What can Trump do to unite the country vs. divide?

When Obama took office the deficit was 10% of the GDP. Now it's about 3% of the GDP. I know that doesn't erase debt, but a large part of the debt is interest on the deficits run by GW Bush, Bush Sr., and Ronald Reagan. Reducing the deficit vs. the GDP is a step in the right direction. It isn't erasing the debt, but it's a step in the right direction. Let's see if we can keep that going.

 

You leave out the fact that the reason the deficit decreased was that Obama lost congress, up until that point the deficit was completely out of control and that's how he managed to literally double the national debt in such a short time, so the Republicans lowering the annual deficit isn't something he can take credit for. Really all they did was get things back to how they were before Democrats took control of congress during Bush's last term.

That said, I would agree, ever since Republicans took over the congress things have started to head in the right direction....but it is still spending way too much. Hopefully that trend continues.

 

It's scary isn't. While all the Trump MAGA idiots are blaming the outside for the reduction in high quality manfucaturing jobs and any high level STEM jobs are being handed to too many H1B visa immigrsnts yet when I attend all my MechE courses half the students are here from a student visa. My campus is divided into the engineering and sciences sector and the lib arts, social sciences sector. It's known that the lib arts/social science part of the campus is mostly white American born while pretty much half of the STEM side of campus is a random assortment of South Asians, East Asians, Nigerians, European immigrants etc.

Let's place some blame in the American people for not prioritizing their STEM education. Too many white American kids who lived in their middle class suburban neighborhood are in college to just because it's a social norms for a middle-class suburban kid to go to college. So obviously if you are going to college just because it's the social norm for you you aren't going to try to pick the most challenging of majors.

 

Knowledge of untruths isn't very good knowledge, although spewing of unfounded untruths is not out of the ordinary for you lately.

Quadruple PSST: Debt is indeed a big deal. I could go into the intricacies and flaws of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) which many claim puts forward this concept of debt not being a big deal, but it doesn't actually do so, and if it did, it's theories wouldn't apply to our situation. Because we are required, BY LAW, to issue debt to fund any deficit in the budget, something that MMT doesn't factor into its equations (well, it does, actually, but those who make the claim you are around MMT neglect that little fact).

MMT aside, debt is, in fact, backed by something. Not something tangible, like the gold it is used to be, but something much more fragile. It is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America. So, why it is a big deal, then, is that we are required, by law again, to borrow money to fund the payments of the interest on that debt, since we are always in a deficit scenario. Once you start borrowing money just to make your debt interest payments, you are in a financial death spiral, with ever increasing deficits, leading to every increasing debt, leading to ever increasing interest payments due, leading to every increasing borrowing....and so on. Eventually, this Ponzi scheme will fail. At that point, the United States will be forced to do one of two things. Just print the money to pay the debt, or renege on the debt. There is pretty much universal agreement that either of those situations is an economic catastrophe. So, unless total economic catastrophe is your idea of 'not a big deal', then you are simply wrong. But, one can't make those two equate, leaving you as simply wrong.

You do have a point in it possibly preventing wars, but you would also need to consider, given the above eventualities, it might also cause them. You think China would be amused to find out the trillions in debt it hold might be made totally worthless? Wars have started over far smaller things than that. It could be used as a negotiating tool, but then that whole 'full faith and credit of the United States' thing kinda goes out the window, meaning we'd be hurting ourselves as much as we would China, or quite likely even more.

You are also welcome for the knowledge, kid. If you want to read up on MMT and have an actual discourse, glad to do so...there is tons of material out there for you to read. There was also a lengthy discussion on it here, titled 'What is so bad about the deficit?, in which, almost a year of discussion still led to the answer I provided. If you would like to continue furthering your education on this matter, be happy to oblige.

 

Small crowd
Small hands
Small support
Small mind
Small margin for error

This is what happens when you are:

Not a legitimate President

 

You should explain it to your President- I'm sure he'd be very interested in all that you have to say on this.

