requiring Bombardier to build its product in America. Hey guys that is just good power business. It is not for the timid but that is the nature of power economics. It is not surprising to me that Bill would find it offensive as a writer and pundit who has never engaged in international economics.
Tom,
You're showing your pro-Trump proclivity by defending his protectionist tactics and accusing Bonner of peddling TDS bias.
DJT's tariffs simply makes more of what we buy evermore costly and simultaneously diminishes choice.
Why are your championing less choice; higher prices?
And why are you second guessing US manufacturers who seek to remain profitable by finding lower cost labor and materials abroad?
Surely, since they remit their profits to the US and the taxable portion to the USG, wouldn't you rather they remain profitable than go out of business?
Well I do have proclivitities for Trump and his policies. His immigration policy in particular. While many in the main stream media proclaim that the tariffs have cost Americans, I have yet to see it. Yes, tariffed products are more expensive, so buy American. You also mentioned that American businesses know what is best to remain profitable and manage labor cost by manufacturing over seas. To what end? Profits are good but at the cost of stripping American clean of its ability to manufacture? Take our pharmaceuticals for example, we have to reley on China for life saving drugs. Also computers and electronics, auto parts and metals used in technology and defense applications. So yeah government intervention in some industries from time-to-time is necessary; a balance is necessary.
Yes, it is stunning to realize that our Naval vessels sailing in harms way have dispensaries replete with Made in China medicines.
Baffling too since this stunning revelation has been well known for some time
But it is disappointing that you believe a USG functionary, including DJT, knows better than Mr. Market who should make what
Also disappointing to learn that you are a modern day Luddite.
Will you -- like them in their day -- destroy factories using modern technology (e. g., robots) that achieve efficiencies with fewer to no people by creating lower unit costs and higher profits?
Few among us like change, but without accepting and adapting to it, progress stultifies.
But others, including me, wonder if the pace of change is becoming too fast and too disruptive.
Case in point: Jacob Coxon, a former Anthropic and Open AI researcher resigned this week by criticizing both companies for racing ahead toward superintelligence without adequate safeguards.
One of his colleagues confirmed Coxon's sentiment on X by saying "it's a <10% probability that AI could kill all humans within ten years."
Our species has had a great if destructive run. If we're eliminated by AI, then I hope another species but one less quarrelsome will one day at least acknowledge our achievements
Yikes Jimm I am Ludite because I have an opinion or two that is not consistent with your world view. Jimm you disappoint all who have read your comments.
The use of tariffs can also be an excellent source of corruption. Case in point is the giant Brazilian meat packer JBS. JBS had made a $5 million donation to the Trump inaugural fund. The CEO had a private meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on August 20 and miraculously the next day Donnie paused the 26% tariff on Brazilian beef. It would be interesting to know if JBS brought an envelope stuffed with cash to the visit. Especially since the company had been convicted of bribery in the past.
Key words "also can be used as...". Don't know what goes on behind closed door. Speculation is just that...Speculation
Let me change it to "is probably being used". Especially since a president can grant waive or suspend tariffs. Or do you think JBS made the $5 million donation aka bribe with no ulterior motive? Check out the criminal history of the Batista brothers at the helm of JBS.
There are reports here in Canada that Bombardier uses engines & parts that are US brands and are manufactured in the US
Tom, Bombardier is advertising for employees for their plant in the USA. Better catch up with times .
Trump is now threatening to require any Bombardier sold to a US operator, military or civil, be entirely made in the US.
His market-meddling is akin to garden variety socialist states whose apparatchiks make resource allocations.
And, of course, every economically savvy person knows what happens when Dear Leaders start down that road
I would not call Our leader 'Dear. " but I get your point .
Yes, Bombardier has plants in the US but they manufacture wings and flight control components. However, the plane is 100% assembled in Canada and 50 % of the finished product is sold in America. Trump wants the plane manufactured 100% in America for the sake of America jobs. The world is hard place and if you have power via negotiations and business incentives (tariffs) that is how things work in capitalic system. Canada can respond to this situation to protect its interest, which at this point may be to move all of its manufacturing to America where its greatest market share resides. It just business.
So Bombardier closes all its plants in Canada, sacks it s workers there and moves to the US. How is that in Canada’s interest?
David, follow the money . This has nothing to do with freedom and liberty , but every thing to do with Money. On both sides of the border .
It brings Canada to to table with a degree of maluability. Just negotiating.
Yes Mt. T. wants and reality will catch up to him when the rest of the world catch on to His "art of the deal." Now say that North Dakota has a plant in North Dakota and South Dakota say I want You to Manufacture in My South Dakota. What will be the consequences ? May be Hypothetical , but may not Be !
This brief missive is a little misleading.
The Dutch indeed pulled some gold out of the USA, and also Canada, however leaving about 18% of their gold reserves with each of those countries. The gold removed from the Americas went to Holland, not London.
However, Dutch gold also went from Holland to London - a center of international trade in gold.
