How can Trump solve problems if he doesn’t understand them?
He recently promised to impose price controls on the car insurance mafia in order to reduce the cost of car insurance – which shows he does not understand that the main reason car insurance costs so much is because people are (effectively) forced to buy it. Take away the compulsion costs – allow people to say no to the mafia – and the mafia would have to make insurance a good deal – in order to persuade people to buy it.
Similarly, Trump is promising to impose massive tariffs on vehicles not manufactured in the United States, which shows he does not understand why they are not being manufactured in the United States.
It is – once again – due to the costs imposed by compulsion, which are imposed by the government. What is curiously, reflexively, styled by some as”our” government – which is a lot like “your” mask in that both are neat little psychological tricks designed to get the victim to think of something imposed on him by others as something he kind-of acquired by choice.
These costs are subtler than the overt costs imposed by the car insurance mafia, via what isn’t “our” government but rather the government – a distinction that’s important, especially in terms of getting one’s head straight. No one is forced to buy a new vehicle, at least not in the way that everyone who owns a vehicle and wants to able to drive it on the government’s roads (another important point of mental clarification) is effectively forced to hand over money for mandatory “coverage” to the insurance mafia. Meaning, they are effectively forced to pay more for “coverage” – because the mafia has them over the proverbial barrel. If they don’t pay what the mafia demands, the mafia will tell the government and then the government will punish the offender for not paying the mafia.
It works in principle exactly like Luca Brasi – the Godfather’s enforcer – assuring the movie producer who didn’t want to give Johnny Fontaine the part that either his signature or his brains would be on the contract.
Vehicle manufacturers are made a similar offer they can’t refuse – by what is not “our” government. They are told they must comply with a litany of regulations that have made manufacturing anything in this country so expensive it’s hardly worth the bother. These are the subtler compliance costs that are in addition to the costs of complying with such things as federal fuel economy mandatory minimums – CAFE “standards” – which I place in between air fingers quotation marks to highlight the outrageousness of the government telling vehicle manufacturers how many miles-per-gallon the cars they offer for sale must deliver, as if that were not something that ought to be determined by market demand.
And “safety” requirements that have little, if anything, to do with whether a vehicle is more or less likely to crash.
Do you suppose the $13k 2024 Toyota HiLux pickup you’re not allowed to buy is “unsafe”?
Do you think “vaccines” are “safe and effective”?
The costs that have driven vehicle manufacturing out of this country are the costs of manufacturing in this country – before anything is actually manufactured. The certifications and permissions and inspections and other such that are applied to manufacturing; upon the physical facilities as the price of their being allowed to exist or to be built and operated.
To gain an understanding of this, consider the obstacles and costs involved in legally selling food out of a truck. Everything has to be inspected and approved and then you must get the various permission slips, all of which costs a lot of money – especially if you haven’t actually made any yet.
It is not worth the bother for a ten-year-old kid to set up a curbside lemonaid stand in this country anymore due to the cost of compliance. Imagine what it costs to get all your ducks in a row to legally run a vehicle manufacturing plant in this Sovietized country.
The compliance costs are lower in other countries – and that’s why it is worth the bother to manufacture vehicles outside the United States and import them to the United States. This is why General Motors, Ford and Ram trucks are manufactured across the border, in Mexico. Labor costs are of course lower there, too – and that is part of the problem Trump does not seem to understand. They are high in part because everything costs so much here, so it doesn’t pay to work in vehicle manufacturing unless it pays more. But that is on account of the government having made everything so expensive working class people can hardly afford to live anymore – even if they are working.
Auto workers in Mexico aren’t paid as much as their counterparts in the United States but they live better because it costs less to buy things like vehicles in Mexico, where one can buy a plethora of inexpensive (under $20k) brand-new vehicles that Americans cannot buy in the United States, not because they are “unsafe” or “pollute” but only because they are not compliant.
And that costs.
Speaking of which: It is interesting – revelatory – that both Trump and Biden favor making it more expensive to buy an EV by applying massive tariffs to what would otherwise be extremely affordable (sub $10k) EVs such as those anyone who lives in China can buy. Americans are not allowed to buy them. Why? If there is an existential crisis that urgently requires a transition to “clean” EVs, then why is it that both sides of the same coin are in favor of making it more expensive for people of modest means to buy one?
Never mind.
And they ask me why I drink.
. . .
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I rarely disagree with Eric, but I think Trump’s ideas are good.
