The New Coffee Room

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/04/03/business/trump-tariffs

Which countries are spared?

... Moscow was spared because sanctions imposed on the country after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 mean that U.S.-Russian trade had effectively stopped. North Korea, Cuba and Belarus, which are also subject to tough sanctions, were also excluded from the new levies.

Also an interesting contrast:

Iran [...] was hit with 10 percent tariffs, the lowest tier on the White House’s list and lower than the rate imposed on Israel, a staunch U.S. ally.

@Jolly said in Trumpenomics:

When was the first time Trump proposed tariffs?

Forty years ago. Be he right, be he wrong, this is not new.

Yes, voters knew or should have known before the last election that Trump will bring about high tariffs if he wins.

@xenon said in Trumpenomics:

@LuFins-Dad said in Trumpenomics:

So how accurate is the chart as far as the barriers/Tariffs that the other countries are putting on US goods?

For instance, the EU at 39%… What are the tariffs or barriers they are referring to? Is it strictly customs? Are they referring to the VAT, which is on all goods sold in the EU, domestic or imported? Are these universal fees that are placed on all goods? I would appreciate more info.

It's some bullshit calculation based on the trade deficit.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/regulating-imports-with-a-reciprocal-tariff-to-rectify-trade-practices-that-contribute-to-large-and-persistent-annual-united-states-goods-trade-deficits/

Note in the chart there are fine prints that say "Includes Currency Manipulations and Trade Barriers."

Gmail ...

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/01/mike-waltz-signal-gmail-security

No human pilot means 120 fewer pounds of payload. (If in the USA, the savings may be 200 lbs. of payload.)

Great, imagine the electoral candidates appearing to speak perfect Bostonian, perfect New Yorker, perfect Southern, perfect Red Neck, perfect Spanish, etc. in campaign ads!

Biden probably has a better grasp of reality at this point.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdjyjlkewr2o

Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, recently got the all-clear for a massive increase in investment after parliament voted to exempt defence spending from strict rules on debt.

The country's top general has told the BBC the cash boost is urgently needed because he believes Russian aggression won't stop at Ukraine.

@LuFins-Dad said in Your idea for a polymarket topic here.:

It is remarkable to consider the fact that this guy is this incompetent and damaging, but was still better than the alternative?

It's been quite clear to me that the alternative was better.

@LuFins-Dad

OK, now I see why you had to start by discrediting the CBO -- because you already knew that the rest of your argument cannot withstand the projection of having $19 Trillion tagged on to the national debt per the GOP's proposal, so you have to first discredit the $19 Trillion projection.

@LuFins-Dad said in Doge sits down with Bret Baier. Worth a watch.:

1. It seems to me that the CBO pretty routinely underestimates the effects that tax breaks add to growth and underestimate the effect that tax increases slows growth.

What evidence do you have to support this claim?

2. Those projections also don’t take into account the effect that deregulation will have on growth.

What evidence do you have to support this claim?

Cutting spending in all of the other areas will allow us to start reducing the outstanding debt. When that number goes down you should see economic growth increase again.

I take it you recognize the importance of "reducing outstanding debt." Let's put a pin on that and we will return to it soon enough.

4. The elephant in the room is still the FICA programs, and that will need to be addressed by removing the cap, but you need to earnestly show that you are taking steps to address your profligate spending before asking the bank of the 5% to give you more money…

You argue about showing earnestness in cutting spending right after you stressed the importance of reducing debt. Where's the earnestness when you see the GOP proposing to tag on $19 Trillion of debt to finance tax cuts? You expect the people to accept losing government services and government benefits when they see the national debt go up by $19 Trillion? For what? Tax cuts for the already rich?

Srsly, reevaluate your earnestness.

@Jolly said in Gen X in creative fields losing their jobs:

I see no reason why we can't do what the tech industry does and put some emphasis on certificates.

Don't know if @Horace or @Mik see it differently, I don't get the sense that certificates mean much in the high tech industry when it comes to hiring for or actually doing a job.

@Jolly said in Doge sits down with Bret Baier. Worth a watch.:

Chasing gnats and swallowing camels.

Yeah, like @jon-nyc wrote earlier, DOGE chases the gnats, while the GOP swallows the $19 Trillion camel.

Having a contingency plan is good; it's the responsible thing to do. Vance and team should make one too.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/28/style/gen-x-creative-work.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7k4.Nq6N.qTZTY7ewAKn6

Long article on Gen X, especially those in the creative fields (graphics, magazines, film, TV, etc.) losing their jobs rather than reaching their peaks in their professions as they reach middle age.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/business/rainbowex-crypto-ponzi-scheme.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7k4.1E46.Om7LSXWGaMmo

A close look into a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that took a town in Argentina, one of hundreds such schemes around the world.

@jon-nyc said in Glad the free speech folks are in charge:

They want a kind master. That’s certainly the case, to a person, with the maga movement.

Hence the tie-in with monotheistic religious fervor.

@Mik said in Air forces by the numbers:

You have young children and THAT pissed you off?

You say that only because you're jealous of his little angels.

Congratulations!