Political Posts

[gfp]

Just now, SharperDingaan said:

put a run on central bank gold held at Fort Knox

 

say what?

[nwoodman]

25 minutes ago, Sweet said:

 

Looks like they are going to blow this up good and proper. That Tropic Thunder line springs to mind

 

 

[changegonnacome]

41 minutes ago, Dalal.Holdings said:

He’s the Rudy Giuliani of Trump’s second term…

 

Yes - I think Howard was radicalized by 9/11 and what happened to his Cantor colleagues (how could you not be!)......what he did for the survivors and families of Cantor is beyond admirable....but there's an emotive America first wildness to Lutnick that from the outside looking in seems somewhat unhinged....him and Navarro are off the deep end on this isolationist self-sufficiency stuff.........I think both flame out of the Administration way before the four years ends.

[whiskybravo]

17 hours ago, mcliu said:

Why do people automatically assume the outsourced jobs are shitty sweat shop menial labour stuff? That stuff doesn’t even make the top 10 list. 

 

 

So what are the top 10 US imports?

The following are the top 10 US imports in 2023. This top 10 accounts for over 65% of the total US$ value of all imports to the US.

1. Electrical Machinery & Equipment – US$463.4 billion (14.6% of total US imports)

2. Machinery Including Computers – US$459.2 billion (14.5% of total imports)

3. Vehicles – US$381.0 billion (12.0% of total imports)

4. Mineral Fuels  – US$266.6 billion (8.4% of total imports)

5. Pharmaceuticals – US$177.8 billion (5.6% of total imports)

6. Optical, Technical & Medical Apparatus – US$118.3 billion (3.7% of total imports)

7. Gems & Precious Metals – US$89.5 billion (2.8% of total imports)

8. Plastics – US$72.3 billion (2.3% of total imports)

9. Furniture, Bedding, Lighting, Signs & Prefabricated Buildings – US$69.0 billion (2.2% of total imports)

10. Organic Chemicals – US$66.6 billion (2.1% of total imports)

 

https://www.agi.global/news/what-are-the-top-10-us-imports

Seems like very relevant data here, yet no response from the frequent posters.  Surely it would be in the long term interest for the U.S.

to reindustrialize in these products.  

[thepupil]

9 minutes ago, whiskybravo said:

Seems like very relevant data here, yet no response from the frequent posters.  Surely it would be in the long term interest for the U.S.

to reindustrialize in these products.  

 

this is just a proxy for "things that have high dollar value"...we are already a net exporter in a few of those categories based on below...and the net amounts are far less when taking into account how much we export w/i same category...it's not like we import 100% of our "machinery including computer" or "vehicles" or "plastics" (you didn't imply that), but we can't just look at the top 10 and conclude much from it without looking at the other side, right?

 

 

Edited April 8, 2025 by thepupil

[Gregmal]

9 minutes ago, whiskybravo said:

Seems like very relevant data here, yet no response from the frequent posters.  Surely it would be in the long term interest for the U.S.

to reindustrialize in these products.  

That’s how it always is. Just the simple, emotional hot takes, nothing more.

[John Hjorth]

1 hour ago, 73 Reds said:

John, I agree it is wise to retain some liquidity but have the investments you intend to buy changed as the result of anything tariff-related?

 

@73 Reds, thank you again for asking, 

 

No, not really. Much more important for me to have a basic [and more elaborate] understanding of what I'm buying, than trying to grab something on its way down, with few [if not only one!] exemption[s]. 

[changegonnacome]

1 hour ago, Paarslaars said:

Reddit filled with small business owners fearing bankruptcy. 104% tariffs on Chinese goods starting tomorrow... This is going to cost jobs and lives.

 

Step one of re-industrialization is actually de-industrialization. 

 

[73 Reds]

7 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

 

@73 Reds, thank you again for asking, 

 

No, not really. Much more important for me to have a basic [and more elaborate] understanding of what I'm buying, than trying to grab something on its way down, with few [if not only one!] exemption[s]. 

Me too, John.  Still like the same investments I owned last year, last month and last week.  Adding to my own private interests because they are much easier to control and if someone makes boneheaded decisions it is the man in the mirror and no one else to blame.  Prices of public equities of interest are still not tempting.