Since insurance is forced on us, then it should be price-controlled. But yeah — I agree it shouldn’t be forced on us anyways … actually I think it should be paid for by printing free ‘monopoly’ money (not paid for by taxes or borrowing).
And, tariffs on imported cars is good because it results in cars being made in America — we should make most/all of our survival infrastructure within our own country, so we are not controlled by other countries.
Hi Harry,
I don’t think we disagree, fundamentally. I also would like to see cars made here, by Americans. But I submit the main driver of offshoring is the cost of making things – anything – here. Which is another way of saying, the cost of government. At the very least, the government should be obliged to produce a cost-benefit justification for each regulation and Congress – rathe than a bureaucracy – ought to be obliged to publicly weight these matters and vote on them.
Yeah — the jerks (congress etc) make the cost of manufacturing in America too high. If only we could all just vote to do what we want, instead of what they want.
God bless all of us honorable people — I hope we all start a new country and throw all the jerks in jail, and get rid of the psychopath hybrid people that cannot restrain themselves from sexing up children and murdering them too — those weirdos have got to go bye bye. We normal humans need to make friends with some good alien people and maybe they will help us clean up this planet — they can bring their battleships & troops here to liberate us from the dirtbags.
Bend over, here it comes again!
‘Bloomberg writes that “hundreds of millions of dollars” in grants awarded by both state and federal programs are being written for charging of large electric trucks.
‘TeraWatt Infrastructure Inc., backed by over $1 billion in funding, is building a heavy-duty charging network from California’s Port of Long Beach to El Paso, Texas.
‘EV semi prices still needed to fall between 30-50% to compete with diesel trucks, according to a new study.’
https://tinyurl.com/35ta65p6
As Bill Gates used to say during his young-and-brash days, ‘That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.’
Waste money on this pharaonic scale, and pretty soon the country is poor, hungry, and suffering from widespread blackouts and food shortages.
Communist regimes always end up starving the peasants.
When Harris calls Trump’s tariffs a “20% sales tax” she is right. Because, she says, it’s passed on to the end user.
What this idiot fails to recognize (or is just evil and is avoiding it) is that ALL taxes on corporations get passed on the end user.
I’ve got an idea for a new game show “Stupid Or Evil?” the game show where politicians are judged for their actions. Where’s Wink Martindale when you need him?
Maybe I’m in a different country or universe, but the last
time I checked there is more of a choice than voting for
tweedle-dee or tweedle-dumber.
> It was a savings of close to $200 (at least for me). It is the equivalent of receiving a free Thanksgiving turkey!
https://tinyurl.com/2r2yw8w6
$200.00/2.49 per lb = 80.32 lb
That is some turkey, RG. 🙂
Never seen one that large, myself.
Hi Adi,
Where in the heck are you getting a Turkey for $2.49/lb.? I just put a deposit on one and it is $8.25/lb. Is that high? Yep. But, my go to local farms are no longer producing turkeys this year. It was this or I go and shoot my own.
>$8.25/lb
Wow, that is a shock!
Local super market prices for frozen whole turkey:
Albertson’s $1.99
https://www.albertsons.com/shop/product-details.960046773.html?productId=960046773&CMPID=organic_acm_all_surf_goo_20220629&psrc=g
Target $0.99
Walmart $1.98
No doubt it is high, but I can drive four miles and visit my turkey. 🙂
They are organic, heritage turkeys, pasture raised, and soy free. It isn’t for everyone, but I hang out with a picky crowd.
Well, there are a couple of turkeys vying for the presidency, come Thanksgiving Day, neither one will be at the dinner table, the foul fowl that they are. You don’t want turkeys like that anywhere near you.
The only reason to buy a turkey, a 10 pound young turkey, is for the stuffing and dressing, then the mashed potatoes, plenty of gravy with some turkey breast, cranberries, squash, then some pumpkin pie. Then you can make some turkey pot pie with the left overs worth saving. Feed the rest of the turkey to the dogs.
A variety of other pies can be baked for a more enjoyable culinary experience.
[…] Guest Post by Eric Peters […]
“On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” HL Mencken Strike one.
“Our Constitution was written by people of character, for people of character. ” Hamilton, Strike two.
“People get the government they deserve. ” Hamilton. Strike three.
“The only winning move is not to play” WOPR
People never learn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpmGXeAtWUw
“How can Trump solve problems if he doesn’t understand them?”
The key question. Unfortunately, we all know the answer. He’s not interested in solving problems, he’s interested in getting elected. The goal of all our “leaders”.
