...it’s hard not to notice a class divide here. As with so many of America’s conflicts, the divide is between the people in the political/managerial class on the one hand and the people in the working class on the other. And as usual, the smugness and authoritarianism are pretty much all on one side.If they keep staying home, they'll have no homes to stay in. That's not a trivial problem, nor one that can be wished away.
There are even more dire consequences when we consider the world as a whole. How much sympathy is there for Africa and Asia among our political and managerial class, who talk about 'people of color' almost as much as they talk about 'working Americans'?
Saw one of those FB memes that claimed people were upset because they didn't know the difference between civil rights and being inconvenienced. The person that posted it really should have known better as they've been affected economically. However, since they aren't solely responsible for the survival of their family, I'm sure they view what's happening as not much more than inconvenience.
ReplyDeleteI fully accept that right now this is just an inconvenience for me and mine. We are, through God's grace and some diligence on our part, still whole both in body and spirit. I try to remember that there are many who aren't in that position both due to the disease and to the economic dislocation that's happening. We need to do what we can to mitigate both.
If all those gov. workers at home with pay are so "non-essential", maybe we don't need them at all.
ReplyDeleteI was lying bed last night, thinking about this- I basically adopted my parents depression era thinking- pay cash, stay out of debt and if it is necessary, pay it off ASAP. Having lost a lot in the 2000 tech crash, I have largely stayed out of the market, viewing it as a huge speculators game. Essentially, I worked to put some money away, hoping those years of labor would allow some relaxation in my old age.
Meanwhile, cash has been constantly and relentlessly eroded due to inflation. Now the injection of 3,4,5,6 or however many trillion more in a matter of a few weeks threatens to have the inflation go parabolic. And safe and sane raven, patiently paying his taxes for 50 odd years, is going to get hammered again, just to provide for those who's profligate spending and wastrel behavior caused this.
They are pushing the social contract over a cliff. There are some rules in this game- we pay taxes, we obey the laws, they provide a stable and safe framework to pursue life, liberty and happiness. When the gov becomes a collection of thieving brigands,and totalitarian meddlers, the rules go away completely- they don't just apply to one side anymore.
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/04/why-trump-will-win.php
ReplyDeleteThe "let them eat ice cream" ad in a recent post was an effective attack on Pelosi, of course, but it was also heart-wrenching to actually see the people in this country who are suffering so much as a result of the lockdown. I knew about what was happening but it's incredibly painful to really see it. As for the rest of the world, I read a piece a couple of weeks ago that pointed out that the fashion industry is moribund which means the many Bangladeshi women who sew for them have no way to feed their families.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't understand (one of the many things I don't understand about all of this) is: Why isn't the whole world much, much angrier with China? The suffering is incredible, both from the disease and from the measures taken to try to contain it. The anger toward China seems disproportionately muted.
I try to remember that there are many who aren't in that position both due to the disease and to the economic dislocation that's happening.
ReplyDeleteThey could have been in that position. My hope and concern, though, is not about their past mistakes, but whether they learn from this object lesson. Many will--but many will not, having become addicted to the Progressive-Democrats' street corner welfare drug pushing.
If all those gov. workers at home with pay are so "non-essential", maybe we don't need them at all.
They absolutely are not needed. During the Schumer Shutdown, the EPA ruled 90% of its workforce non-essential. That was an outlier, but a vast number of other Executive Branch agencies and departments each ruled over half their workforce non-essential.
Obviously, non-essential for the short-term is different from non-essential for the long-term, but there's a whole lot of overlap between the categories. I'd as soon see the Federal civilian workforce cut by 50%, and then start decimating from there. And some whole agencies and departments disbanded and their workforces returned to the private labor force, where I'm sure all their vast experience will get them jobs mo debny.
Eric Hines
Elise, I'm among the ones with only muted anger toward China, at least as far as their actions have affected us. I'm plenty angry over how they've treated the people within their own borders. Yes, they clearly lied, but it's not so clear to me that this pandemic wouldn't have spread if they'd told the truth. We'd have had more warning, yes. Nor am I really angry about how the outbreak started.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying they're going to win my trust. They've blown that. They won't or can't act competently.
Why isn't the whole world much, much angrier with China? ... The anger toward China seems disproportionately muted.
ReplyDeleteThe conflict is between the PRC and the US--the RoC also is being ignored by "the whole world." The lack of anger may be starting to correct in Europe, but most of the world doesn't give a rat's patootie about the conflict or about the US. We're too rich for anyone to worry about; they just want us to keep on giving them our money and our blood.
