It’s America Again

Written By: advantage - Date published: 7:46 am, October 8th, 2018 - 113 comments
Categories: Bernie Sanders, capitalism, class war, Donald Trump, Economy, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, us politics - Tags:

It would fit the karma of a leftie universe if the United States was now suffering from its political choices. But it’s the reverse: the United States economy is roaring and President Trump is starting to be rewarded for delivering what he promised.

The United States economy is booming, despite having the worst-performing President in living memory. How is this possible?

His polls for overall popularity continue to be incredibly bad.

Other than on Fox News and Breitbart, the big news outlets hate or mock him.

His Republican Party is on track in November to lose its majority in Congress.

But they are now on track to retain their Senate in reasonable comfort. This is in some part due to the energised uptick in the polls from the Supreme Court confirmation hearings and now confirmation. While unpopular in many states, in the battleground states such as Indiana, West Virginia and North Dakota, Kavanagh is seen as a win and his confirmation will be seen as political delivery.

Both directly and indirectly Donald Trump is delivering in powerfully resonant ways. He’s tilted the Supreme Court conservative for a good decade to come. He’s delivered more expenditure for the military (of course there are far, far better ways to spend that $200 billion – but we’re not in power).

He’s delivered absolutely massive tax cuts for some of his citizens and altered the tax code more than anyone has seen in a long time.

And most importantly he’s delivered both short and long term for the United States economy. Just last week he tilted NAFTA more the way he wants it with Mexico and Canada, and he’s also moving to protect United States workers from Chinese imports (and yes, we’re heading in 2019 for a full and all-out trade war between the U.S. and China).

So much for the long term. In the short term he is also making huge policy delivery. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week described the U.S. economy as “extraordinary”, and the stats are in to prove it. The benchmark 10 year Treasury bond yield clicked higher to 3.18%. The U.S. Labor [sic] Department payrolls report shows that U.S. businesses added 181,000 workers in September and brought overall unemployment to 3.7%.

U.S. service industries surveyed by the Institute for Supply Management showed them rising to a near-record level in September.

The United States economy has now been growing consecutively for 113 months.

That’s a lot of strong data.

Also, strong anecdotes like Amazon increasing its minimum wage to $15 also signals more disposable income to 200,000 employees about to be injected into the U.S. economy in the short and long term (while it would have been great for Sanders to get more credit than he did for it, a win’s a win for workers).

So far, Trump has had little reward. Perhaps his appalling political style has truly snapped the economy-politics-media cycle of virtuous reward. Perhaps.

But you can see from this FiveThirtyEight graph how the Kavanagh debate in late September has tilted the likelihood of the Republicans firmly reasserting themselves in the Senate in the mid-terms.

Democrats – particularly left-leaning ones – are winning in places, despite Trump delivering like the proverbial postman. And yet with his personal approval rating so low, Trump can’t fall that much further, so the outcome of further indictments from the Mueller investigations would have to be earth-shattering to do his Presidency any further harm. He will never be impeached with a good Senate majority.

President Trump’s policy delivery, economy boom, and brand power reinforce the slogan that got him there: Make America Great Again. This greatly narrows the channels to victory for a 2020 Democrat Presidential contender or Democrat Senate majority.

There is no political karma, ever. There is no inevitability to the rise of the left once again. Nor is there any inevitability to the decline of the United States. Trump’s MAGA brand is so powerful it is reasserting information hegemony over much of the world. The United States was recently described by a strategist I know that it remains America First: where the U.S. leads all other business and central bank cycles, leads most global technology, entertainment and sport and news cycles, and also continues to kindle every geopolitical fire. I sure didn’t have to like it, but it was a hard sentiment to argue with.

We – the global left – can do nothing but what we have always done and fight.

113 comments on “It’s America Again ”

Comments are now closed

Dennis Frank 1

8 October 2018 at 8:45 am

Resurgent nationalism works when the economy booms, eh? But if I was Trump I’d campaign next time to make America great again by changing the name of the USA to Great America. It worked for Great Britain!

Oh you could say that was because Britain was an empire at the time. But it had no emperor, and America isn’t a country (yet) while having more than a century of successful imperialism as a track record. Hard to see the US as great while still in debt to China perhaps, but now that the world’s running on funny money (quantitative easing) who knows how much of that debt is real or imaginary?

Trump the narcissist could fancy himself as emperor, so campaigning next time to remove the two-term limit and get himself in long-term just like China’s leader did a few months back may not be too much of a stretch… 🙄 Nah, just kidding..
- Gosman 1.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 8:58 am
  
  Great Britain is a geographic term. It involves mainland Britain and the associated islands. That is why the official title of the UK is The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
  - Dennis Frank 1.1.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 9:20 am
    
    Originally it was a nationalist label, to signify the union with Scotland (Wales having been conquered by the English centuries earlier), at a time when the empire was in the early emergence stage..
    - Gosman 1.1.1.1
      
      8 October 2018 at 9:35 am
      
      It wasn’t originally a nationalist label at all. It simply denotes the are taken up by England, Wales, and Scotland. This corresponds to the mainland plus some associated islands. It is no different to the distinction between the greater and lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.
      - Dennis Frank 1.1.1.1.1
        
        8 October 2018 at 9:43 am
        
        Are you trying to suggest the territorial expansion of the English into empire was not driven by nationalism?? Good luck with that..
        
        Gosman 1.1.1.1.1.1
        
        8 October 2018 at 9:58 am
        
        Yes as evidenced by the large numbers of Scots and Irish who emmigrated to English colonies and the fact that the English allowed subject people to keep key elements of their culture (e.g. French Canadians and the Afrikanersin South Africa).
        
        Dennis Frank …
        
        8 October 2018 at 10:11 am
        
        Wikipedia describes early British nationalism: ” The early emergence of a popular patriotic nationalism took place in the mid-18th century, and was actively promoted by the British government and by the writers and intellectuals of the time.[21] National symbols, anthems, myths, flags and narratives were assiduously constructed by nationalists and widely adopted. The Union Jack was adopted in 1801 as the national one.[22] Thomas Arne composed the patriotic song “Rule, Britannia!” in 1740,[23] and the cartoonist John Arbuthnot invented the character of John Bull as the personification of the English national spirit in 1712.[24]”
        
        Gosman …
        
        8 October 2018 at 10:24 am
        
        There was less bullish promotion of British nationalism in the UK up till the late 19th century for the very good reason that the nation itself was made up of multiple distinct nationalities many of whom had cause for grievance against the British crown. The British Empire was mainly a commercial concern until that time as well. This is why India was run by a private company rather than by the Crown until after 1857.
        