The question is “Why are all the losers,,, leaders?”
It is interesting – revelatory – that both Trump and Biden favor making it more expensive to buy an EV by applying massive tariffs to what would otherwise be extremely affordable (sub $10k) EVs such as those anyone who lives in China can buy. Americans are not allowed to buy them. Why?
There probably isn’t a market for crappy Chinese cars in general to begin with, never mind crappy Chinese EVs. The introduction of massive tariffs could therefore merely be a low risk PR move to create the impression that politicians are doing something, when in reality they’re not doing anything that makes a difference, since the tariffs are applied to products nobody would be buying anyway.
Hi Stufo,
I take your point. Still, what would one expect for say $8k? If it works as well as a beater car like the ones kids used to drive back in the ’80s, then not so bad, eh? Of course, kids could fix those old beaters. EVs not so much.
Hi Eric, maybe we need a separation of government and the economy just as we have a separation of church and state. Then you could make choices without a politician or a bureaucrat looking over your shoulder. I can dream can’t I?
Sounds very nice. The problem is, the economy would take off like a rocket. Consumers would buy what they wanted instead of what they are/were “allowed” to have under government regulation. Companies would make money and consumers would be happy. And the government cannot have that because then they would not be in control of any of it. And there is nothing the government loves more than bankrupt, starving, miserable people.
Tariifs precede a depression. Smoot Hawley tarrifs that extended the Great Depression. This is well known and taught in school.
wiki “The Tariff Act of 1930, commonly known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff or Hawley–Smoot Tariff, was a law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the United States”
Trump is a belliigerent big mouthed idiot orange buffoon. But we already knew that. Now Trump says Iran tried to assassinate him. Iran. That MORON blames Iran.
You know, Trump is reminding me more and more of Il Duce who ended up on a meat hook.
Iran had as much to do with the Secret Service standing down as Muslims with boxcutters did controlled demolitions on the Trade Towers.
I can not decide who is a bigger idiot or liar, Trump or Harris. If Trump came to my town I would stand upwind and fart.
This election is a complete farcical sham of Biblical proportions. Neither candidate should hold office. Leftists are fools for supporting Harris and conservatives are fools for supporting their orange faced yellow haired god-king lover of Israel.
Trump blames Iran because he cut a deal with the real power brokers to do something BIG to Iran. That is why the narrative is about Iran in this late weeks leading up to the selection. What Trump is doing is pure evil, and you Bibletards ought to know “do not bear false witness”.
Blaming Iran is utter bullshit. Screw Trump and his loyalty to demonic Israel. Trump supports Jew butchery, and only an evil bastard would be for ethnic cleansing of the native Palestinians – these fake Jews out of Eastern Europe have decided to steal their land in the name of Abraham – who never existed. Lunatics.
Israel is now leveling Lebanon – the initial air attack was 1600 targets – residential homes, schools, and hospitals. Just like Gaza. This was after the bastard blew up thousands of pagers, radios, solar panels. Pure terror in the name of God. You all need to remember the 911 attack was done by Israel to initiate a War of Terror on the world. Jews are the real terrorists, plain as day for anyone to see who is not under some media spell.
Spiteful mutant Netanyahu spews hate and chutzpah from the podium of the UN this morning. Photo:
https://tinyurl.com/4ba9cb49
By the way, we’re supposed to keep paying for this, having already ‘invested’ a cumulative half trillion dollars in his shitty little country’s humiliating destruction of America’s prestige and principles.
Israel is our misfortune.
Here in the tribal outpost theres one Harris sign per block. There might be a Trump sign somewhere in this county ?
OM = psychopath lover.
Trump understands just fine. They both understand….the agenda of their Jew bosses. Vote for whomever you like (or the one who is less unlikeable), doesn’t matter. You will still get price controls; more gun “control”, more destruction of individual autonomy and ability to freely travel, and the continued destruction of the traditional auto industry and our ability to even drive cheap simpler older cars (Because they are becoming in short supply).
Vote? Vote for which one of the Village People you would like to sodomize you: The cop or the construction worker. Pick the one whose words you like the best; the one whose lies you’d rather believe. Make believe what they say is real, and that they are honorable people and will do as they say. Whether you choose “It’s Fun To Stay At The YMCA” or “Macho Man”, all you’re going to get is “It’s Raining Men”.
Hi Arthur,
“Vote for which one of the Village People you would like to sodomize you: The cop or the construction worker.”