Eric Hines
Nor am I really angry about how the outbreak started.
ReplyDeleteIt's looking more and more like the Wuhan Virus began in a lab in Wuhan and escaped via world-class sloppily incompetent safeguard protocols. That and the inevitable sequelae are enough to become angry with the PRC government. That overt carelessness demonstrates an utter contempt for their own citizens, together with their coverup of their...error...demonstrates a similar contempt for those apart from the Center of Heaven and is a separate thing that's enough for very large anger with the PRC government.
Beyond that, it's part and parcel of the Cold War that the PRC has been waging against us and against the West in general since before 1971 when they got the rest of us to eject the RoC from the UN Security Council and then from the UN. It's an unplanned blow and campaign, but one which the PRC government is enthusiastically taking advantage of and prosecuting.
Eric Hines
Southwest Airlines' astrological and finance charts look pretty good for the end of 2020 and 2021.
ReplyDeleteIf they can harness their institutional network and organization with the "new technologies"... they'll be bigger than Tesla and Amazon and Microsoft combined, but that's purely speculation at this point. I do know though that... somebody is going to get the application of the HUAC patents, the cold fusion patent, and the superconductor sapphire nitrogen cooled quantum locking levitation applications.
Some company, will do it. Maybe a newcomer, but the big corps will soon follow due to their market share. If the Cabal wins, their plan was to create an Armageddon timeline where most people go bankrupt via debt, and are forced to go with an oath to (chipping) or starve.
New Deal, Slavery 4.0 (humanity is under Slavery 3.0)
ReplyDeleteLook at the timeline of the New Deal. Truly look at it, not just read what the main sewer historians have narrated.
Raven, stocks are fine, but you have to manage it yourself. It is a lot of speculation, but it's just like poker. Sometimes you win them all. Sometimes you need to know when to fold.
Cash is still good, because there is a plan world wide to convert the fiat currencies of central banking Federal reserve slavery, to a gold or silver backed currency note. This will exchange at a certain ratio for your green backs.
ReplyDeleteSo cash is still good. At least it is safer in the longer term than having loans from banks or mortgages or whatever savings accounts or IRAs people think they have.
The Rockefellers and others setup a private banking system. If you understand how interest works, you really don't want to pay any interest from loans, ever. While being paid interest or royalties, is solid.
ReplyDeleteWhole life insurance (not temporary or 20 year) is 4% interest per year. With the ability to transfer money without the estate death tax. And the executive authority to determine who manages the funds. It's almost like a Foundation. The concept is that you take your value over your life time, 250,000 or 500,000 or higher USD wise. Then you take out a loan from that value, while paying the interest to yourself.
Central banking takes other people's money, pays them like .1%, and charges you 5-15% or higher interest per year for "borrowing" the bank's money, which is mostly other people's money. Creating a private bank is all about getting somebody to legally guarantee your life's work in USD. Thus it doesn't matter if you "default" on the loan or never pay it back, because the insurance company is guaranteed the total value of your insurance payout when you die. This is a very strange concept, but it is one that GESARA and future financial rebalances, will need to utilize more of. Creating the specifics to the contract to get it, is a lot more complicated than the stock market. But people who have huge assets and don't want the crazyness of the stocks, often prefer a more stable guaranteed by law payout. And bankruptcy or government cannot take your life's payout.
There are reports that China:
ReplyDelete- knew about person to person transmission by the end of December;
- bought up medical equipment overseas once they knew they had a problem but before they informed the rest of the world how serious it was;
- accepted donated medical equipment from at least one foreign country;
- shut down travel out of Wuhan but did not shut down Chinese New Year travel;
- continue to lie about what the virus has done and is doing in China;
- sold defective medical equipment and tests to other nations.
If any or all of these are accurate, China has behaved very badly. If China had behaved responsibly, the virus would almost certainly still have spread but the world would have known sooner what to expect from it; would not have been inundated with people carrying the virus from China; and would have had a less severe shortage of (functional) medical supplies and equipment.
It is, of course, all of a piece with China's behavior toward its own citizens and I am not proud of the fact that I was willing to shrug off Mainland China's murder of millions of its own people, murder of unwanted babies (especially) girls, and putting Muslims into concentration camps, while becoming angry only when China tried to kill me.
Elise,
ReplyDeleteYou found at least one person with anger, no, hatred, for the Chi-com's. Completely lacking in nuance too.
They also arrested and disappeared doctors trying to warn us.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm short of nuance myself in this regard. And, yes, what they did to their own doctors is horrendous but, again, of a piece with what they've done in the past. I forgot the rule: when someone (or some country) shows up who they are, believe them.
