@djsumdog Yeah, everybody should also keep this in mind, I agree, but the outlook really doesn't look good if tariffs stay..
So far a lot of the tariffs seem to be affecting luxury goods (high end electronics, video cards) and really aren't that massive for individuals. Americans should be incentivized to buy a Whirlpool washing machine over a Samsung, but at the same time, no amount of tariffs are going to make TSMC and Intel get their shit together and finish their US based fabrication plants any faster.
The whole thing is an interesting cluster fuck.
>The only way tariffs would work is if they get combined with massive tax cuts
I don't think it'll require simply tax cuts, I think it'll require a complete abolition of the income tax. Perhaps that's why Trump floated it, and I hope he executes on it however this administration went full 2018-2020 Trump in not even 100 days and every other headline is a HoI4 news event so who knows at this point.
>Americans should be incentivized to buy a Whirlpool washing machine over a Samsung, but at the same time, no amount of tariffs are going to make TSMC and Intel get their shit together and finish their US based fabrication plants any faster
Agreed on this, though I think the goal isn't necessarily to rush fabrication plants but have even more companies bring manufacturing back stateside so in a few years you'll have a huge amount of manufacturing capacity back at once.
@Tadano @djsumdog @wackJackle
Ultimately it's all gonna take time. Right now, I doubt most manufacturers think this will be the new status-quo. Most probably think Trump is bluffing, so no US factory is gonna suddenly increase their output, and other companies aren't planning yet on moving factories back to US.
I personally just hope that, over here in EU, our politicians grow a fucking pair for once in their life, and learn to actually do some diplomacy with Trump, if they actually want to trade with US. And trust me, they absolutely, desperately do.
As American media is gaslighting on how disastrous this is to the American economy, and how Americans will be the most hurt in all of this, European media is panicking over how this will ruin us. Even my country, that I'm pretty sure barely exports anything to US, is trying to cope that we shouldn't be affected all the while desperately trying to find someone who'd be competent and capable to negotiate with Trump's administration. My government basically made an open call for any Romanians who had contact with the Republican party, to try to pull some strings.
@Tadano @djsumdog @wackJackle
The situation is kinda sad to be honest. We have 2 candidates that were denied the right to run for office, because they've said things that were interpreted as being anti-EU or anti-NATO. No, I'm not joking.
As for the cancelled elections, that was done because of supposed Russian meddling. Problem is, while there are signs and evidence of campaign fraud done by/for the guy at the center of the controversy (Călin Georgescu), there's not enough to account for the amount of votes he got. Basically, as it stands, there is no reason to believe he couldn't have gotten to the second round of elections, with or without these campaign crimes. So I don't know if interrupting the process was actually justified. Oh, and the Russian involvement wasn't proven so far either.
Basically, if you've heard JD Vance talk on the issue, he was 100% correct.
The only upside I guess is that the guy that triggered this reaction, Călin Georgescu, was found to have actually said some praise towards some local fascist figures from back around WW2, so it's not the worst thing that he won't be president. The guy was trouble, and pretty much a moron from what I've heard of him speak.
But it doesn't actually change the fact that the way he was removed is dubious as fuck, undemocratic, and likely was ordered by someone up in EU. Or in other words, in a fascistic manner. Which is ironic, considering he was the one being accused of praising fascists.
@Tadano @djsumdog @wackJackle
Oh, and there's a possibility for the entire thing to backfire hard.
You see, over here the president doesn't actually have that much power. He assigns the prime minister from what the parliament offers up, and has some power (though not all) when dealing with external politics. But otherwise, internally, the president can't really do anything. So Călin Georgescu as a president wouldn't have been all that dangerous, even if he really was the supreme fascist whatever.
So here's where the issue starts. Currently leading the polls is another gentleman, George Simion, who has the support and blessing of Călin Georgescu. If he wins, while it wouldn't be politically easy to accomplish, there's a possibility he could make Călin Georgescu the prime minister, thus giving him more power than he would have had as president.
Now imagine the outcry from EU if that were to happen.
Also you're Romanian? How are things over there? I heard your elections got cancelled for being too democratic but haven't kept up with the situation since.
t. Got some Romanian ancestry, family friends and visited the country