The horizon is not so far as we can see, but as far as we can imagine

Category: Trump Era Page 1 of 14

My Call Of Half A Million Gaza Deaths Appears Close + Trump’s Gaza Policy

Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to move Palestinians out of Gaza and that there are about 1.7 to 1.8 million people to move. The pre-war population of Gaza was 2.3 million. About 100,000 Gazans managed to flee to the Sinai in Egypt (presumably a combination of bribes and sympathetic border guards who disagree with Sisi’s “let them die” policy.

So we’re looking at 400,000 to 500,000 deaths if Trumps figures are accurate. Yes, I know, Trump: but he’s been briefed and why use those numbers?

I wrote:

That is to say that the indirect death multiplier is almost certainly higher than average in Gaza. So let’s assume just slightly higher than average: an eight times multiplier.

Now do the math 8*60,000=480,000.

A reasonable estimate of the death toll in Gaza is thus 480,000 people. Almost half a million and about seventeen percent of the pre-war population.

The idea that the death toll was around 50K was always ludicrous, given the constant bombing, lack of food, destruction of hospitals, deliberate murder of doctors and nurses, disease and lack of water.

I would assume the death rate was accelerating and if the genocide had gone on would have continued to accelerate: starvation, disease and lack of water tend to work that way.

Meanwhile, having stopped most of the bombing, Trump wants the US to take over Gaza and rebuild it as a resort, as best I can tell. His son in law, Jared Kushner, in February of 2024 said:

“Gaza’s waterfront property could be valuable… It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but I think from #Israel‘s perspective, I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.”

This requires either Jordan or Egypt to take the Palestinians, and neither of them want them, since they’re destabilizing and will also strain budgets. America can offer money, but America’s promises have become increasingly… erratic of late. Egypt, of course, already receives a ton of money from America in exchange for peace with Israel, but Palestinians being pushed into Egypt would violate the treaty which started those payments.

Bear in mind that Hamas is an offshoot of the Islamic Brotherhood, Sisi’s mortal enemies whom he couped in order to become “President.”

And the Palestinians may not all go voluntarily, so military force will be needed, presumably American boots on the ground.

This plan is very obviously ethnic cleansing, which is evil. It is, however, the lesser evil compared to Biden’s “keep them locked up and bomb and starve them all to death”, which would have presumably continued if Harris had one. Hard to say how this will play out, Trump might well let Israel go back to full on genocide, but so far it appears that Trump was the “lesser evil” at least as far as Gaza is concerned.

Egypt needs to be talking to the Chinese about aid, stat and figure out what they can offer the Chinese. Though a chance to poke a finger in Trump’s eye is likely appealing to Xi right about now. Trump has no respect for treaty obligations and will definitely threaten Egypt’s funding to force an acquiescence.

Meanwhile Turkey, Egypt and Iran all need to get off their asses and get nukes.

 

This blog runs on donations and subscriptions from readers. It’s free, but not free to produce. If you value it, please give.

Is Trump Running A Coup?

Commenter GrimJim makes the case, using my own writing:

Ian, I am beginning to think that someone working for Trump and Musk must have read your works.

That, or they read the same books you have used as the groundworks for your own beliefs.

Particularly, on how to run a revolution:

https://www.ianwelsh.net/7-rules-for-running-a-real-left-wing-government/

and

https://www.ianwelsh.net/revolution-basics-1-who-cares-what-you-think/

And I am sure there are more. I know you’ve posted about how you have to run a purge first thing.

They are essentially following your playbook.

Media Law: They already own it and are locking it down harder. The Masters of Media are going to kneel to Trump or be punished.

Banking Sector: Already own it and are reformatting it further, and Musk has now gained access to everything that the Feds knew and manage, completely outside of legal channels.

Administrative Class: Purging the government and quickly gaining power over the industrial administration that was not already onboard.

Distribution and Utilities: Same, even showing off that he can screw with state-level works by pouring the water saved for California’s farm on fallow fields.

Reduce Your Vulnerability to the World Trade System: Again, making them kneel or alienating them so much that they will no longer be part of the system.

