The age of cheap Chinese stuff is ending in the USA? [includes politics, but shouldn't]

[neptronix]

Does that have anything to do with tarriffs?


Raylo32, I'm also concerned about the rule of law slowly decaying from president to president, the only choice we have at the ballot box is a small chance for altering the rate of the decay, not reversing it.

it's more like pick your poison.

I think orange guy gets some people particularly mad because he's an openly sociopathic leader; we're more used to a sociopath who is a smooth talker and convinces enough of the population that the bad thing is actually good. It's an additional kick to the balls to do it to our face.

I think we can be arguing while rome burns about who set the largest of the fires but it's rarely productive

 

[marvin78]

I think orange guy gets some people particularly mad because he's an openly sociopathic leader; we're more used to a sociopath who is a smooth talker and convinces enough of the population that the bad thing is actually good. It's an additional kick to the balls to do it to our face.

No not even close, I am fairly certain Orange Guy is getting under certain people's skin, because their not fascists.

Supporting etnic cleansing is just the latest icing on the cake, but we all knew what we were in for ( if you read Project 2025 which I think most people who voted did not ).

Does that have anything to do with tarriffs?


Raylo32, I'm also concerned about the rule of law slowly decaying from president to president, the only choice we have at the ballot box is a small chance for altering the rate of the decay, not reversing it.

Partly, because this 'ping-pong' where buisinisess don't know what to do because there is no predictable goverment is also hurting the economy. In The Netherlands, a lot of farmers and even big polluting companies are quite upset with current cabinet and their reversal politics ( which the judge already said was not in line with what we should be able to expect from our government ), because while a lot didn't really like the proposals they at least knew their options. We had a 'green deal' off ourselves, with a lot of money set aside to fix our particulate matter issues preventing new housing and infrastructure projects to be build. But this cabinet came in, took almost all that money, and said they were going to do something else with it.

What exactly, we ( and the judge ) will only find out in a couple of months.

Just saying: you're not the only country where this happens, but for us this is extreme... and it's not comparable to the scale it's happening there.

Anyway, just wanted to point out that a steady regulatory oversight is always best for buisness, and this uncertainty certainly isn't.

I think we can be arguing while rome burns about who set the largest of the fires but it's rarely productive

It's you Murican's which would need to do something 'productive', the rest of the world is just a witness. And witnesses have a lot of time to argue what they are seeing, it's like those old folks at the barbershop

 

[neptronix]

No not even close, I am fairly certain Orange Guy is getting under certain people's skin, because their not fascists.

Are you saying everyone who likes or doesn't mind orange guy is a fascist?

Supporting etnic cleansing is just the latest icing on the cake, but we all knew what we were in for ( if you read Project 2025 which I think most people who voted did not ).

All presidents i've lived under have signed off ethnic cleansing in one degree or another, why is it different this time?
Actually wait, i don't want the answer

Anyway what does this have to do with the tarrif situation? why do you keep going on side tangents?

 

[marvin78]

Let's just drop that then I'm also not sure how it got to this point, don't need that aspect to explain why uncertain policies are bad for the economy.

 

[neptronix]

don't need that aspect to explain why uncertain policies are bad for the economy.

So far zero people on this thread have been pro trade war, i guess that's the common ground

 

[neptronix]

Just got this email from Grin:

We'd like to extend a big thank-you and brotherly hug to all of you who have written in and supported us throughout the recent trade spat between our two nations. We hear you that this could hurt all of us, regardless of borders. Your support and friendship gives us great confidence and we are lucky to have such passionate customers.

We want to assure everyone who is waiting on parts or who needs to make orders, that we will be doing our best to get your orders in WITHOUT extra tariffs. The latest deadline is March 1st, so in order to ensure no tariffs are incurred, we will be offering a guarantee that all orders placed before Feb 25th will get processed and shipped without tariffs applied. If we're not able to meet that deadline we will make arrangements or bear the cost.

We are hopeful that the threat of tariffs will be withdrawn, however things are not very predictable at the moment so we're urging everyone to plan ahead. At our end we are working hard to build up a small local US stockpile of our goods on the US side of the border just in case too.

Thanks again for all your support and we look forward, one way or another, to being your source for quality engineered ebike and LEV tech for years to come.

Justin and the Grin Team.

