It's Time to Break Up
I think it is now the time.
I have said it before and I am sorry for the average American, but I really think it is time that the Rest of the World cuts off the US economically for the foreseeable future. It is easy to do, just stop being crack addicts for the world's largest economy (driven by insane debt cycles) and selling to them. Fuck the tariffs - go the other way and just don't export to the US and, as fast as possible, start building alternative service industries, especially in corporate and consumer software business. Stop buying from Microsoft and Google, stop using Meta, stop supporting Amazon - pivot.
The US has the right idea in some way, in terms of bringing production back to the US. The problem is of course, that if they do that, they are not going to be able to afford to buy what they produce, as the price will skyrocket. At least in the short to mid term. However, the rest of the world doesn't need anything at all from the US, except the misaligned belief of military security.
Yeah, I get that the US has filled that role, but that has been filled by choice by the US government as a mechanism for control over others. Now, they want to use that control to profit, which is fine - but the RoW doesn't need to buy anything from the US military. The US military might have the best equipment, but the fact is, the RoW isn't that far behind and if they put resources behind it, will catch up fast enough. Not only that, it will benefit from strong trade relations and alliances, which the US is right now burning down constantly.
For some period of time, what the RoW should do is leverage the networks that the US has used to build their empire, which includes a massive reliance on international labour and access to international economies at a discount. The discount is that the predominantly US economies, with their massive US investor base, don't pay their taxes on earnings where they are earned. This means that they are able to route their finances to lower obligations around the world, and increase the ROI for investors in the US. The RoW, should put a stop to this, and they should replace the supply of goods and services, because the RoW has all it needs to operate independently.
And yeah, the US could look after itself in terms of production and supply for nearly everything it needs, but to do so would be an absolutely monumental shift in the consumption culture of the average US citizen, and an entire change to the financial systems that are driven by international and internal debt, that has been used to make a few very wealthy, at the expense of everyone else - including the average American. If the US was isolated, the entire investment model they have breaks down and it will be very apparent to Americans that they have been taken advantage off - and they will rebel - *at a far greater rate and with more volatility than they are at the moment.
Essentially, it would instigate civil war.
That is fucked. But, to not do it is for the RoW to be taken advantage of, while a few people make trillions and 7.8 billion people suffer, instead of thrive. And thrive the Row could without the US dictating terms, because what would happen is the US would lose its place as the largest wasteful consumer, and that value would be distributed globally into a culture that is more attuned to conservation and minimization of resources. This pumps large volumes of wealth into development of new technology both in the goods and service industries, and will create a massive amount of value work across the entire globe. Except the US. While the US is looking to replicate what they are currently doing in China for US companies, the RoW can be investing into high-end improvement processes for growth in all kinds of sectors, including energy production, pharmaceuticals, and military.
And in a scenario where the US has to minimize costs while the RoW will start increasing, it is likely that there would also be somewhat of a brain drain on US development and production, where there are currently a large number of foreigners supporting the growth. The US government might be able to even meet its targets of returning jobs to Americans, because a lot of foreigners will have better opportunities elsewhere, with more salary, and higher living standards.
As I have mentioned before,
This is an opportunity.
It is an opportunity for the Row to change the global paradigm and develop more sustainably both for the environment, and economically. The current economic system is fundamentally broken and is heading toward collapse, precisely because of the debt model that the US has driven to increase wealth for a minority and gain control over the markets (and therefore other countries) globally. The RoW has the chance to do something about it, and move in another direction without significant cost, because it can recoup value by not selling to the US, and instead building for a sustainable world.
The EU should be leading with this, especially after the announcement of increased tariffs again. They should just Stop production in the US and start shifting everything to a global focus, bar the US. Sure, that will open the US market up to new countries to push in, but the RoW can then put trade embargoes on those countries. Who will trade with the US? Perhaps Russia, North Korea?
The US becomes a pariah.
Of its own making.
And again, I have a strong position that there is a massive difference between the government of a country, and the people of a country and it is a shame that there is such a conflict between the two. A government should be doing what is in the best interest of its people, all of its people, not just the wealthiest and the institutional investors. And, if we are going to make this planet liveable for humanity, part of the best for its people is to support growth in other countries too. It is much like personal relationships where to be our best as an individual, we need to have a strong network of individuals around us, and that means to be our best, we have to support the best of others too.
The greedy in the tribe get excised.
Socially exiled.
The irony is that the US has been the strongest proponent of internationalisation of markets over the last hundred years, because it was in its best financial interest to do so. Globalisation has been driven hard by the US, and it has given them a huge amount of benefit and control. They are now using that control to enact heavy costs on the rest of the world under the mistaken proviso that the RoW has no other options, no alternative course of action.
That is not the case.
The Rest of the World can hardfork the US out of the economy, by closing the doors into the US. The financial gateways, the goods and services gateways, the labour gateways, and the technological gateways - have doors on both ends. The RoW needn't mess around with tariffs, they just have to stop relying on the US as a market, as a protector, and as a cultural leader, because the US culture is profit at any cost and that is what we are starkly seeing exhibited now.
Break ties with the abusive partner.
Cut them loose, and wish them well on their future endeavours. Alone.
Taraz
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Maybe I can do without iPhone and iPad. I'll do without American clothing brands. But I will definitely make one purchase. I will buy a MacBook, because for the 9th year I use MacBook Air every day, I am happy with everything and my battery still works for about 3 hours.
Where is the MacBook produced?
Probably in China. I get it, you can buy a MacBook :)
In the past, China hasn't cared much about IP rights - perhaps they will just flood the market with it all rebranded :D
I wonder what would be Trump's reaction to this? I suspect that people would have enough comedy content for months.
I like ben and jerry ice cream. But I am not buying it because it is made in USA.
What do you think happens when an egomaniac and megalomaniac is denied attention?
Have you ever looked into what the founders of Ben and Jerry's do? They are strong social activists. Pretty interesting.
This?
I bought Ben and Jerry ice cream only a few times. So I had no idea who are creators of it.
That video seems to be about 70% of children these days.
If that was my kid he would not get any gifts for like 5 years after that.
A good hard smack would straighten him out.
Although the US is in a huge debt cycle, almost everything in the world is going the way it wants. The US seems like it will continue to lead the world. The US will only lose its power if it has major problems within itself. If there is a civil war in the US, if the US is divided, then perhaps the US will lose its power in the world. The decrease in the US's influence in the world could cause chaos. I don't know, maybe there is chaos now.
The RoW is choosing to remain a slave, a victim of racketeering by choice.
Perhaps, for a much more liveable planet, we don't need a goverment which serves for the purpose of a bunch of weatlhy people in the world.
It has been like we exist for a goverment, not a goverment for people.
The government has lost its relevance as a system to govern healthily. It needs to be redeveloped and reigned in heavily.
The world would need to literally bankrupt Musk, Thiel, Zuckerburg, the main three players undermining what's going on for whoever sits above them, and Bezo to boot. Think hard, think logically, "Democracy Dies In Darkness", and who came out of the darkness on inauguration day here.
Notice that the billionaires you mention all have consumer products?
You implying they can be brought down, good luck with that. Even at that, they are so rich now, they probably wouldn't even care considering the gold mine their headed toward.
The US have advanced in a level where they have won globally in most aspect by ensuring the nation's name stands which other countries are showing respect.
Unfortunately, in a few short years, most of the respect they had, has been lost.
https://www.reddit.com/r/europe_sub/comments/1ku996u/cut_the_us_loose_and_wish_them_well_on_their/
This post has been shared on Reddit by @x-rain through the HivePosh initiative.
I don't see RoW ditching US market any time soon. Considering US has technological lead, reserve currency, workaholic culture, giant capital, reserves of raw materials and large population the only country that can challenge US is China. But China is reliant on US.
Civil War is just not in the cards, and nothing unites Americans as much as a challenge from outside. So I predict that after four years of turmoil and incompetent governance Trumpism will be abandoned in favor of more traditional Republican party or Democratic party.
Europe should become more self sufficient and less reliant on US so that it can at least defend itself or else it risks being quickly overrun by Russia if it manages to defeat Ukraine. So far Europe is too slow at building up its defense as it is overly beurocratic and spending on defense and building up military is not exactly a popular or easy thing to do.
At this point the "traditional Republican party" has been all but destroyed. Yeah, it's still referred to as Republican, but it's now really TrumpCult. The non-cult remnants of conservative politics in America might need to coalesce into a new party.
Or dissolve all parties :)
I was having coffee today with a friend (an American) and was proposing what was in this post. He sees it. He is also a Trump supporter to a degree, in the sense that he realises changes need to happen. Trump isn't the answer though, and I think a lot of the Trump supporters that were "closer" to the middle, must be starting to see that now, in the way the administration is behaving.
I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the leadership and capability is far more precarious than many believe. Might is actually myth. If you remember it was only a couple years ago that the might of the Russian army was to be feared globally - is it still the case?
I suspect this isn't possible, unless Russia are willing to go nuclear. And in that case, we are all screwed globally. Europe isn't quite as unprepared as the the people of the US are led to believe, and when push comes to shove, they will gather. The EU has 450 million people in it - with many willing to push back.
I think you are overestimating the strength of combined European forces at the moment. Here is a good analysis of this issue: https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/defending-europe-without-us-first-estimates-what-needed
At least 300K more troops and a Major production surge in equipment to stop Russian invasion of Europe...
The numbers don't tell everything.
For instance, Finland has a population of only 5.5 million and a military force of 24,000. However, in wartime, it can mobilize 280,000 soldiers, and have a supply of 900,000 reservists that are military trained. Because in Finland, military service for men is compulsory. Yes, this isn't a full-time professional army, but don't underestimate how many could mobilize across Europe. As said, if push comes to shove, Europe would push, in a similar fashion to what Ukraine has done the last few years. It wouldn't be pleasant for anyone.
Tough to do immediately but sad any are already considering this... I am headed to Europe for some vacation so let's wait until after that, please...
It is tough to do, and also sad. But I also think that doing it would end up leading to a better global outcome for the majority.
Have a great vacation.
I really do not know much about economics , but I know the US is powerful enough to dictate the economy of a nation, especially underdeveloped nations like African. The US has much control over the markets of the world as their currency is used worldwide. If you are to buy a product from another nation, they will prefer you trade with them with dollars. I'm sure the rest of the world will certainly do their best and live even without the almighty US. I don't blame Trump at all. I just believe he is doing everything possible to make their country great and stop giving their resources to other nation of the world.
This is the weird fallacy. They are not giving their resources to the rest of the world, because they are also profiting from the rest of the world. If the tradeoff to stop them profiting from the rest of the world is to lose what they give, the world will be better off.
Hmm, you are right. He might not see it that way. Every nation will certainly look for a way round their problem.
Agree to certain extent - also try to minimize buying US products or use US tech to do so - some of my folks even do more politically but the issue is, the bonds between US and many countries around the world is pretty strong. We tried to cut everything including sanctions against Russia recently, now we have Trump, we do not need to forget China - it is a fu....ng shit world at the moment.
I do not see a solution, I do not have one but I am also a small fish.
I just hope the US population (not jsut democrats) will do more and we get rid of certain politicians and nationalist mindsets soon.
In Hungary they just tried something against Orban with a march - so there are voices for a better world.
100% agree.
None of the solutions are pleasant, but when the world is this ill, the cure isn't going to be a simple blue pill, like we have been told to take.
Governments need to change to the point that they are replaced by decentralised governance. It will take more than a march though unfortunately. No one wants to give up any power or control over the people they extract from.
Just remember that the US government is not the American people in spite of the mythology of democracy. We're not all profiting just because the government and politically-connected corporations are. They are shafting us with their tariff policies and foreign meddling and whatnot, too.
Yeah, I have always put a sharp divider between government and the people. They are completely different animals in most countries.
I also think it is time. I should not comment, I am not very knowledgeable on the economic issue, but this new administration seems to be the beginning of a change in the global economy. It has easily demonstrated that everything can get out of hand in record time, maybe not a few months, but easily with just one term in office their world can fall apart!...
Why would the RoW want to? They will benefit off taking in tariff money themselves. In a lot bigger way than you could imagine. Gaza hedges on that, they are all in debt and they need funding to rebuild Gaza. Gaza is slanted to become a major import/export hub to sell energy into the backdoor of Europe and Asian countries. Why do you think that up until last week there hasn't been a peep out of the vast majority of countries about the genocide going on there. SA was suppose to be the major financier of rebuilding Gaza, but just like the whole of the US Defense Department tried to tell Kushner, SA can't be trusted to keep their promises. But under the SA plan, Arab countries, if US could remove Hamas first, would take security control over Gaza. Israel absolutely refused to go along with that. They told the Biden administration they'd rather fight with their bare hands first, after Kamala told them to do what they expected for the day after. It's a whole global paradigm shift, that Asian market is a market of four billion people (think of that in retrospect's to the current western market) transitioning over to a cleaner energy. Black Rocks Larry Fink detailed it out in one of his yearly newsletters about four years ago, the goal is everyone shifts to a cleaner energy. That's their hold position on this right now, not the total elimination of carbon emitting fuels, everyone switching to cleaner fuels. They are dead serious, all the major gas stations in the US are putting in electric charging stations for a population of cars that yet can't support it, but the plan is, it will. You'll see a greater push towards this once all the infrastructure is in place. In the US, all the signs are there for what they have planned for the future. It's not just the charging stations, it's multiple apartment buildings with retail spaces below them that their is also not a demand for. Those retail spaces, for the most part, have remained empty for years. The narrowing of all our streets to put in bike lanes, the massive bike lane they put along a highway, not a bike path, not a park, not even in a place where's there's heavy residential on both sides of it, a bike lane complete with two way stretch both ways, complete with yield and stop signs. This is the future they are building under the guise and funding of rebuilding communities of color. This stuff takes money, the rebuilding of Gaza, Ukraine, and whatever country comes next, will take money but it is the plan for the future and what they consider the 4th industrial revolution energy style.
After Trump was elected, Bezo, Musk, Thiel, Zuckerburg had pre-sale agreements around the election time set in late 2023, and early 2024, they sold stocks when they soared and invested those stocks in energy. Energy, and their plan to revise the distribution of it, is what the future holds whether anybody likes it or not, that's just where they are going with this, it's just everyone is to distracted by all the hype not to see the footprints being laid.