Now you’ve got me feeling guilty. I have yet to turn on my A/C this year in the Ozarks. Am I secretly a European at heart? Am I American enough? I’ve been getting by with ceiling fans. What was I thinking?
I’ll show those Frenchies. The A/C is being turned on this week!
This "old" farm house I live in has never had air-conditioning! Have numerous Fans going, and open the windows at night to let the cooler air in! Got it down to 77 here in the living room this morning!
I can offer no irrefutable economic theories (then again, neither can very many economists) but I will make this comment about US tariffs and Argentinian tariffs both being "protectionist": While that assertion is correct linguistically, the comparison founders on the actual (not theoretical) purpose in each case. Argentina pursued a time-honoured path to building a stronger internal economy. That it led nowhere but down has more to do with the country's inability to mobilize public will, access adequate investment capital, and elect leaders who were not dedicated robber barons, whatever their professed economic orthodoxy.
The US under Trump is not seeking to protect inefficient homegrown companies. The nation has already proven repeatedly that it has the prerequisites to build the world's strongest economy, and products in most cases the equal of any produced anywhere.
Trump's vision is that American industry has been hollowed out in the name of globalism, and has been strangled by economic policies that have not exactly benefited American businesses and workers.
It is all well and good to say, as the one-worlders have repeatedly, that globalised trade will ultimately produce lower prices for consumers. But the reality is that if those "consumers" don't have jobs, preferably ones with some meaning and income attached, their problems go far beyond paying a little extra at the checkout counter. That is the reality for too many Americans, and has been for too long.
I would submit that America is a unique case among the leading nations of the world over the past one hundred years. It has, with some minor exceptions, all the raw materials it's manufacturers will need from decades to come; it has, as noted, abundant and relatively cheap energy; it has access to internal and international capital in excess of its needs; and, though the work ethic is not what it once was, the idea of working to get ahead is still deeply entrenched in the American psyche.
Once the American people begin to see the ultimate results of results of Trump's tariffs, ie: a resurgent and resilient economy, with all the benefits associated with it. I believe many of the criticisms being levelled today will be seen to have been out of touch and in error.
That will be the ultimate rejoinder to the "Democratic Socialists" and their vote-buying, something-for-nothing policies. Americans have repeatedly proven that when there are opportunities to participate meaningfully in a strong economy, a majority would rather do so, and earn their way, than sit around whining about their government handouts not being generous enough.
Some excellent and well presented points in there, Jim. Thanks very much for your considered contribution, and for your respectful tone of discourse. Always happy to hear a different point of view. I’ll endeavor to address them in future Notes. Meanwhile, best to you and yours. Cheers!
Thank you, Joel. The sentiments are mutual. And may I say how much I enjoy your writing; it is often a beacon of hope and reason in a sea of commentary all too often bereft of both.
Jim, thanks for saving me from having to compose a rebuttal to the ill conceived comparison between Trumps tariff action and the tariff careerists. Your is excellent.
The ugly fact is that the US accepted the tariffs after WW II in an attempt to foster their economic recovery. Like all “users” the euros became addicts and were shocked and stunned when Trump used their weapon of choice to make his point and cut off their supply.
As to the psyche of our less experienced population, I see lots of top level people who just aren’t newsworthy to our media. Not really concerned.
This is why I like SubStack - Nuance of perspective, honest disagreement without the rage and false dichotomy. I too see Trump's original tariff pursuit as something closer to leveling the playing field rather than the protectionism of Argentina and therefore a bad comparison. But I don't think it undermines your larger point.
"Nuance of perspective, honest disagreement without the rage and false dichotomy." Exactly. In that way, Substack is just like other platforms... but for grown-up conversation. Cheers!
Interesting that the Deputy Mayor of Paris would acknowledge that she is going after the second-largest producer of greenhouse gases. Why not go after the largest producer? Because that's China, and China would either ignore them or they them to pound sand. Which is what the US should do. Somehow, the Deputy Mayor of Paris does not cause me to rethink my use of A/C in the slightest. Give me a second here -- I think I'll go turn it down a couple of degrees so I have to wear a sweater.
per AI: If France [pop. 36 million, median gross income roughly €2,000, $2,300 USD] were to somehow find itself the 51st member of the United States tomorrow, it would have the lowest GDP per capita in the entire union, right behind Mississippi [pop. 2.6 million, median personal income $2,600 USD].