        KJT …
        
        8 October 2018 at 12:42 pm
        
        Just been reading about Raffles, the boxer wars, the East India company, VOC and Rhodes. Britain, and Holland, were commercial enterprises, just like the USA.
        
        As one retired US General said, “I spent my life toppling democratic Governments, and killing people, for United fruit and Texaco
        
        Dukeofurl …
        
        8 October 2018 at 4:44 pm
        
        takeover by British crown started long before 1858.
        http://factsanddetails.com/india/History/sub7_1d/entry-4122.html
        
        “The British Parliament enacted a series of laws, among which the Regulating Act of 1773 stood first, to curb the company traders’ unrestrained commercial activities and to bring about some order in territories under company control. Limiting the company charter to periods of twenty years, subject to review upon renewal, the 1773 act gave the British government supervisory rights over the Bengal, Bombay, and Madras presidencies. Bengal was given preeminence over the rest because of its enormous commercial vitality and because it was the seat of British power in India (at Calcutta), whose governor was elevated to the new position of governor-general.
        
        Marcus Morris …
        
        9 October 2018 at 8:11 am
        
        I like your use of the word “allowed” as if it was some magnanimous gesture. Have just been watching a documentary on the Boer war. The “understanding” arrived at between the Boers and the British establishment held nothing for the indigenous people ( groups of whom had fought for both sides). It is also significant that the French Canadians and the Boers were not of the “first nation”. I am not sure that the various people of the Indian sub-continent would agree with that sentiment either. However this is a long way from the original thread. My apologies.
  - Dukeofurl 1.1.2
    
    8 October 2018 at 4:51 pm
    
    You are all forgetting about the the other ‘Britain’ or as the french call it :Bretagne
    
    Thats why the Kingdom of Britain was called GREAT Britain to distinguish it from the other Britain/Brittany or Little Britain.
    
    So in French , at the time the language of diplomacy , you had Bretagne ( french) and Grande Bretagne (English)
Gosman 2

8 October 2018 at 8:54 am

When you state “fight” what exactly do you mean? Being obstructionist such as in the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings doesn’t work. The more intelligent approach would be to focus efforts in areas that are not likely to alienate key sections of the electorate.
- simbit 2.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 9:04 am
  
  As in prepare for US civil war. It is already happening in the US colonies. Low level domestic war has been played out for several generations (against Indigenous and African Americans). Wouldn’t expect it to ramp up on the mainland for 5-7 years…
  - Gosman 2.1.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 9:11 am
    
    US colonies?
- halfcrown 2.2
  
  8 October 2018 at 9:21 am
  
  Agree with that 100%
Tiger Mountain 3

8 October 2018 at 9:37 am

“we may not be able to defeat the bastards yet, but we don’t have to join them”…
–sometimes attributed to Hunter S Thompson talking with Bob Dylan

Trillion dollar tax cuts for the filthy rich and corporates, and corresponding social spending cuts or caps, massive Military spend, cheap wages for many, pulling tips to get by, several millions imprisoned, several millions homeless and poverty stricken, degraded public infrastructure including education, 94 million do not vote, millions disenfranchised/alienated by restrictive voter registration, and racist state and county level gerrymandering–really how fucking well are our American friends doing again?
- ropata 3.1
  
  9 October 2018 at 8:10 am
  
  GDP is up, the stock market is up, all the stats show improvements.
  
  The banksters and corporations are happy, poor people are just fodder for America Inc.
- shadrach 3.2
  
  9 October 2018 at 10:34 am
  
  “Trillion dollar tax cuts for the filthy rich and corporates…”
  
  Or not. In fact according to the TPC, under Trumps tax changes the wealthy pay a considerably higher proportion of the total tax take.
  
  https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/382244-tax-reform-makes-the-rich-pay-more-so-why-is-the-left-against-it
  https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-20-of-americans-will-pay-87-of-income-tax-1523007001
  
  “An analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center (TPC) estimates that under the Republican bill, high-income Americans will pay an even larger percentage of the country’s overall income taxes in 2018 than they did before, while people in lower brackets will pay a smaller amount. Specifically, the TPC estimates that the 20 percent of Americans that earn $150,000 or more will account for 52 percent of the country’s income, unchanged from last year, but will pay about 87 percent of total income taxes, up from 84 percent in 2017. Isn’t that a “fair share”? The bottom 60 percent of Americans, with earnings below roughly $86,000, will account for 27 percent of the country’s income but will not pay any income tax at all. In 2017, that lower tier contributed 2 percent of income taxes. The country’s biggest earners, those who make over $730,000 and are in the top 1 percent, will pay 43 percent of all income taxes; under the prior tax regime, those folks contributed only 38 percent of income taxes.”
  - Obtrectator 3.2.1
    
    9 October 2018 at 9:41 pm
    
    ” …. according to the TPC, under Trumps tax changes the wealthy pay a considerably higher proportion of the total tax take.”
    
    Possibly because wages outside the 1% are now so low, many of them don’t meet the threshold for tax liability.
    - shadrach 3.2.1.1
      
      10 October 2018 at 11:09 am
      
      Quite possibly. The US tax system is very friendly to lower income earners, with the effective individual income tax rate not being positive until earnings are approaching $65,000. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States#Marginal_tax_rates_for_2018.
      
      Interestingly, there seems to be some progress in wage growth among the lower paid under Trump (“The strongest wage growth came among workers in the bottom tenth of the distribution…” https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-01/america-s-wage-growth-remains-slow-and-uneven), and in black employment rates (https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-05-04/black-unemployment-is-at-an-all-time-low-but-there-s-a-catch).
Observer Tokoroa 4

8 October 2018 at 9:49 am

Hi Advantage

You are like a little boy with a bag of lollies. they will make you sick little fellow.

