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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   37393 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 27, 2025

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AP reporting this hour, 10% duties on all imports from China, 25% from Mexico and Canada, with 10% on Canadian energy imports

Trump’s order also includes a mechanism to escalate the rates if the countries retaliate against the U.S., as they are possibly prepared to do.

Targeted goods:

For decades, auto companies have built supply chains that cross the borders of the United States, Mexico and Canada. More than one in five of the cars and light trucks sold in the United States were built in Canada or Mexico, according to S&P Global Mobility. In 2023, the United States imported $69 billion worth of cars and light trucks from Mexico – more than any other country -- and $37 billion from Canada. Another $78 billion in auto parts came from Mexico and $20 billion from Canada. The engines in Ford F-series pickups and the iconic Mustang sports coupe, for instance, come from Canada.

“You have engines and car seats and other things that cross the border multiple times before going into a finished vehicle,’’ said Cato’s Lincicome. “You have American parts going to Mexico to be put into vehicles that are then shipped back to the United States.

“You throw 25% tariffs into all that, and it’s just a grenade.’’

In a report Tuesday, S&P Global Mobility reckoned that “importers are likely to pass most, if not all, of this (cost) increase to consumers.’’ TD Economics notes that average U.S. car prices could rise by around $3,000 – this at a time when the average new car already goes for $50,000 and the average used car for $26,000, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Over the last several years I've come to believe economics is a more fraudulent field of study than social science. As I'm not an economist, I asked GPT for what economics has contributed to mankind and the best I saw in its list was game theory. Meanwhile car manufacturers are shipping car seats "multiple times" across the border before they're actually put in a vehicle. It all feels so incredibly fake.

Trump’s order also includes a mechanism to escalate the rates if the countries retaliate against the U.S

I hope they do retaliate. This nakedly extortive behavior is supremely off-putting, especially when coupled with Trumps victimhood narrative. "Woe is me, empire expansive, everyone abuses us" is turning me into a Chyna simp.

I'm heavily biased, but I believe this direction is not unique. Back when the Russian invasion on Ukraine was fresh, the 'China or US dominance?' question got me baffled looks across the board from a diverse group of friends/acquaintances (context: Poland). Very different attitudes today, with how Ukraine was treated, with Trump blatantly attempting to cannibalize ally industries, with Chynese hedgies bearing great gifts.

I kind of agree. If it was the US vs Russia or the Arab-Islamic world as second major power, I would much rather Europe throw its lot in with America. After all, those are both major expansionist powers who lay claim to large portions of historic Europe.

But in this conflict, I really have no truck with China haters. China is an increasingly civilised place; street spitting is almost entirely eliminated in the tier 1 cities, streets are clean, the food is good, infrastructure and most services work (reasonably well, given it’s still much poorer than most of the West). China doesn’t seek to rule Europe, Chinese like visiting Paris and buying their little Chanel bags and taking pictures in front of Big Ben. Mostly they are nice; they commit very little violent crime. They have a good sense of humor. They are capable of impressive artistic and architectural achievement.

What’s more, while they consider themselves much better than other third worlders, and dislike the Japanese and to a lesser extent Koreans, the Chinese have no significant ethnic hostility towards white people. Every Chinese child learns that the great Karl Marx invented communism. Chinese don’t even bear a significant grudge toward the British for the opium wars, despite the ‘century of humiliation’ rhetoric.

In sum, the Chinese are capable of operating an advanced civilization in which an increasingly large percentage of citizens have a decent quality of life. I don’t wish to be ruled by them, but I don’t think they want to rule me either. By contrast, Trump’s economic policy seems entirely motivated by capriciousness and greed; Americans of all classes are already richer and have higher QOL than almost anyone else (including all but a handful of European nations, Canada and Mexico); America’s issues with crime, ideology, drug abuse, infrastructure, racial unrest and immigration have little to do with trade policy and almost everything to do with domestic political decision-making by domestic elites.

See, I'm opposed to China dominance- because they're dirty commies. I don't, on a fundamental level, trust them. But it needs to be said that Chinese allies mostly get to do whatever the hell they want, without the Chinese interfering too much in their politics. The same cannot be said for the USA.

I can understand the 'what's so bad about a Chinese century' argument. If they weren't communists, I might even agree.

See, I'm opposed to China dominance- because they're dirty commies.

Can you elaborate? Is your problem their lack of a democratic process, the CCP itself and how they govern their territory by degree, or something else?

Because if you're on the streets in Shenzhen and talk to people, if you deal with the average company there, they're all incredibly capitalist. People work for the best salary they can get, switch companies often, and found startups that buy parts and sell product directly on the open market. The average Chinese city dweller isn't a communist at all.

And if a government allows its people to get to that state - is the government communist in any meaningful way?

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