Carlton Supporters Club

Not the same bloke but a similar analysis:

The last point is interesting; US consumers would actually pay for the wall 

This is undoubtedly a pandora's box discussion - but there are always going to be winners and losers in any economic policy and depending on where you sit on that spectrum will inform your view. Under free trade high cost / low quality industries often struggle and will eventually close [eg the car industry here], but the flip side is that export markets for efficient or high quality goods or services open up and expand. If you work on line at Ford you probably think it sucks, but if you work on the line at Blackmores you are cheering.

But in both cases you can drive home in a cheap car and watch your LCD panel that you bought online from Kogan for $300.

I think in western societies we also tend to forget that trade liberalisation has significantly increased the economic wealth of 3rd world countries and pulled millions [billions] of people out of abject poverty over the last 50 years. And again your view on whether working for a $1 a day in a Bangladeshi sweat shop is better than a mud hut and a subsistence lifestyle depends on your world view.

The issue for me is that the 'problem' of high unemployment in certain sectors or regions [remembering that the overall rate is 4.9% - historically low] and real wages you mentioned will both be made worse under a high tariff regime because a/ prices for the $500b of stuff the US import will go up so consumers pay more but their wages will stay the same, and b/ existing export markets will be made more difficult to access due to the retaliation allowed by the WTO. So prices go up, and unemployment also goes up - how does this help the average Joe??

All well and good, but be prepared for the inevitable backlash from the losers, as we've already witnessed with Brexit and Trump or is this merely to be seen as the winging of the deplorables. Also, check out type of "jobs" used to calculate the present unemployment number. Not many of us would want them for ourselves or our children.

I agree with you - this all about the winners and the losers, and at the moment the losers are surely having there say.

The really interesting thing for me in all this is the 'inevitable backlash from the losers' when the strategy of protectionism which is being pursued ATM doesn't deliver any benefits to the domestic US citizens, most things cost more, the steel mills don't re-open, the stock market tanks and they are in a recession [depression] that they can't get out of because the rest of the world has closed their doors.

I fully agree that their are huge structural issues in the US [and UK] for those at the bottom end that need to be addressed, but starting a trade war is surely only going to make the situation worse for them - then who do they blame / turn too??

Given the sheer danger to the Republic as well as to the Republicans, Trump’s impeachment will happen. The only question is how grave a catastrophe America faces first.

I believe we are witnessing the scene setting or conditioning phase of the Trump era ATM, with him confirming to his faithful that he is a man who keeps his promises and makes good on his threats. His real agenda is yet to emerge but from what I can make out it will focus on realigning US defence and foreign policy strategies, moving away from those that have created such disasters in the Middle East. Oil and gas will be central to this hence the appointment of Rex Tillerson. Just my thoughts, worrying times ahead.

We're in "phony war" stage of the battle.
Trump is setting up his fortifications before he starts building his castle..... while under constant attacks from his opponents.
Whether that castle ends up being Camelot or Mt Doom remains to be seen.
Now is the best time for the opposition to attack, throw a whole lot of negatives out there that can be used to undermine him down the track, before he's too entrenched...especially when he's making decisions that re-inforce some of the worst fears of his incumbency.

The problem is it's creating uncertainty and hysteria.
Sure there is a lot of outright lying that can be seen, but there is also exaggeration and misinformation that clouds the issues on both sides.
We read an outrageous claim and then spend time researching whether in fact it's true , false,  a half truth....or who bloody knows!

I'm not certain which side is actually benefiting from the protests....while it makes a lot of noise and grabs a lot of attention, how is the general American population feeling about it?
Does criticism from the UK, Germany, Australia etc add weight to the protests or does it have the opposite "mind your own business" effect.

A lot will depend on where they sit on the spectrum....
It's that middle ground who voted for neither Trump or Clinton, or who were on the fringe in terms of support, who'll determine the future of the USA....and the length of Trump's role as President.

We're in "phony war" stage of the battle.
Trump is setting up his fortifications before he starts building his castle..... while under constant attacks from his opponents.
Whether that castle ends up being Camelot or Mt Doom remains to be seen.
Now is the best time for the opposition to attack, throw a whole lot of negatives out there that can be used to undermine him down the track, before he's too entrenched...especially when he's making decisions that re-inforce some of the worst fears of his incumbency.

The problem is it's creating uncertainty and hysteria.
Sure there is a lot of outright lying that can be seen, but there is also exaggeration and misinformation that clouds the issues on both sides.
We read an outrageous claim and then spend time researching whether in fact it's true , false,  a half truth....or who bloody knows!

I'm not certain which side is actually benefiting from the protests....while it makes a lot of noise and grabs a lot of attention, how is the general American population feeling about it?
Does criticism from the UK, Germany, Australia etc add weight to the protests or does it have the opposite "mind your own business" effect.

A lot will depend on where they sit on the spectrum....
It's that middle ground who voted for neither Trump or Clinton, or who were on the fringe in terms of support, who'll determine the future of the USA....and the length of Trump's role as President.

My issue with this is that in my experience, its a classic case of misdirection, usually propaganda based and driven.

What is going on elsewhere that we are not focussing on when we worry about stories in the scheme of things that don't actually make too much of a difference??

The example I will use is last weeks "abortion bill".

No rights of anyone changed, aside from funding to foreign groups who were promoting abortion.  The Netherlands have since stepped up and filled the hole, meaning its business as usual.

What else happened that we were not told about whilst people were campaigning about Men deciding Womens rights, when none were actually removed aside from some funding??

An interesting point of view is the one that states that the the real solution to the refugee crises is to stop perpetrating the devastating wars that create the refugees in the first place, and the US is behind a lot of these (aided and abetted by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to name but two), Syria being one example. It is interesting to note that the protesters are nowhere to be seen as far as these slaughters are concerned?