No apologies today for letting another voice do the speaking - in this case the distinguished American economist
Paul Craig Roberts, writing for Zero Hedge:-
I have reported for years that US jobs are no longer middle class jobs. The jobs have been declining for years in terms of value-added and pay. With this decline, aggregate demand declines. We
have proof of this in the fact that for years US corporations have been
using their profits not for investment in new plant and equipment, but
to buy back their own shares. Any economist worthy of the name should
instantly recognize that when corporations repurchase their shares
rather than invest, they see no demand for increased output. Therefore,
they loot their corporations for bonuses, decapitalizing the companies
in the process. There is perfect knowledge that this is what is going on, and it is totally inconsistent with a growing economy.
As is the labor force participation rate. Normally, economic growth
results in a rising labor force participation rate as people enter the
work force to take advantage of the jobs. But throughout the alleged
economic boom, the participation rate has been falling, because there
are no jobs to be had.
In the 21st century the US has been decapitalized and living standards have declined. For a while the process was kept going by the expansion of debt, but
consumer income has not kept pace and consumer debt expansion has
reached its limits.
The Fed/Treasury “plunge protection team” can keep the stock market up by purchasing S&P futures. The Fed can pump out more money to drive up financial asset prices. But the money doesn’t drive up production, because the jobs and the economic activity that jobs represent have been sent abroad. What globalism did was to transfer the US economy to China.
Roberts' conclusion is not positive. "The conclusion is that the United States is locked on a path that leads directly to the Third World of 60 years ago. President Trump is helpless to do anything about it."
14 comments:
By putting high tariffs on Chinese imports to the US PDJT is making it less profitable for US multinationals to operate from China. China has put tariffs on its imports from the US but they import less than they export with the US so they lose.
Used to read PCR regularly but think he's become a bit negative since 2016.
If this DM "source is correct.......
"
Boris Johnson's secret plan to hold an election on October 17, win it - and then go back to the EU to demand new Brexit concessions before UK leaves on October 31"
I think it's a lousy idea. Considering what's in play there's no way there won't be massive electoral fraud planned. It will be a forced re-run of traitor Mays planned disastrous election. If it happens we will be cheated and staying in.
Same here in the UK, of course.
Strange lot... lefties?
Their "isms" never worked at national level, so the obvious thing (sarc) to do is to try to introduce it at a global level... as opposed to going back to the drawing board.
Calling lefties everywhere!
You can't change human nature.
I watched the decline of the British motorcycle and car industries. Very poor management, clapped out equipment, awful, unreliable products. Hillman Imp, Allegro, Marina just some. BSA Beagle, Ariel 3 trike.
Same with the Yanks. Ours helped kill their worst bike offerings, but pathetic management heralded the decline of their car industry.
Now Britain makes more motorbikes than seen post 1970, with John Bloor doing it right with Triumph as well as a resurgent Norton. Both privately owned. As is JCB.
Harley too has far better management and they all chase the same narrow seam of wealthy people who are prepared to pay for quality (and reflect in name brand).
I'm watching as the huge name brands in air conditioning, Sharp, Panasonic, Mitsubishi that despite building them in Thailand, are losing business to Haier, Gree and Midas.
No matter what you do, no matter how good the management, nor the willingness of the staff, at £8.21 an hour low end products cannot be made for the mass market in Britain or the USA, nor most of the EU. I'm thinking t shirts, trainers, undies and such. That's politicians and Unions.
The effect is as you highlight, we have to export jobs. Add to that the policy of low deposit interest rates (meaning less to spend by people to support banks that should have collapsed years ago).
In many respects Trump has always been aware of this trend and is trying to do something about it. He uses tarrifs, though I would prefer to see less political interference, fewer needless rules, a far lower minimum wage (no hikes just because of age) and better management training.
Yes, President Trump is indeed helpless. However, wiser mind, not constrained by his misconceptions, are likely not.
More importantly, the whole premise of the article is that world economic changes are a zero sum.
This is a serious error. Read Adam Smith's The Wealth Of Nations.
Those with an interest in perpetuating this misunderstanding have a motive.
I'g guess that it is to maintain the global dominance of a particular nation, at whatever cost to its people or to those of other lands.
Capitalism is a harsh mistress... socialism is a lethal mistress.
Make for minimum cost, sell for maximum profit, eventually leads to a static economic global arrangements; but they will still be vulnerable to disruption by new products. Unless the global population sinks as some expect which will remove the engine of growth.
That's a lot of platitudes but there is no certainty that what worked economically previously will work in the future.