Be Satisfied with What You Can Grow and Make: That’s what the tariffs are all about. Stupid way to go about it, but that’s what they’ve got. Maybe they figure they will provide required subsidies to important (oligarch-owned) interests once everything is under their control, and masses of Poors have died off in the coming financial cataclysm.

Obey the Laws of Purges: In progress, the worst is yet to come.

“Why should I care what you think?” They don’t. They’re showing that in no uncertain terms and have even stated so in black and white to the courts. We will know that this process is complete if/when SCOTUS somehow decides against them, “The Supreme Court has made their decision; now let them enforce it!”

They are following the formula to a T.

The Republic is almost finished; I think we can stick a fork in it very soon.

I’m less sure, though parts of this are definitely true. Let’s deal with the quibbles: Trump isn’t doing tariff wars for the reason a left wing government under the WTO-Neoliberal-Sanctions regime would. They know that sanctions and trade can be used to destroy their economy. America isn’t in that position. Tariffs and tariff threats are about something else. In some cases, making countries bow, in other cases Trump appears to believe tariffs are free money, and there’s probably also an attempt to re-shore industry. Biden was already Cannibalizing European industry through high energy prices forcing energy sensitive industries to relocate to the US after the NordStream sabotage. Tariffs, for countries with trade surpluses with the US, are intended to have the same effect.

I think a lot of this comes down to something we’ve talked about before. “You go for the King, you’d better not miss.” I warned, repeatedly, that prosecution of Trump was an all-or-nothing matter. You either take him out, completely, or you’re fucked, because you’ve destroyed an elite norm against going after ex-Presidents seriously. (Note that Trump said he’d prosecute Hilary Clinton, but never did.)

Trump’s first actions have included a purge of law enforcement and prosecutors who went after him, the people who tried to help him steal the 2000 election, and his January 6th shock troopers.

What the hell did Democrats expect? That they could prosecute Trump and his people and that if he got back into power he’d shrug it off? How fucking stupid are these people?

If you prosecuted Trump, you had to make it stick and throw him in prison and take every red cent he had. You don’t go after an ex-President who still has a power base without making sure you finish him off.

The bloody fools.

In some respects Trump is just self-protecting. He has to take control of the Justice system so that when he leaves office he’s safe, at least, from any sort of Federal prosecution and with his loyalists in charge of the Justice system, attempts to end-run using the State system can be countered by simple threats. “If you do, we’ll go after your people, and we’re a lot more powerful.)

Trump is taking control of government: the treasury system and all expenditures, and the legal enforcement system. No one will be prosecuted who he doesn’t want prosecuted. No one will get money whom he doesn’t want to get money. Anyone he does want prosecuted will be and anyone who wants to have money, will have money.

Is it a coup? That depends on intention. Does he intend to step down in 2028 and allow free and fair elections? Or does he intend to make sure that elections are only a fig-leaf and he, or more likely given his age, his chosen successor is essentially appointed?

Trump could just intend to punish his immediate enemies and make sure the government does exactly what he wants, or he could intend to turn this into a permanent Republican state, with at least his successor chosen by him.

If he really wants to be safe, well, he needs to appoint his successor.

GrimJim is right about the court system. There are two plays: one is the Supremes wave thru his stuff, but the really dangerous moment would be if he was ruled against and he said “The Supreme Court has made their decision, now let them enforce it!”

Since he’s taking control of the federal enforcement arms, the idea is that no one will obey the courts if Trump disagrees. Their loyalty will be to him.

State governors may try to resist, but Trump can crush them if he so desires.

I admit I never saw Trump as this dangerous, mostly because he’s fundamentally incompetent. But he’s been mishandled by Democrats and the (not so) permanent state. Tulsi Gabbard looks likely to be confirmed, and her job is to do to the intelligence apparatus what is being done to the FBI and DOJ: make it Trump safe. If anyone takes out Trump, it will be the intelligence apparatus. He threatens them, just as JFK did, and they may act. That said, JFK threatened from the left, and intelligence services do love to serve a right wing tyrant. Trump may restrict their foreign games somewhat, but he will give them domestic power they have always wanted.