You are already making us sick.
cleangreen 5

8 October 2018 at 10:21 am

yes Advantage;

But one thing Trump policy is aligned to our “left wing NZ doctrine” is his disdain for being controlled by the “elitist cabal” with their – “one world government”.

We hate this here too; – as evidenced by our hate of TPPA,!!!!!!

This is just another step towards “the one world government” final solution the elite are planing behind the scenes with these regional ‘free trade agreements’.

Another issue is that George Soros ‘the self confessed Nazi and criminally convicted criminal’ is using his millions to change the outcome of the mid elections coming next month.

I am confused that Soros is allowed to use his ill gotten money to change electoral outcomes.

http://conservativefighters.com/news/exposed-george-soros-secret-criminal-list-just-leaked-look-found/
- Gosman 5.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 10:26 am
  
  Why shouldn’t he use money to support political causes he agrees with?
  - cleangreen 5.1.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 10:56 am
    
    Gosman,
    
    No! Soros should undergo another deep investigation and be indited for his illegal actions to get that money.
    
    Soros should not be trusted to spend ‘his’ money (how ever crooked it was gotten) to rig elections as he now owns the largest voting tabulation company covering US elections now called Scytl.
    
    This is a bad look as he can easily rig the upcoming US election with his crooked money and voting tabulation company now.
    
    This Spanish vote-tabulation firm with ties to billionaire globalist George Soros is purchasing software to give it greater power over the voting in U.S. elections.
    
    Scytl’s end-to-end election modernization solution covers the full election cycle (Pre-election, Election Day and Post-election),
    
    https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/16724-soros-connected-vote-counting-firm-expands-in-u-s
    
    https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/05/george-soros-dumps-big-money-in-u-s-district-attorney-races/
  - Dennis Frank 5.1.2
    
    8 October 2018 at 11:08 am
    
    Heh. Rigging the US elections is no longer a Republican monopoly. The Russians are competing, and now Soros is going for it too. The Chinese govt must be pissed off that they haven’t yet achieved leverage.
    
    “Much of the conspiracy theorizing about Soros, a Holocaust survivor, is rooted in anti-Semitism. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen wrote on Friday that Trump’s anti-Soros conspiracy theories are based on an ignorance of the anti-Semitic undertones of the attacks. Cohen wrote: “the president is clearly no anti-Semite. Two of his lawyers over the years — Roy Cohn and Michael Cohen — were Jewish, as have been many of his other associates. His daughter converted to Judaism and his grandchildren have been raised in that faith. So what you have is not anti-Semitism by intent, but it is anti-Semitism nonetheless.”
    
    What fun! Pro-jewish antisemitism, a hybrid meme bound to infect the UK Labour Party if it hasn’t already. You can do it unconsciously or subconsciously, accidentally or inadvertently. You’ll be found guilty by the pc police regardless of what you do. Thanks to Joe90 for this link yesterday: https://www.mediaite.com/trump/rudy-giuliani-touts-call-to-freeze-assets-of-anti-christ-george-soros/
    - Morrissey 5.1.2.1
      
      8 October 2018 at 11:18 am
      
      Anyone who dares to criticize the Holy State of Israel is, ipso facto, anti-semitic, in the same way that anyone who dared to criticize the Holy State of Soviet Russia was, ipso facto, a fascist and a running dog of imperialism.
      
      http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/10/03/dame-hodge-start-packing-your-bag/
  - KJT 5.1.3
    
    8 October 2018 at 12:46 pm
    
    It’s called “bribes” when you get to buy the political outcomes you want, except in New Zealand, where it is called “Directorships” .
    - cleangreen 5.1.3.1
      
      8 October 2018 at 1:01 pm
      
      100% KJT Likely a term John Key setup during his rort?
- JohnSelway 5.2
  
  8 October 2018 at 4:05 pm
  
  Soros was a Nazi?
  
  You know that is absolutle fucking bullshit right?
- Marcus Morris 5.3
  
  9 October 2018 at 8:47 am
  
  Suggest you do a bit more research on George Soros. Anyway he began his financial career working for London Merchant bankers – why does that ring a bell?
Morrissey 6

8 October 2018 at 10:38 am

We – the global left – can do nothing but what we have always done and fight.

Good! It might be a good idea for the Democrats to start opposing Trump’s and his cronies’ real outrages and crimes, rather than spending all their time on the fantasy of “Russian meddling.”
- Gosman 6.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 10:43 am
  
  And what would these “real outrages and crimes” be then?
  - Morrissey 6.1.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 11:05 am
    
    You really are dim.
    - Gosman 6.1.1.1
      
      8 October 2018 at 11:17 am
      
      Quite possibly accurate but that doesn’t mean my question has been answered.
      - Morrissey 6.1.1.1.1
        
        8 October 2018 at 11:19 am
        
        Idiot. Go and bother someone else with your foolishness.
        
        Dukeofurl 6.1.1.1.1.1
        
        8 October 2018 at 1:05 pm
        
        Morrisey You have correctly identified the Gish gallop as used by Gosman, we have even renamed it on the Standard in his dishonour – Gosman gallop
        
        ‘The Gish Gallop (also known as proof by verbosity[1]) is the fallacious debate tactic of drowning your opponent in a flood of individually-weak arguments in order to prevent rebuttal of the whole argument collection without great effort. The Gish Gallop is a belt-fed version of the on the spot fallacy…- rationalwiki
        
        A conveyor belt of short questions that of course when rebutted are not discussed but followed by more short questions.
        
        Andre 6.1.1.1.1.2
        
        8 October 2018 at 2:56 pm
        
        I, too, had a brief flash of curiosity about which offerings from the cornucopia of crap you thought were the “real outrages and crimes”. Then I realised your answer would probably cause me to wonder if your success rate at getting your pants on with the fly in front and the outside on the outside ever went over 25%, and the moment passed.
        
        Morrissey …
        
        8 October 2018 at 4:26 pm
        
        Are you trying to be funny, you old conspiracy theorist, you?
        
        Bad idea.
      - Lebleaux 6.1.1.1.2
        
        8 October 2018 at 1:25 pm
        
        Actually, I too would like the question answered. What are these ‘real’ crimes of which you speak.
        
