Trump's new Golden Age

[Winnow]

White House orders government DEI employees to be placed on leave

Employees in any federal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility offices will be placed on paid administrative leave “effective immediately,” according to a post from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Slashing jobs in federal DEI positions is one move in a series of actions taken by the new administration, after Donald Trump promised to wage a war against such programs and take on the practice on Day 1. Trump has already cut high-profile military personnel and ended the use of DEI in hiring and federal contracting. Some major companies have taken similar measures as they face pressure from conservative critics and customers.

A memo issued by the US Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday instructed agencies to notify DEI staffers “no later than 5:00pm EST on Wednesday” that they were being placed on administrative leave effective immediately as “the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs.”

Hell yes!

The Stargate Project is a new company which intends to invest $500 billion over the next four years building new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States. We will begin deploying $100 billion immediately. This infrastructure will secure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate massive economic benefit for the entire world. This project will not only support the re-industrialization of the United States but also provide a strategic capability to protect the national security of America and its allies.

The initial equity funders in Stargate are SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX. SoftBank and OpenAI are the lead partners for Stargate, with SoftBank having financial responsibility and OpenAI having operational responsibility. Masayoshi Son will be the chairman.

Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI are the key initial technology partners. The buildout is currently underway, starting in Texas, and we are evaluating potential sites across the country for more campuses as we finalize definitive agreements.

As part of Stargate, Oracle, NVIDIA, and OpenAI will closely collaborate to build and operate this computing system. This builds on a deep collaboration between OpenAI and NVIDIA going back to 2016 and a newer partnership between OpenAI and Oracle.

Trump getting to work! It's nice to see our government doing something...anything...Biden's years were a stagnant mess of shutting down anything it could and trying to make woke people happy which was useless, unproductive and stupid. Merit based system is back in place! The people trying to make money based off the color of their skin, a sex change, and contracts to make trans bathrooms lose! All Biden could do was pre-pardon his corrupt family before leaving office. I'm surprised he didn't try to pardon any unborn grand kids. What a bozo.

https://www.reddit.com/r/singularity/co ... t_of_hand/

AI is going to be a wild ride over the next decade!

I hope Democrats lose years of their lives from being miserable and whining about everything. That's all they seem to be good at. I can't wait for Hollywood to be mostly AI to spare non woke/liberal idiots from Celebrity's uniformed rants about politics. Taylor Swift yet again chose the wrong man. LeBron still probably wants to defund the police. I'm surprised he's not in jail along with all the Black Lives Matter "leaders" that stole all the donations from moronic middle aged white soccer moms.Always remember, when you donate to charity, it's like a drug rush. You are doing it for yourself to feel better, not whatever the cause is. Quit giving money to these idiots.

Man it's good to see our country moving again. I don't care what direction. At least it's moving and we're drilling again. That woke stagnant "make everyone happy" shit was horrible. Lets get moving on the nuclear power plants. (best solution to the energy problem despite what the uninformed windmill losers think.

Great couple minute clip from the series Landman about windmills:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmbZwxEnAFc

[Spang]

AI is a useless and criminal industry.

The current regime is a fascist regime.

The Democratic Party will not be an opposition party.

[Winnow]

Man, Netanyahu at the Trump press conference today was really trying to hold back his smile. He looked ecstatic that Trump said he would take control of Gaza.

If you don't already know this, Trump says a lot of things (Greenland, Panama Canal, Canada 51st state etc) but he knows how to play on emotions when making deals/negotiating. The Arab countries are going to go nuts and probably form some multi country peace keeping solution for Gaza now that Trump said he'd own it and make it like the Riviera. Trump said what he needed to.

Trump knows what he's doing. I doubt the US will takeover Gaza fully but he's got the attention and will get the lazy Arabs to do something.

I'm good with buying Greenland. I bet we could have Greenland for 114 billion dollars. There's 57,000 Greenlanders. How many would say no to $2 million dollars for each person if there was a vote? 114 Billion is chump change for the US.

Panama Canal: It looks like the stooge in Panama will cave and make sure China doesn't take too much control of the Canal and also quit charging the United State something like $200K per ship to use it.

Canada: don't really care what happens there. They get free protection. They have no military and use the U.S. for protection. Bunch of woke hippies up there and horrible Prime Minister guy. I think they will cave and protect their borders a little more and let less drugs into our country.