So, America gets out of this only if Trump either doesn’t really intend a coup and is just being a petty tyrant who wants to go back to the spoils system for government, or if his and Musk’s incompetence brings them down.

We’ll talk more about this as time goes by.

This blog runs on donations and subscriptions from readers. It’s free, but not free to produce. If you value it, please give.

End Of Empire: Effects & Theory Of Trump’s Tariffs

Let’s deal with the big, almost certain effects first.

This is the beginning of the end of  the American alliance system, empire and world economic system.

Trump is planning on putting tariffs on Europe, too. He put higher tariffs on Canada, supposedly one of America’s closest allies, than on China. Hitting the majority of America’s vassals/allies all at more or less the same time, with them retaliating with their own tariffs means an end to the American created world economic system. It will also lead to the end of NATO and, in time, other alliances. Europe’s mainland isn’t practically subject to threat of invasion from the US the way that Canada and Mexico are, they don’t have to put up with this, but threats to Greenland make it clear that the US is more likely to invade an actual EU member than Russia is.

Hard to have an alliance with a nation you’re in a trade war with who is threatening to invade one of your countries and who, by all accounts, is serious about it.

And while the tariffs are all justified on “national security” which is “letter” legal, everyone knows that’s bullshit. Trump is violating the purpose of the WTO, USMCA/NAFTA and other trade treaties the US has signed.

There’s no way the world trade order survives this and no way the American empire does either, since it’s based on an alliance system and bases around the world, many of which are in countries Trump is declaring his trade war on. Even countries who escape tariffs for now can’t feel secure. Ironically it’s the tariffs on Canada which will do the US the most international harm: everyone knows that Canada has been a completely supine vassal giving to the US everything it wants. Canadian exports, minus oil and gas, are less than its imports from the US, so there’s no legitimate re-balancing argument, even. Foreign leaders have read reports making this clear.

Alright, enough about the top-line effects. Let’s look into the theory of tariffs Trump appears to believe.

Trump has nominated Stephen Miran American to be chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Stephen is a senior strategist for Hudson Bay Capital management, and he wrote a 40 page brief, primarily on tariffs, called “A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System.

The most important part of his thesis is the following argument about the effect of tariffs.

1) The currency of the exporter will depreciate to make up the difference in cost.

2) Consumer prices will not go up, therefore;

3) the exporting country is damaged, the importing tariffing country is not.

4) But the tariffing country does get revenue! Free lunch, in other words.

5) Importer profit margins take any hits hits not covered by the exporter’s currency depreciation, not prices, or at least they did last time.

This argument is given empirical backing by looking at what happened when Trump imposed tariffs during his first term: the Yuan depreciated and consumer prices didn’t rise.

Let’s run thru this.

  • China tends to control the price of its currency. If the Yuan depreciated, it’s because the Chinese government chose to depreciate it. They may not choose to do so this time.
  • America has no option but to buy from China. From machine goods to basic electronics to parts for America’s defense industry, there are no domestic or European alternatives for much of it.
  • China doesn’t, therefore, have to depreciate its currency. It might sell less goods, but it will still sell tons. It’s a political decision.
  • If the exchange rate does drop, or balance, which is not a sure thing, even with non-controlled currencies, then US exports to that country become more expensive, and the exports to that country drop. In the case of Canada, which imports more goods from the US than vice-versa, what is likely to happen is import substitution: Canadian importers will probably switch to China.
  • In fact, this will be a general issue. Any country the US puts tariffs on will replace a lot of imported US goods with Chinese goods.
  • Not all importers can eat the losses. The reason Trump put only 10% tariffs on oil and gas is that American refiners have thin profit margins. Any increase in crude prices from tariffs will be passed on to consumers. (Aside: this is clearly the Achilles heel and Canada should put an exit-tariff on crude to hurt the US as much as possible.)
  • Importers also don’t have to eat the price increases. In the pre-Covid world, there was a lot less consumer inflation. But when Covid happened, prices increased faster than costs because Covid supply shocks were a good excuse to raise prices. Some importers may eat the increased costs, others may pass them on, and even raise prices more than the tariffs. If they have pricing power, if people must buy from them, then why not? Fear of Trump might cause some to eat the difference, but there are a lot of obscure, little importers. Apple passing on costs or gouging will be noticed so they’ll probably eat it. Others won’t.
  • The money the government receives comes from Americans, really, not foreigners. They pay the tariffs. There are elites who are going to be hurt by Trump’s tariffs.