Crazy, right? The Germans and the Brits would find themselves in the same ballpark, somewhere around Arkansas, West Virginia and Mississippi, in the 48th to 50th range.
what data or figures have you ever encountered that you could actually belive ? do you really think that that those stupid GDP figures (guesstimates) you're quoting mean a damn thing to folks that are sweating or freezing or starving? on your next sojourn stop over in south east asia or India or anywhere in central America .. who gives a shit about Mississippi of France for that matter .. Oh I get it you got a lot of subscribers there right? I wonder why so many Latinos are not crossing the Rio Grande? oh yes must be the hot weather and all those wonderful amusement parks designed to make your life so much more exciting eh .. just as fake as the folks you judge .. btw France has 88 million minimum Germany over 90 million GB over 90 million .. after 40 years of doing census one thing is clear most humans could not even count the hairs on their rear-ends ! nor define their own GDP or whoever made it up ?
My question to the insolent mayor (or would it be, mare?) of Paris is: Which do you prefer? The saber? Or the guillotine?
And I have a few additional words to the morons and their ilk in New York City and other environs of Communist ideology. Do you think you will be exempt from these idiotic plans from your "leaders"? Just look at the new edict issued by Queen Ursula vonderLeyenpileofmerde: Only the rooms of the Elites shall have the right to use the air conditioners.
I'm hoping you can figure out how to use that noose. And quickly.
From Brave AI: “… the U.S. reduced about 7 times more greenhouse gases in absolute tonnage than France over this period (2000 to 2025), despite facing a much larger logistical challenge in decarbonizing its energy and industrial sectors.” Take that France! U.S. is doing better. 😎 Désolé, mes amis, de toute façon, je t’adore.
Joel, People think this is a free market and they blame Capitalism bull. hopefully down south you have a closer look at the real deal. Probably the biggest problem we Americans are constantly scammed by politician and free loaders. Just think how much cheaper things would be without these government thieves. Hell maybe the trillion deficits would probably disappear immediately, Having a king is starting to sound better all the time. Let's start with the Trump family. who cares if they take billion here or there, that's a long shot from a trillion.
Here in Scotland, the heating is on. 1st July is the start of autumn (a few years ago I was caught in a blizzard on Braeriach in the Cairngorm Mountains on this day).
As a wise man once said "I love summer in Scotland, its my favourite day of the year."
Joel not sure if this retort is tongue in cheek or just plain vindictive .. if you could even estimate where "europe" begins and ends that would be enlightening but I doubt you can determine boarders any better than you can determine the 'past' from the 'future' oh my 75 years of failure ! "Argentina’s economy would have spent the past 75 years as the envy of the world, not a cautionary tale." the Argentina you are talking about does not exist any more and when it did it was made up of ENTIRELY different People' can you not get that simple fact or are you just as stupid as your convict ancestors or invaders as we are now called ? Your individual 'Folk Soul' seems to have landed in another southern hemisphere location where your generalities about everything are all determined by 'history' ok so what HISTORY is happening right now everywhere at once .. like AI or mobile phones or electronic everything from banking to sex, its all changed and continues to change ever more rapidly, just because it has two legs and makes noise does not make it all the SAME as in your brain so stop drawing connections/joins between disparate sources/times /places of data and make up a reality that you want us all to believe in ? Really .. we need more Xavier's who can create change without to much stupidity and adjust to current conditions .. which is why he's made some progress in moving Argentina movement in a slightly altered direction but it's got a long way to go before the proof of the pudding appears so please mate tell us about how that is going rather than pontificating about the so called great environmental or economic divide between that wonderfully progressed USA and the rest of the world because US may be the 'ENVY' of your aspirations but not everyone else's ! Which is probably why you don't live there eh or in Oz but just float by on your tax deductible annual flyby and make prognostications about the world and it ten or twelve billion people that have been actually been counted or even count in your estimation of what most folks want from Life!
Now you’ve got me feeling guilty. I have yet to turn on my A/C this year in the Ozarks. Am I secretly a European at heart? Am I American enough? I’ve been getting by with ceiling fans. What was I thinking?
I’ll show those Frenchies. The A/C is being turned on this week!
This "old" farm house I live in has never had air-conditioning! Have numerous Fans going, and open the windows at night to let the cooler air in! Got it down to 77 here in the living room this morning!