 

[neptronix]

..yeah, i think it's time to lubricate the credit card

 

[offGridDownUnder]

An observation of mine:
If I leave food out, something will try to eat it.

Another observation:
Humans are vastly more capable and productive when they work together.

Corollary:
If humans succeed at something, someone will try to eat it.

There are many opportunists who will grab onto any working group of humans and try to take advantage of their success. Some opportunists are actually suggesting ideas that will help the group with it's goals (or the goals of its members) and some others are just grabbing for their own desires, possibly unconscious.

Any organization (organism) that persists through time has some sort of immune system (mechanism or collection of mechanisms) which fends off the opportunists. To some extent, the Rule of Law is part of an immune system for a society. Social norms are a communicated viewpoint which contributes, and so forth.

I follow an economic perspective that states that humans are not so predictable in isolation, but much more predictable in group, and that the forms followed express as a group's social mood. And that all else follows from the social mood - which most people don't even admit the existence of - they are ego focused, and the ego refuses to admit it's not in control.

We are in a phase where the social mood globally is going to be negative, after an overall rather positive mood over my lifetime. This includes substantial fragmentation, "othering", paranoia, defensiveness, and the like.

And the opportunists of all stripes will try to eat the surplus, as they always are trying, but now the immune system is responding differently (social mood), so we are getting some different outcomes.

 

[neptronix]

We are in a phase where the social mood globally is going to be negative, after an overall rather positive mood over my lifetime. This includes substantial fragmentation, "othering", paranoia, defensiveness, and the like.

Yeah.

It smells like the events leading up to world war 2. Especially the paranoia part. And the abundance mindset being replaced with scarcity mindset. It's sad to watch.




This grug say free trade good, say no use tell orange or grey wizard that free trade good, no listen, wizard always make bad spells, can't help it, too many grug fight about what color wizard better, all wizard manipulate grugs and make bad spells!

 

[gromike]

I was just hoping that we monkeys could keep this ball rolling, at least for a decade longer.
Personally, I have lived a most blessed life. No tragedies, outside what a peaceful life normally contains.
But I see intentional destruction visiting more places and I wonder if and when it reaches my blue bubble.

 

[neptronix]

That brings to mind this meme:

 

[amberwolf]

@neptronix : your last couple posts reminded me of the Drazi Purple vs Green...Purple fight Green. Why? Because Purple is purple and Green is green....Watch it all the way thru...

Continue here...

Not exactly related to tariffs, other than the tangential relation that Babylon5 was also a trade station and there were assorted tariffs, restrictions, etc in play at various times in the series.

 

[marvin78]

.. can we imagine she's locking on to tarrifs making fat guys fatter?

Side note: I had such a crush on her as a kid, I never understood this whole notion of 'we never had strong female characters in the past'.

Why not, only one human ever survived battle with the Minbari. He is behimd me, you are in front of me. If you value your life, be somewhere else.

So many cultures are a matriarchy, yet some time ago 'we' decided as a global culture, women we're not represented strong enough. Maybe something to do with how abundant patriarchal religions.

And the opportunists of all stripes will try to eat the surplus, as they always are trying, but now the immune system is responding differently (social mood), so we are getting some different outcomes.

Or, the social mood isn't just 'changing', we are also seeing the results of it being manipulated. With purpose.

Social mood is always changing, current action/inaction is fear based: wait they can't do that.... can they? They are doing it... and I guess I'm not going to be the one who's going to say: here and no further...

 

[neptronix]

Okay this show cracked me up, why is that that space shows are always a thinly vieled ( and good ) social commentary?

 

[neptronix]

BTW looks like we have a reversal on this China shipping thing



Looks like the EU is following the steps of the USA and doing 'crackdowns'

 

[marvin78]

Okay this show cracked me up, why is that that space shows are always a thinly vieled ( and good ) social commentary?

Because they give artistic freedoms, people accept criticism of themselves only when 'they' look like Klingons and Romulans instead of Russians and ancient Romans.

Looks like the EU is following the steps of the USA and doing 'crackdowns'

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/temu-shein-targeted-eu-cracks-down-unsafe-ecommerce-imports-2025-02-05/

*non paywall link

Shein and Temu are two sources I don't use, so I'm good

 

[amberwolf]

Okay this show cracked me up, why is that that space shows are always a thinly vieled ( and good ) social commentary?