[changegonnacome]

Trump is correct on the need to re-shore & re-industrial certain critical sectors......it is not wise to be so dependent on China who are fast becoming a true peer competitor.

 

The re-industrialization project needs to be done over a longer time frame read 8-10yrs - whats the big hurry? the great mistake of Trump is he's trying to do it 24 months and using executive authority to underpin it all......this is the huge mistake he's making......the speed will cause unneeded economic chaos AND the shaky executive powers on which the whole strategy is built makes it likely to fail over the medium term as the Congress & WH changes hands.

[whiskybravo]

31 minutes ago, thepupil said:

 

this is just a proxy for "things that have high dollar value"...we are already a net exporter in a few of those categories based on below...and the net amounts are far less when taking into account how much we export w/i same category...it's not like we import 100% of our "machinery including computer" or "vehicles" or "plastics" (you didn't imply that), but we can't just look at the top 10 and conclude much from it without looking at the other side, right?

 

 

Thank you for your response.  Just adding the top ten dollar amounts in imports & exports, there is about $700B going out.  While it does seem extreme and unrealistic to aim for complete trade balance, I hope we can move some good bit away from “squanderville.”

 

Edited April 8, 2025 by whiskybravo

[frommi]

6 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

Trump is correct on the need to re-shore & re-industrial certain critical sectors......it is not wise to be so dependent on China who are fast becoming a true peer competitor.

 

The re-industrialization project needs to be done over a longer time frame read 8-10yrs - whats the big hurry? the great mistake of Trump is he's trying to do it 24 months and using executive authority to underpin it all......this is the huge mistake he's making......the speed will cause unneeded economic chaos AND the shaky executive powers on which the whole strategy is built makes it likely to fail over the medium term as the Congress & WH changes hands.

Where is that workforce coming from when unemployment is at 4% and all foreign people get booted out of the country?

[Red Lion]

Just now, frommi said:

Where is that workforce coming from when unemployment is at 4% and all foreign people get booted out of the country?

 

I suspect that some might argue they would come off the sidelines once medicaid funding gets axed for non-disabled working age people. I doubt this makes a drop in the bucket with the immigration situation, but it would at least be some offset. 

 

Another possibility would be automation/AI/robotics, although the timeline seems to be aggressive if that's going to make a difference over the next couple of years. 

[changegonnacome]

5 minutes ago, frommi said:

Where is that workforce coming from when unemployment is at 4% and all foreign people get booted out of the country?

Well it’s why I said that it needs to happen over many many years…..for that exact reason amongst many many others.

 

The re-industrialization agenda should really be a bipartisan one where you would address human capital shortages with comprehensive immigration reform that was skills, industry or occupation based. You want to move to the US for economic reasons you need to work in XYZ industry that has critical skills shortages.

 

There is a way to do it versus the rushed freewheeling that Captain Chaos is doing.

[mcliu]

57 minutes ago, thepupil said:

 

this is just a proxy for "things that have high dollar value"...we are already a net exporter in a few of those categories based on below...and the net amounts are far less when taking into account how much we export w/i same category...it's not like we import 100% of our "machinery including computer" or "vehicles" or "plastics" (you didn't imply that), but we can't just look at the top 10 and conclude much from it without looking at the other side, right?

I think it just shows that there's opportunity to reduce the trade deficit without resorting to making cheap textiles and toys as people have implied.

 

21 minutes ago, frommi said:

Where is that workforce coming from when unemployment is at 4% and all foreign people get booted out of the country?

 

If there's a tight labour market, attracting talent to the US should be the easy part?

 

11 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

There is a way to do it versus the rushed freewheeling that Captain Chaos is doing.

100% this is a multi-decade project that needs thoughtful planning and buy-in from both parties. The chaotic approach might get the ball rolling but end up nowhere,

[Castanza]

26 minutes ago, Red Lion said:

Another possibility would be automation/AI/robotics

 

Ironically Tesla is a prime example of what US manufacturing looks like. "The most American Made car" ... 