What Miran doesn’t talk much about is the idea of import substitution. The real reason to do tariffs is to protect and nurture internal producers. This is important to Trump, he’s talked about it often.

With respect to Mexico, the idea is to get factories in Mexico to move to the US. They exist in Mexico primarily because Mexico used to have tariff free access to America, and has lower costs than America. There will be some effect here. The calculus will mostly be about uncertainty, though, not costs. In most cases producing in Mexico is probably still cheaper, even after a 25% tariff, than producing in America. But given how erratic Trump is, and that he’s indicated there may be more and higher tariffs, it may make sense to move factories to the US. The US won’t tariff itself.

But this is more complicated than it looks, because the US doesn’t make most of the parts any factory will need, so those have to be imported, and tariffed, or a supply network needs to be built in the US.

That’s what the US wants. If you want sell to us, you have to make it here, not just assemble it.

This is fair enough, actually, but it’s based on an assumption of continued dollar privilege.

Take a look at this chart:

The US is able to run these long term, consistent trade deficits because of dollar privilege. It can print dollars and everyone will take them.

But if the US world economic system is breaking up, if NATO is likely to die, and if the US is tariffing its allies, will dollar privilege survive? After all, you don’t really need dollars to buy from the US, because the vast majority of what you buy from the US you could buy from China instead, and Chinese prices are cheaper. If America doesn’t want you to export to them, well, what good are the dollars?

This is why Trump has been making horrific threats to BRICS about replacing the dollar. BRICS has reassured them it doesn’t intend to do that, but it’s not clear they aren’t lying and in any case, what BRICS has mostly been doing is changing from using the US dollar in trade to just using bilateral currencies. More and more, BRICS members trade with each other in their own currencies, without using the US dollar.

This chart, again from the Visual Capitalist, is worth staring at a bit:

As the chart notes, the US dollar is still , but that chart isn’t comforting. Remember that China, not the US, is the trade partner of the most nations in the world. And note that while the US is China’s export destination, exports to the US accounted for 2.9% of Chinese GDP, down from 3.5% in 2018. Eighteen percent of China’s exports went to the US in 2023.

The point, here, is that if you can’t sell to America because of tariffs, and if the US doesn’t have much you want to buy because China is cheaper, why do you need the US dollar?

If the US dollar loses privilege, if people won’t accept it because it can be used in trade with any country, then America has a problem: it can’t just print dollars any more and if it can’t print dollars any more, Americans can’t keep massively over-consuming.

This means a massive demand drop from Americans: they will have to consume much less. You might think that means an opportunity for American firms to step into the breach, but this will happen with very little demand from in the American market (and with the trade war, no one else is going to be buying from the US as their first, second or third choice.)

The American cost structure is high and American “capitalists” prefer to play financial games to make things. The American competency crisis is real, and not caused by DEI. The market has high barriers to entry, incumbents addicted to oligopoly profits and no basic machine industry and almost no basic electronic parts manufacturing.

The transition period will be ugly. Beyond ugly. Quite likely “economic collapse” level ugly.

There was a way to use tariffs and industrial strategy, but starting a trade war with half the world all at almost the same time was not the way to do it. You pick sectors (start with machine tools and basic electronic and machine parts), tariff that, put in subsidies and restructure the market for those goods. Once that’s going, you move back up the chain.

That’s how you use tariffs and industrial policy to reindustrialize.

Trump’s tariff plans are based on assumptions that are not going to hold in the real world, during a global trade war. Tariffs are important and often good and I support their use, but like everything else, they must be used intelligently.

