Apparently, making a trade deal with Great Britain was easy for Trump, while he was also scoring big over the beleaguered President of Mexico. He is showing his skills at making deals on the job!
His major problems are financial. The US debt quagmire and a looming inflation balloon are in the offing; and should reach crisis proportion before the next election of 2018. The looming signs of going protectionist are causing the large international corporations to be weary of bringing large amounts of cash back onto US shores. Plus, they're aware of a surplus capacity of industrial productivity available in the States without much monetary infusion on their part,
Trump's insistence to follow Reagan in an economic time far more complicated than what his mentor had lived through simply bespeaks a mistake in embracing protectionism in a fluid financial market. He's simply philosophically naïve and outmoded; and the US will become a relic, if Congress embraces his charming enchantment. Did Reagan ever conceive of the effects of AI intelligence upon governmental and private transactions? Did Reagan know of the Internet and of cybernetic systems? Come on, times are significantly different from the 1980s, But Trump and Putin, too, are apparently unaware that in today's marketplace there's no "Again" only a creative "Newness and Wonder" over what is evolving into an uncharted tomorrow.
Friday, January 27, 2017
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
The Role of the US in today's march-on toward Globalization
Since the world's commitment to the Globalization project dating from the 17th Century Europe, when the Netherlands took up the cudgel, at least two other nations have provided leadership to the project: England in the 18th and 19th Centuries and the United States--currently--but dating back to the American naval efforts to retain open sea lanes for trade in the 19th Century.
The US has always supported the mercantile and commercial interests, even before the country was declared a sovereign nation, e.g., during the Tea Party fiasco in the New England colonies. But that is precisely the heart of Globalization: promoting trade and commerce internationally.
What does embracing the goals of Globalization and assuming the major leadership role commit the United States to? That is to say, what are its responsibilities qua major player for today?
US Leadership Responsibilities
1. Assure a steady and free-flow of goods and services among all nations to the extent possible.
Indeed, the US military must be stronger than any other on earth and its presence felt the world over.
2. Promote trade agreements such that each nation is to seek meaningful participation in some trade association where rules and regulations are enunciated and adhered to by each member. Then too, there must be an agency or arm of the association to insist upon their enforcement. Each member must lower its trade tariffs among the association's members. Specifically, rhe US has been running around the globe establishing and encouraging the trade associations--currently, the TPP for Asian countries.
Now, to get nations to join a trading group is not easy, primarily because the larger and more prestigious nations tend to dominate by cajoling the others to accept rules they dictate. So it looks like the associations are favoring the strong, though the US has done much to support the weaker and less prestigious.
3. Back commercial interests and big-business militarily and diplomatically for the sake of international trade. The US must enable commerce and trade worldwide forcibly, if necessary. One could argue that the wars in the Middle East and the changing of the guard during the Muslim Spring was to accomplish this aim.
The Qualities of a nation that the US has had to underplay as Statesman-Leader:
Primarily, the US has foregone the right to pursue a ME-FIRST and let all others take what they can get for themselves! attitude. That is to say, the US, as the leader in the free trade movement, must be magnanimous for the sake of bringing others along to join and participate in the project.
But along comes President Trump!!!
He claims that the US is losing jobs--which is a claim clearly in dispute (it depends on what jobs he's talking about). He claims the US must maintain a ME-FIRST national posture among the nations of the world--get what you can take and let the other nations fall in line. Well, that line of thinking will result in simply passing the baton of big business and commerce to some other nation. And, China is standing in the theater's wings, waiting. Note: the Chinese moguls of today have been educated in the US colleges.
The US has always supported the mercantile and commercial interests, even before the country was declared a sovereign nation, e.g., during the Tea Party fiasco in the New England colonies. But that is precisely the heart of Globalization: promoting trade and commerce internationally.
What does embracing the goals of Globalization and assuming the major leadership role commit the United States to? That is to say, what are its responsibilities qua major player for today?
US Leadership Responsibilities
1. Assure a steady and free-flow of goods and services among all nations to the extent possible.
Indeed, the US military must be stronger than any other on earth and its presence felt the world over.
2. Promote trade agreements such that each nation is to seek meaningful participation in some trade association where rules and regulations are enunciated and adhered to by each member. Then too, there must be an agency or arm of the association to insist upon their enforcement. Each member must lower its trade tariffs among the association's members. Specifically, rhe US has been running around the globe establishing and encouraging the trade associations--currently, the TPP for Asian countries.
Now, to get nations to join a trading group is not easy, primarily because the larger and more prestigious nations tend to dominate by cajoling the others to accept rules they dictate. So it looks like the associations are favoring the strong, though the US has done much to support the weaker and less prestigious.
3. Back commercial interests and big-business militarily and diplomatically for the sake of international trade. The US must enable commerce and trade worldwide forcibly, if necessary. One could argue that the wars in the Middle East and the changing of the guard during the Muslim Spring was to accomplish this aim.
The Qualities of a nation that the US has had to underplay as Statesman-Leader:
Primarily, the US has foregone the right to pursue a ME-FIRST and let all others take what they can get for themselves! attitude. That is to say, the US, as the leader in the free trade movement, must be magnanimous for the sake of bringing others along to join and participate in the project.
But along comes President Trump!!!
He claims that the US is losing jobs--which is a claim clearly in dispute (it depends on what jobs he's talking about). He claims the US must maintain a ME-FIRST national posture among the nations of the world--get what you can take and let the other nations fall in line. Well, that line of thinking will result in simply passing the baton of big business and commerce to some other nation. And, China is standing in the theater's wings, waiting. Note: the Chinese moguls of today have been educated in the US colleges.
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