Being pro-tariff can (and should) be like being pro-modern medicine. Targeted use saves lives, but the only difference between medicine and poison is the dosage and treatment vector. Tariffs should be used like every other regulation on the economy, but since Reagan the dosages of every regulation have all been way out of whack either way too low or way too high. There is a place for some protectionism, just not like this obviously.
This is why I have stopped buying anything Blizzard. They removed the Warcraft 3 I payed for and replaced it with a completely unplayable something I didn’t want. Ubisoft has been on my shit list for a while for unrelated reasons too, but now they are on my never again list. And I never even played The Crew. Bad business is bad business even if it doesn’t directly impact me.
Good point out, and I should have said not unique to either conservatism or hard leftism there. The “extremities” of the spectrum really highlight it obviously, but I think almost everyone is guilty of and/or capable of the same rationalizing over anything that forms a part of core identity, consciously or not. The stakes are just higher when it comes to politics than something like an odd food preference, and thus get stronger reactions both from external observers and the person holding that viewpoint. I try to apply a “never attribute to malice that which can be explained by something else (I know incompetence usually goes here but in this context comes off maliciously)” for most people. Everyone is the hero of their own story, yada yada.
I fall into the same trap advocating for left leaning libertarianism never being implemented with the correct mix of government guardrails (both from and against the government), and it will be funny when we all surprised Pikachu face when it turns out 500 years from now it was the Anarcho-syndicalists who were right all along ala South Park Mormonism.
Also I haven’t heard the Professional Left Podcast before but I’m definitely going to check it out, thank you for mentioning it.
This is a holdover from Reagan, and the boom times through the 80s and into the 90s. Deregulation works… until everything implodes/explodes. Revenue was up alongside the tax cuts because of the huge gains across the board, it just wasn’t sustainable.
The economy is like an engine, you can squeeze massive horsepower out of it for a few races or regulate it to run for millions miles. There is a happy spot that produces the highest output with acceptable longevity, but since Reagan the Republican strategy has been to crank it to the max.
The Democrats also continued the deregulation and government has abdicated it’s duty to enforce anti-trust laws, protect the commons, and ensure level playing fields. Add to that the lag time between government action and results, and you have the “Republicans do economy good”.
We have been a runaway diesel for decades, and the engine is close to detonation.
True, but sadly not unique to conservatism. It’s a human condition, lots of psychology involved with self-identity and worldview. See “communism just hasn’t been actually implemented properly yet, and the Soviet Union and China were/are actually capitalists pretending to be socialists/communists” for examples on the “opposing” spectrum.
If this doesn’t belong here, nothing does.
With the concentration of wealth and thus power being the ideal state, you appear to be arguing in favor of a landed aristocracy who are inherently better at ruling than everyone else because of their noble character. The peasantry would not know how or even want to wield power, and need to be guided by those with the right to rule. In this case it is the right mix of sociopathy and exploitation that defines nobility of character instead of strictly bloodline and Devine Right. This is a very interesting take.
I personally feel that along broad scopes, any human is equally capable of the desire and capacity to wield economic power. It is nurture and not nature that derives this. I would then argue that a level playing field with the Government enforcing strong anti-trust laws is a much better driver of economic force and growth. Healthy competition with no artificial barriers to market entry will allow the market to produce the best results.
Preventing monopoly, duopoly, and oligarchy will constrain the scope of inequality along with taxation without any need for a planned economy. I favor something like a land use tax, but there is much discussion to be had on that front.
Humans are semi-eusocial creatures, so greed must be properly channeled and cannot be allowed to run unchecked. Inequality at certain levels is expected and can/does increase drive for success, but must be tempered for optimal results.
Yeah, I agree, but the problem is that there is never a 3rd option and so option 1 has gone over decades from getting just getting a purple nurple to getting shot by airsoft, then to a BB gun, then a pellet gun, and now a .22. Everything only ratchets one direction.
The Two Party system and game theory has put us in this position, the elite class has captured both options so they are fine no matter what, and the majority of lawmakers on both sides object to voting methods that will allow the possibility of third parties to emerge.
The question becomes which option 2 is “not bad” enough to risk allowing when the opportunity is taken to break the machinery behind option 1 and replace it with something better? We have no guarantee that anything after this will constitute a better opportunity.
The Republicans should do the same, take this chance with Trump having hijacked the whole system to jettison it a remake a functional conservative/center right party without the likes of McConnell. Break the party, replace the politicians and make reforms like ranked choice or STAR voting so everything isn’t zero-sum.
He didn’t say anything about exactly the same, just that they both suck. Dems want to shoot you with .22 caliber rounds in the extremities cause it’s not lethal, while the Trumptards want to shoot off your arms with explosive .50 cal to get the “necessary amputation” done quick. One of those is 100% objectively worse, but some people would ideally like an option that doesn’t involve getting shot at all. Pointing out that getting shot sucks regardless of who is pulling the trigger shouldn’t be all that controversial.
This very much annoys me. I am a left leaning libertarian (so probably considered Center Right), and this is stupid. Waste of money and labor. I am not really for the EV mandates because I respect a free market. But oil is heavily subsidized and thus not a free market, so charging infrastructure should get the same benefit to allow consumers to decide what works best for them. If low energy prices are a priority as their lip service indicates, then all forms should be treated equally. Government doesn’t get decide winners and losers. Lobbying is corruption.
I love my plug in hybrid. I would love to be able to charge at work. I also love gas and diesel, but I want to see where hydrogen and other cleaner combustion options can go for environmental reasons. Level playing fields is the main reason for Governments to exist.
The Juke is the perfect amount of hideous that it flips the bit back to being great. Even the Cube is the right kind of quirky.
Good, I was worried for a minute there. You don’t even have to like or even tolerate country music, Dolly is a national treasure and a lodestone of the soul of America. With the Right being historically the home of country and wholesome hospitality, it’s triply as bad.
The litmus test has failed, and apparently we need a new Committee on Un-American Activities investigating the powers that be. Who would have thought the parts would be so dramatically reversed this time around.
We lost Betty White, we cannot let the nation turn from Dolly and complete its fall to the dark side.
I thought that was one of the bedrock foundations of the US, regardless of political leaning: if you are against Dolly you are against America.
At the very least back up your Audible library in a DRM free format with something like Libation.
I am still using Audible because their web player works in my restricted office, and the authors get a couple of pennies from dragon, but have my library safely exported to ensure continued access and prevent fuckery like this.
The informal name for a vehicle transmission.
He completely turned his life around and became a martyr hero by killing the most evil person alive at the time, even though it cost him his own life in the process.
I guess that’s one thing you could take from the existence of the Hitler Youth, instead of “holy shit, do NOT do that”.
They must be talking about Eve Online (spreadsheets in space), it’s the only logical explanation.
You do want prices that were part of a bubble to go back down to sustainable levels, that isn’t deflation it’s market correction. The bubble created by the pandemic and supply side restrictions isn’t natural or part of regular healthy inflation. Excessive inflation is just as bad as stagnant money for an economy, it just looks healthier on the outside until the moment it keels over.
I totally misread ‘good viable’ as good vibes, and immediately agreed despite having no substantive idea what that would be. Fleet of Magic School buses driven by assorted Ms. Frizzle’s? Cheech and Chong’s Uber service? Limo service where you get to answer suggestive Family Feud surveys with Steve Harvey? I don’t know, but I’m totally down for good vibes alternatives to driving.