Well, all the good scifi shows (and books) I know of are practically based around doing it, not veiling it much, if at all.

The very best ones use humor to do it, and often don't take themselves too seriously all the time.



Now back to your irregularly unscheduled polit...er...whatever.

 

[maiz]

BTW looks like we have a reversal on this China shipping thing

View attachment 365292

Looks like the EU is following the steps of the USA and doing 'crackdowns'

View attachment 365293

But not the fees, seems like those remained: China tariffs may already be hiking up import fees

 

[gromike]

Last week I purchased a set of flat bar shifters for the conversion of a race bike into something I can ride. Searched for the best price and bought on ebay. The point being is that I now have a package being shipped from China, so inadvertently, I now track our trade fiasco daily. Would like to finish the bike, because she is so beautiful.

 

[Chalo]

Last week I purchased a set of flat bar shifters for the conversion of a race bike into something I can ride.

Ah, stem riser and everything. So perverse and so delicious. I relish these opportunities when rotted-out drop bar brifters make it the path of least resistance.

I love to civilianize poser bikes of any kind. It feels like ministering to the ignorant savages.

 

[offGridDownUnder]

Or, the social mood isn't just 'changing', we are also seeing the results of it being manipulated. With purpose.

Opportunists are always attempting the manipulation, but sometimes it falls on deaf ears, and sometimes society is more receptive - due to the overall social mood. This is ongoing, ordinary, common - only paranoia and othering interpret it differently at some times.

Another term for the difference is 'democracy'. I am a very strong 'believer' in democracy, but most people don't understand what I just wrote. Many people will fit their unconscious understanding of democracy onto my words, and think I am saying 'good will prevail' or some such.

Democracy just means that the majority get their way. There are more of them.

When the group social mood is negative, democracy leads to nastiness.

Hitler and Trump were democratically elected. As to people being manipulated, 'adult' means self-policing - it's up to me not to go along with falsehoods - that self policing leads to me being justified walking around without supervision. That takes work, though, and character. Adults don't shirk responsibility.

It was you, it was me, it was every man,
We've all got the blood on our hands
We only receive what we demand,
If we want hell, then hell's what we'll have…

- Jack Johnson

 

[Chalo]

Hitler and Trump were democratically elected.

I'm Trump's case, it's "constitutionally elected". He never commanded a majority of any vote, so he's technically and in fact unconsented to by the people.

 

[neptronix]

Just FYI. Hitler wasn't really democratically elected. Look it up. He was elected on a legal technicality, not by popular support. It was during the time that the previous government had pretty much failed also. Before hitler and after hitler, the social mood was bad.

Here in the United States, the people don't actually chose the entire two nominees we get to vote for. In fact, our vote is suggestive to the electoral college, which makes the vote for us. The electors can override the public, and have in the past.

I wouldn't call our presidential elections democratic. The majority of people in the USA are moderates who are asked to pick the lesser evil, not who they want.

So the people line up and select their favorite form of evil. And then argue about, what if we had the other evil instead. Americans are constantly at odds over this. It might be because they have no control over the situation and this behavior is a symptom. I don't know.

But that's actually how our system works, legally and socially.

I'm Trump's case, it's "constitutionally elected". He never commanded a majority of any vote, so he's technically and in fact unconsented to by the people.

Are you sure about that? he won both the popular vote and the electoral vote this time.

 

[marvin78]

Democracy just means that the majority get their way. There are more of them.

The manipulation is making you think there are more of them while in reality there are not that many of them they are just very good at manipulating sheeple. To many sheeple not willing to invest the time and trouble of trying to identify falsehoods, or plain refusing. I will also uphold the US has an education issue, there is a reason Democrats tend to do better with people with an higher education ( and no it's not 'far left teachers' it's learning to think critically ).

I wish sheeple wouldn't be allowed to vote, it would solve a lot of the worlds problems ( and only add a few more... ).

Are you sure about that? he won both the popular vote and the electoral vote this time.

What was the turnout? Point stands afaik, the difference in votes is nothing compared with the lower then expected turnout ( for the Dems ofc, who always profit the most from higher turnouts ). I concur with your assesment that the electoral college system is pretty far from a respresentative democracy.

 

[harrisonpatm]

This thread is getting more than a little bit off the rails, how about we pause it for a few days?