 

DD....I actually agree with you on this. Government, to me, should be very pragmatic, and there are lots of valid reasons government should want to provide this. An educated workforce is a productive workforce, and guess what productive workforces do? Pay more taxes and reduce the expenditures on social services. Win-win. Which is why other countries, like Germany as you mentioned, do this. If government focused more on economic growth, and less on social programs that hinder growth, we'd all be better off---including those on said social programs.

 

Just out of curiousity, how would this trait be any different than Hillary or Obama? Hillary only apologizes when it is clear she has to, and then only admits any wrongdoing for the same reason. During his campaigns, what exactly did Obama admit to being wrong about? I can't think of anything...please elaborate if he did. If not, then there isn't any difference, even if one were to take your statement at face value.

 

What happens when more people get college educations? Its a worthy goal that sounds like a fantastic thing...the problem is this pesky thing called economics comes into effect.

More people in college = more college graduates. This leads to a larger labor pool for segments of the economy that don't need a larger labor pool. So, companies offer less money because...they can do it. Wages are depressed OR people remain unemployed...(but Educated!!!).

This is what happens when good intentions meets the real world. Interfering in the natural balance of the economy rarely works. Why not instead fuel the economy so that there will be more jobs to be filled...thereby creating the need FIRST. THEN, when the jobs stay open long enough, the market starts to fund education to fill those jobs?

 

Happy to explain it to anyone who will listen. I doubt DaDakota will fall into that category, but who knows, maybe he will surprise.

There is also now a thread on this very topic.

 

This is also true. It's not as cut and dried as DaDakota suggests.

 

How is Iceland's credit these days?

DD

 

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The krona was the global currency standard when, exactly? Oh, ya, that was never, like most things you post. The better example is Germany and the hyper inflation of the Weimar Republic, although there as well the Duetsche Mark was hardly the global currency standard.

Spoiler: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_the_Weimar_Republic#/media/File:Germany_Hyperinflation.svg

How bad was the hyperinflation?

You are aware that there are many who predict economic disaster if the U.S. merely loses its position of being the global currency? Much less if it does so through massive devaluation of its currency?

 

you are wasting your time on that one. it's like arguing with a barrel of oil.

 

You will see that the debt will go from 20 trill to 40 trill and the Republicans won't utter a single word about the deficit at all. That is, until the next dem takes office to clean up their mess

 

You are right on this one. Guys like Bobby are continually fooled into stupid Iraq Wars and thinking the US economy is just like his household budget. More college would be good for him and also a lot of the stem graduates who should come out knowing more than how to work at their first job.

 

Not trying to deflate that argument, even though I think a more educated populace could be a good thing, minus the crushing debt someone takes on to get an Art History degree, etc. But...

There are plenty of sectors who do not have enough qualified American applicants -- the skills are missing, as people are just not getting the degrees in enough numbers. Ask Silicon Valley firms if there are enough American CS majors and they uniformly scream "no!" (in my experience, and I help train students for them to hire and I'm always pushing my students to take more CS courses, etc.)

But like fchowd said above, you have to point the finger inward at some point, and there is no one scapegoat. Why can't our kids, or why don't our kids, want to compete head to head in our higher ed classrooms with students from Asia who are more prepared mathematically and more ready to work hard instead of snapchatting and drinking beer all night?

One thing that really bothers me about Trump is he only points fingers abroad and at his specific opponents, and "the elites", which seems to mean something different for him than Bernie. He has routinely told mom and pop 'Merica that they are perfect and just need to wait for him to hand them their well-deserved excellent job (which will probably never happen, especially if they have no skills for this century). Sad!

 

Not to defend Trump, but has any politician ever won an election by telling voters they are the problem?

 

I am just glad to see someone who believes that if the economy grows, eventually it trickles down to everyone. I sure haven't heard that theory in a long while. Maybe someday it will be true...

 

You can subtly tell them that by stating we need to provide them more educational opportunities which Democrats try to say with subtility to not hurt their fragile feelings.