The gold sent to London, increased their London holdings to 32%, and it meets international standards, and so can be easily sold, if crisis requires. The Dutch retained 31% of their gold reserves in their own country.
The gold from the Americas is reported to be of a lesser standard.
I have no knowledge of why the Dutch would do such a swap; unless perhaps they intend to re-refine the gold from the Americas to a higher and more marketable standard.
In any case, they did not pull all their gold home, but left 36% on the far side of the Atlantic. For now.
The reasons given by the Dutch Central Bank - geopolitical unrest, etc - probably refer as much to the nearby war in Europe as to the chaotic global efforts of the USA. They weren't specific.
From Ai:
Before 1853, Japan was under the Tokugawa shogunate, which enforced a strict isolationist policy known as Sakoku, limiting foreign influence and trade for over 200 years.
Characteristics of Sakoku
Limited Foreign Trade: Japan restricted trade primarily to the Dutch and Chinese, expelling most other foreigners.
Cultural Impact: The isolation led to a unique development of Japanese culture, free from significant foreign influence.
-
Internal Stability: This period was marked by peace and stability within Japan, allowing for economic growth and cultural flourishing.
I think Prime Minister Mark Carney said it best. In a video that he prepared for the rest of Canada. Just hours ago.
What happens when you try to bully your trading partners.
They go around you.
Because trade should always be a win/win arrangement.
And I don't normally think anything that comes out of a mouth of a politician is worthy of reposting. This one. Deserved a "wow."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYAwioM3RQI
Mr Carney is the Prime Minister of Brookfield. His government filings show he is over 90% invested in the US and less than 1% in Canada. His goal is to pad his Brookfield Funds by Net Zero-ing Canada into poverty so by the time the end of his 2-term he will be a billionaire.
What Carney does or doesn’t do for his own finances isn’t really the issue here, is it?
The issue is what Canada should be doing with its own economic risk.
Diversify.
Ask any small-business owner who started out depending on a single client. “All your eggs in one basket” ring a bell? The arrangement can work wonderfully, right up until the basket gets dropped.
And doing less trade with one customer doesn’t mean doing no trade with them. It means taking some of that business elsewhere, to other customers willing to enter into mutually beneficial agreements rather than one-sided ones.
We should absolutely look more closely at Carney, Brookfield, and who benefits from the capital flows behind all of this. I intend to.
But that is a separate question from whether Canada should reduce its dependence on a single dominant trading partner.
Carney should negotiate a trade deal with the USA, first since 73% of export trade is done with the USA. Reducing this dependence will be an uphill battle, meanwhile workers will lose their jobs and business large & small will most likely relocate to the US.
During the last election campaign, Carney said that China posed a 'security threat' and now he is shaking hands with Xi and making deals. It was 'elbows up' against Trump during the campaign and after the election he called Trump 'transformative'.
I have no faith that Carney will do what's best for Canada. He will only do what's best for himself.
https://tradingeconomics.com/canada/exports-by-country
The PRC has infiltrated the Canadian Government at all 3 levels.
https://thebureau.substack.com/p/defence-official-fired-after-warning?r=mza4a&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
Here another link that shows a flow chart of just how corrupt Mark Carney is.
https://www.youtube.com/@themooseontheloose
And the Japanese defeated the Russian Empire in 1905.
“Bubble Empires, like a bloated steer, deflate in a particularly noisy and disagreeable way.”
LOLOL…Now that’s funny right there, I don’t care who you vote for! :-)
The joy of isolation. The US remains obsessed with cars, so it will be interesting to see how the US people respond when they discover that the US has already lost the EV car race and they are stuck with expensive rattletraps that need constant maintenace and prehistoric fuel.
Keep in mind that prehistoric fuel is what generates most of the electricity for those electric cars because wind and solar are more expensive to operate and are less reliable. Also, the electric car lost the battle with ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles in the early 1900's for the same reason as today....inefficient batteries. Never mind the devastating environmental impact mining for the critical minerals the batteries require cause.
IMO the EV car race has yet to begin.
Today's batteries are archaic.
It's merely a matter of time batteries will undergo a revolution.
Presumably the neo-battery, super-capacitor or whatever power block it is will be more efficient and importantly, weigh substantially less.
-
This will change everything.
But most of all... flying cars.
I like your optimism
But keep in mind that flying cars will require require their operators to have a pilot's license
And most people are not cut out to be a pilot
In a perfect autonomous Ai street layout there is no need for stop signs or lights.
Cars simply read one another and regulate their speed to avoid hitting each other in intersections.
This can be done now...
I imagine flying cars would be the same...
I hope so
Alas, I suspect not in my lifetime
Apparently some prefer the China Model that the USA should oppress it's people, force them into gray collar factories at pitiful wages to made products so cheap that the rest of the world will but them because price rules.
So, what is it that remains for the USA to trade after the politicians & billionaires moved everything off shore!? Better get something started to trade.