Gold, my good sir… 14 karat gold!
Here in the tribal outpost theres one Harris sign per block. There might be a Trump sign somewhere in this county ?
OM = psychopath lover.
In the late 20th century, the ‘McKinley wing’ of the Republican party was a scornful joke directed at ancient, grifting
time-serversstatesmen. Now Orange Man Bad IS the McKinley wing, waiting to receive his classy Tariff King crown.One can debate the benefits of tariffs (more domestic jobs) versus their demerits (they drive up prices). But for sure, tariff-induced price hikes are front-loaded and immediate, while any jobs created come 3 to 5 years later after a capital investment cycle. See — it’s another government ‘investment’! [snark, LOL]
After a crazed 15-year run with but two (2) months of recession [Mar-Apr 2020, blown away by a wall of stimmies], a complacent assumption prevails that consumers can absorb endless price hikes by borrowing to pay them. That’s late-cycle thinking in America’s pernicious debt-serfdom business model.
But the dreaded un-inversion of the Treasury yield curve arrived like a late-summer hurricane early this month. After two years of flying upside down with the 2-year yield exceeding the 10-year yield [that ain’t normal], this month’s un-inversion is the ‘other shoe dropping.’
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/T10Y2Y
Its thud to the floor says recession is now upon us — and hard-pressed consumers must pull back from carefree discretionary purchases such as $50,000 cars and $80,000 pickups.
Too many auto makers are competing for too few customers. Stellantis and Volkswagen, among others, are armor-plated, pea-brained dinosaurs thrashing on the black beach of a tar pit, gazing in incomprehension as a giant meteor streaks through a greenish sky heralding their impending doom.
‘Bye-bye, baby; Baby, goodbye!‘ — The 4 Seasons
If you go by the traditional definition of a recession being two or more consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, then there actually was a recession in the first half of 2022 (-2.0% in Q1 and -0.6% in Q2). But no one called it as such.
The media called it a “technical recession” and swept it under the rug. Obviously because there was a Democrat in the White House. That said, the old record that “no sitting president has ever survived a recession” remains technically undefeated since Biden wasn’t allowed to run again.
A recession from March to November 2001, early in his first term, didn’t deter George W Shrub’s re-election in 2004. 🙁
https://www.nber.org/research/data/us-business-cycle-expansions-and-contractions
DC wisdom says ‘get it over with early.’ Though he read nothing and learned little at the Wharton School, Orange Man might have absorbed this homespun adage. Not that he has any control over a recession that’s poised to begin before he takes office, though.
That’s a good point, but GW’s term was beginning when that happened, so his policies clearly weren’t responsible for it. I’m guessing that’s why he got a pass.
Right. Two negative quarters is a common definition of recession outside the US. Here in the Homeland, the National Bureau of Economic Research parses the business cycle down to the month (after the fact) by examining four main data series, discussed and charted here:
https://tinyurl.com/4j28nh8x
Two of the four series dipped in 2022. But the NBER is looking for coordinated drops in all four to declare recession. Patience, grasshopper. 🙂
‘there actually was a recession in the first half of 2022 (-2.0% in Q1 and -0.6% in Q2)’ — Bryce
Evidently the ‘Raimondo’ entity reads EP Autos on the sly, and decided to jerk the carpet out from under such trash-talking of our great economy.
Effective today, that 2Q 2022 fall in GDP has been revised to a small gain. So there was no recession, even by the European definition:
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/mystery-upward-gdp-revision-solved-you-are-all-500-billion-richer-now-according-revised
HA HA HA. We control the horizontal and the vertical. All your data are belong to us.
Most of the Trump tariff stuff is BS.
But he is sort of correct about one (and only one) thing.
Most other countries put tariffs on their imports, i.e. our exports. Unless we match that on our imports (their exports) we are cutting the throat of our own manufacturing sector, and getting nothing in return.
Free trade (the real kind not NAFTA) would be ideal but since we can’t have that I would argue we need reciprocal barriers to trade. Anything other than that, favors one party vs. the other.
‘Unless we match that on our imports (their exports) we are cutting the throat of our own manufacturing sector, and getting nothing in return.”
From the great Walter Williams:
“This retaliation policy is both cruel and not very smart. It’s as if you and I were in a rowboat out at sea and I shot a hole in my end of the boat. What should be your response? Would you advise retaliating by shooting a hole in your end of the boat?”