 

High end and advance manufacturing has it's place in the US. We do this and advanced design very very well. But the view of "My granddaddy worked and retired from GM blah blah blah" is just nonsensical and outdated. 

[Dalal.Holdings]

Tesla and SpaceX are examples of high end manufacturing the U.S. can excel at. But we also need shipbuilding. And we should also probably be building drones. China’s drone output is concerning

[John Hjorth]

1 hour ago, 73 Reds said:

Me too, John.  Still like the same investments I owned last year, last month and last week.  Adding to my own private interests because they are much easier to control and if someone makes boneheaded decisions it is the man in the mirror and no one else to blame.  Prices of public equities of interest are still not tempting.

 

@73 Reds

 

None of us here CofB&F may totally rhyme and be in sync, or resonate. But, over time, we all, by each other, by our own, find those we *connect* and *click* with, by ongoing, never ending communication here on CofB&F. - It's just so amazing! - It's awesome!

 

To be a bit more specific :

 

I'm thinking transition, electrification, automation : ABB, Siemens, Schneider Electric.

I'm thinking a basket of banks in the Canadian Bank oligopoly : Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal,  Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce & Bank of Nova Scotia.

Edited April 8, 2025 by John Hjorth

[73 Reds]

24 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

 

@73 Reds

 

None of us here CofB&F may totally rhyme and be in sync, or resonate. But, over time, we all, by each other, by our own, find those we *connect* and *click* with, by ongoing, never ending communication here on CofB&F. - It's just so amazing! - It's awesome!

 

To be a bit more specific :

 

I'm thinking transition, electrification, automation : ABB, Siemens, Schneider Electic.

I'm thinking a basket of banks in the Canadian Bank oligopoly : Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal,  Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce & Bank of Nova Scotia.

Nice, I like the way you think.  With financials, can't help to think the two namesakes of this Board offer plenty of exposure without 100% direct correlation to cyclical downturns.  The worse things get, all the better for these two.  But RE will always be my bread and butter - local, targeted, direct and hands on (well, mostly just delegate these days because they do a better job than me).  In that general realm M is starting to look interesting.  And some more JOE at lower prices.

[Gregmal]

39 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

ABB

This is a gem of a company that doesnt get enough love 

[Parsad]

7 hours ago, cubsfan said:

 

I actually didn't realize the Chinese didn't have peasants. At least the regime doesn't call them names, thank goodness!

 

Let's not get into the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities slave labor camps.

 

Will you find a way of defending anything they say?  I'm more inclined to say that Chinese are as bad or worse than Americans when it comes to these issues...but will you defend absolutely anything the Trump Administration says?!

 

Even Greg pushes back on stupid ideas and comments by them.  But Cubs, are you actually part of the administration, then I could understand all of the ass-kissing!  Cheers!

[Parsad]

5 hours ago, Red Lion said:

Vance is anything but stupid, but he’s very avaricious and wants power for himself. He’s playing chess not checkers, with the goal to become president or at least get silly rich. Listen to him speak, and you’ll realize he’s more eloquent than Obama. 
 

 

Are you kidding me?!  Vance has a hard time relating to other people...even MAGA cohorts.  Obama could turn a smile with his enemies!  

 

And in terms of as an orator, Vance is like a beaten up old Lazyboy next to Obama's charismatic, eloquent Herman Miller Eames!  It's not even close. 

 

Only maybe Ronald Regan or Lincoln were as worthy orators as Obama.  Cheers!

[Parsad]

4 hours ago, Spooky said:

 

He's exactly the kind of politician I despise. He doesn't stand for anything, he just wants power.

 

+1!  This sucker would sell his own wife and children for the Presidency!  Already has, really.  Cheers!

[changegonnacome]

 

If only the world behaved as nicely in practise as it does in theory.......

 

Edited April 8, 2025 by changegonnacome

[Parsad]

3 hours ago, nwoodman said:

Looks like they are going to blow this up good and proper. That Tropic Thunder line springs to mind

 

 

 

That's probably my favorite segment from any comedy ever made!  It was so brilliantly written and acted by both Stiller and Downey Jr.  You couldn't write that today.  Cheers!