Apple's China exposure makes it most vulnerable in US-China trade war

[monkeylove]

As you're an outsider, you must not be aware of the preexisting problems Trump is addressing:
- WW2 level federal government debt (more debt than our GDP): https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/national-debt/
- American factories being closed in favor of importing goods (US Trade Deficit): https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/reciprocal-tariff-calculations
- Mass unvetted immigration

The U.S. has been experiencing trade deficits since the 1970s, and to cover increasing spending has been increasing total debt) since the 1980s. I think it has reached a point where it has to borrow more money just to pay for part of the interest of previous debts.

Meanwhile, other countries expect the U.S. to continue doing that because they can only earn if there are more buyers, not only from the U.S. but even from other rich countries, where their debt levels are rising, too, as they enter late capitalism.

 

[monkeylove]

You give him way too much credit. He can't even tie his own shoelaces.

I don't think you're getting it: the U.S. has been spending more than it's been selling for five decades, and has been taking on increasing debt for the last four decades. Its total debt levels are so high it's impossible to pay it back, and that doesn't include unfunded liabilities, which is double those.

Meanwhile, the rest that's been depending on the U.S. to keep doing that have also become stronger and want to move away from the U.S. dollar. But the only reason why the U.S. can continue its borrowing and spending binge is for other countries to remain weak and thus dependent on the dollar. Which is what they want and don't want.

It's like the Triffin dilemma: the country whose currency is used as a global reserve eventually faces a double-edged sword, where its strong currency makes it easy for it buy from everyone else but also difficult to sell to everyone else. Eventually, it faces trade deficits and soaring debts, which is exactly what happened.

And the rest are counting on it to keep doing that so that it can continue making and selling, but through cheap labor and resources, both of which it can't sustain as making and selling lead to industrialization, which makes their costs go up, too.

 

[Cabuzzi]

Most don't know this, but the U.S. hasn't been earning since 1975. It's been buying more than it's been selling since, and to keep buying more, it has to borrow more, which it's been doing since 1982. And how much does it owe? It has to borrow more just to pay for part of the interest of what it borrowed before. In short, its total debt is literally impossible to pay back, and it's hoping that most countries will make things cheap and keep relying on the dollar so that it can continue its borrowing-spending binge indefinitely.

If any, that gives new meaning to "the crazy".

100%. It's interesting to me how TDS complete dissolves all logic and reasoning in the affected person's brain. More study of this affliction is definitely needed.

 

[Cabuzzi]

I've been watching Donald Trump for decades (unfortunately). When it comes to lunacy, dishonesty, misogyny, bigotry or corruption he never disappoints. Now he's suddenly got rid of all the tariffs except China. No doubt you'll explain that away as part of his masterplan not either a panicked cancellation because the world isn't playing ball or market manipulation and shorting to make himself and his billionaire buddies some more money at our expense? As I've said before, if that orange monstrosity took a sh1t on your lawn, you and the rest of The Cult of Trump would set up a holy site and prey to the sacred excrement.

I'm guessing you, like many others, loved the man when he was a Democrat. It's absolute insanity to see how every thing he's said that can possibly get spun, GETS spun by the media and repeated by the faithful TDS'ers. What's "crazy" is how much influence the collective media has had over those who have a hard time thinking on their own and forming bespoke ideas. You're literally a parrot repeating things that I've already heard 1000x by the media, and even more amazingly.... doing it for free. Then again, I would not expect the average parrot of being able to recognize how they're being brainwashed into repeating something over and over again. The average parrot probably doesn't truly understand what they are talking about about... only understanding the reaction such repetition gets from those around it.

I always get a kick out of watching those mashups of whatever dictated phrase of the day gets pushed down the tubes to the individual networks. The "this is extremely dangerous to our democracy" montage is the best, but there are so many more out there, right up to the one the "that ain't true" one that just happened. Hilarity.

 

[OortCloud]

I'm guessing you, like many others, loved the man when he was a Democrat. It's absolute insanity to see how every thing he's said that can possibly get spun, GETS spun by the media and repeated by the faithful TDS'ers. What's "crazy" is how much influence the collective media has had over those who have a hard time thinking on their own and forming bespoke ideas. You're literally a parrot repeating things that I've already heard 1000x by the media, and even more amazingly.... doing it for free. Then again, I would not expect the average parrot of being able to recognize how they're being brainwashed into repeating something over and over again. The average parrot probably doesn't truly understand what they are talking about about... only understanding the reaction such repetition gets from those around it.

I always get a kick out of watching those mashups of whatever dictated phrase of the day gets pushed down the tubes to the individual networks. The "this is extremely dangerous to our democracy" montage is the best, but there are so many more out there, right up to the one the "that ain't true" one that just happened. Hilarity.

The Donald has sh4t upon us! All hail the Donald! May his holy excrement coat us and his mushroom spray upon us and teach us the mystery of his special ways bigly!