        Gosman 6.1.1.1.2.1
        
        8 October 2018 at 2:11 pm
        
        Apparently that is a “Gish gallop” so you won’t be getting an answer to a rather straight forward question.
        
        Morrissey 6.1.1.1.2.2
        
        8 October 2018 at 2:44 pm
        
        Idiot! Have you been asleep for the last 18 months?
        
        Lebleaux …
        
        8 October 2018 at 3:10 pm
        
        Actually no, I have been wide awake and very aware of the world around me. My question to you was brought about by a genuine wish to understand the point of view of others. In Trump land I see a lot of innuendo and a lot of accusation but I don’t see a lot of ‘real’ crime. I thought you might be able to help my knowledge.
        
        Now, in this exchange you have called one person dim, then you called him an idiot, then you called me an idiot and asked if I am an itinerant slumberer. I assume the next step will involve Godwin’s Law and I therefore assume you have no examples of ‘real’ crime and therefore are incapable of answering the question. I will seek fact based argument in other places.
        
        In Vino …
        
        8 October 2018 at 5:32 pm
        
        Lebleaux, your language patterns remind me of someone – or maybe several former RWNJs who now visit this site less often.. Just saying.
        
        Lebleaux …
        
        8 October 2018 at 8:32 pm
        
        You have lost me … what is an RWNJ. I am fairly new at all of this.
        
        Lebleaux …
        
        8 October 2018 at 8:54 pm
        
        Oh, ok, got it … googled it. No … I dont think I am a RWNJ, I think I am a pretty typical New Zealander, a little left of centre in my outlook but a believer in individual accountability and responsibility … probably very similar to you.
        
        In the case of Trump I find myself betwixt and between. I am bombarded with stuff that tells me he is a drop kick, but when you look under the covers for facts to support that, there appears to little other than accusation and innuendo, as I said. Personally, I dont think much of the way he behaves, but North America is booming. Like many, I expect, I am struggling to equate the two. Way back up in this thread there was reference to Trump and his cronies ‘real outrages and crimes’ – I simply asked what they were. For my trouble I have now been called an idiot and a Nut Job, I assure you I am neither.
- cleangreen 6.2
  
  8 October 2018 at 11:06 am
  
  OK Morrissey,
  
  Why not impeach Soros for buying an election here then?
  
  https://conservativedailypost.com/soros-controlled-companies-are-providing-voting-machines-in-these-16-states/
  - Morrissey 6.2.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 11:12 am
    
    Fair point. If those Democratic Party dimwits had any integrity—and they do not—they would be jumping up and down about Soros, and they’d certainly be demanding inquiries into Hillary Clinton’s loud and enthusiastic meddling in Russian elections since the 1990s.
    - Dukeofurl 6.2.1.1
      
      8 October 2018 at 1:20 pm
      
      Soros impeached ? He isnt a elected or appointed federal official.
      
      Secondly hes a US citizen so can be involved as much as he likes in US elections. Each county or city chooses its own methods so a few countys doesnt make it control.
      An extreme example, Texas has 254 counties, each doing its own thing on elections. But Georgia has 159.
      NZ had over 60 at the time they were abolished.- But of course NZ counties only ran their own elections not nationwide ones
    - Marcus Morris 6.2.1.2
      
      9 October 2018 at 8:51 am
      
      Suggest you do a bit more research on George Soros. Anyway he began his financial career working for London Merchant bankers – why does that ring a bell?
      - Morrissey 6.2.1.2.1
        
        9 October 2018 at 9:09 am
        
        I like Soros, and support his work. I don’t trust the dimwitted “leaders” of the Democratic Party, however.
  - joe90 6.2.2
    
    8 October 2018 at 12:52 pm
    
    Pants on fire, fool.
    
    https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/george-soros-controls-smartmatic-voting-machines-in-16-states/
    - cleangreen 6.2.2.1
      
      8 October 2018 at 1:21 pm
      
      joe90.
      
      Besides George Soros being an attendant at the ‘infamous dark operative organisation called (“The bilderberg Group”) he is a bad dude seriously, as he has been trying to bankrupt central banks around the world for some time as John Key did with our NZ treasury back in 1987 along with the high flying NY corporate raider Andy Krieger.
      
      http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/250525/Who-is-John-Key
      
      Quote;
      “He formed what was to be a lucrative relationship with 32-year-old currency trader Andy Krieger, based at Bankers Trust in New York, who began putting hundreds of millions of dollars of business through Key’s dealing room.
      
      Krieger was the man who a few months earlier had entered forex legend with a massive speculative raid on the kiwi. As Krieger later explained in his book The Money Bazaar, he believed the kiwi was overvalued, and began betting on a fall, selling the New Zealand dollar heavily. Once the currency had found what he believed to be a floor, he bought again at a much lower price, making a profit on the transaction.”
      
      End quote.
      
      John Key also attended the 2011 bilderberg meeting as Soros did as well.
      
      Result = Key and Soros are both crooks.
      
      http://listverse.com/2017/06/03/top-10-bilderberg-members-of-2017/
      - joe90 6.2.2.1.1
        
        8 October 2018 at 1:29 pm
        
        You persist in parroting the right’s lies. Fuck you.
        
        Gosman 6.2.2.1.1.1
        
        8 October 2018 at 2:16 pm
        
        Why do you think these lies are from the right? The currency trading allegations about Key seem to be far more left wing in nature. They are still nonsense though.
        
        Dukeofurl …
        
        8 October 2018 at 4:29 pm
        
        Nonsense?
        Then why did national try to describe KEY as an ‘investment banker -LOL when his career was all currency trading all the time.
        
        reminds me of the other lies about Bill English – a southland farmer when of course his occupation was Treasury Civil servant. This a persistant lie all through English’s political career
        
        Growing up on a farm and leaving after high school doesnt make you a farmer, as under that process Helen Clark was a dairy farmer !
        
        Morrissey …
        
        8 October 2018 at 4:32 pm
        
        Bill English? That fraudster.
        
        http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2910957/Bill-English-buckles-over-housing-allowance
        
        Gosman …
        
        9 October 2018 at 9:45 am
        
        Being a currency trader IS part of investment banking and a vital part of it too. International trading relies heavily on the ability to access forex markets.
        