Trump really learned the ropes from his first stint as president. He's not fucking around. Crazy amount of executive orders in first 2 weeks and looks like he's going to take down the CIA front USAID that shuffles our tax dollars around and wastes tons of money.

Like him or not. He's getting things done and bypassing the slow congress. Keep in mind, congress can stop these executive orders but they haven't done anything. The difference is with executive orders is you get things done fast and then it's up the the sloth congress to try and stop it instead of the other way around where it takes forever and you end up with bloated pork belly bills by congress that get vetoed later by the president.

[Spang]

This so-called Golden Age is making a lot of people unemployed.

[Winnow]

This so-called Golden Age is making a lot of people unemployed.

While I have questions about how Musk is handling things, government employment did have issues. It's been known once you have a government job, you're set which caused there to be a lot of under performing people that are hard to fire.

It was really hard to get rid of state/government workers. Until now that is!

I agree with what Musk is doing in principle although he seems to be a workaholic and I think everyone in general should already be working 32 hours a week (or less) as a norm. We need better employees but not necessarily longer hours etc. "Work smarter not longer/harder".

Dems/Liberals love bloat. It makes it easier to hide where the money is going with all the programs.

[Spang]

Folks get jobs in the public sector knowing that they could make a lot more in the private sector. Many do this because they get more out of their job knowing that they are providing a service that benefits people rather than shareholders. You’re also supposed to have job security, good benefits and an eventual nice retirement. Those are decent and fair trade offs.

There’s no evidence to suggest that the richest man in the world is only firing underperforming federal workers. There also doesn’t appear to be any evidence that the federal government is overrun with such workers. These blanket firings aren’t solving any problems and only appear to be creating new ones.

[Winnow]

Folks get jobs in the public sector knowing that they could make a lot more in the private sector.

They get government jobs because they can't get private ones. Do you think AOC is a public servant because she wants to be? The district she's from is a shithole and she hasn't done anything to help it. It's a money grab. Don't fool yourself.

[Spang]

It’s true that AOC is a public servant, but she’s an elected member of Congress, not a federal worker.

[Aslanna]

Golden Age. Too funny. After what he's done to the stock market this year with his tariff bullshit we'll be lucky if we survive this and not end up in the fucking Bronze Age in 4 years. Or 8 years if he somehow manages a third term. Which isn't out of the realm of possibility considering he owns the majority of the Supreme Court.

[Winnow]

Golden Age. Too funny. After what he's done to the stock market this year with his tariff bullshit we'll be lucky if we survive this and not end up in the fucking Bronze Age in 4 years. Or 8 years if he somehow manages a third term. Which isn't out of the realm of possibility considering he owns the majority of the Supreme Court.

Before 1913 Americans didn't pay taxes. Takes some pain to gain. Dems like to make you think everything is OK, just need to hand out more checks.

Trump always goes overboard initially as a negotiating tactic. We'll see how it goes the net 4 years. Recessions happen.

Apple makes insane profit margins. They can sell their phones for the same price with the tariffs unless you're ok with them making HUGE profits instead of selling phones at a more reasonable price.

[Spang]

Trump handed out more checks than Biden. In fact, Biden still owes me, like, $900!

[Aslanna]

Trump always goes overboard initially as a negotiating tactic. We'll see how it goes the net 4 years. Recessions happen.

The point is this one, if it happens, didn't need to. It also didn't happen under Biden. Funny how blind you are and how you'll go out of your way to make excuses for the orange man simply due to his party affiliation.

Apple makes insane profit margins. They can sell their phones for the same price with the tariffs unless you're ok with them making HUGE profits instead of selling phones at a more reasonable price.

If you think the companies are going to eat those costs you're fuckin delusional. As an example Nintendo just announced they are pausing US preorders on the Switch 2 specifically due to Trump's dumbness:

“Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,” Nintendo said in a statement to GameSpot.

Companies may absorb a portion of any tariffs but there's no doubt that consumers will be the ones paying the majority of them. If you really think otherwise then you're drinking too much of the Kool-Aide.

Before 1913 Americans didn't pay taxes. Takes some pain to gain.

