Trump's Trip to Europe

Lafayette said:

Ignorance of the facts of a matter is also tantamount to rudeness in a Debate Forum.

If you don't believe that, perhaps you'd be happier on a Message Board ... ?

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It is your feigned ignorance of the facts by selectively leaving away significant information that is indeed rude. Your arrogant answer to the automobile import question was breathtaking in that respect.

danarhea said:

Trump has a severe mental disorder. Compare his statements while in Europe to his statements on Oprah 20 years ago, which were nuanced, articulate, and very well thought out.

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Nuance is not, what Europeans respond to. Our former Presidents tried that and got nowhere. They just worm around and wiggle on and on and nothing changes. The Germans promised two percent for military spending, when I was a kid. They promised their population and the other members that they would adhere to the stability pact, but haven't done so once, since the Euro was started. They do not reacts to nuance. They only use it to avoid corresponding to agreements.

chuckiechan said:

Then they invoice it to the USA for $30K, thus transferibg $15K of US taxi blue profit over seas, untaxed. They could invoice it at $50k and avoid showing profits altogether, but even the Germans aren't that brassy.

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And the above happens with the connivance of the German Tax Authorities? I don"t think so.

Besides costs are much higher in Germany. Why, ever, bring anything that comes in from Germany at a higher cost (including impor taxes) in order to assemble a German car in the US. There has to be a good reason, and I can't see one given that most manufacturing costs are cheaper in the US.

Nope, the US need not worry about generally more expensive European imports, which are liked by Americans simply because they are more attractive and often better made.

And it is the Chinese who are "dumping" their steel products in the US, not the Europeans. Moreover the US is not blameless.

See here: China scores WTO victories against some U.S. anti-dumping methods (Oct. 2016) - excerpt:

China brought the complaint in December 2013, one of a string of disputes challenging Washington's way of assessing "dumping," or exporting at unfairly cheap prices.

Specifically, the panel found fault with the U.S. practices of determining dumping margins in certain cases of "targeted dumping," in which foreign firms cut prices on goods aimed at specific U.S. regions, customer groups or time periods.

Dumping is normally found when a foreign producer's U.S. prices are lower than its home market prices for the same or similar goods, or when the imports are sold at prices below production costs.

The panel ruled against the U.S. Commerce Department's practise of "zeroing" in cases involving targeted dumping. In zeroing, the department typically assigns a value of zero any time a producer's export price is above that producer's normal home market price, partly to account for freight and customs charges.

In practice, the zeroing methodology tends to increase the level of U.S. anti-dumping duties on foreign producers.

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US companies are involved as much in dumping-practices as any other nation - not more and not any less ...

Did you actually believe Trump's BS about "Unfair Trade" that cost America jobs? America lost its jobs to China in those markets where it could not compete in terms of manufacturing costs. As did Europe ever since 1991, when the Bamboo Curtain came crashing down and China started exporting to the world.

To maintain competitive pricing, American companies "offshore" production to Mexico and even Canada. Which is why nothing will happen to NAFTA beyond some cosmetic remake. (Unless Americans want to see some very impressive product cost-increases because they are Made Wholly In America.)

In Western Europe, companies go to Poland or Romania for the same reason. Sourcing parts helps them maintain overall manufacturing (and most importantly final product Quality Control).

Ditto the US. Besides, this is a lotta hullabaloo about a sector (Manufacturing) that consists of only 12% of total employment.

Want American products to be really cheaper? Reduce corporate management salaries to more acceptable levels.

From here: CEO Compensation in the US Vs. the World - excerpt:

Highest Compensation
The highest CEO compensation has traditionally been in Western countries, with the United States at the top. One hundred U.S. CEOs took home cash earnings of more than $15 million in 2012 and at least a quarter of those CEOs had projected five-year earnings of over $100 million from stock options and grants.

The ratio of CEO pay to the median salary for all other employees in the company provides a reference of how high CEO pay is. It's often used to compare CEO pay across countries.U.S. CEOs earn from 400 to 500 times the median salary for workers. For CEOs in the U.K., the ratio is 22; in France, it's 15; and in Germany it's 12.

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Lafayette said:

Ignorance of the facts of a matter is also tantamount to rudeness in a Debate Forum.

If you don't believe that, perhaps you'd be happier on a Message Board ... ?

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The Liberals are some rude mother****ers, then...LMAO!

Lafayette said:

From the Guardian, "Trump's big trip began well – but in Europe his flaws were painfully exposed"

Excerpt:
Nobody told him before meeting with Merkel in Brussels? Not surprising. Nobody knew.

This guy talks like a TV-commercial. Everything he says is in less than 30-seconds, the average attention span of viewers.