        What is nonsense is the idea that Key was somehow involved in a scheme to ‘game’ the Kiwi dollar market.
        
        cleangreen 6.2.2.1.1.2
        
        8 October 2018 at 4:27 pm
        
        http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/proof-george-soros-nazi-past-finally-comes-light-discovery-forgotten-interview/
        
        Dukeofurl …
        
        8 October 2018 at 4:37 pm
        
        More lies cg. He was 14 in a jewish ghetto who either die on the spot or you do the nazis bidding.
        
        You are heading for a big fall if you keep this up you troll.
        
        cleangreen …
        
        8 October 2018 at 4:47 pm
        
        Dukeofurl
        
        You are already a troll aren’t you?
        
        I will never agree with your excuse when my own German born relatives during 1933 and 1944 were systematically murdered in Germany.
        
        During the war our own family peoples name was erased from German records and history!!!!!
        
        So don’t lecture me on George Soros and call me a troll.
        
        Obviously you are his friend it seems, so you should be ashamed of your self saying he wanted to save himself and let his family perish.
      - Dennis Frank 6.2.2.1.2
        
        8 October 2018 at 1:45 pm
        
        Cool, the 2017 Bilderberg top ten, thanks for that link. Good to see kiwi Chris Liddell coming in at #2, continuing the trend of kiwis punching above their weight in the global ring!
        
        And still at #1, “somehow he has not died despite being at least 400 years old, Henry Kissinger is the big fish of the Bilderberg Group. Despite the focus on the machinations of George Soros, who is not listed to attend this year, Kissinger has been the world’s leading political operator for over five decades… As Christopher Hitchens wrote, “He is that rare and foul beast, a man whose record shows sympathy for communism and fascism. It comes from a natural hatred of the democratic process, which he has done so much to subvert and undermine at home and abroad, and an instinctive affection for totalitarians of all stripes.” Of course, the fact that Kissinger is heading up an annual meeting of the richest, most influential, secretive, and powerful people in the world should be of concern to absolutely nobody. Go about your business, citizen.”
        
        Well of course citizens ought to go about their business without being concerned about who controls the global system. They don’t actually need to be told that – they do so quite naturally anyway. Global control systems are nobody’s business except those involved in them. Duh!!
- halfcrown 6.3
  
  8 October 2018 at 11:13 am
  
  I also agree with that Morrissey.
Siobhan 7

8 October 2018 at 10:59 am

“I sure didn’t have to like it, but it was a hard sentiment to argue with.”

But why would you fight something sooo good? And why would you fight something you find “hard to argue with”? That’s just bizarre.

Why are you supposedly representing the Left in a fight against an opponent you admire?

I know iprent rails against anyone who calls the Standard a Left wing blog, so I ain’t going there, but surely to God there is meant to be a ‘vibe’ of calling to account and presenting well thought out arguments against the powers that be, especially those on the ‘Right’ of politics.
Which surely means not simply accepting world news, political shenanigans, Government statistics, and business announcements with a total lack of critical independent thought.

And they wonder why people comment so much less…
- Morrissey 7.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 11:10 am
  
  You think this little effort by “Advantage” is substandard, Siobhan? As bad as it is, he’s done far worse. …..
  
  https://thestandard.org.nz/trump-meets-putin/
- Carolyn_Nth 7.2
  
  8 October 2018 at 11:23 am
  
  Does LPrent not like TS being called a “left wing” blog? I thought the objection was to calling it a Labour Party blog.
  
  In the About section it states that:
  
  all of us share a commitment to the values and principles that underpin the broad labour movement and we hope that perspective will come through strongly as you read the blog.
  
  So that makes a shared value the interests of the working class – and isn’t that left wing?
  
  It certainly would mean taking account of the things Tiger Mountain mentions above. e.g.
  
  Trillion dollar tax cuts for the filthy rich and corporates, and corresponding social spending cuts or caps, … cheap wages for many, pulling tips to get by, several millions imprisoned, several millions homeless and poverty stricken, degraded public infrastructure including education, 94 million do not vote, millions disenfranchised/alienated by restrictive voter registration,
  - Grant 7.2.1
    
    9 October 2018 at 1:17 am
    
    “Does LPrent not like TS being called a “left wing” blog? I thought the objection was to calling it a Labour Party blog.”
    
    https://thestandard.org.nz/im-a-muslim-an-immigrant-and-i-voted-trump/#comment-1261512
- Dennis Frank 7.3
  
  8 October 2018 at 11:47 am
  
  You seem to be misinterpreting him – just look at the context: [The US is] “reasserting information hegemony over much of the world. The United States was recently described by a strategist I know that it remains America First: where the U.S. leads all other business and central bank cycles, leads most global technology, entertainment and sport and news cycles, and also continues to kindle every geopolitical fire. I sure didn’t have to like it, but it was a hard sentiment to argue with.”
  
  You’re right to assert our need to critique this effect and its consequences. I’m just suggesting he wasn’t necessarily “admiring” that, as you put it. Seemed to me he was acknowledging the accuracy of that analysis by “the strategist”. Pragmatic acceptance of the situation. One could also add that it’s evidence of the resilience of the USA.
  
  On the other side of that coin, however, is all the evidence of an empire in decline that has been piling up in recent decades! So not an either/or scenario, a both/and…
  - Siobhan 7.3.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 11:56 am
    
    Ah yes, “Pragmatic acceptance’.
    “Pragmatism” is pretty much the death gurgle of Labour Parties, democratic Parties, and the mainstream Left as a concept.
    
    Seems the citizens aren’t feeling very pragmatic, and if the Left don’t offer a strongly and passionately argued counter argument to the current workings of the economy and distribution of wealth then we better get used to more ‘Trumps’ and a further rise in fascism.
    - Dennis Frank 7.3.1.1
      
      8 October 2018 at 12:22 pm
      
      Well I agree that we need a positive alternative from the political left, and that encouraging the development of one is a suitable enterprise for this site.
      