Not really sure of your point here. It's after 1913 and we do pay taxes. Now we're being double-taxed between actual taxes and these tariffs, which are in effect another tax. Tariffs didn't work for McKinley and I seriously doubt they will here. But hey I'd be happy to be proven wrong as I've probably already lost 15% of my retirement savings in the past 3 (yes, only 3!) months since Trump took office. I wouldn't mind getting that back sooner rather than later!

The tariff was not well received by Americans who suffered a steep increase in prices. In the 1890 election, Republicans lost their majority in the House with the number of seats they won reduced by nearly half, from 171 to 88. In the 1892 presidential election, Harrison was soundly defeated by Grover Cleveland, and the Senate, House, and Presidency were all under Democratic control.

Hopefully the same thing will happen here but even then I'm not sure the gain will be worth the pain.

[Winnow]

[quote=Aslanna post_id=486181 time=1743793654 user_id=20

Apple makes insane profit margins. They can sell their phones for the same price with the tariffs unless you're ok with them making HUGE profits instead of selling phones at a more reasonable price.

If you think the companies are going to eat those costs you're fuckin delusional. As an example Nintendo just announced they are pausing US preorders on the Switch 2 specifically due to Trump's dumbness:

Hate dealing with quotes!

Apples insane profit margins are because you (or whoever uses Apple products still) pays that price. Apple has developed a cult following that has determined that giving Apple a HUGE profit margin is worth it to save their Apple souls.

There's no fucking excuse for it. Apple only makes that much money because people buy their products at the price they set that is way above their cost. They could cut 20% off their product and still make money but why do it when you have a cult following?

Anyone making excuses for Apple at this point is lucky they weren't in Jonestown because they would be sucking down the Koolaid.

Trump doesn't cover things up behind US Aid etc, like the democrats. At some point this country was going to implode. The democrats just try to delay it instead of take a hard stance that will upset people to fix things. Recession/Depression. Maybe. They happen and it's a cycle. Big Government (we'll take care of you just give us your vote! Don't worry about the details!) will do that.

[Spang]

Apple didn’t apply tariffs to all those countries or those poor penguins.

[Winnow]

Apple didn’t apply tariffs to all those countries or those poor penguins.

Don't get emotional about the penguins. They are merely beasts and need to pay up! I hope we starting taking eggs from their nests as payment if they don't give them up willingly. The US patrols that island to protect them from being eaten by killer whales.

[Aslanna]

You sure are stuck on Apple for some reason. Who is making excuses for them? I couldn't give a shit about Apple. These tariffs are not targeting Apple specifically.

Whether the corporations can afford to eat the costs isn't the point because anyone with a brain knows they won't.

And what's your reward for crashing the global economy? Go out and play some golf of course. What a fuckin joke.

[Winnow]

Whether the corporations can afford to eat the costs isn't the point because anyone with a brain knows they won't.

My point is Apple makes way more profit that most companies. They aren't selling that high because of parts and labor. They're selling that high because people are buying their product with huge markups.

You can feel bad for companies that have a thin profit margin. Apple isn't one of those companies. They screw their customers any way they can. Charge as much as possible and then slow their OS on purpose on old phones to artificially get users to buy a new phone. Fuck them.

I hate Apple with a passion. This isn't a crab hands thing like with Sony. I know most companies have their faults. I particularly despise Apple's two faced fake "caring" about shit and that people have fallen so hard for their bullshit. OK Sony sucks too but at least GEOHOT and Anonymous got some revenge on them. Fuck Apple and their blue chat bubbles.

[Aslanna]

I don't feel bad for Apple. At all. I don't feel bad for any major corporation. I'm not sure why you seem to think I do. I feel bad for the people who are barely getting by and will be hit the hardest by this nonsense.

Funnily enough I imagine a large portion of those people voted for Trump. So I don't feel bad for those people. But I do feel bad for those who didn't vote for him who.

But if it makes you any less happy I did pick up an iPhone 16 Pro today at Microcenter to replace my ancient 6s. So there went another $1000. Thanks Trump! But that's just the price of blue chat bubbles in today's economy I suppose. I was surprised that MC price matched the Apple store so I got it for $100 less than what MC had it priced at.

[Winnow]

But if it makes you any less happy I did pick up an iPhone 16 Pro today at Microcenter to replace my ancient 6s. So there went another $1000. Thanks Trump! But that's just the price of blue chat bubbles in today's economy I suppose. I was surprised that MC price matched the Apple store so I got it for $100 less than what MC had it priced at.