ReplyDeleteIf people think stuff out of Maoism is going to make people angry or feel hate... haha, I have to say something. You will perhaps not be able to withstand Full Disclosure when President DJTrum goes public with the Cabal stuff.
ReplyDeleteHere's a hint. Maoist China, CDC, Gates, Clinton, WHO, are all Deep State.
Did people really think the Deep State was just a little American weak organization that Trum could just "fire" when he feels like it? Oh, no no, America. It's a lot more powerful. A lot more powerful than people can even imagine.
They also arrested and disappeared doctors trying to warn us.
ReplyDeleteI want to revisit this - my prior response was about what I was focusing on. This is an excellent point. The other things I listed were either sins of omission of sins of somewhat passive commission. This was actively engaging in making things worse for the rest of the world.
Here’s another active attempt to harm us:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/us/politics/coronavirus-china-disinformation.html
Selective quotes from the NYT article that Grim cites:
ReplyDeleteChinese Agents Spread Messages That Sowed Virus Panic in U.S., Officials Say
American officials were alarmed by fake text messages and social media posts that said President Trump was locking down the country. Experts see a convergence with Russian tactics.....
Given the toxic information environment, foreign policy analysts are worried that the Trump administration may politicize intelligence work or make selective leaks to promote an anti-China narrative.
Golly gee whiz, how could awareness of Chinese fake messages result in making "an anti-Chinese narrative" believable?
Assuming the translation is correct, why on God's green earth is anyone still buying anything from Mainland China, especially anything that has to work correctly to manage the Wuhan coronavirus?
ReplyDeleteIsrael suspends all COVID testing due to shipment of defective cotton swabs from China.
https://twitter.com/neontaster/status/1252972686130675712
Elise..."Assuming the translation is correct, why on God's green earth is anyone still buying anything from Mainland China, especially anything that has to work correctly to manage the Wuhan coronavirus?"
ReplyDeleteFor any complex manufactured item, you're likely to find some components that come from China, and some of these will probably not have easily-available replacements. And even if your product is not China-dependent for any top-level components, if you go lower in the Bill of Materials...what are those components *themselves* made out of?...you're likely to find some China dependencies. Go all the way down to raw materials dug out of the ground, and you're likely to find Rare Earth materials that come from China.
We have allowed a very big problem to develop, and it's going to be difficult to unwind it, even partially.
We have allowed a very big problem to develop, and it's going to be difficult to unwind it, even partially.
ReplyDeleteWhich puts a premium on getting started. In particular and for instance, we have a significant fraction of the world's rare earths (though a smaller fraction than is within PRC borders) inside the US.
Separately, but closely related, the increased cost of end products that likely will result from fully removing the PRC from the supply chain of our national security items--at least to the extent of maintaining an active dirt-to-end-product production line for each item, even if we still do business with the PRC for the bulk of these items--is simply part of the cost of maintaining our national security, a cost that's not less important than the cost of maintaining a dominant military establishment.
Eric Hines
During the Iraq war, a Swiss company refused to supply parts (which it was contracted to supply) for the JDAM missile, because either the company or its government disapproved of the war.
ReplyDeleteEven for non-PRC countries, we need to be careful to avoid vulnerability to this kind of thing...I would think in terms of a VERY large liquidated-damages amount in event of willful refusal to supply product, to be included in all relevant contracts.
It's pretty easy to say now that we never should have gotten into this economic arrangement with China with the market relationship that we developed, but remember- after the fall of the Soviet Union, there was some hope that perhaps a foot in the door, and connection with the world might lead to an awakening, or some other positive development.
ReplyDeleteI'm the grandson of a man who was away from home quite often when my mother was growing up, because he was working with one of the warlords against the Imperial Japanese, and then the Communists. I asked my mother what my grandparents would think of the then unfolding situation with a more open market to China, and she said they'd see it as worth a try- the alternatives being what they were, and quite dire. It was easy to feel that way, then. I don't think anyone really gamed it out decades into the future and foresaw this.
Just something to keep in mind and keep perspective as we look for a better way to move forward with regards to China.
What douglas said. It was worth the try. It also was part of the inkblot strategy of expanding the concepts of democracy and free markets around the world.
ReplyDeleteHowever, now we know better vis-a-vis the People's Republic of China. The CPC is far too entrenched, and we have to treat the PRC as the enemy that government insists on being.
Eric Hines
Understood but the strategy never made sense to me because I couldn't figure out a good reason why we opened up to China but not to Cuba.