Love that verse on government and the Sahara desert. No truer words spoken.
I can offer no irrefutable economic theories (then again, neither can very many economists) but I will make this comment about US tariffs and Argentinian tariffs both being "protectionist": While that assertion is correct linguistically, the comparison founders on the actual (not theoretical) purpose in each case. Argentina pursued a time-honoured path to building a stronger internal economy. That it led nowhere but down has more to do with the country's inability to mobilize public will, access adequate investment capital, and elect leaders who were not dedicated robber barons, whatever their professed economic orthodoxy.
The US under Trump is not seeking to protect inefficient homegrown companies. The nation has already proven repeatedly that it has the prerequisites to build the world's strongest economy, and products in most cases the equal of any produced anywhere.
Trump's vision is that American industry has been hollowed out in the name of globalism, and has been strangled by economic policies that have not exactly benefited American businesses and workers.
It is all well and good to say, as the one-worlders have repeatedly, that globalised trade will ultimately produce lower prices for consumers. But the reality is that if those "consumers" don't have jobs, preferably ones with some meaning and income attached, their problems go far beyond paying a little extra at the checkout counter. That is the reality for too many Americans, and has been for too long.
I would submit that America is a unique case among the leading nations of the world over the past one hundred years. It has, with some minor exceptions, all the raw materials it's manufacturers will need from decades to come; it has, as noted, abundant and relatively cheap energy; it has access to internal and international capital in excess of its needs; and, though the work ethic is not what it once was, the idea of working to get ahead is still deeply entrenched in the American psyche.
Once the American people begin to see the ultimate results of results of Trump's tariffs, ie: a resurgent and resilient economy, with all the benefits associated with it. I believe many of the criticisms being levelled today will be seen to have been out of touch and in error.
That will be the ultimate rejoinder to the "Democratic Socialists" and their vote-buying, something-for-nothing policies. Americans have repeatedly proven that when there are opportunities to participate meaningfully in a strong economy, a majority would rather do so, and earn their way, than sit around whining about their government handouts not being generous enough.
Some excellent and well presented points in there, Jim. Thanks very much for your considered contribution, and for your respectful tone of discourse. Always happy to hear a different point of view. I’ll endeavor to address them in future Notes. Meanwhile, best to you and yours. Cheers!
Thank you, Joel. The sentiments are mutual. And may I say how much I enjoy your writing; it is often a beacon of hope and reason in a sea of commentary all too often bereft of both.
Jim, thanks for saving me from having to compose a rebuttal to the ill conceived comparison between Trumps tariff action and the tariff careerists. Your is excellent.
The ugly fact is that the US accepted the tariffs after WW II in an attempt to foster their economic recovery. Like all “users” the euros became addicts and were shocked and stunned when Trump used their weapon of choice to make his point and cut off their supply.
As to the psyche of our less experienced population, I see lots of top level people who just aren’t newsworthy to our media. Not really concerned.
This is why I like SubStack - Nuance of perspective, honest disagreement without the rage and false dichotomy. I too see Trump's original tariff pursuit as something closer to leveling the playing field rather than the protectionism of Argentina and therefore a bad comparison. But I don't think it undermines your larger point.
"Nuance of perspective, honest disagreement without the rage and false dichotomy." Exactly. In that way, Substack is just like other platforms... but for grown-up conversation. Cheers!
Interesting that the Deputy Mayor of Paris would acknowledge that she is going after the second-largest producer of greenhouse gases. Why not go after the largest producer? Because that's China, and China would either ignore them or they them to pound sand. Which is what the US should do. Somehow, the Deputy Mayor of Paris does not cause me to rethink my use of A/C in the slightest. Give me a second here -- I think I'll go turn it down a couple of degrees so I have to wear a sweater.
Hilarious! Thanks, Flier. That’s gold!
Amazing!
per AI: If France [pop. 36 million, median gross income roughly €2,000, $2,300 USD] were to somehow find itself the 51st member of the United States tomorrow, it would have the lowest GDP per capita in the entire union, right behind Mississippi [pop. 2.6 million, median personal income $2,600 USD].