Enough for today, we’ll talk about the effects (almost entirely positive) of Trump’s tariffs on everyone else in the world next. Trump is doing what no one else could: destroying the American empire and the neoliberal world order. I’m very thankful and as long as we can avoid war Trump’s actions are positive in the middle to long term for far more people than they’re bad for. Just, well, not Americans in the short to middle term or anyone who gets invaded.

More soon.

This blog runs on donations and subscriptions from readers. It’s free, but not free to produce. If you value it, please give.

Musk’s In A Lot of Trouble And Won’t Be the World’s Richest Man Much Longer

I’ve discussed this before, so we’ll keep it brief. Much of Musk’s wealth is in Tesla stock. Tesla car sales are down, and getting hammered particularly, but not only, in China. The Chinese are producing better, cheaper electric vehicles with autonomous driving which actually works, because they use Lidar, which Musk personally decided not to use. Even Western carmakers are catching up to and exceeding Tesla vehicles.

Musk tried to get a fifty billion dollar payout from Telsa, which was spiked in the courts, because, I suspect, he knows Tesla’s going down. He’s been systematically selling Tesla stock, but he can’t sell too much at any given time. So right now he’s trying a parlay, he has to keep Tesla stock up for as long as possible to get as much money out. His strong support for Trump was almost certainly based on the need to keep Trump from ending electric vehicle subsidies, which, so far, Trump has done, even though he was very hostile to them for much of the campaign.

Now don’t feel bad for Musk, he’ll still be one of the richest men in the world, but for whatever reason: distraction, rumored drug use, health or something else, he’s not handling the day to day, month to month business of managing his corporations very well. X/Twitter has bled users, losing millions and while advertisers are coming back, that’s only to kiss up to him for as long as he has Trump’s ear, and Trump is fickle with who stays in the inner circle.

SpaceX is doing well, but SpaceX is still, mostly, a creature of the government, with the exception of its satellite internet. Its success was made possible by Obama policies intended to build a private space industry. It still requires government contracts and aid to do well.

If I had to make a bet, I’d bet on Blue Origin, Bezos’s space outfit. Yes, it’s far behind, but Bezos is an operator and still seems very skilled and focused, unlike Musk. And with him stepping away from day-to-day operations at Amazon, he’s got the attention to spare on what is a dream from him: he made the money at Amazon so he could do space.

The Chinese space program, as you’d expect, is doing very well, including putting up satellite internet which appears to outperform Musk’s, but America is never going to pay China to use its lift capacity so there’s a guaranteed moat.

Musk, in short, has almost certainly peaked. His political actions are, from a business perspective, necessary because he’s screwed up his core business and needs powerful government access. His competitors are chewing on his heels, he personally seems to be in some sort of decline, and his days as number one are drawing to a close.

 

This blog runs on donations and subscriptions from readers. It’s free, but not free to produce. If you value it, please give.

Trump Has Caused A Constitutional Crisis

Stirling Newberry pointed this out, and I agree.

Some of Trump’s Executive Order are clearly illegal, unconstitutional, or both. Trump can’t get rid of Birthright Citizenship and his order goes clearly against the written text of the amendment:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

This isn’t open to interpretation. There is no wiggle room.

Trump’s freezing of grants is likewise straight up unconstitutional. Congress decides who gets how much money for what purpose. The President executes Congress’s orders. If Trump can decide who gets how much money for what purpose when Congress has not given him that permission, then there aren’t three branches, but two.

Stirling has a longer article making the case with reference to other executive orders, and it’s worth reading, but these two are clear cut. There is no wiggle room, though many people are trying to find some.

The play here is simple: what Trump’s doing is unconstitutional and illegal, but the Supremes are controlled by the Republican party, so they are expected to ignore the plain text of the constitution and the 14th amendment and find some torturous justification for Trump’s actions.

This is another step along the line to the Imperial Presidency.

You should also be very unhappy about the domestic use of troops for domestic law enforcement. That crosses a bright red line for obvious reasons. Likewise Trump is stepping all over State’s rights.

(Stirling also has a series of articles on the future of the Center Left. They’re worth reading. Remember that he has aphasia, and pay attention to the argument and the ideas, ignoring any awkwardness. Go to the article linked, click on the first article and work thru.)