Close but with all due respect to Mr. Williams (for whom I have a great deal of respect) I think we’re in separate rowboats not the same one.
A certain level (low) of tariffs is probably necessary, as some have pointed out here; what drives me nuts is Orange Man’s insistence that said tariffs will be paid by Chyna. No dumbass, they’re paid by the importer who passes it on to the seller who passes it onto the final buyer, as in YOU – attention WalMart shoppers!
I’m totally in favor of replacing the income tax with a tariff.
Vivek Ramaswamy on the Trump tariffs. Worth the 3 minutes to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDWpOYtmSxE
I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with tariffs if other taxes were lowered but they won’t be. Some days I wonder how we managed to drive with plain old incandescent head lights for decades and now we need headlights that cost over a thousand bucks to do the same thing. It’s not because we are better drivers that’s for sure. New cars have a lot more blind spots than in the past, hard to believe but if you drive antique cars it’s amazing the visibility you have compared to a new car.
The cost of regulations is killing businesses and the politicians solution is tariffs and higher taxes and regulations. Maybe I should start drinking and smoking pot then these ideas would make more sense to me.
Hi Landru,
Yup. And let’s not forget that a 75 watt incandescent bulb used to cost about $1 just four years now. Its government-mandated replacement costs $5 (or more).
Try the so called dollar stores for cheap LED bulbs, they seem to work good enough. You used to get 4 American made bulbs for a buck but now you pay a lot more for Chinese made. I get where you’re coming from though.
Back in the 1990’s and 2000s I bought 60, 75 watt GE incandescent bulbs at Walmart for exactly $1.00. That’s 25 cents each.
(a fourpack for a $1)
https://www.huttonpowerandlight.com/blog/led-vs-incandescent-lighting-a-cost-comparison/#:~:text=The%20Department%20of%20Energy%20reports,to%20last%20around%2025%2C000%20hours.
Incandescent bulbs last ~1000 hours
LED bulbs last 15,000 – 50,000 hours
Using two examples from 1000bulbs.com
60 watt incandescent A19 520 lumens @ 5000 kelvin 1000 hours
$2.77
8 watt LED A19 800 lumens @ 5000 kelvin 15,000 hours
$5.95
If you need 4000 lumens for 15,000 hours,
You could buy (5) 800 lumen LED bulbs, once
(5) ($5.95) = $29.75
Or, you could buy (8) 520 lumen incandescent bulbs, 10 times
(8) ($2.77) (10) = ($22.16) (10) = $221.60
The LED bulbs will use (5)(8) = 40 watts
The incandescent bulbs will use (8)(60) = 480 watts
Assuming an electricity cost of $0.30/kwh = $0.0003/watt-hr
(use your own electricity cost here)
LED:
(40 watts)(15,000 hours)($0.0003/watt-hour) = $180.00
Incandescent:
($180.00)(480)/(40)= (12)($180.00) = $2160.00
TCO:
LED:
$29.75 + $180.00 = $209.75
Incandescent:
$221.60 + $2160.00 = $2381.60
So, you would save $2381.60 – $209.75 = $2171.85
by using LEDs versus incandescents
If your bulbs are lit 1,000 hrs/yr, that would be $217/yr
ignoring shipping or shopping cost, which is not zero.
Please feel free to check my arithmetic, and correct me if I have made an error, either in math or reasoning.
———————
* You *might* find a “long life” incandescent bulb which could, conceivably, last as much as 2000 hours. There is even a famous bulb at a fire station in, I believe, Livermore, CA which has lasted decades, but that is statistically very unlikely.
Other than basic technology, one reason incandescent bulbs have short lifetimes involves an actual conspiracy among bulb manufacturers.
You are on to something, the cost of light is the cost of electricity, not the bulb.
I still use incandescent because the light is better. The cost of making light compared to my other electric usages is minimal.
All my flashlights, are LEDs, because batteries are expensive and LED flashlights go a long time. Favorite store to get batteries is Harbor Frieght, they put them on sale regularly.
Some youtuber engineers have tested all the different battery brands, Thunderbolt Edge have the exact same discharge graph as Duracell, which means they are Duracells for 3x cheaper.
The real problem is that most headlamps take AAA when AA batteries are a better deal.
>I still use incandescent because the light is better.
