Tractors and (upcoming) tariffs?

[Mtsoxfan]

Mtsoxfan: sounds as if you had good work ethic & ambition in youth. not sure of your age, but i'm in mid 70's. i will say i was able to do well & am reasonably ok in later life stage during my working carer

but given current housing, inflation, uncertain job & economy, even with the work ethic that you expound, our youth i think are facing more challenges than i did in trying to achieve what we have done ourselves

we can point fingers, but it's the world we are leaving our youth. let's try to keep the faith

Yeah, mid 63 myself. I do agree, the price of housing is so much more.
As for the riots previously posted, as long as one side of government doesn't allow/promote, something can be done about that. Many are already prepared...
All that said, I do believe in a hand up, not a hand out. If you are working, and can't make ends meet due to childcare, healthcare etc. and not spending money on $1000 phone, $250 a month cable/streaming etc. as a civilized society, and taxed fairly, (like that can ever happen) there is a responsibility to help.

 

[ultrarunner]

It’s not 1929 anymore…

Credit plans already in the works to extend longer terms at lower rates to roll in the added costs of tariffs for that new tractor…

Credit is the American way and bankruptcy is the way out…

Since the 60’s dependent lifestyles requiring no work have evolved to cover just about everything needed.

When it becomes generational the chances of breaking the cycle are slim… and it becomes the only way for many…

Imagine living in a single family 3 bedroom 2 bath suburban home with garden service paying $50 month rent, discounted utilities including high speed, no cost cell phone, full medical, EBT, school meals even when school is out of session and driving a modest new car in the driveway… with enough in the budget for smokes and cable?

What keeps the ship afloat is kids having kids…

It’s been a few years since I last checked but then a family of 4 would need to earn 88k to duplicate subsidies… scary to venture into the stress of the real world when doing nothing safely provides the necessities of life food, shelter, etc… and some luxuries too.

 

[jyoutz]

It’s not 1929 anymore…

Since the 60’s dependent lifestyles requiring no work have evolved to cover just about everything needed.

When it becomes generational the chances of breaking the cycle are slim… and it becomes the only way for many…

Imagine living in a single family 3 bedroom 2 bath suburban home with garden service paying $50 month rent, discounted utilities including high speed, no cost cell phone, full medical, EBT, school meals even when school is out of session and driving a modest new car in the driveway… with enough in the budget for smokes and cable?

What keeps the ship afloat is kids having kids…

It’s been a few years since I last checked but then a family of 4 would need to earn 88k to duplicate subsidies… scary to venture into the stress of the real world when doing nothing safely provides the necessities of life food, shelter, etc… and some luxuries too.

You are extrapolating a small minority of people to the vast generation of young people today. Most do work and support themselves and their families. There are a vast choice of career paths in this country.

 

[ultrarunner]

You are extrapolating a small minority of people to the vast generation of young people today. Most do work and support themselves and their families. There are a vast choice of career paths in this country.

Fundamentally most will relate or see life through our experiences…

5 generations of my family have called Oakland CA home so it really shapes my perspective…

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Canada has a significantly smaller population than the U.S. and so do many of the countries with tariffs.

The US is the third most populous country in the world. Every country but India and China is smaller than us.

 

[jyoutz]

The US is the third most populous country in the world. Every country but India and China is smaller than us.

Yep, and that’s why it’s unrealistic to expect them to buy the same amount of export goods that we import.

 

[WinterDeere]

Yep, and that’s why it’s unrealistic to expect them to buy the same amount of export goods that we import.

I think you're getting hung up on phrasology, as I don't think anyone ever implied that a small country should buy the same amount of goods that we import.

I think the implication was that many countries sell more to us than they buy from us, which is a completely different discussion, unless you assume that country only buys all of their goods from us, and we only buy all of our goods from them. We know that's never the case, we buy some of their goods for some of our needs, and they buy some of our goods for some of their needs.

Countries on the rise will generally export more than they import, and importing more than you export is generally a sign that you've peaked and are heading for a decline. Not all imports or exports are physical goods, they may be service work, which may include medical, engineering, and other intellectual properties (research, software, etc.). There is nothing that dictates small countries must export more to the USA than they import from the USA, but it is more likely their exports be manufactured goods, while their imports may be medicine, software, and other technologies used to generate those manufactured goods.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

I think you're getting hung up on phrasology, as I don't think anyone ever implied that a small country should buy the same amount of goods that we import.

I think the implication was that many countries sell more to us than they buy from us, which is a completely different discussion, unless you assume that country only buys all of their goods from us, and we only buy all of our goods from them. We know that's never the case, we buy some of their goods for some of our needs, and they buy some of our goods for some of their needs.

Countries on the rise will generally export more than they import, and importing more than you export is generally a sign that you've peaked and are heading for a decline. Not all imports or exports are physical goods, they may be service work, which may include medical, engineering, and other intellectual properties (research, software, etc.). There is nothing that dictates small countries must export more to the USA than they import from the USA, but it is more likely their exports be manufactured goods, while their imports may be medicine, software, and other technologies used to generate those manufactured goods.

Trade plus net capital flows will always balance. If they don't, currency will start to pile up and will devalue until balance is restored.

What are "net capital flows"? Investment. The reason the US has a trade deficit is that it has a very strong net capital flow, because it is -- or was -- the best place in the world to invest money. People with money in other countries want our stocks and bonds. As a nation, we benefit tremendously, with low interest rates and low capital cost for our companies.

A trade imbalance is not a sign of economic weakness. It's a sign of strength. We have been the world's investment choice because we have had the world's most productive economy.

Trump is literally trying to fix a problem that isn't a problem.

 

[WinterDeere]

The reason the US has a trade deficit is that it has a very strong net capital flow, because it is -- or was -- the best place in the world to invest money. People with money in other countries want our stocks and bonds. As a nation, we benefit tremendously, with low interest rates and low capital cost for our companies.

Yes. We became "the best place in the world to invest money" by the 1980's. How did we get there?

If our companies make use of this strong position to continue outsourcing everything from manufacturing to research, do you expect the regime to continue perpetually?

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Yes. We became "the best place in the world to invest money" by the 1980's. How did we get there?

If our companies make use of this strong position to continue outsourcing everything from manufacturing to research, do you expect the regime to continue perpetually?

From 1815 until after WWI Great Britain held the role that the US plays today. They ran massive trade deficits and were able to sustain it for over a century. So it is sustainable.

When you have the world's most productive economy, capital flows to you. Your companies have access to cheaper capital than competitors in other countries, which makes them more productive. It's a virtuous cycle.

Here's an article from Paul Krugman explaining why a trade surplus is a sign of weakness, not strength:

China’s Very Bad, No Good Trillion-Dollar Trade Surplus

It’s a sign of weakness, not strength, but a problem for everyone

paulkrugman.substack.com