Trump is also fundamentally changing the role of America in the world order. Rather than being the central hub of treaty network, the imperial core with vassals and subjects who are, mostly, treated well as long as they stay in their place and gave the US their resources, which the US paid for by printing currency. Trump has now decided to end that era, and to fully commit to cannibalizing America’s allies. Odds of NATO’s survival are bad, and it’s a dead letter when Trump can threaten war against Denmark, one of its members. Everyone sees this, but people are so aghast and taken back most aren’t calling it out yet.

There is also a changeover of oligarchic elites. Previously the financial elites ran government. The tech elites are now moving and taking over much of that role. They have different priorities than the old financial elites and instead of being neo-liberals, they are utopian technocratic neo-fascists. They are convinced that they are superior people, even more so than the old elites and that everyone should do as they say. Everyone else to them, is stupid and unfit for power. Government, to them, must be rid of what little remains of its regulatory powers so they can do what they want, unconstrained by legal burdens. “You can just do things” is prescriptive: there have been some limits, and they want as many of those limits removed as possible.

This is a constitutional crisis. If Trump succeeds, there’s a very different country afterwards, run in a very different way by very different people, creating a very different international order.

This blog runs on donations and subscriptions from readers. It’s free, but not free to produce. If you value it, please give.

 

 

Trump’s Laughable Sanction Threats Against Russia

The US thru a kitchen sink of sanctions at Russia after the start of the Ukraine war, including freezing their foreign assets. The result?

The number is exaggerated, given Russian inflation, but even inflation adjusted, Russia’s doing fine.

It is impossible to choke out Russia with sanctions if China isn’t willing to go a long. (India not cooperating is the cherry on top.) Cannot be done. Impossible.

In fact, sanctions against Russia have been a huge favor to it, forcing a vast surge in import substitution, improving its industry, creating a booming economy whose only real problem is inflation. Russian oligarchs have been forced to spend their money and effort in Russia instead of wasting their money in the West. Meanwhile the sanctions have damaged Europe massively, though somewhat to the benefit of America, since much energy-intensive industry in Europe is shutting down and moving to the US.

If Trump wants peace for Ukraine with Russia he’s going to have to offer a good deal. Threats won’t cut it. Or just wait for the Russians to win and impose a peace.

Since Trump appears to be reducing aid to Ukraine, that will happen sooner than otherwise. Perhaps it’s his real strategy, or more likely, he’s simply incoherent. Russia halting along the current lines would be stupid of them, since they’re advancing inexorably and all reports are of significant Ukrainian manpower shortages.

Trump’s always been a bully, but Russia isn’t one of America’s vassals or satrapies. It’s a junior ally in the Chinese sphere, and Trump doesn’t have the economic or military leverage to make it do anything. The only country in the world which can force Russia is China, and China isn’t going to help America v.s. Russia under any likely Trump policy regime.

This blog runs on donations and subscriptions from readers. It’s free, but not free to produce. If you value it, please give.

Drill, Baby, Drill; Screw Immigrants; End the 14th Amendment; Climate Change Ho! Trump’s Day One Actions

What can I say, it’s an old picture, but I like it

The Guardian has a pretty good list of Trump’s executive actions day one.

January 6th pardons are the most interesting, to me. Trump should have granted these pardons before leaving office in 2020 but I’m sure they’re still a great relief to those charged or imprisoned. (I actually know one guy who wound up in prison because of J6.) When I say “should” I’m not expressing support for them storming the capital, just noting that a smart leader protects his most fanatical followers. Might need them again, after all.

There are a bunch of oil and climate related orders, which amount to “drill more, and screw any anti-climate change policies or agreements” including leaving the Paris accords. I’m not that worked up, Biden massively increased drilling too, he just protected a few places from it. As for the Paris agreement, it’s always been a dead letter. I notice that Musk has skated by, at least so far, Trump got rid of the “goal” to have half of all autos be electrical, but didn’t get rid of the subsidies, without which Musk would lose hundreds of billions of dollars .