Just the other day, Carney (he of banking alarmism 101), posited the collapse of the Dollar as the global reserve currency with the potential of the Remnimbi (Chinese) replacing it (backed by gold). He then went on to say that "only a global digital currency would offer an alternative"......
For Carney to say this openly is astounding enough but it places the conspiracist theorists firmly in the limelight who have previously said this was their intention all along as a means to keep the corruption of banking first and foremost as the controllers of economic processes but ultimately heralding a Global Government.
If the globe is to avoid conflict on a WW3 scale then something needs to change and change fast. The idea of a currency backed by gold would be the best way forward (imho) but places incredible stresses on those countries that have adopted deliberate(?) policies of manipulating its price and allowing foreign interests (China and Russia in particular) to corner the PM markets with physical stocks. I'd still like to see an audit of both the Federal Reserve and the BoE stocks of physical gold.....
If America can't win the trade war with China then it becomes a real war and there are far too many economic flash points and too many 'good' reasons to start one. This all lies at the feet of the banksters. Those corrupt and controlling fuckers have, once again, brought the world to its knees with their greed and manipulation and the next 'reset' is already starting.
RAC Esq @ 7:42 :
If I may repeat a recent post :
I am expecting BJ to call an election before 31/10 in order to be able to campaign successfully for all the Brexit supporting votes “to prevent Labour or Lib Dems winning seats” to then have the necessary majority to push through a version of the WA treaty, just as Mrs. May hoped to do by calling the 2017 GE.
I am worried that the backstop will be renamed to fool the public into thinking we have left the EU and can terminate the transition period unilaterally.
Leavers will hope that TBP will be able to take enough leave supporting seats off Labour and Lib Dems to stop BJ’s plan, if this is what he intends to do.
Given that leave won 64:36 by constituency it should be feasible to generate a leave supporting Parliament. It would also be the correct democratic outcome of another GE before Brexit is implemented.
Note that a Brexit supporting Parliament is going to be just as needed after Brexit as before to control the following important negotiations with the EU.
JB - Macron's faux objection to dropping the Backstop is the 'giveaway' to the fact that the EU will drop it (or re-word it) such that BJ can present the 'new' deal to an already Remain Parliament and have it passed REGARDLESS of any GE pre- or post- the outcome.
Stitch-up MkXXV headed our way....
The next step will be to start a media onslaught against TBP by 'discovering' some racist/facist/sexual/financial scandals by an ever-increasing number of BP candidates and even to bring out the 'big one' against Farage himself....
....let us not forget he was 'got at' during his last effort to become an MP and whatever they held (or created) to make him drop his pursuit of that aim at that time is STILL lurking in the background ready to destroy TBP when it is needed.
Mark these words - Farage will be exposed for some alleged reprehensible offence in order to bring down TBP support in the event of a GE.
Made-up or not, it will be enough to change the face of politics to maintain the Globalist push and with my comment re reserve currency/gold etc (above) this is all part of the plan.
Of interest:
The Push to Kill Cash – Australia’s Proposed Ban Shows It’s Not Conspiracy Theory
https://www.activistpost.com/2019/08/the-push-to-kill-cash-australias-proposed-ban-shows-its-not-conspiracy-theory.html
Also by Paul Craig Roberts:
Is The New York Times Preparing Us for a Camp of the Saints Experience?
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/08/22/is-the-ny-times-preparing-us-for-a-camp-of-the-saints-experience/
Steve
No bare link posts please folks - we want your opinions, not someone else's.
@ John Brown 7:42
You seem to trust Boris about as much as I do which isn't very much at all. Whilst I agree that a pact with TBP would appear to be an answer, no concrete proposals of such have appeared. Also Dave_G's comment at 10:24 must be taken into account, dirty tricks against TBP will definitely be on the menu.
An election where Boris wins allows him to juggle the wording and sell us out.
An election where Boris loses allows him to skate away saying "I WOULD have done Do or die"
An election where TBP is in with significant leverage would be ideal, but while others may trust the system I don't, we've sunk too much into third world standards.
Holding the fort and running out the clock seems best.
There is another way.
Big government needs to be slashed at the knees.
Most regulation and all red tape the green taxes need to be put on a bonfire, as do local business rates. Encourage actual laissez fair, to let rip with free market competition (that's never been tried in the UK). Thus, to bring low the sclerosis of statism big corporations creaming what profits there are and pouring them into slush funds or buying back their own shares, consequenlty strangling the life out of the REAL economy. An end to any thought of dictating incomes policy, ie the minimum wage - which is pure Ted heath/jim callaghan.
UK companies can compete, HMG-EU prevents them.
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