Well at least you're keeping the economy afloat!

I would recommend a wait and see approach to what's happening with tariffs. Anyone upset over the market "crash" just doesn't pay attention to how the market works. We've been in a bubble for awhile. Go back to the 2006 housing crisis. The market crashed then returned stronger than ever. The DJIA is ~37,000. it was at 40,000. When I was day trading in the late 90's it was 5,000-6,000. The market goes up, always has. This would be the first time ever that it hasn't. It's not going to go down forever. People can't pass up buying opportunities. This is fantastic for anyone paying into 401Ks. As long as you don't panic and keep paying, why pay at the high? You're now getting a deal on those funds as long as it goes back up...which it ALWAYS has...so you're making more money if it crashes from time to time. The money you already had in it goes back up to the same value but you also bought more cheaper shares/funds that also go up. I never look at my 401K. who cares? if the market crashes to the point where I lose my 401K, we've got a lot more serious problems than how comfy a retirement will be. The news loves quick reactions...it's drama, it gets clicks. The market lost a year's gains in the past week or so...so what? Did you you see the fucking crazy valuation of these companies? It's a bubble.

Bank of North America (1781)
The first company to hit $1 million in market capitalization. It was the first ever IPO in the United States.

Bank of the United States (1791)
The first company to hit $10 million in market capitalization had a 20 year charter to start, and was championed by Alexander Hamilton.

New York Central Railroad (1878)
The first company to hit $100 million in market capitalization was a crucial railroad that connected New York City, Chicago, Boston, and St. Louis.

AT&T (1924)
The first company to hit $1 billion in market capitalization — this was far before the breakup of AT&T into the Baby Bells, which occurred in 1982.

General Motors (1955)
The first company to hit $10 billion in market capitalization. The 1950s were the golden years of growth for US auto companies like GM and Ford, taking place well before the mass entry of foreign companies like Toyota into the domestic automobile market.

General Electric (1995)
The first company to hit $100 billion in market capitalization was only able to do so 23 years ago.

The fist Trillion market cap was in 2018 (The Apple cult). Now Bob's burgers down the street probably has a trillion dollar cap.

I really don't know how this will end up but I do know it's not worth panicking about. The market can flip on a dime. If this tariff thing actually completely failed, it would still bounce back. No one wants to permanently stop trading with the United States. It's an interesting test of wills. I actually think a lower tariff is a good idea and as I've said before, Trump starts with insane "negotiating" points and maybe his actual goal is 10% tariff and after this crazy initial tariffs it will sound fantastic to these countries. It's a mental thing.

[Spang]

I don’t think an economic system that crashes every few years as a feature is a good system.

[Winnow]

I don’t think an economic system that crashes every few years as a feature is a good system.

The US has been doing great over the past 100 years with that model. It has plenty of flaws. The US has benefited greatly from it's geographic location. No real threats on our continent lets us thrive.

Hard to say how our future will unfold but it's been a good 250 year run. We got to be the only global super power for awhile. I wouldn't hate on how we did the past 50 years as the world's super power until you see what comes next after we lose that distinction. Don't expect some sort of Pax Romana. China is itching to expand. You'll get one power replaced by another except the next one is pretty focused on a single race. Despite our flaws, we are the melting pot. China is not. That goes for Korea and Japan as well.

[Spang]

And now the Dow is surging upward (so far). All because Trump decided to pause this whole tariff thing (except for China).

Great system we have here.

[Winnow]

And now the Dow is surging upward (so far). All because Trump decided to pause this whole tariff thing (except for China).

Great system we have here.

Yay the world crisis averted! It's still fun to watch the day to day reactions to the market. All the doom and gloomers.

He raised tariffs again on China to 125%. I guess he saw that China was going all in so best to focus on China alone.

[Winnow]

OMG highest one day market gain in US history. Trump just got his 10% tariffs and fucked China in the process.


Trivia: What was the biggest one day gain in the US Stock Market history?


Trump couldn't have done it without the whiners he knew would scream at the top of their lungs about the tariffs. Thanks!