Hi, YJ,
When white LEDs first came out, the choices were indeed limited, and the bubs were at least double what they now cost. But times change, and technology advances. These days, there is a wide range of color temperatures available, from ~2700 kelvins (very yellow) to 5000 kelvins or more (harsh white), so IMO you can probably get LEDs to your aesthetic liking if you shop around, either online or at a local lighting only store. Your local hardware, DIY, or big box store may very well have limited selection, but you need not limit yourself to what they have on their shelves.
Lowe’s or Home Depot ain’t gonna have the 240 volt mercury vapor or high pressure sodium discharge lamp for your driveway lighting either, if you get my drift. For an online vendor, you might try 1000bulbs.com
I will confess to having stocked up on incandescents when the word came down that they would be phased out, but at this point, most of those will never be used. The only incandescents I miss are the ones for my front porch. I used to use the bulbs that Philips made for the ball in Times Square, NYC, (New Years Eve) but those bulbs are no longer available, at least not to the general public. PMO.
At present, I am in process of replacing (4) 40 watt fluorescent tubes @ kitchen light well with (6) 14 watt A19 LEDs @ 3000 kelvins, in standard down light cans. The power saving was not the determining factor, in this case.
1. I effing HATE changing fluorescent tubes.
2. I have commissioned (6) decorative beveled/stained glass panels ~2’x2′ for the 4’x6′ light well, so each glass panel will get its own down light, and once installed I expect to not have to change bulbs for a very long time, if ever, given my advanced age.
Plug for the talented glass artist whose services I have engaged:
https://glasspirations.biz
Caryn is easy to work with, and her prices are quite reasonable, considering what you get for the money.
These are the glass panels Caryn made for my bathroom light soffit:
https://tinyurl.com/2nhc5fft
Blue is my favorite color. :)*
Lighting was changed from (2) 40 watt fluorescent tubes to (4) 7 watt A19 LEDs @ 3000 kelvin in small milk glass globes. Looks great, no fluorescent flicker, probably last the rest of my lifetime, easy to change bulbs if not.
————–
*My 1989 F150 is deep shadow blue metallic w/ clear coat over. I get compliments on the paint job all the time.
Hats off to Jorge Rodriguez & colleagues @ Kimmel Auto Body in Corona, CA for their fine craftmanship.
> the cost of light is the cost of electricity, not the bulb.
Yes, and notice that, for the example above, 440 watts out of 480 are wasted (as heat) if incandescent bulbs are used. That is >90% waste heat, which is why incandescent light bulbs can be used as engine block heaters in cold climates.
For my own current light well application, note that down light cans have a maximum rated bulb energy, which in many cases is 75 watts. Since I am using 100 watt equivalent 14 watt LEDs, incandescent bulbs would not work at all. Since the LEDs use 14 watts, heat is not a problem.
Hi Adi,
An incandescent bulb will last a very long time if it’s never turned off, the power surge through the cold filament is what shortens its life. When it does burn out it usually pops like a flashbulb when first turned on.
Hi, Mike,
>An incandescent bulb will last a very long time if it’s never turned off,
Makes it perfect for psychological torture of political prisoners, then. 🙂 Lubyanka, or Gitmo, here we come… 🙁
The “Centennial Bulb” in Livermore has its own website:
https://www.centennialbulb.org
[vox Mr. Spock] Fascinating, Captain. [/Spock]
Hey, Eric,
Your website timed me out without showing my post.
So, I tried again. Timed out again, without showing either attempt.
Then, when I leave your site and come back, both posts are visible.
Sorry about the duplicate. It was not intentional.
No worries, Adi – It’s been doing the same to me… we’re looking into it!
Trump does not have a deep understanding of anything. Well, neither do i, but that’s a different story.
The only way we could have a real car industry here is to scale back the regulations on cars to what we had in 1965 and then slap a 20 percent tariff on cars coming from countries like China, India, and others in the far east. As well as Mexico.
If we eliminated the current safety regulations on cars, it would have about zero impact on traffic accidents. Most of the reduction in car accidents was due to American carmakers attempting to ‘catch up with the Europeans and the Japanese.’ They had radial tires, rack and pinion steering, disc brakes, struts, independent suspensions, as well as overhead cam engines. Their cars didn’t wallow, dive and weave all over the place.
Because of ‘incentives’ in their gasoline pricing, their cars already met emissions and gas mileage standards in effect in late 70s with leaded gasoline! (I’m not so sure that getting rid of leaded gas was a good idea).
If Trump does somehow get into the whitehouse, this may be our only opportunity to push these ideas hard.