More about the PotUS:

If only Trump had something "intelligent" to say. At least he is true to form. Which never changes, he gets bored with any subject that lasts more than 20 minutes ...

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Spoken like a true partisan progressive commenting on an article from a progressive newspaper. The Guardian, the Mirror, Der Spiegel, BBC etc. have been pumping out article after article trashing Trump. Why? He is a threat to progressives from their climate crap to calling them out for not paying their fair share in maintaining NATO.

There was a thread started here at DP because of a tweet that went viral over someone claiming Trump did not listen to interpreters while others were speaking on his visit to Brussels and Italy. The progressive papers quickly chimed in only to look like the partisan hacks they are. It was false yet that didn't stop one Brit progressive on the forum claiming photoshopping of pictures of Trump using a device in his right ear.

There's a lot of folks around here that start threads that show Trump in a derogatory way just because it is something someone printed. They feed off of it. They so much want it to be true but end up looking like fools when it isn't. They are now true believers in anonymous sources to rags since before Trump was elected were and have always been an arm of the Democratic party.

vesper said:

Spoken like a true partisan progressive commenting on an article from a progressive newspaper. The Guardian, the Mirror, Der Spiegel, BBC etc. have been pumping out article after article trashing Trump. Why? He is a threat to progressives from their climate crap to calling them out for not paying their fair share in maintaining NATO.

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Written like a pathetic Replicant who refuses any truths that conflict with their glorified/idealized vision of America. Thus playing into the hands of the Wealth Plutocrats who are milking it dry ...

Lafayette said:

Written like a pathetic Replicant who refuses any truths that conflict with their glorified/idealized vision of America. Thus playing into the hands of the Wealth Plutocrats who are milking it dry ...

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:lamo

" It's time for Europe not to rely on the U.K/US anymore" Merkel

Good hopefully third time is a charm in regards to Germany

Lafayette said:

There's nothing like it in the rest of world where the popular vote predominates in the election of the Executive.

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Seriously...that's not a bad thing for the US, but a bad thing for citizens of other countries where the populace is ruled by the biggest mob.

Mycroft said:

Seriously...that's not a bad thing for the US, but a bad thing for citizens of other countries where the populace is ruled by the biggest mob.

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Oh, come off it - what silliness. "The Biggest Mob".

Of course, the turnout is what constitutes fundamentally any democracy on earth. Learn to live with the notion.

We, the sheeple in America, are more meek than a "wild mob". We have one of the lowest voter turnout rates of developed countries. See here: By international standards, U.S. voter turnout is low

We are ninth from the bottom of voter turnout rates at about 56%. The Belgians at the top turnout at 87%.

(Must be the free beer in Belgium given away at the polling booths ... ? ;^)

Higgins86 said:

" It's time for Europe not to rely on the U.K/US anymore" Merkel

Good hopefully third time is a charm in regards to Germany

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She's right. If all the Brits living in mainland Europe were to create their own colony, they'd be larger than Luxembourg in population. Most Brits here in France live better than they do in England. I personally know none who are "fleeing" back to the homeland as a result of Brexit.

The smart ones got out of Britain as soon as they could retire - and their only real concern is the Pound-to-Euro rate because their retirement is in the former currency ...

Lafayette said:

Oh, come off it - what silliness. "The Biggest Mob".

Of course, the turnout is what constitutes fundamentally any democracy on earth. Learn to live with the notion.

We, the sheeple in America, are more meek than a "wild mob". We have one of the lowest voter turnout rates of developed countries. See here: By international standards, U.S. voter turnout is low

We are ninth from the bottom of voter turnout rates at about 56%. The Belgians at the top turnout at 87%.

(Must be the free beer in Belgium given away at the polling booths ... ? ;^)

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There is no free beer at polling booths. Voting is compulsory in Belgium.

Lafayette said:

Oh, come off it - what silliness. "The Biggest Mob".

Of course, the turnout is what constitutes fundamentally any democracy on earth. Learn to live with the notion.

We, the sheeple in America, are more meek than a "wild mob". We have one of the lowest voter turnout rates of developed countries. See here: By international standards, U.S. voter turnout is low

We are ninth from the bottom of voter turnout rates at about 56%. The Belgians at the top turnout at 87%.

(Must be the free beer in Belgium given away at the polling booths ... ? ;^)

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If you want an example of the biggest...or, as you say, wild...mob, just observe an antifa group. Thanks to our more civilized system, we avoided letting them get their way by electing Hillary. Their counterparts in France succeeded...and look who they are saddled with. "I'm tougher than you are because I can squeeze your hand" Macron.