The reality is that the US is now making nice – or at least nicer - with nations that had faced their retaliatory trade fire, even though Trump is still imposing a 10% across the board tariff that by itself would have been huge news just a few weeks ago.

Pretty much fits with Trump's MO and what I said


Me 2 days ago:

I really don't know how this will end up but I do know it's not worth panicking about. The market can flip on a dime. If this tariff thing actually completely failed, it would still bounce back. No one wants to permanently stop trading with the United States. It's an interesting test of wills. I actually think a lower tariff is a good idea and as I've said before, Trump starts with insane "negotiating" points and maybe his actual goal is 10% tariff and after this crazy initial tariffs it will sound fantastic to these countries. It's a mental thing.

[Winnow]

Electronics imported to the United States will be exempt from President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, according to a US Customs and Border Protection notice posted late Friday.

Smartphones, computer monitors and various electronic parts are among the exempted products. The exemption applies to products entering the United States or removed from warehouses as early as April 5, according to the notice.

Roughly 90% of Apple’s iPhone production and assembly is based in China, according to Wedbush Securities’ estimates.

Apple saved again. Maybe they put some of that huge margin cult money they took from consumers to good use bribing Trump.

Tariff war is slowly getting down to manageable levels.

The exemption, which comes after the Trump administration on Wednesday imposed a minimum tariff rate of 145% on Chinese goods imported to the United States, does not include the 20% tariff on Chinese goods for the country’s role in the fentanyl trade. The tariff exemption would have a major impact on tech giants like Apple, which make iPhones and other products in China.

He's still got the 10% to all countries and higher Tariffs on China in place.

You're pretty screwed if you sell toys since those are mostly made in China but the good news is you can still buy a VR headset for cheap. Virtual entertainment is where it's at! Zero impact on all electronic AI stuff like models etc. China is still pumping those out for free that we can use.

[Aslanna]

I know you're eager to be a Trump cheerleader but don't get too excited.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would be announcing the tariff rate on imported semiconductors over the next week, adding that there would be flexibility with some companies in the sector.

The president's pledge means that the exclusion of smartphones and computers from his reciprocal tariffs on China likely will be short-lived as Trump looks to reset trade in the semiconductor sector.
...
The White House had announced the exclusions from steep reciprocal tariffs on Friday, creating some hope that the tech industry might escape being ensnared in the escalating conflict between the two nations and that everyday consumer products such as phones and laptops would remain affordable.

However, Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, earlier on Sunday made clear that critical technology products from China would face separate new duties along with semiconductors within the next two months.

[Aslanna]

Trump just got his 10% tariffs and fucked China in the process.

If you think China is the one that got fucked here you're delusional. They are just going to make deals with other countries. The same goes for all those other countries like Vietnam. I don't think China is going to cave on this so enjoy paying 145% more on stuffs than you did 6 months ago.

Not to mention China cut off exports of precious metals that you know.. Are needed for a whole bunch of high-tech products. I'm not sure how you're going to bring those manufacturing jobs back to the US if you don't have the materials to manufacture the shit.

But hey, great job Trump on getting those 10% tariffs! That's just a 10% tax on the people of the country. I'm not sure why people are cheering for more taxes but sure. Also, isn't it the job of Congress to approve and pass any sort of tax increases?

He was already the worst president 4 years ago. Now he's even worser. Just like he was predicted to be by anyone with a brain that isn't neurolinked into Fox 'News'.

[Spang]

Trump is considering giving up on ending the Russia/Ukraine war he promised to end in his first 24 hours in office. This is because he’s not actually good at making deals. It’s why he can only sign executive orders rather than working with a Republican-controlled Congress. Trump is a grifter and a fraud.

[Winnow]

Trump is considering giving up on ending the Russia/Ukraine war he promised to end in his first 24 hours in office. This is because he’s not actually good at making deals. It’s why he can only sign executive orders rather than working with a Republican-controlled Congress. Trump is a grifter and a fraud.

When choosing between candidates, you aren't going to find either one that fits perfectly with what "You" think is right. Trump and his Russia loving, Ukraine hating was my #1 negative of him. It's probably best he give up because he is basically giving Russia everything they want and trying to force it on Ukraine while at the same time trying to suck them dry of their mineral rights. All he gives a fuck about is splitting up Ukraine while gaining from it.

