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He fundamentally does not understand non zero sum dynamics.
by padjo 26d ago
He fundamentally does not understand non zero sum dynamics.
- Avicebron 26d agoThe 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 26d agoProgressive taxation.
- padjo 26d agoAmericans 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 26d agoThere'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 26d agoThe 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 26d agoSome people, others are capable of being grateful for what they have.
- deleted 26d ago[deleted]
- vel0city 26d ago[dead]
- LastTrain 26d agoI would suggest not going with the dumbest rock you can find and standing behind it against all evidence.
- dpkirchner 26d agoBefore engaging, let's get this settled: do you believe that the US economy operates on a zero sum basis?
- Avicebron 26d agoNo it's not zero sum but it can also not be benefiting a ton of people. Which is what I said..
- dpkirchner 26d agoHere'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 26d ago[deleted]
- calf 26d agoThe 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 26d agoImagine 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 26d ago[flagged]
- misnome 26d agoe.g. hurting the right people, _even if it hurts us too_
- cheonic025 26d ago[dead]
- WarmWash 26d agoIt'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 26d agoThe 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.