Trump also ordered more work on the wall (Biden hadn’t actually stopped building barriers), ended appointments, seems to have effectively ended refugees and most impressively ordered all government departments not to issue documents related to birthright citizenship of any children born to illegal refugees. This is in direct violation of the 14th amendment as written, but given the makeup of the Supreme Court, the 14th may be a dead letter. He’s also declared an “emergency” so that troops can be deployed to the border, which would otherwise be illegal.

He has declared Mexican cartels terrorists and I’d guess he’s thinking of launching raids across the border, without Mexican government permission, which is going to be a nightmare.

All genders other than male and female have been declared non-existent, all policies allowing or encouraging gender change are disallowed, and the government can’t fund anything. Anti-trans hysteria continues. Pure pandering from Trump, as he’s suggested in the past that he doesn’t really care but is happy to whip up crowds with it. DEI related executive orders have been rescinded. Won’t do a thing to help the competency crisis, but more red meat.

Trump has also removed Schedule F protection for Federal civil servants from arbitrary dismissal. This will be challenged, but the consensus seems to be he’s within his rights. I’m not super worked about this, winning political parties should be able to put their people in place and it will work to the advantage of future Presidents as well.

Overall there’s not much here that’s surprising. For immigrants the real question is his planned immigrant roundups and expelling, which seem likely to start soon. The border guards were always his most loyal servants among the paramilitary forces and I’m sure they’re salivating at the opportunity to beat people up and degrade them.

The most interesting thing is that Musk has thus far bought himself a reprieve. Were I him, I’d showboat less, because Trump doesn’t like people who steal his limelight. Musk was essentially created by Obama era policies and subsidies favoring both private spaceflight and electric cars, and he can be destroyed just as easily by a hostile President.

SUBSCRIBE OR DONATE

Doctorow Has the Best Idea for How Canada Should Retaliate to Trump’s Tariffs + Make It So Americans Can’t Drive

Just break the IP laws and set up app stores with 5% feeds. Create jail break kits for John Deere tractors, and so on.

There’s no reason that a Canadian app store would have to confine itself to Canadian software authors, either. Canadian app stores could offer 5% commissions on sales to US and global software authors, and provide jailbreaking kits that allows device owners all around the world to install the Canadian app stores where software authors don’t get ripped off by American Big Tech companies.

Canadian companies like Honeybee already make “front-ends” for John Deere tractors – these are the components that turn a tractor into a plow, or a thresher, or another piece of heavy agricultural equipment. Honeybee struggles constantly to get its products to interface with Deere tractors, because Deere uses digital locks to block its products:

https://honeybee.ca/

Canada could produce jailbreaking kits for John Deere tractors, too – not just for Honeybee. Every ag-tech company in the world would benefit from commercially available, professionally supported John Deere jailbreaking kits. So would farmers, because these kits would restore farmers’ Right to Repair their own tractors:

This is the ultimate “break glass in case of fire” situation. US elites make a ton of their money from IP, and breaking it would hurt them extremely. It’s something I thought Russia could do in the face of American sanctions, but why not Canada? If the US won’t keep its deals with us, any deals we have with it are ours to break.

And Doctorow’s right that this is the perfect retaliation: any sort of exit-tariffs or retaliatory tariffs hurt Canada too. This just hurts the US, and hurts the decision makers, not ordinary people. Heck, many of them might benefit.

To make this really work, and make sure the population backs it, share half the profits with Canadians: just split them evenly.

If the US wants Canada to not be its good ally, then why not become a semi-neutral country? We can sell to the US and China and Europe, and become a data haven.

The other, less fun, but very devastating thing to do is to cut off raw crude. US refineries are reliant on Canadian crude oil, and by about a month after Canada doing so there would be absolute shortages of gasoline in half of America. Not “the price is high”, but “we don’t have it.” Canada can handle this for a few months. Just cover the company losses and insist they keep paying workers until we say otherwise.

Finally, and obviously, all countries being hit my Trump tariffs should get together, support each other and work to hurt the US and Trump as much as possible. Trump’s handed us allies, we should use them.

SUBSCRIBE OR DONATE

Page 1 of 14

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén