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All true but with out Billionare's selling their souls for the proverbial 30 pieces of silver this would not be happening

Not sure I’d blame any specific US billionaires. 

The fault is with large US multinationals and their lobbying efforts to get the federal government to pass things like NAFTA and push for China to have most favored nation status and join the WTO. Those people were not stupid. These things were specifically done to shift production to corners of the world where there are few environmental regulations and cost of labor is so cheap and working conditions are so bad these people might as well be slaves. 

Capital is always going to seek the highest rate of return. Got no problem with that. But government is suppose to provide guard rails and try to make things fair and free. They have largely failed to do that.

yeah so this is just a really foolish way of thinking.

China has been doing well economically largely at the expense of the US. Chinese markets are not free and open to US companies. US companies can't be listed on any of their stock exchanges. Chinese companies can and often are listed on our stock exchanges. It's incredibly hard for US investors to invest in China and basically impossible for a US investor to buy property over there. Chinese companies can come here- and do come here and invest in whatever the hell they want and buy as many properties as they want. US companies cannot operate in China without starting a new 50-50 joint-venture that is half-owned by the CCP- and the CCP FORCES said US companies to transfer technology and trade secrets. The US obviously does not do this.  China is the single largest intellectual property thief in the world. That is very bad for US firms who own said IP. China is also the single largest currency manipulator in the world- which helps them maintain their stranglehold on cheap competitive exports. China dumps commodities (steel, rare earths, solar panels) on the world market like clockwork to gain world dominance over entire industries.

People talk about Free Trade agreements all the time. Free trade agreements are nothing more than investors rights agreements. The destruction of US manufacturing and US off-shoring of millions of manufacturing jobs to China in order to use slave labor and have fewer environmental regulations is not free trade. Capital can flow freely, but labor cannot. If there was really "free trade" both sides would be subject to same environmental regulations and labor standards. China has been imposing tariffs on US products for oh ever. It was nice to finally see the US retaliate in kind.

The last guy was the first President to talk about any of this that I can remember. And he was dead right on all of it. My only gripe with him is that he did not hammer China hard enough. I wish the US would've crushed China in the late 90s or early 2000s like they are trying to crush Russia right now. We're so god damn intertwined now with China that it is impossible now.

The problem in the thinking here is how helpless it is. Oh no, China has government regulations which prevent the United States from investing in Chinese countries? Who cares! That other countries can do business here is good for us - makes everyone more money. Waxing on about tariffs is fine - it had the overall effect of increasing prices, but overall had little effect at all. It was yet again a bunch of bluster over a useless gesture, something both political parties have in spades. 

No, the idea that we can't compete with China because they are a communist country is the epitome of foolish thinking. What we are seeing is a real lack of any sort direction of the country. It required an epic undertaking just to fix bridges and roads, and anything that has any sort of creativity, vision, or growth is immediately shot down by one party or the other in an effort to own the other party. That's the real advantage China has over the United States - it has a one party government with one aim, as opposed to two parties with no aim.

Amen brother. Perfectly stated.

China openly says their goal is to end US hegemony and to upset the current world order and supplant the United States as the worlds greatest power. They make no secret or bones about it.

So what? That is a good thing. China, by the way, has almost no interest in military invasions. They invest in many other countries. America needs to catch up, not whine endlessly about how terrible it is that other countries beat us at our own game.

China did invade Vietnam, that was of course a long time back.  They may have learned not to invade militarily and play the Long Game.

I think they end up winning the Long Game, and they don't need Taiwan, the South China Sea is of more relevance, I think.

It was pretty obvious oil markets were going to get hit when Russia started making noise back in January or so.  I myself bought some oil companies, I have no inside info.

The question was whether Russia would really invade, I thought they would not, so I didn't buy much.

The problem in the thinking here is how helpless it is. Oh no, China has government regulations which prevent the United States from investing in Chinese countries? Who cares! That other countries can do business here is good for us - makes everyone more money. Waxing on about tariffs is fine - it had the overall effect of increasing prices, but overall had little effect at all. It was yet again a bunch of bluster over a useless gesture, something both political parties have in spades.

No, the idea that we can't compete with China because they are a communist country is the epitome of foolish thinking. What we are seeing is a real lack of any sort direction of the country. It required an epic undertaking just to fix bridges and roads, and anything that has any sort of creativity, vision, or growth is immediately shot down by one party or the other in an effort to own the other party. That's the real advantage China has over the United States - it has a one party government with one aim, as opposed to two parties with no aim.

Yeah so I feel like a lot of stuff maybe just went over your head. It's not just about them essentially barring US investment over there, it's also the 100 other things those shady f**ks do which damages the US. 

The problem with the tariffs was that they weren't nearly tough enough in my opinion. They needed more bite. US probably needed to also give massive incentives to US companies willing to start pulling out of China. Give them tax breaks and subsidies to relocate to US. Or hell even Mexico. Just get them the hell out of China.

This country largely can't get bridges and roads fixed because we have a bought congress. It's a literal swamp filled with swap creatures like Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell. But I'll take that any day over a totalitarian dictatorship state. I guess your main gripe about America is that it's not a dictatorship? 

The real advantage the US has over China is freedom. US still the worlds engine of innovation. People are allowed to think and speak freely here (or at least used to be able to- seems like some whackjobs want to change that). China is a totalitarian prison for it's own citizens. And China doesn't innovate shit. They just rip off everyone else and make cheap junk imitations. 

This is a good read.

Saudi, Emirati Leaders Decline Calls With Biden During Ukraine Crisis - WSJ

yeah posted that the other day in the other thread. this is not good a good sign for oil prices and therefore gas prices. Biden has been asking Saudis repeatedly to increase production to try to cool oil prices and halt inflation for months and months even before Russia invaded Ukraine. Saudis have flatly refused him every time.

Saudi ruler MbS absolutely despises Biden, and MbS isn't stupid, he's purposely putting the screws to Biden. He wants to see Biden run out of office. Probably a bad idea on Biden's part to call call Saudi Arabia "a pariah state" and vow on the campaign trail to "make MbS pay" and to vow to "reset the relationship" and he probably shouldn't have publicly dissed and privately refused to personally talk to MbS for almost an entire year of being in office.

Somebody probably should've told him "hey Senile Old Joe- you stupid dumbf*ck- rule #1 in life - don't make checks that your ass can't cash" - but the corrupt bloviated blowhard who has never had a real job and has been nothing but a career do nothing politican for 50+ f**king years is just used to saying all kinds of lies and stupid shit to the American public knowing full well he can get away with it. Well, turns out you can't get away with saying whatever you want to/about a dictator who controls 40% of the worlds oil production and 60% of worlds oil exports via OPEC.

MbS has Biden by the balls right now. And Biden is already trying to pin the high oil prices and record inflation US was experiencing before Russia invaded Ukraine on Putin. It's beyond sad and pathetic.