As for me, the last 60 years of car regulations have been an outright lie, despite my chosen handle. Roll the crap back.
You need to raise a generation or two of those willing to work in such a scene. Or its robot here vs robot there. Rock em sock em robots in red and blue plastic.
Oh wait were already here.
What constitutes an import nowadays? A BMW built in South Carolina? A Chevy Blazer built in Mexico? A GMC Sierra built in Indiana using imported components?
Ah now you’re getting to the crux of the matter. Like the definition of vaccine, the definition of an import changes when the govt wants it to. Foreign trade zones in the US, bonded warehouses, % of foreign material, country of origin marking, etc. I could tell you stories from my years in importing.
Guns and cars are very similar in that the liberal left thinks they alone are responsible for a lot of death and destruction. My car, which is sitting in the garage, has no ability to harm anyone unless I get in and start driving. Just like a gun doesn’t have a will of its own, neither does an automobile. Do accidents happen? Yes, I think there are cases to be made that random events might put you in a ditch some morning. Day-wreckers happen. But much more likely are human causes for accidents, either through incompetence or negligence.
Mechanical failures? Well, did the driver do a walk-around before starting out? Do they perform regular maintenance and check for rust or other problems? If they’re unable to perform maintenance and inspections themselves do they have a mechanic give it the once-over on occasion? Just when was the last time you changed out those windshield wipers?
Driver failures? Well, did the driver get a good night’s sleep before heading out? Did they wait to sober up after dinner? Do they have the proper temperament for driving in traffic? Are they properly trained?
Most of these questions fit well into both gun and automobile ownership. Some people probably shouldn’t own guns, many people probably shouldn’t drive. I’m not here to say that government should be the arbiter of who gets to drive, in fact I think the US state governments have done a pretty lousy job of making sure people know how to drive. I’d almost rather see a free-for-all like some Central and South American countries’ driver license schemes, at least there you know other drivers aren’t vetted. Here in the US most drivers are living under the Dunning–Kruger delusion of being above average drivers without any evidence they are even average.
Of course the idea that everyone should have to pass the German written test prior to getting a learner’s permit is probably too far in the other direction.
The real test will be what happens to the autonomous vehicles? Will they do a comprehensive self-diagnosis before moving? Will they simply refuse to drive if the weather might impact their sensor arrays? Will they reduce the number of accidents and injuries? I think in the very long run they might, but that ability will be paid for in blood. And insurance premiums.
As for guns… There are treaties that claim to prevent autonomous weapons systems. I have a feeling that they’ve all been violated by pretty much every country. It is illegal for a homeowner to set a booby trap in their home, but it probably won’t be something that’s enforced until after the fact. With the rise of robotic sentry “dogs” and other monitoring systems it’s only a matter of time until someone hacks them with an actuated pistol or other weapon. And the police will get a pass on all that stuff if they beg hard enough. Will that reduce gun violence? We already see suspects surrendering to unarmed police drones, why not the dog too?
Let us not forget, Trump is a 1980s democrat, which means he doesn’t understand economic incentives.
“Made in the USA” is his bumper sticker. He doesn’t understand economic specialization.
Foreigners are taking away our jobs. While sometimes true, was the argument of overpaid unions.
Doesn’t like war, but can be pushed into it.
Believes that government public health is an actual thing that can happen.
Invoked the defense production act to force private entities to make government mandated products.
Is it a surprise that he would threaten price controls ala Kamala? Of course not. It is his view of the Lincolnian power of the presidency.
I’m sure the guy means well, but lacks a deep understanding of the things he means.
One thing that he seems to ignore is the fact that our massive defense industry pulls talent away from consumer goods firms. Non-defense firms are constantly competing with deep-pocket defense companies who are great at milking the teat for all its worth. For the low, low price of a few senators and congressmen you can employ hundreds of highly skilled engineers, technicians and software developers who would otherwise have to work for companies that have to produce a product that appeals to millions of people.
Libertarians love to talk about Bastiat’s broken window fallacy, but what about the opportunity cost of pulling productive and inventive people away to build boondoggle weapons and other useless “programs?” Surely this is the most obvious example of the long term effects of Keynes’ sinking of battleships for the sake of creating economic activity. Eventually the government spending is expected, even in good times, and the knock-on impact is forgotten.
You are correct. Every dollar taken in taxes is a dollar removed from the economy and redirected into not the highest value use.
Fedgov will point to a velocity of money argument on that but it totally ignores that money is not employed in a way consumers would have chosen.