      Pragmatic acceptance need not be disempowering – it enables folk to ground themselves in the current political terrain. The thing about idealism is that it tends to induce a focus on goals sufficient to handicap one’s capacity to live satisfactorily. I’m speaking from experience, having been excessively idealistic during the first half of my life.
      
      Born into a generation that polarised against parents sufficiently to transform western civilisation in an entire spectrum of fundamental ways, I see clearly how our generational idealism fueled those transformations while also seeing plenty of activists burn out due to living solely for an imaginary future. It’s why Baba Ram Dass is famous for advising everyone to `Be Here Now’. The present, and how we use it, is vital for living a fulfilling life.
cleangreen 8

8 October 2018 at 11:04 am

Another George Soros invasion into our voting system in the US.

https://conservativedailypost.com/soros-controlled-companies-are-providing-voting-machines-in-these-16-states/

We need to apply the rules for everyone here not just the ‘russians’ or others so in part I agree..
- Dukeofurl 8.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 4:23 pm
  
  Smartmatic is a different company to the other so called voting machine company Soros ‘controlls’ according to cg.
  
  of course its all just fantasy for our resident troll cleangrean.
  - cleangreen 8.1.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 5:34 pm
    
    Dukeofurl
    
    You are not reading the facts are you? very sloppy you are there, – go back to 5-1-1
    
    Go to 5-1-1 then see the large company he now operates from Spain now.
    
    Not only smartmatic now as that was his entry point then..
    
    https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/16724-soros-connected-vote-counting-firm-expands-in-u-s
    
    Soros should undergo another deep investigation and be indited for his illegal actions to get that money.
    
    Soros should not be trusted to spend ‘his’ money (how ever crooked it was gotten) to rig elections as he now owns the largest voting tabulation company covering US elections now called Scytl.
    
    This is a bad look as he can easily rig the upcoming US election with his crooked money and voting tabulation company now.
    
    This Spanish vote-tabulation firm with ties to billionaire globalist George Soros is purchasing software to give it greater power over the voting in U.S. elections.
    
    Scytl’s end-to-end election modernization solution covers the full election cycle (Pre-election, Election Day and Post-election),
    
    https://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/item/16724-soros-connected-vote-counting-firm-expands-in-u-s
    
    https://legalinsurrection.com/2018/05/george-soros-dumps-big-money-in-u-s-district-attorney-races/
KJT 9

8 October 2018 at 12:34 pm

Protectionism works, eh!
Who would have thought it!
- Alan 9.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 2:44 pm
  
  maybe if you are a super power with a massive domestic market and virtual self sufficiency in energy. Not so much if you area small economy with limited energy sources.
  - Rae 9.1.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 3:57 pm
    
    Ah yes, but with current economics, growth is required, and that growth inevitably equates to more people. Could this be why it looks like women’s’ rights in the US could begin to be eroded, to get them back to breeding?
  - KJT 9.1.2
    
    9 October 2018 at 3:03 pm
    
    We are lucky enough to have an overabundance of energy sources, and total resources per capita.
    
    Most of our exports are food for other countries. Our imports, unnecessary trinkets from China, and overcharged financial services.
    
    We are not as dependent on trade as people assume. Roughly 20% of GDP. In fact our foreign earnings just about pay our interest/banking bills.
Aaron 10

8 October 2018 at 2:08 pm

Do you not remember what happened the last time the US economy was booming?

Or what inevitably follows a boom?
- Dukeofurl 10.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 4:20 pm
  
  Bust !
Rae 11

8 October 2018 at 2:56 pm

I think Trump is a symptom, not the disease (well, not this particular disease, anyway).

Much change is happening in the world, from what could be truly calamitous climate change to the shifting of the balance of power, to mass migration in the form of refugees fleeing for whatever reason, the country of their birth.

We know we need to lighten our footprint on this planet, it is a bit of a dilemma how we do it, while we are still striving for growth, growth and more growth, when in reality we need to be going in the other direction.

Good grief, I could have done what Trump has if I didn’t give a flying fuck about the rest of the world or the environment. The much harder road, but the right road, is the one where we make an effort to save this world. It will require some effort, and it won’t be entirely painless, but we have to do it.
- cleangreen 11.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 7:35 pm
  
  I’m with David Horowitz call to jail George Soros..
  
  http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/david-horowitz-hopes-trump-administration-will-jail-george-soros/
  
  Quote;
  
  Horowitz said that while that nefarious activity was “horrible enough,” the big picture is that Soros is “a Jew-hater, an Israel-hater and an America-hater” who ought to be in jail, something for which the only hope is a Donald Trump administration.
Timeforacupoftea 12

8 October 2018 at 8:06 pm

Interesting call from my friend a school teacher in the US last night, a real Democrat but a never in ten blue moons would she vote Hilary Clinton, anybody else barn Hilary or Donald.

People need to wake-up to the new democratic party – it is not your grandmother’s democratic party. This new party is totalitarian, oppressive and dictatorial – the new Nazis. Wake-up.
- joe90 12.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 8:13 pm
  
  Yeah, objecting to alleged rapists is the new totalitarianism.
  
  Idiot.
  - Timeforacupoftea 12.1.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 8:45 pm
    
    alleged = idiot joe wakeup
    
    So you are saying Christine Blasey Ford lied ?
    
    Or not ?
    
    Don’t care I suppose.
- WILD KATIPO 12.2
  
  8 October 2018 at 9:05 pm
  
  …[ People need to wake-up to the new democratic party – it is not your grandmother’s democratic party. This new party is totalitarian, oppressive and dictatorial – the new Nazis. Wake-up ]…
  
  100%
  
  Its a tribal thing these suffer from , so desperately wanting to be Left they refuse to admit whats straight in front of them. Has Trump started world war three? No. Has Trump caused Nth Korea to release the A bomb ? No. He made overtures of peace which was reciprocated more now then ever over more than 50 years. Has Trump signed off on drone strikes every Tuesday that mercilessly killed civilians like Obama did? No. Yet all these crumbs can do is snigger like schoolkids over a piece of shitpaper.
  - joe90 12.2.1
    
    8 October 2018 at 9:36 pm
    
    During tRump’s presidency Iran and Venezuela have suffered crippling sanctions, he’s played footsie with murderous thugs, US drone strikes in Yemen, Somalia, and Afghanistan have nearly tripled, Obama era engagement and accountability policies have been kicked to the curb, attacks become less restrained and the number of civilian casualties has risen.
    - WILD KATIPO 12.2.1.1
      
      9 October 2018 at 2:22 am
      
      Yeah and during Obama’s presidency he was happy to sign off every Tuesday on drone strikes that murdered civilians in Iraq . For five long years. That’s a lot of innocent people.
      
      Great role model , eh?
      
      You can have him.
      
      Ill pick Trump any-day.
    - Gosman 12.2.1.2
      
      9 October 2018 at 10:24 am
      
      There are no crippling sanctions on Venezuela. Stop making up lies.
      - joe90 12.2.1.2.1
        
        9 October 2018 at 11:03 am
        
        US sanctions have jiggered Venezuela’s largest export earner.
        
        US sanctions against Venezuela include restrictions on PDVSA’s ability tofinance new debt, worsening its production outlook, and the US has threatenedfurther penalties in the wake of Venezuela’s recent presidential election,which many international observers have labeled unfair.
        
        Quevedo said he was bringing a message to Vienna to condemn the unfair USsanctions.
        
        “It affects not just the Venezuelan oil sector but the consumersworldwide,” he said. “It’s an attack on the oil market. Oil is a instrumentfor development, not an instrument for a political attack.”
        
        Venezuela produced 1.36 million b/d in May, according to the latest S&PGlobal Platts OPEC survey, a 910,000 b/d decline in two years.
        
        https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/062118-us-sanctions-practically-immobilizing-pdvsa-venezuelan-oil-minister-quevedo
        
        Gosman 12.2.1.2.1.1
        
        9 October 2018 at 11:11 am
        
        Ummm… PDVSA still sells much of it’s oil to the US and owns an oil refinery there.
        
        https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-usa-crude/pdvsas-oil-sales-to-u-s-bounced-in-june-caribbean-stocks-drained-idUSKBN1JZ21A
        
        If the US really wanted to cripple the Venezuelan economy it would simply seize the assets of PDVSA in the US and stop buying oil.
        
        The real problem is that chronic underinvestment by the State has lead to PDVSA’s production to plummet. It has zero to do with so called sanctions.
        
        https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-pdvsa-citgo/citgo-seeks-crude-as-supplies-from-venezuela-dry-up-trade-data-idUSKBN1J722X
        
        joe90 …
        
        9 October 2018 at 11:28 am
        
        They’ve attended to their own domestic interests but jiggered production, making it difficult for Venezuela to fulfill their obligations.
        
        https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-pdvsa-exports/pdvsas-exports-sink-in-june-amid-seizures-shipping-backlog-data-idUSKBN1JG2NB
        
        edit: but US policy limiting PDVSA’s access to US finance has nothing to do with chronic under investment, eh.
        
        /
        
        Gosman …
        
        9 October 2018 at 11:36 am
        
        LOL!!!! Nothing is stopping Venezuela from accessing funding from other sources. In fact, until recently Venezuela had billions of dollars in reserves built up over the years in which the Oil price was high. Instead of reinvesting this money in the oil industry it was squandered on socialist pipe dreams and corruption.
        
        Gosman …
        
        9 October 2018 at 11:39 am
        
        Also if you properly read that article you linked to (which I am sure you didn’t) you will notice the asset in the Caribbean were seized because of the results of an arbitration that came out of the nationalisation of the assets in Venezuela. In short Venezuela nationalised the oil assets of another company and now has to pay for them. That is their own fault noone else.
  - marty mars 12.2.2
    
    8 October 2018 at 9:57 pm
    
    yeah your man t.rump is such a hero lol – do you model yourself on him or just have his picture above your sock drawer?
    - Macro 12.2.2.1
      
      8 October 2018 at 10:30 pm
      
      The US is now a very polarised country and the entrenchment of opinion and ideals has become even more so since the arrival of tRump. He is a very divisive person – and this latest shenanigans in the Senate has seen a huge divide between the Parties. Where before there would have been some consensus on the appointment of a Supreme Court Judge – now there is virtually none.
      Interesting Op Ed in the Washington Post today:
      
      “No majority leader wants written on his tombstone that he presided over the end of the Senate,” the minority leader said.
      
      He continued: “Breaking the rules to change the rules is un-American. I just hope the majority leader thinks about his legacy, the future of his party, and, most importantly, the future of our country before he acts.”
      
      Are these the words of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as the Republican majority changed Senate rules this week to do away with filibusters of Supreme Court nominations?
      
      Actually, they were uttered in 2013, by then-Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), when Democrats pushed through a similar filibuster change for lesser nominations.
      
      That McConnell did a 180 on the topic — going from the institutional defender of the filibuster to the man who destroyed it — is unsurprising. He has frequently shifted his views to suit the needs of the moment. But in this case McConnell was correct in 2013, and what he just did this week was even more ruinous than what he accused the Democrats of doing then.
      
      By rights, McConnell’s tombstone should say that he presided over the end of the Senate. And I’d add a second line: “He broke America.” No man has done more in recent years to undermine the functioning of U.S. government. His has been the epitome of unprincipled leadership, the triumph of tactics in service of short-term power.
      - marty mars 12.2.2.1.1
        
        8 October 2018 at 10:40 pm
        
        t.rump and his supporters sicken me. We have so many issues all around the place to even just survive as a species and that arsehole is there in the white house – Kali Yuga is well and truly here.
        
        (The “Kali” of Kali Yuga means “strife”, “discord”, “quarrel” or “contention”.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_Yuga
        
        WILD KATIPO 12.2.2.1.1.1
        
        9 October 2018 at 2:12 am
        
        Yeah and Kali Yuga was started off by those who wished to destroy commonsense and balance… ‘quarrel’ ‘contention’ , ‘discord’…
        
        Sound familiar , mate?
        