TALKING HEADS

Mycroft said:

If you want an example of the biggest...or, as you say, wild...mob, just observe an antifa group. Thanks to our more civilized system, we avoided letting them get their way by electing Hillary. Their counterparts in France succeeded...and look who they are saddled with. "I'm tougher than you are because I can squeeze your hand" Macron.

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(Nobody gives a real damn about the "antifa group", except Replicants obsessed with "control". This, btw, was the same obsession of the Nazis ... so be careful. Antifa are a bunch of Noodle-headed Leftist Dorks who like the smell of fire, but are otherwise brainless.)

We have speed limits on highways, and radar to catch those who exceed it. Think of politics in the same fashion.

Then think this: What in heaven's name obsessed the Supreme Court justices to approve the unlimited donation of money to political campaigns. Did they think it was "freedom of expression"? Me arse.

Fundamentally, the problem goes back to "people". That is, like most people in this world, we get our "information" off the BoobTube. Which means the mind-bending commercials that promote ideas and notions that suit a very limited political purpose or outlook.

Shifting mountains of money up to Wealthy family bank-accounts serves no societal purpose in general. It just makes a family feel "secure" come-what-may. Which is nice, but that's only about 10% of all families in the US.

What about the other 90%? Given the recent ravages of the Great Recession, are the rest of us "all right"? Not if you live below the Poverty Threshold and the great-good-fortune of having a jo
b that pays 7-bucks an hour ($14.6K a year). Not if you have been reemployed since the US started creating jobs but at wages that are 25/30% less than what they were in 2008.

Frankly, I could not really give-a-damn how much DiCaprio is getting for his next film. It just does not matter to anyone except DiCaprio. What matters is (1) how the averages move and (2) the Employment-to-population Ratio (because the Unemployment Ratio - that gets a lot of attention - really matters much, much less). It is important to know what percentage of the working population that wants to work actually works.

And that is reported by the FRED here (from BLS data): Employment to population Ratio (25/54 years old). Looking at the yearly values, we note that the April value stands at 78.6%, just 2% less than its all time high of 81.9% (2000), and 80.2% in 2008.

Wow! We aren't doing all that bad!!! And national employment started to correct itself in November of 2011 - long, long before Donald Dork promised he'd Make America Great Again!

So?

So this: The facts are in the numbers, and the BoobTube is for people who believe in Talking Heads ...

Lafayette said:

TALKING HEADS



(Nobody gives a real damn about the "antifa group", except Replicants obsessed with "control". This, btw, was the same obsession of the Nazis ... so be careful. Antifa are a bunch of Noodle-headed Leftist Dorks who like the smell of fire, but are otherwise brainless.)

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Tell this guy that nobody gives a real damn about antifa. Perhaps he might not agree with you.



In any case, it is them and the rest of the brainless leftist mob that almost succeeded in electing Hillary.

~please excuse me...I just HAD to snip that mish-mash of stuff you threw against the wall~

So?

So this: The facts are in the numbers, and the BoobTube is for people who believe in Talking Heads ...

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Which makes my point. Thank you.

Tell me...which candidate do you think the media...the, as you call it, BoobTube...was supporting? Which candidate was supported by "the mob"?

There were only two things that prevented the BoobTube mob from electing Hillary: Her own incompetence and our Electoral system.

Mycroft said:

Tell this guy that nobody gives a real damn about antifa. Perhaps he might not agree with you.

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You are making a mountain out of a mole-hill.

The US is one of the most violent countries on earth (from here):


Compare the US to Europe - Homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012. (The lighter the colour the lesser is the homicide rate)

That's what counts, not some people thumping empty-heads in public.

And enough of your misogyny regarding Hillary. It's a treatable illness, see a psychiatrist ...

Lafayette said:

You are making a mountain out of a mole-hill.

The US is one of the most violent countries on earth (from here):

Compare the US to Europe - Homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012. (The lighter the colour the lesser is the homicide rate)

That's what counts, not some people thumping empty-heads in public.

And enough of your misogyny regarding Hillary. It's a treatable illness, see a psychiatrist ...

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Oh...so THAT'S your excuse, eh? "The US is a violent country, so who cares if people get their heads bashed in."

And, you blame a person's opinion about Hillary...automatically...as being the result of misogyny.

You know...given your inclination to poo-poo ongoing violence as nothing to worry about and your inclination to insult a person who has an opinion you disagree with, I don't think any further discourse between you and I is useful...at all.

You are dismissed.

Mycroft said:

... given your inclination to poo-poo ongoing violence as nothing to worry about and your inclination to insult a person who has an opinion you disagree with, I don't think any further discourse between you and I is useful...at all.

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I quite agree ...