Which always ends up in who will build the roads argument.
I used to work in international trade (specifically importing) before I was forced to quit over the bioweapon shot mandates from the govs and implemented by the facist companies. When I was working during Trump’s first dicktatorship, the slew of Chinese tariffs were introduced (mainly on textiles and cheap plastic crap). I will say that the majority of people working in importing agreed with the tariffs. I did too, especially in regards to China. Yes it costs more to manufacture in the US and the regs are just too damn stifling to make it even worth bothering at all. But also, the BIG manufacturers just like to make things the cheapest way possible. Landed cost is the most important thing ya know.
Do you know why we don’t make textiles and cheap plastic things here and then export them to China? It’s too damn expensive and regulatory, AND China imposes import tariffs on foreign goods. Most other countries do as well. US Import tariffs on cheap Chinese EVs will not bring cheap EV manufacturing back to the US, but it will make the Chinese think twice about flooding the market with their exports – an added cost of business just like US manufacturers have to take into consideration when exporting to China and almost every other country. Import duties are collected by the government and retained by the government. Do they drive up consumer costs indirectly? Of course, everything does. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be imposed. Trying to operate in a free economy with no import tariffs while trading with import tariff-ridden countries is not an even playing field and a recipe for disaster.
Yes, but you are correct Eric, the problem is over regulation by the government in manufacturing and doing business here. The sad thing is we stifle our businesses here and let foreign manufactures do what ever the hell they like with absolutely no oversight and then let them export to the US without any import duty costs. All the gov overlords such as the FDA, CDC, OSHA, etc, etc, do NOT inspect any products coming from overseas, including food and medicine. No one is waiting at the border inspecting goods to make sure they comply with ALL the regs that are required of domestic manufacturers. That is the problem.
By allowing incoming free trade the United States exports dollars. This helps to keep inflation low in here and increases the ability for the US government to sell more bonds. Works great until foreign countries lose the need to export to us. Then we got a problem.
Just another hard day on the planet filled to the brim with fear and loathing. Cope, if you can. Deal with it.
Compliant translates to obey.
I went to the National Day website yesterday just to find out what is there. Now and then I go there.
Yesterday, September 26th, was National Compliance Officer Day, those compliant officers are worshiped and are regarded as heroes, they deserve a trophy to boot.
I had no idea that there was such a thing as a compliance officer.
Breaks down to you are being watched and we can find out what you are up to.
Maybe a few compliance officers should look into the wayward ways of Bibi.
A few compliance officers would more than likely not be there tomorrow.
That’s just the way it is
Some things will never change – Bruce Hornsby, The Way It Is
Car insurance is also expensive for the following reasons:
1. Newer automobiles are expensive to repair with all of their stupid gadgetry. You used to be able to replace a headlamp for less than $20. Now how much does it cost? What happens when the touchscreen breaks? Or an airbag deploys?
2. Illegals (and there are a lot of them) do not buy insurance. If they are in a wreck, they can’t pay and so they don’t, and the rest of us are left to carry uninsured motorist coverage. If they can’t pay for a repair, send them to debtors prison. Or better yet, why were they permitted in this country illegally to begin with?
Hi Howard,
Those are factors, yes. But the ultimate driver is the compulsion. We can’t say no to paying these costs imposed by others. I haven’t got a vehicle with a touchscreen or $400 LED headlights; why should I be made to shoulder the repair/replacement costs incurred by those who do? How about “adjusting” their premiums to reflect the actual and potential costs they chose to buy into?
I am happy (willing, at any rate) to assume the risk of an illegal hitting my vehicle and leaving me holding the bag – in exchange for the certainty of not having to pay for a hypothetical risk. I am more than willing to go “uninsured” – as I am willing to be responsible for my own retirement. I object to being chained to other people and their assessment of risk and what’s “good for me.” I am not their child or their pet.
In the reporting of some good news (because sometimes we need to do that).
1. Just got my county personal property tax bill for my old Ford pick up truck…tax due $0. Yep, $0. Didn’t even have to pay for a registration fee. Guess what vehicle I am not getting rid of?
2. Also, received by RE tax bill for the year. I live in a county where they bill us annually. My county actually dropped the tax rate. it went from $.56/$100 to $.47/$100. It was a savings of close to $200 (at least for me). It is the equivalent of receiving a free Thanksgiving turkey! Note: They did not increase the improvements/value to make up for it either. Everybody actually got a deduction in RE taxes due.