EconAir

I HEARD THE NEWS TODAY U.S. MARINES INVADE CALIFORNIA U.S marines in battle-dress storm ashore, securing the beaches of Santa Monica. They fight their way thru sunbathers, skateboarders, volleyball players, and joggers. Some marines are surprised on how poorly clothed the natives are. Deployed to defend federal buildings, the marines are faced with angry but unarmed demonstrators from the barrios of Beverly Hills and Brentwood. The Marines are ordered not to protect Tesla showrooms from demonstrators. After completing their mission of protecting U.S. property from the descendants of immigrants, a grateful president promised them liberty passes to Tijuana. Marines with Latino/Chicano names are barred reentry into the United States. President Trump says the 700 marines will make Los Angeles, a city of 3.8 million people, "free, safe and clean." Apparently, the only part of L.A. the marines went to was Disneyland. The marines, their mission accomplished, had to be airlifted out ...

    SUMMARY   The Trump tariff offensive is couched in domestic economic terms and objectives – to reduce the trade deficit, to reduce the fiscal deficit, to increase domestic manufacturing, especially in technologies with good growth potential or necessary for national security. The economic issues used to justify the higher tariffs, however, are part of a larger challenge - the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China, and part of a broader objective – to weaken China’s domestic economy.   The economic issues used to justify the higher tariffs are less important than the geopolitical issues - the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China - and part of a broader objective – to weaken China’s domestic economy.       BACKGROUND   The conflict with China has been recognized as far back as the Obama administration. Even before then, the United States has used economic tools as political weapons – sanctions, denying othe...