**** Elections thread *****

[Poopadoop]

All sorts of things count. This is one of the funnier things that Trump antagonists harp on, because it's actually very very very very easy for Mexico to pay for the wall. A mere renegotiation of NAFTA that doesn't royally fuck the US would more than count. Granted, I think it will be much more visible than that, but I can't say how.

NAFTA doesn't favor Mexico over the US; it's a free trade agreement. It basically encourages trade by removing barriers to trade like tariffs, which is a good thing for all parties. It's not like it's some shady deal that Mexico and Canada made just for the sake of screwing the US, as much as Trump would like you to believe it.

[wufwugy]

NAFTA doesn't favor Mexico over the US; it's a free trade agreement.

The latter doesn't substantiate the former.

[Poopadoop]

The latter doesn't substantiate the former.

How would you change the agreement to favor the US more?

[wufwugy]

How would you change the agreement to favor the US more?

There are all sorts of things that can be done. The simple removal of tariffs benefits Mexico more than US for a variety of reasons, but that's only a small part of what goes into Mexico/US relations. I'm not as studied on this aspect of economics as others, so I can't give a strong rundown of the details.

[Poopadoop]

The simple removal of tariffs benefits Mexico more than US for a variety of reasons

It benefits both. Even if it benefits Mexico more than the US, it still benefits the US overall. Applying tariffs may hurt Mexico but it will also hurt Americans. And if Mexico applies tariffs in retaliation it will hurt both countries more. And since tariffs are the crucial issue in any free trade agreement, it's hard to see how renegotiating NAFTA is going to benefit the US in any significant way.

Here's what I think will happen: Trump will make a big song and dance about renegotiating NAFTA, because he either doesn't understand how foreign trade works and thinks he can screw other countries like he screwed over building contractors, or because he's dug himself a hole by talking about it so much that he can't back down now. Him, Trudeau, and Nieto will meet, there'll be some minor, insignificant adjustments here and there, and Trump will claim a 'huge, tremendous victory' for the US and that this will pay for the Wall (assuming it goes ahead) 'several times over'. The media will crunch the numbers and say 'wtf', and Trump will reply with some hateful tweets about 'fake news'. The joint ministers of propaganda Kellyanne Conway and Sean Spicer will come out with some alternative facts about how it's a great deal and the Trump supporters will lap it up. Everyone else will be unimpressed.

[wufwugy]

It benefits both.

Not necessarily. The idea has been orthodox for a while. Economists have begun questioning it recently because the results are not what they're supposed to be.

[BananaStand]

doesn't understand how foreign trade works

Holy christ.....

Why do you think Trump is rich? Did he get all that money by not understanding business? Whenever someone invokes the "trump is dumb" or "trump doesn't understand", or "trump doesn't get it", I can't help but just roll my eyes and assume I'm talking to someone oblivious to reality.

If you're so smart, where are your billions?

In regards to Twitter, how much time do people think he actually spends tweeting on an average day? One tweet can take up an entire day's news cycle it seems, when it reality, it probably ate up about 2.8 seconds of Trump's day. They make it sound like he's pounding on a keyboard all night throwing a cyber-tantrum.

The fact is, he wouldn't use Twitter so much if the media gave him any shred of a chance. If they respected the rule of law, and the results of the election at all, Trump wouldn't have to do this so much. Instead, there is an overt movement by left wing politicians and the left win media to completely de-legitimize Trump. Every news and political organization out there is dedicated to non-stop attacks.

Trump NEEDS a rapid-deployment defense mechanism, and Twitter provides that.

GW let the media and the left wing press run absolutely wild. That surely hurt his legacy.

[Savy]

Holy christ.....

Why do you think Trump is rich? Did he get all that money by not understanding business? Whenever someone invokes the "trump is dumb" or "trump doesn't understand", or "trump doesn't get it", I can't help but just roll my eyes and assume I'm talking to someone oblivious to reality.

Survivor bias.

[Poopadoop]

Holy christ.....

Why do you think Trump is rich? Did he get all that money by not understanding business? Whenever someone invokes the "trump is dumb" or "trump doesn't understand", or "trump doesn't get it", I can't help but just roll my eyes and assume I'm talking to someone oblivious to reality.

I guess you missed the part I said about foreign trade being a different type of business than building hotels. Foreign trade is not about self-promotion and stiffing contractors and fake universities. These aren't gullible fools you're dealing with, and they're not going to be bullied into doing things against their country's interests.

If you're so smart, where are your billions?

Lol ad hominen.

In regards to Twitter, how much time do people think he actually spends tweeting on an average day? One tweet can take up an entire day's news cycle it seems, when it reality, it probably ate up about 2.8 seconds of Trump's day. They make it sound like he's pounding on a keyboard all night throwing a cyber-tantrum.

It's more than the time it takes him to type the words with his tiny fingers. It's the fact that he's sitting around watching everything that's being said about him. He's watching all the news shows, all the SNL skits. Get a fucking perspective on what matters and stop crying over getting a rough ride in the media. Every president gets criticized by the media.

And he doesn't just tweet to cry over shit. The other day Fox News said the feds should go in and clean up Chicago. Half an hour later he tweets about sending in the feds. Is that really the kind of guy you want running things?

The fact is, he wouldn't use Twitter so much if the media gave him any shred of a chance. If they respected the rule of law, and the results of the election at all, Trump wouldn't have to do this so much. Instead, there is an overt movement by left wing politicians and the left win media to completely de-legitimize Trump. Every news and political organization out there is dedicated to non-stop attacks.

You mean like how he tried to de-legitimize Obama with all that birther shit? Awww, I feel so bad for him.

The reason the media is hard on Trump is T R U M P. There's no-one else to blame; it's really that simple. If he started acting like a decent, grown-up person he would stop getting all the bad press.

[bigred]

Holy christ.....

Why do you think Trump is rich? Did he get all that money by not understanding business? Whenever someone invokes the "trump is dumb" or "trump doesn't understand", or "trump doesn't get it", I can't help but just roll my eyes and assume I'm talking to someone oblivious to reality.

If you're so smart, where are your billions?

He inherited a small fortune from his father and his father's already developed real estate and business network. The guy was given a platform to pay other people to succeed for him and he still went bankrupt multiple times.

http://fortune.com/2015/08/20/donald-trump-index-funds/