Trump's only economic adviser with a PHd is Peter Navarro. He's the go to guy helping guide what could be U.S. next trade policy under Trump.
A funny thing happened the other night, PBS Newshour's economic reporter Paul Solman completely obliterates Navarro's doom and gloom opinion of our current trade policy...with his smart phone. Would I kid you?
After making Navarro's plan look ridiculous, Solman went on to expose Trump's own outsourcing deal that'll take your breath away:
PETER NAVARRO: This is the big kahuna. This is what Donald Trump understands. This is the trade deficit. We run a trade deficit of close to $800 billion a year. And so this directly subtracts from this. This is why we’re stuck in low-growth mode.
PAUL SOLMAN: Well, maybe. The job of a journalist, however, is to ask questions.What is U.S. GDP 2016?
SIRI: Checking on that.
PAUL SOLMAN: Happily, there’s now Siri to answer them.
SIRI: It looks like the answer is about 18.2 trillion U.S. dollars per year.
PAUL SOLMAN: Thank you, Siri. In that case, GDP is something like $18 trillion, right? And you’re saying that the trade deficit is — well, it’s less than $1 trillion, right? So, this can’t be a major factor in total GDP, the size of the economy.
PETER NAVARRO: Yes, but when we run these big trade deficits and send our jobs offshore, we hold our wages down and our income down. That feeds right back into the biggest part of this whole equation, consumption. This drags GDP down as well.
PAUL SOLMAN: Or so this story goes.
But we can't ignore the Republican efforts to lower wages for manufacturing jobs with right-to-work and union busting via ACT 10:
Wisconsin Manufacturing Wages Declining: Citizen Action of Wisconsin looked at thelatest federal data, and found a startling decline in manufacturing wages in every Wisconsin metro area.
Real wages (adjusted for inflation) are going down for manufacturing workers in every Wisconsin metro area. On average, annual wages declined $1,430 between 2010 and 2015 - Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Unfortunately the Trump plan to bring jobs back to America is by making American workers more competitive on wage issues. Trump wants to let states compete in a race to the bottom on wages.
ReplyDeleteSo when American workers are taking home less in pay how is that going to have a positive affect on the consumption economy, and how is that going to make America great again?
Answer this question... How does the government know what everyone's labor is worth? A minimum wage prices youth and minorities out of the workforce by not allowing them to get a job to get the skills necessary to compete and improve their lives.
ReplyDeleteAlso, GDP is a false measure of economic growth since it is based on consumption and government spending (as well as investment).
But trade deficits do matter when DEBT to GDP is a factor. And when debt to GDP is over 90%, it is generally impossible to grow faster than debt. You can thank Obama for that one.
This is what collapse looks like. You regressive commies on the left better wake up if you want to get through it.
Look at Venezuela. That's your model.
Yea, skip the point of the story and repeat supply side voodoo. You guys always blame Obama for the debt left him by Bush and the Great Recession. Any original thoughts?
ReplyDeleteShocker: The economy is doing well and not near collapse. Trashing the "slow" economy is the only way to make you're supply side argument work, but it's wrong.
Personally, serving fries or sub sandwiches doesn't lend itself to valuable "skills" and experience to complete ... except maybe at home in the kitchen. Funny, you Mr. know-it-all knows what labor is worth, which not surprisingly has nothing to do with money. Try living on experience.
Like you even know what supply side or voodoo is. You are extremely ignorant. If the economy was "doing well," then why are interest rates near zero while they haven't raised them (except for that meaningless 25 basis points) in 9 years? Why are there negative interest rates all over the world? Why have 95 million people exited the labor force? Give me a break. Stop throwing out catch phrases that have been programmed into your brain and do some real investigation into these matters. Start thinking for yourself. Obama added more debt than all the other presidents combined. Do the math.
ReplyDeleteServing fries and sub sandwiches is honest work and allows people to gain real work experience. I did it. But I didn't expect to support a family and a mortgage with minimum skills and a minimum wage. You want to price everyone out of the workforce by letting some bureaucrat tell them what their labor is worth. I never said I knew what everyone's labor is worth. I said the government has no way of determining it.
Do you know what the minimum wage was in 1965? $1.25/hr. 5 silver quarters is about $15 today. Maybe it's not the wage that is the problem. Maybe it is the money itself.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-03/sorry-losers-how-fed-has-screwed-many-protect-few
You don't know me so don't assume anything you do as you try desperately to prove your point.
ReplyDeleteThis is a waste of time. You're an inflexible jumble of conflicting fantasies build around partisan game playing. If one were to buy into even a part of the the propaganda and misdirection, it would give them "you."
Another non argument.
ReplyDeleteYou ad hominem attacks, propaganda, and general lack of knowledge aren't helping anybody.
You got that right, Anonymous basement boy. Your weak-minded and dead wrong takes really are a waste of space and human mass.
DeleteJake formerly of the LP