I don't think Trump gives a shit about anything but making "deals". Besides "MAGA" motto, he doesn't spout off lines about forcing democracy on the world etc. Trying to save the world is some BS dems feed you. We can't do that. All we can do is use our power to try and keep the US well situated.

Forget about "The American Dream" when it comes to international politics. The US doesn't fight wars (Vietnam, Iraq, etc) to help others. Vietnam was pure military industry wanting to profit...pretty sure the Gulf Wars were the same. We (the US) just needed some excuse to inject some influence in the middle east.

So, while it's entirely possible Trump is bribed/blackmailed or something else by Russia (it really makes no sense how much he caters to Putin). The Dems were only prolonging the war. Those dipshits only provided our scrap older weapons and then placed a ton of restrictions on how they could be used to cripple Ukraine and prolong the war...you know...to profit where those "funds" being spent were to the US military industry while Ukraine got more weapons and less money.

Europe needs to step up. Germany seems to be. Europe will probably fail though because they are infested with liberals. If they had their shit together they'd fuck over the US by signing their own mineral agreement with Ukraine and support them without the US help, cutting US/Trump out of any negotiating power.

So, in closing. I hate what Trump is doing regarding Ukraine but Sleepy Joe's handlers weren't any better and out to make a buck as the US always does with the military industrial complex.

----------

As for tariffs. It's too early to tell. Everyone, even Trump said expect pain. Most people are short sighted and want immediate results. Recessions happen and aren't anything unusual and we're due for one. May as well get some things settled with some trade deals while it's going on. Quit crying over expensive products. The US companies outsourced to China to make more money for themselves, not for you and when the shit hit the fan they will keep their profits instead of help out the American consumer. The average CEO pay has gone up 200x over the past few decades. They are raking it in. They aren't sharing that wealth by either giving their workers better pay or taking CEO pay cuts to make products more affordable (even before the tariffs). Don't be whining about tariffs. US company greed is the reason and it's not associated with Reps or Dems...and the insane lobbiest system that fattens the wallets of our politicians (dem and rep). It's nice to see Tim Cook stressed because he can't figure out who to pay off this time...but he'll still get his $74 million.

[Thess]

Winnow you named this thread the new golden age and it’s only been two months and you are already okay with a recession. This seems like a very quick turn around of expectations for this administration.

[Winnow]

Winnow you named this thread the new golden age and it’s only been two months and you are already okay with a recession. This seems like a very quick turn around of expectations for this administration.

Hello Thess!

My main point is that a broken system needs to be fixed before you can have a better system in place. Unfortunately it's not like flipping a light switch.

I lived through the 1970's tough times. In California fuel supply was so bad they had odd/even days. You could only buy gas when the last digit of your license plate was odd or even depending on the day. I remember sitting in line at a gas station waiting until midnight so we could fill our car's gas tank.

My dad bought a house in 1980 and the mortgage rate was up over 18%. Yes 18%. That was when Ronald Reagan entered office. By the end of his 2nd term they were under 10%.

People forget how shitty things were in the U.S in the late 70's.

I don't know what the end result will be with Trump's 2nd term, but I expect to go through some hard times.

Recessions are normal part of the cycle:

Recent US recessions:

1929-1933 Great Depression

several more recessions I won't list here after the great depression. More recent recessions:

1969-1970
1973-1975
1980-1980
1981-1982
1990-1991
2001-2001
2007-2009 (termed "Great Recession")
2020-2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_r ... ted_States

IMO democrats promise and do things to cover up a problem. Trump isn't hiding the problems and doing what at least he thinks will fix it without hiding anything. I at least respect that approach.

A recession would have happened with or without Trump (dems delay them and probably make them worse because of delaying them)

[Thess]

Yes I’ve seen the propaganda convincing Republicans that this is a good thing. It’s just amazing to see a thread with the expectations falling so quickly from a golden age to recessions are fine and needed.

[Winnow]

Yes I’ve seen the propaganda convincing Republicans that this is a good thing. It’s just amazing to see a thread with the expectations falling so quickly from a golden age to recessions are fine and needed.

I understand your point. For clarity: "Golden Age" isn't instant. How could it be? All the shitty programs that are sucking money from the government need to be updated or removed. You can't just say " hey world, we're changing overnight". Turmoil is part of the deal.

All of these government problems aren't solely the fault of the democrats. It should be appreciated that someone like Trump, that is almost equally hated by all, is there to clean house. Corruption/Lobbying is ingrained into the system. The deals that shock people are only shocking because Trump doesn't give a shit and hide them by inserting them into pork belly bills. With puppet presidents like Biden, you still get all these "deals" but worse since Biden was clueless as to what was going on so his handlers raked it in. Don't be fooled by "hidden" corruption being better just because you can't see it. It's much better to have it in plain sight.

The U.S. might be screwed no matter what. The world almost universally hates America. They acknowledge and respect our power but it's not because of the "American Dream" anymore. We (collectively including you and me) screw over the rest of the world to provide a good life for a decent percentage of Americans.

I don't see a solution to "the big picture" beyond the eventual hope that AI gets so good and for some unknown reason the wealthy agree to give up their wealth and we all live on UBI Universal Basic Income....now, how likely is that? Not very likely considering the trend of the top less than 1% making most of the money. So in short, we are most likely screwed. Democrats had more billionaires supporting them than Trump/Reps had....way way more money on the dem side last election including the clueless celebrity endorsements,, etc. so don't think Dems/Liberals are a solution. The system has to be completely broken for Trump to be elected, at least if you buy the propaganda the dems throw at you...and yet he still won the popular vote. They system IS broken and needs a major overhaul which Trump is doing for better or worse.

[Spang]

I don't see a solution to "the big picture" beyond the eventual hope that AI gets so good and for some unknown reason the wealthy agree to give up their wealth.

That’s never going to happen. The greediest and most evil people in the world are never going to give up their power for the greater good. Not willingly anyway.

[Winnow]

I don't see a solution to "the big picture" beyond the eventual hope that AI gets so good and for some unknown reason the wealthy agree to give up their wealth.

That’s never going to happen. The greediest and most evil people in the world are never going to give up their power for the greater good. Not willingly anyway.

99% chance that you are right. So what does that leave us? IMO, the world will have a major war both economic and military. We'll still end up with some sort of totalitarian world government if we survive. The most likely scenario is some sort of Mad Max world aftermath with some tech but just in spots and protected by militia sized communities.

I'm not being dramatic here. Watching the news/world events, do you (or anyone) seriously see a positive outcome without chaos to overturn the status quo wealthy/power/elite?

There is one possible peaceful ending. That's if AI gets so good and affordable (fusion reactors on every street corner or whatever it takes for massive power usage). Eventually AI combined with Virtual Reality will make it so you won't need much money to experience whatever you want. All of our senses can be fooled by virtual simulations. If you can't tell the difference between reality and virtual reality, no one will care. All the people worried about their "white picket fence" lifestyles and if they can afford a yacht....it won't matter. You can sit in your easy chair with your VR headset on (or probably something more like a pod you get into and feel/experience anything you want, any lifestyle you want (unless the "mind police" for some reason still want to control what you do in your own head (which they probably will for some stupid reason).

The big hurdle to that though is the wealthy want to keep their wealth and if ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence) figures out how to provide limitless energy, there's nothing left to "sell" to the plebs. Ultimately Power = Energy. Take a look at what's going on. EVERY major company (Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabit/Google, Meta, X) are building massive data centers because that's all that's going to matter in the future. AI will surpass humans in intelligence. Robots/droids will handle practically every physical labor we used to need to do.

UBI (Universal Basic Income) with zero need to work is entirely possible but all you need to do is look at the past and present to see it's not going to happen without an entire upheaval/revolution/downfall of society and rebuilding...and even then either a far left or far right world government will most likely ultimately control what you do.

I've got maybe 20 years left and probably less quality years than that. I'll be dead during or before it ends so I'm enjoying myself while I still have my mind and can. Odds are I lived in the best era humanity had to offer, (before the tech revolution of PC/Internets through the age of AI) before the shit hits the fan one way or the other. Anyone younger than me, well there's a better chance you're screwed than arrive in the Utopian age.

[Aslanna]

Ooo a Thess sighting. Hi!

I would tell you not to bother to engage with kool-aid drinking Winnow but then again what else is there to do around here.

Biden in office: OMG a recession? Worst president EVEAG!>!?

Trump in office: (Forced) Recessions happen. Big deal.. Who cares.

[Winnow]

Ooo a Thess sighting. Hi!

I would tell you not to bother to engage with kool-aid drinking Winnow but then again what else is there to do around here.

Biden in office: OMG a recession? Worst president EVEAG!>!?

Trump in office: (Forced) Recessions happen. Big deal.. Who cares.

I don't think I ever complained about Biden in relation to the economy. I could be wrong but I tried searching for anything and didn't find it. Economic trends are not completely tied to presidents/parties. The big corporations are more powerful than the president regarding that.

Here is a quote from me from the "Gasoline Price Predictions for 08" thread in 2008:

I heard on the radio that the recession actually started last November so the recovery will be in full swing right before the elections. Now, I for one think the economy does its thing no matter who is in office but the general population doesn't seem to get that. Gas prices will also be declining simply because of the season before the elections.

Biden was a horrible president. Even before his dementia he was never anything special. You know there's serious corruption going on when he has to "pre-pardon" his family before leaving office.

I'm also not a Trump "fan". I hate most things about the guy. Hillary vs Trump was the worst election choices ever with this last election running a close second.

I am anti democrat and almost everything they've become. Being pro "abort your kid" is the only good thing about Dems.

Trump sucks. Democrats as a whole suck worse. We need more moderate choices on both sides but you reap what you sow and the democrats fucked up so badly they got Trump elected even with all the celebrity morons and the majority of the money on their side. Obama trying to shame black men into voting for Kamala didn't help. The dems are retards when it comes to clean energy and letting tranny's beat up women in sports. Just flat out moronic policies along with their "open border" BS. You can sum up dems/liberals as very confused people that fight for every cause they trip over without digging deeper into the issues to see the full impact of those choices they make designed to make themselves feel better by thinking they're doing something "good for the world...like that dumbass Greta chick.

Trump is pissing me off with his Putin love affair and how he's treating Ukraine. I wouldn't be surprised if he's not in office one way or the other before the end of his term.

We all know liberals riot way more than republicans. It wasn't republicans looting those TVs in the name of BLM, toppling historic statues, or more recently fire bombing Teslas. It's those "peace loving' lefties. Middle aged white women are the best though...how much money did they throw at those corrupt BLM funds? Hope they felt better about themselves for donating to the cause! Nice job!

[Spang]

We all know liberals riot way more than republicans. It wasn't republicans looting those TVs in the name of BLM, toppling historic statues, or more recently fire bombing Teslas. It's those "peace loving' lefties. Middle aged white women are the best though...how much money did they throw at those corrupt BLM funds? Hope they felt better about themselves for donating to the cause! Nice job!

I told you four years ago that the riots in Minneapolis were incited by a white supremacist.

Liberals typically don’t riot. It certainly wasn’t liberals who stormed the Capitol.

[Aslanna]

'Stormed the Capitol' lol are you serious? Those were simply tourists.

[Aslanna]

Quit crying over expensive products.

You might not be aware that instead of paying the import taxes those companies will just stop bringing in those products to the US and those products will instead end up going to other locations. I hear graphics cards are starting to become easier to find in Europe now for some reason. So it' s not just a matter of higher prices it's also less availability because it's not profitable for importers to bring those products to the US. Which will probably have the effect of even higher prices. That sounds like a winning plan.

I think a majority of people are sort of thinking it's not a big deal because they haven't seen it impacting prices yet. But give it 5-6 more weeks once the products start running out at the warehouses and nobody is importing them any longer because it's not economically viable to do so. I know approval ratings mean nothing now since the doofus was already elected but maybe he can get those numbers down into the 20s. That can only help the Democrats in 2026.

But hey, Trump claims he has made 200 trade deals with countries already. Which is weird since there were only 195 countries on the list. 194 if you don't count penguins who can't negotiate shit.

“I’ve made 200 deals,” Trump told Time Magazine in a wide-ranging interview published Friday, “100%.”

Pressed on which countries he had made deals with, Trump refused to say, nor did he clarify the terms of the agreements. He added that he would announce them “over the next three to four weeks,” once the negotiations are “finished.”

I mean, I know less about business then penguins do, but if negotiations are not "finished" how could you have made a "deal"? The sad part of all this isn't that he's a pathological liar it's that he (and FOX News) have convinced a large number of people that he isn't. SAD.