billvon 2,995 #1 January 2, 2018 So Trump et al just passed a trillion dollar tax cut, sure to balloon the national debt and drive us ever closer to bankruptcy. Of course, they started the New Year the way everyone knew they would: "President Donald Trump and his Republicans want a big budget increase in military spending." (CNBC) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phil1111 1,149 #2 January 2, 2018 Why Has the US Dollar Been Consistently Falling Throughout 2017? Throughout 2017, however, the greenback has taken a long and sustained nosedive to hit multi-year lows. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the value of the dollar against a weighted basket of currencies belonging to six of the United States’ biggest foreign trade partners—the euro, yen, pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc—recently slipped to its lowest level in more than two years.... The unpredictable leadership style of Donald Trump himself hasn’t exactly helped the greenback... his actual view on this issue was that “our dollar is getting too strong…it is very, very hard to compete when you have a strong dollar and other countries are devaluing their currency”. Trump’s desire to abandon the US’s previous “strong dollar” policy seems to be on the basis that a strong currency hurts the competitiveness of US businesses by making US products more expensive when sold abroad, which in turn erodes sales revenue. A weaker dollar, therefore, would help push the overall trade balance back in the US’s favour, and would thus fall in line with Trump’s efforts to rejuvenate US manufacturing and exports." https://internationalbanker.com/brokerage/us-dollar-consistently-falling-throughout-2017/ US Dollar to Decline in 2018, Say BMO Capital Markets, in Latest Forecasts https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/usd/8213-dollar-to-decline-in-2018-says-investment-bank-in-latest-full-year-forecasts In 36 Months, America Will Face a $1 Trillion Budget Deficit. Do Voters Care? http://fortune.com/2017/09/22/united-states-budget-deficit/ Deficit could hit $1 trillion in 2018, and that's before the full impact of tax cuts https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/20/deficit-could-hit-1-trillion-2018-and-thats-before-full-impact-tax-cuts/969347001/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,027 #3 January 2, 2018 Deficits and debt only matter to conservatives when Dems are in power.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,995 #4 January 2, 2018 QuoteTrump’s desire to abandon the US’s previous “strong dollar” policy seems to be on the basis that a strong currency hurts the . . . I love the game of "let's try to guess if Trump has a plan behind all this!" So far, every time, we've seen that he doesn't have anything like a comprehensive plan. In general, here's how policy is made in the US today: 1) Someone on FOX and Friends says something that pisses Trump off 2) He tweets about it 3) His tweet becomes policy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,027 #5 January 2, 2018 The CBO estimates the Trump tax cuts will add $1.46 TRILLION to the debt. A pile of 1.46T $1 bills would be over 99,000 miles high.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JerryBaumchen 1,364 #6 January 2, 2018 Hi Bill, Quote he doesn't have anything like a comprehensive plan Now wait just a minute; he just tweeted: 'Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news - it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!' I mean, somebody has to take credit for such a good year. Jerry Baumchen PS) One wonders if he even knows that we have not had any fatalities in the last 8 yrs. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/fact-check-trump-hits-severe-turbulence-claiming-credit-airplane-safety-n834106 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,995 #7 January 2, 2018 >'Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news - >it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year >on record!' Will be interesting to see who he blames when there's another crash. But if there's one industry he's taken credit for (AND worked on) over the past year it's the coal industry. How are they doing? ===================== Coal mining deaths surge in 2017 after hitting record low the year prior - US coal mines recorded 15 fatalities in 2017, up from eight the year prior - West Virginia had more than half of the deaths, with eight coal mining fatalities AP 2 January 2018 Coal mining deaths surged in the US in 2017, one year after they hit a record low. The nation's coal mines recorded 15 deaths last year, including eight in West Virginia. That is nearly double the death toll in 2016, when eight people died in coal mining incidents. . . . In September, retired coal company executive David Zatezalo of Wheeling, West Virginia was appointed by President Donald Trump as the new chief of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. ========================== AP August 3, 2017, 8:30 AM Coal mine deaths surge, putting feds and miners at odds A spike in coal miners' deaths is putting federal regulators and the coal mining union at loggerheads. Deaths in U.S. coal mines this year have surged ahead of last year's, and federal safety officials say workers who are new to a mine have been especially vulnerable to fatal accidents. But the nation's coal miner's union says the mine safety agency isn't taking the right approach to fixing the problem. . . . The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration is responding to the uptick in deaths with a summer initiative, sending officials to observe and train miners new to a particular mine on safer working habits. The push comes during a transition for the agency, amid signals from President Donald Trump that he intends to ease the industry's regulatory burden. The miner's union, the United Mine Workers of America, says the agency initiative falls short. It notes federal inspectors who conduct such training visits are barred from punishing the mine if they spot any safety violations. ====================== Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rushmc 23 #8 January 3, 2018 kallend Deficits and debt only matter to conservatives when Dems are in power. The hypocrisy in this post is the multiplier of the irony"America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,027 #9 January 3, 2018 rushmc The hypocrisy in this post is the multiplier of the irony Self-referential statements are fraught with logical pitfalls, Marc.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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