Crazy, right? The Germans and the Brits would find themselves in the same ballpark, somewhere around Arkansas, West Virginia and Mississippi, in the 48th to 50th range.
what data or figures have you ever encountered that you could actually belive ? do you really think that that those stupid GDP figures (guesstimates) you're quoting mean a damn thing to folks that are sweating or freezing or starving? on your next sojourn stop over in south east asia or India or anywhere in central America .. who gives a shit about Mississippi of France for that matter .. Oh I get it you got a lot of subscribers there right? I wonder why so many Latinos are not crossing the Rio Grande? oh yes must be the hot weather and all those wonderful amusement parks designed to make your life so much more exciting eh .. just as fake as the folks you judge .. btw France has 88 million minimum Germany over 90 million GB over 90 million .. after 40 years of doing census one thing is clear most humans could not even count the hairs on their rear-ends ! nor define their own GDP or whoever made it up ?
The government confiscated a Nevada cathouse and tried to run it. They were broke within 6 months.
My question to the insolent mayor (or would it be, mare?) of Paris is: Which do you prefer? The saber? Or the guillotine?
And I have a few additional words to the morons and their ilk in New York City and other environs of Communist ideology. Do you think you will be exempt from these idiotic plans from your "leaders"? Just look at the new edict issued by Queen Ursula vonderLeyenpileofmerde: Only the rooms of the Elites shall have the right to use the air conditioners.
I'm hoping you can figure out how to use that noose. And quickly.
From Brave AI: “… the U.S. reduced about 7 times more greenhouse gases in absolute tonnage than France over this period (2000 to 2025), despite facing a much larger logistical challenge in decarbonizing its energy and industrial sectors.” Take that France! U.S. is doing better. 😎 Désolé, mes amis, de toute façon, je t’adore.
good job Joel...
She heard about a place
People were smiling
They spoke about the red man's ways
And how they loved the land
And they came from everywhere
To the Great Divide
Seeking a place to stand
Or a place to hide
~ Eagles, The Last Resort
Red, white & blue man’s weighs (but not his alone, the world cornicupia runneth over with the stuff):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK61lJWXzww
Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine? 🎶
The Great Divide of the spoils isn’t done by the govstate gun, but by them that owner-operator wield it.
Awesome
Mises
Freedom
Price Discovery
Competition
Joel, People think this is a free market and they blame Capitalism bull. hopefully down south you have a closer look at the real deal. Probably the biggest problem we Americans are constantly scammed by politician and free loaders. Just think how much cheaper things would be without these government thieves. Hell maybe the trillion deficits would probably disappear immediately, Having a king is starting to sound better all the time. Let's start with the Trump family. who cares if they take billion here or there, that's a long shot from a trillion.
Here in Scotland, the heating is on. 1st July is the start of autumn (a few years ago I was caught in a blizzard on Braeriach in the Cairngorm Mountains on this day).
As a wise man once said "I love summer in Scotland, its my favourite day of the year."
Joel not sure if this retort is tongue in cheek or just plain vindictive .. if you could even estimate where "europe" begins and ends that would be enlightening but I doubt you can determine boarders any better than you can determine the 'past' from the 'future' oh my 75 years of failure ! "Argentina’s economy would have spent the past 75 years as the envy of the world, not a cautionary tale." the Argentina you are talking about does not exist any more and when it did it was made up of ENTIRELY different People' can you not get that simple fact or are you just as stupid as your convict ancestors or invaders as we are now called ? Your individual 'Folk Soul' seems to have landed in another southern hemisphere location where your generalities about everything are all determined by 'history' ok so what HISTORY is happening right now everywhere at once .. like AI or mobile phones or electronic everything from banking to sex, its all changed and continues to change ever more rapidly, just because it has two legs and makes noise does not make it all the SAME as in your brain so stop drawing connections/joins between disparate sources/times /places of data and make up a reality that you want us all to believe in ? Really .. we need more Xavier's who can create change without to much stupidity and adjust to current conditions .. which is why he's made some progress in moving Argentina movement in a slightly altered direction but it's got a long way to go before the proof of the pudding appears so please mate tell us about how that is going rather than pontificating about the so called great environmental or economic divide between that wonderfully progressed USA and the rest of the world because US may be the 'ENVY' of your aspirations but not everyone else's ! Which is probably why you don't live there eh or in Oz but just float by on your tax deductible annual flyby and make prognostications about the world and it ten or twelve billion people that have been actually been counted or even count in your estimation of what most folks want from Life!