ReplyDeleteAssuming the translation is correct, why on God's green earth is anyone still buying anything from Mainland China...
ReplyDeleteI have some non-functioning e-readers that could become usable with the purchase of some parts- a battery and a screen. As far as I can tell, the parts I am looking for come only from China.
Better to buy a part from China instead of the entire e-reader.
Similarly, my PC is getting up in years. I have already replaced the hard drive and the fan. Odds are a replacement PC is manufactured in China- as was my PC. Better to purchase a part to keep it going instead of an entire PC from China.
When the trade deal when China was done in 2000, most people were thinking of all the stuff we could SELL to China rather than how much they were going to be selling to us. The quick rise of China to manufacturing superpower status was not generally expected...it was due, I'd say, primarily to the energies of the Chinese people liberated (partially) through a pseudo-capitalist economic policy, and secondarily to technology enablers of trade (container shipping, relatively cheap air freight, Internet).
ReplyDeleteBut it should have been obvious by 2008-2010 what was going on. Too many people convinced themselves that manufacturing was an industry that we would be better off without.
Gringo, if there are things we can only buy from China then so be it. I'd hate to think, though, that China is the only country in the world making cotton swabs.
ReplyDeleteI just read this and I think it may be appropriate here, not in response to Gringo but generally in reference to our dependence on China and to the foolishness of not making stuff here:
https://americanmind.org/essays/end-the-globalization-gravy-train/
I couldn't figure out a good reason why we opened up to China but not to Cuba.
ReplyDeleteCuba was, and is, openly hostile to us and to our interests in this hemisphere. Cuba was, and in too many respects, a satrap of Russia and not an independent actor. Besides, we tried opening to Cuba--between the tossing of Batista and Castro's open avowal of Communism and again under Obama. Both efforts were miserable failures. And, once Castro made himself clear, there never was any effort by the Cuban government to change--or even to pretend to change--its ways. With the PRC, there had been some well-measurable progress toward a more open and free economic environment.
Odds are a replacement PC is manufactured in China- as was my PC.
Depends on the part. I once ordered a laptop from a major American assembler of laptops. It was shipped directly to me from the company's factory in Shanghai, which I naively thought was pretty cool. The laptop arrived with malware already installed. That malware could only have been resident on the laptop's hard drive or in one or another of the computing or memory chips. (Since I found the malware with a sweep by my anti-malware software, it was most likely on my hard drive.)
If the only way I can have an e-reader--or anything else--is to buy from the PRC, I'll do without. And I'll push companies to adjust their supply chains--even if the the end product costs me more. Security isn't free.
Eric Hines
Taiwan is the real China. Maoist China is a darker Service to Self, cabal area that is under occupation.
ReplyDeleteAlso Hong Kong has caught a break due to this. If they can survive until 2021, as I wrote, reinforcements will arrive.
I am starting to ask specifically about country of origin before purchase.
ReplyDeleteRare earths are an issue.U.S. dependence on China's rare earth: Trade war vulnerability
ReplyDeleteRare earth elements are used in a wide range of consumer products, from iPhones to electric car motors, as well as military jet engines, satellites and lasers....
China supplied 80% of the rare earths imported by the United States from 2014 to 2017.
The rare earths industry can weather any Chinese trade battle
The U.S. Needs China For Rare Earth Minerals? Not For Long, Thanks To This Mountain
If you're on Twitter, @man_integrated is good on supply chain and logistics issues.
ReplyDeleteI am starting to ask specifically about country of origin before purchase.
ReplyDeleteMe, too (or perhaps I, also). Picked a new vacuum based partly on CofO. Bought bar soap (England) rather than pump soap (China) ditto. Wrote Hanes asking where their T-shirts are made and got back a really nice answer. Etc.
And, Gringo, I didn't mean to sound flip about buying stuff bought in China. My concern/upset was that even after multiple reports of China shipping defective Wuhan virus management equipment (e.g., tests and masks) to different countries, Israel was still buying such supplies from China. I'm not quite at the point of suggesting China is doing this deliberately but they are clearly being criminally careless in this regard so no country should be trusting any part of its virus response to Mainland Chinese products.
And, along those lines, it turns out California Governor Newom's big mask deal is with a Chinese (or Chinese owned) company and the details are a little murky. These seem to be some questions about the company's - ahem - quality:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Gavin-Newsom-s-administration-not-releasing-1-15208694.php
I would laugh if the possible implications weren't so frightening.
buying stuff bought in China
ReplyDeleteSigh ... buying stuff made in China