        You’ve just described yourself.
        
        marty mars …
        
        9 October 2018 at 9:47 am
        
        Lol – the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to 17/18 February 3102 BCE.[3]
        
        Since the two notation systems are numerically equivalent, “2018 CE” corresponds to “AD 2018” and “400 BCE” corresponds to “400 BC”
    - WILD KATIPO 12.2.2.2
      
      9 October 2018 at 2:28 am
      
      marty mars 12.2.2
      8 October 2018 at 9:57 pm
      
      … [ yeah your man t.rump is such a hero lol – do you model yourself on him or just have his picture above your sock drawer? ] …
      
      And do you have a picture of the chief executive of America who signed off on drone strikes to murder innocent civilians in Iraq every Tuesday for five years above your shit paper basket ?
      
      I’ll bet you do.
      
      And I bet you’ve even got his picture embossed on the paper you use.
      
      I cant see a better way than that to flush his memory down the shitter.
      
      The only reason you supported Obama was because he was black. And the man and his backers are laughing at stooges like you. So much for the globalists and so much for suckers like you , mate.
      - marty mars 12.2.2.2.1
        
        9 October 2018 at 7:33 am
        
        lol weak buddy – I’m not bothering with you anymore.
WILD KATIPO 13

8 October 2018 at 10:39 pm

Yeah you’re quoting all these ‘facts’…. as if they were facts.

The fact is you people are banal one eyed bigots. Admit it. Anyone but Trump in you’re eyes. No matter what is presented before you – it’ll always be viewed through you’re one eyed myopia. Trump could raise the dead and heal lepers but still that wouldn’t be good enough for you. You’d accuse him of not paying tax on death duties and not going through the correct medical channels. That’s the sort of people you are.

Worked you lot out several years ago. So who wants to comment when anything would be drowned out by a bunch of baying mutts such as yourselves. Not many. But you know what ?… Trumps in power, good things have happened for America and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.
- marty mars 13.1
  
  8 October 2018 at 10:45 pm
  
  photo above the sock drawer then eh champ – lol what a fuckwit.
  - WILD KATIPO 13.1.1
    
    9 October 2018 at 1:24 am
    
    Get angry… abuse all you want , eh buddy.
    
    ‘photo above the sock drawer’…
    
    Sad case mate, sad case.
- joe90 13.2
  
  8 October 2018 at 10:45 pm
  
  Oh dear, you’ve bitten yourself again, haven’t you?
  - WILD KATIPO 13.2.1
    
    9 October 2018 at 2:05 am
    
    Yeah , – and your another one that needs to have their heads read . And out of all of em you’re about the worst,… what with your handpicked ‘ links’ that prove nothing except to the small crowds that pander to people just like you… complete with a venomous , snide ‘gotcha’ false sense of pseudo triumph over nothing.
    
    Trumps here, there’s nothing you can do about it, and he and his govt are going to keep on keeping on and usher in a new peaceful albeit isolationist and prosperous era for the United States that will make subversives like you grind your teeth.
    
    You need to go see a dentist.
joe90 14

8 October 2018 at 11:00 pm

tRump’s reportedly picked a handbag designer to be the US ambassador to South Africa. Apparently the woman is SA born Mar-a-Lago lizard who held her daughter’s wedding at his club.

https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/local/will-handbag-designer-lana-marks-next-ambassador/JQRXhvaYtyNoAvj2vy9goM/
- WILD KATIPO 14.1
  
  9 October 2018 at 2:08 am
  
  Yeah well that just goes to prove the point, – like schoolkids snickering about a piece of shitpaper around Trumps shoe,… that’s about the mentality of snide commentators such as yourself.
  
  Thank ferk people like you aren’t in control…
  
  And Trump is.
  - Timeforacupoftea 14.1.1
    
    9 October 2018 at 9:25 pm
    
    Well said WILD KATIPO.
    You crawled allover the crazy liberal Dems !
    N0 sting or bite required in your argument.
    The truth got the big tick here.
WILD KATIPO 15

9 October 2018 at 4:41 am

Here’s an amazing guy who tells it like it is , well worth the watch , all about trans humanism and genetic modification , … there are times for conservatism and times for progressive actions based on necessity,… but all must be conducted in the natural order. Move outside of that?,… and you’re walking on thin ice.

Nephilim Among Us: Human-Animal Hybrids, Eugenics, GMOs …
millsy 16

9 October 2018 at 7:25 am

People have gotten too hung up on all the #metoo stuff to also realise that the Trump administration is set to dismantle what is left of FDR’s New Deal programs and LBJ’s Great Society programs.
cleangreen 17

9 October 2018 at 7:29 am

Ha ha you phoney ‘Soros Democrats’ have been found to be filing false tax returns too eh?????

https://conservativedailypost.com/report-warrens-tax-returns-may-have-included-falsely-inflated-deductions/
Draco T Bastard 18

9 October 2018 at 9:13 am

and yes, we’re heading in 2019 for a full and all-out trade war between the U.S. and China

Of course we are. The present trade system doesn’t actually allow for free trade. To get free-trade the rules and regulations in both countries need to be the same so that the price of a product at the gate is the same. From there the exchange rates need to be trade weighted so that the exchange rate works to balance the economies.

Neither of these things are true. Hell, China still outright manipulates its exchange rate.

Under the conditions that are needed for free-trade there would be little to no trade as it would always be cheaper to make the product in the country that it was consumed in.
D'Esterre 19

9 October 2018 at 9:42 am

“….despite having the worst-performing President in living memory.”

I’m a longtime observer of politics US-style. Trump is no worse than pretty much any of his predecessors in my longish life. To be sure, he shoots his mouth off via Twitter, but so what? I judge all presidents by what they do, not what they say.

The msm, being generally liberal, dislikes Republican presidents, and reportage on them is therefore generally negative. Go back and look at archives: you’ll see what I mean.

“…the United States economy is roaring….”

Which rather gives the lie to the notion that Trump is worst in living memory, doesn’t it?

“His Republican Party is on track in November to lose its majority in Congress.”

I’d be wary about prognostications of that sort, given how the economy is performing. Remember what Clinton (Bill) said: it’s the economy, stupid! In the current circumstances, voters may well opt for the status quo. That remains to be seen.

Trump isn’t our president; we have no say over US domestic politics. What ought properly to concern us is US foreign policy, for all that we have no influence over that aspect either.