The plutocracy, who runs things behind the scenes, decided long ago that the rent extracted from the outsourcing of industry could finance their imperial war machine.
Perkin's Confessions of an Economic Hitman [1][2] is a good read.
The US' problem with China is that they think long-term... Their leaders long ago realized they needed to industrialize, and started with whatever low-tech jobs western companies were willing to give them. Now they are demanding western companies share their crown jewels with Chinese companies (requiring that much of their high-speed rail infrastructure be manufactured in-country, etc).
Similarly, the US' problem with Russia is that they play chess, while US politicians play checkers.
I think Señor Trump is smart enough to know that the Imperialists are America's true enemy, but that Joe and Jane American don't realize the full extent of their government's "Economic Hitmen" activities. Hopefully he'll rename the Department of Homeland Security to something that doesn't imply imperialism. Similarly, hopefully he'll order the department of defense to reimagine itself into a department concerned with the country's defense, rather than being obsessed with the ability to destroy anything anywhere on the planet at a moment's notice.
For all the political chess, Russia's economy is still smaller than Italy's, despite having a pretty good setup in theory.
Russia is able to make noise and do things to Eastern Europe, but the government's moves seem to be much more about preserving the current government rather than advancing the interests of the nation as a whole
For example: how does annexing Crimea help Russia? Was that one navy port worth it?
A calculated risk, perhaps. But they seem to be bad at math.
> The plutocracy, who runs things behind the scenes, decided long ago that the rent extracted from the outsourcing of industry could finance their imperial war machine.
What does this mean? Who is the plutocracy? What is this rent? The gains of outsourcing go to customers. War is funded by government debt.
About 1/3 of U.S. government debt is held by foreigners. China, Japan, and the oil-producing nations use their trade surplus to buy US Bonds, because they have more cash than they need for the goods & services they purchased America.
I think this was covered in Mr. Perkins' book, but it's been a long time since I read it.
Nah, Trump and his crew are useful idiots when it comes to Russia; they think they are #1 teaming up with #3 to keep China stuck at #2, when the reality is they are getting tricked by the old "let's you and him fight, partner" gambit.
So, useful idiots, some bought off for stunningly cheap and others true believers or just outright incompetent.
Far likelier than a non-imperialist defense policy will be Flynn finally trying to launch that pre-emptive Christian jihad he's been salivating for, in partnership with Russia.
It would be nicer to see what you see, of course, but I can't what with having familiarity with the people involved.
> Nah, Trump and his crew are useful idiots when it comes to Russia;
Since Eisenhower, which presidents have not been 'useful idiots'? I'd nominate Kennedy and Carter. Someone I respect said that Nixon hated the globalists, but he escalated the war in Vietnam (only ending it after his re-election), and I wasn't alive then so I don't know.
In recent history, Clinton continued G.H.W. Bush's free trade agenda. GW Bush couldn't even read a teleprompter. Obama was good at reading the teleprompter, but didn't have a good understanding of any of the problems he was supposedly addressing.
I think the real useful idiots are those employed by the traditional news media: CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, etc. They lived in a little bubble, thinking that people really wanted four more years of the Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama status quo.
You have "interesting" and, to be polite, "idiosyncratic" ideas and framing to the point that the expected cost/benefit (for me) of having a real discussion doesn't seem favorable.
Instead, I would offer you some friendly advice: since you have such strong views, I encourage you to write down your political predictions (what you think the new admin will do; what you think will happen as a result; how you think other parties will react, and how those reactions will play out...whatever you think is valuable).
File these predictions away and revisit them at some future date. Keep score!
What did you get right? What did you get wrong? When you get things right, were you right for the reasons you expected to be right, or did you get lucky?
When you get things wrong, was it because you had bad information? Faulty reasoning? Unexpected left-field development not reasonably foreseeable?
Doing this exercise will only serve to sharpen your mind and your understanding!
If you really felt like the possibility of a 'real' discussion was nil, just don't post. taxicabjesus made valid points, and you just condescendingly insult him. For what purpose?
> Now they are demanding western companies share their crown jewels with Chinese companies
This has been the case for the last 20 years or so (at least). The recent industrial history of China is littered with failed join venture between a minority western partner and a majority local one.
Also, it isn't unheard from to have technology transfer on big contract, with often national interest seeking to secure local production.
I'm not sure that the "US politicians play checkers."
I don't think it is a coincidence that both Russia and the US are intervening in Syria, and causing problems for the EU. US currency hegemony benefits from a week EURO and Eurasian Economic Union. The complete and total dominance in so many metrics by the USA leads me to think that something better than checkers might be happening behind the scenes.
I think it would be much easier to pick on the coutries with vastly worse citizen outcomes such as China and Russia, than it would be to pick on the USA.
That being said, I think reduction in military spending and retasking soldiers into say, home building, is ok with me. If you can fire an automatic rifle, you can use a nailgun. The concept that no highschool graduate can afford a home is less than optimal.
Perkin's Confessions of an Economic Hitman [1][2] is a good read.
The US' problem with China is that they think long-term... Their leaders long ago realized they needed to industrialize, and started with whatever low-tech jobs western companies were willing to give them. Now they are demanding western companies share their crown jewels with Chinese companies (requiring that much of their high-speed rail infrastructure be manufactured in-country, etc).
Similarly, the US' problem with Russia is that they play chess, while US politicians play checkers.
I think Señor Trump is smart enough to know that the Imperialists are America's true enemy, but that Joe and Jane American don't realize the full extent of their government's "Economic Hitmen" activities. Hopefully he'll rename the Department of Homeland Security to something that doesn't imply imperialism. Similarly, hopefully he'll order the department of defense to reimagine itself into a department concerned with the country's defense, rather than being obsessed with the ability to destroy anything anywhere on the planet at a moment's notice.
[1] https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1576755126 [2] https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1626566763 (just learned there's a 2016 edition)