I actually agree about China. If Trump's trade war were only directed at
China, I'd feel less strongly about it. And when I disagree with the concept of trade wars being easy to win, it's not that I think China has the advantage. In fact we might, just in a tit for tat with them (not a slam dunk), but really, everybody loses. Whether the near term losses justify the longer term gains - I'd feel better about that if it were just China we were battling.
That's the nature of trade - each side enters into it voluntarily because they both benefit. Win-win. Germany isn't making Russia stronger. It's making itself stronger with a cheap supply of relatively clean energy as it transitions off coal. And Russia is also making itself stronger.
Trump is full of shit on the NATO imbalance thing. The man is only expanding our military budget, a tiny amount of which is going to NATO. And the European members on whole are in compliance with the spirit and parameters of the 2014 agreement. This is Trump bullshit populism in service of his disdain for international institutions.
Not directing this at you personally, but if Bern populism had prevailed in 2016 and he was embarking on populist trade wars and twisting reality to make us out to be victims of our NATO allies (to weaken NATO in the face of an ascendant Russia, no matter who they trade with), pretty much every Trumpie would be screaming traitor at the Bern.
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In response to this post by Hoodafan)
Posted: 07/11/2018 at 2:09PM