Is Trump finally going down or do we have to suffer much longer?

#140

Can you give a specific example of what you have a problem with in what Steven Miller (or I or Trump) have done or said? And then articulate why this is an issue for you. As in, how did your life or other American lives changed for the worse under President Trump.

#138

www.newsweek.com/trump-job-approval-higher-obamas-poll-1461783

Here is one of several examples where Trump is higher in approval than Obama.

So it’s not a lie :)

@Bishop1964 : I stopped reading after the thing about AOC. That's nightmare fuel right there.
@fiercefighter : Even though I disagree with almost everything @Kusokosla has said in this thread, that is no reason to make derogatory remarks about him or anyone else, for that matter. I may disapprove of what he says, but I will defend his right to say it.

#144

I appreciate that. However, what specifically am I wrong about?

@Kusokosla : In general, I think its safe to assume that we disagree about the effectiveness of Trump's economic policy. This actually makes a lot of sense: as a business owner, Trump's policies are beneficial to you-- firms are helped by tariffs, while consumers are made worse off*; as an Economist, I am incredibly pro-trade, as it creates economic gains (if you believe in the free-market approach of Smith and Ricardo). Also, due to my Economist-ness, any policy that moves away from perfect equilibrium drives me bonkers.

*This is not to make a claim that you are evilly profiting off of the misfortune of others like a movie villain. The benefits of this type of policy are much more concentrated than the costs (i.e. businesses are much better off, while the consumers are slightly worse off).

#146

Ok, but do we have proof that people who buy stuff or services are worse off today? Like, did life get worse under Trump for non-business owners? Do we have proof of that happening? Is it hitting people in the pocket where they notice it? We all are consumers as well, are we not? And I certainly don’t see any problems, but in the past I did lose money every year, for example due to Obama’s penalty on Obamacare, basically Obama stole money from me every year. Those are specific numbers, I actually saw money disappear from my bank account as I had to pay the stupid penalty. But do we have such specific examples with Trump, as in: Person A lost X amount of money this year due to Trump’s this or that policy?

#147: I'm using established economic theory. Think of it this way:
As a producer, you are able to raise prices for your good by 1 cent as a result of lower competition due to the tariffs. You are able to do this as there are fewer alternatives for a potential consumer. This makes you better off, as those individual cents add up for your business.
As a consumer, if I was going to buy the product at the price that is one cent cheaper, I now have two options:
a) drop out of the market (unlikely, but this leads to deadweight loss)
b) Pay an additional cent for the product.
Since I wanted to buy the product at the cheaper price, that means that I valued the good more than the money I would have spent. Both a and b are worse for me than if the price had remained stable.
@Kusokosla
EDIT: Obamacare is also an example of government regulation.

Don't argue about economics, its honestly going to get you nowhere... some policies benefit a certain sect of people and don't benefit the others. However, wasting money is a problem, and the Trump wall is an example of that. I feel like exchanging AMERICAN aid for information on an AMERICAN political opponent is like chasing our own tail and is honestly downright treacherous. This is our aid being expended for a purely political reason.

@shrapnal : arguing about economics is literally what I do, and economics is my primary issue with Trump's political career.

@shrapnal The aid to Ukraine was passed by Congress. It wasn't an idea hatched up by Trump to get favorable information. If you don't like American $$ going to Ukraine to buy weapons for its conflict with Russia puppet "separatists", then you have a beef with your Congressman and Senator.