Trump Foreign Trade Fight-Free Trade-Protection-Bob Davis Podcast 737

President Trump slapped tax increases on goods imported to the US from Europe, China, Mexico and Canada. Our trading partners retaliated with their own tariffs. Now what? Find out in Trump Foreign Trade Fight-Free Trade-Protection-Bob Davis Podcast 737.

What Is A Tariff Anyway?

Finally someone has defined what a tariff is. Moreover you might be surprised to learn the history of trade legislation in the United States goes back to 1789.

These days we are awash in charges and counter charges in the media. Trade Wars and Rumors of Trade Wars. This kind of coverage doesn’t serve anyone.

1945 Looms Large In Trade Discussions

Most noteworthy is the impact of World War 2 and the advent of nuclear weapons in 1945. Since then, trade deals have been  considered central to keeping the peace and stabilizing the world.

Trade Has Been A Political Football since Hamilton

Trade has been regional and national issue in the United States in every political era. None other than Alexander Hamilton was an advocate of high taxes on imports going back to 1789.

Trump A Throw Back To The 1840’s?

Moreover tariffs were an issue in local and national politics in the US until the introduction of the Income Tax in 1913. Is President Trump a throw back to the 1840’s? Find out in Trump Foreign Trade Fight-Free Trade-Protection-Bob Davis Podcast 737.

NAFTA China Mercantilism Free Trade

We hear so much in the news about trade but few of us understand it. China. NAFTA. Mercantilism. Trade Protection. Free Trade. As citizens we need to make informed decisions about what is best for each of us individually and the country. With all the noise about trade it’s almost impossible for people to do that.

Especially Relevant Today As It Was Back In The Day

In conclusion with yet another new trade bill in the offing the question of whether the US should protect its markets or open them is as relevant today as it was in 1789.

Sponsored by Reliafund Payment Processors and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Trump Foreign Trade Fight-Free Trade-Protection-Bob Davis Podcast 737

Podcast 362

No Growth Economy. New numbers say the US Economy grew by only .2 percent. Yet still, the Federal Reserve says the economy should grow now in the second quarter. Never mind all the ‘experts’ predicted 2015 would be a ‘blow out’ year, and that they have been revising their predictions down all through the quarter, they were still way above what the numbers actually show. Excuses? They have a few. The weather. The work slow down at the Port in Los Angeles. The weather. The strong dollar. Did I mention the dollar? The US has now had quarter after quarter of slow, no, or only anemic growth, and yet the Obama administration and its apologists, and the bone headed financial media call it a ‘boom’. Meanwhile small and medium sized businesses all over the country know it for what it is. A no growth economy. Why do business writers believe things will change if the policies don’t change? Does the consumer really account for 70 percent of the economy? What if we’re using the wrong tools to stimulate the wrong things? What’s that old saw about the definition of insanity? Banks aren’t lending because they can make more money borrowing at the discount window, reinvesting in the stock markets. Companies aren’t investing because they’re buying back their own stocks. The US corporate tax rate is the highest in the world (by far), and the tax code is so complex it costs us dearly in productivity lost (while we comply with the tax code) and literally billions of dollars spent complying with its byzantine rules. Regulations of all kinds make it almost impossible for small and medium sized businesses to grow. What are the policy ideas we need to hear from candidates (which we’re not hearing) to fix the economy. It’s not about inequality. It’s not about ‘reformicon’ tax policies (which are actually democrat tax policies warmed over), or making the government work more efficiently. In this podcast, some ideas you may agree or disagree with, but it will definitely start you thinking. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating and X Government Cars

Podcast 234

Market Plunge. If it wasn’t for Ebola, this week’s Market Plunge would be the top story and we’d all be talking about it. Was it really less than a month ago that President Obama said the market and economy had come roaring back? And this week the market gave back all the gains so far of 2014. Will it come back. Analysts aren’t so sure. As the rest of the economies in the world contract, all hope was placed in US economic growth which the fantasy world created by the media hyped. Bad retail sales numbers this week dashed those hopes. Meanwhile the world’s governments and central banks that depend on inflation to wipe away debts, are very concerned about disinflation turning into deflation. Are lower commodity prices a good sign, or a bad sign? In the final analysis, the US economy will probably not be enough to act as a counterweight to fading growth in the Euro Zone and China, even with lower commodity prices. The worry on Wall Street? Faltering demand among consumers. Surprise! While the President touts economic ‘recovery’ the number of Americans on SNAP benefits (in other words Food Stamps) skyrockets, the clearest indication yet that the newly employed are in low wage part time jobs, and those out of the work force may stay out as long as government programs pay them to. Not a good combination, and certainly not one that indicates dynamic growth. What’s going on? Steve Forbes has five suggestions that are pretty good. The upshot? We’re a long way from the kinds of radical reforms that will change the scope, cost and size of the Federal Government and get things back on track. It isn’t gridlock causing the problems, its the people. It’s our politics. How do we put away creaky old Keynesian concepts moderate Republicans, democrats and progressives have championed going back to the New Deal? How do we cut away regulation, spending and taxation and reduce government power, so that new decentralizing technologies can empower the individual to innovate, generate tomorrow’s successes, and power the US out of the malaise we find ourselves in? Yes, there are Republicans afraid of radical change just as there are democrats afraid to reduce the size and power of government. We have to stop expecting creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial instincts from politicians. News Flash! Your congressman is not Steve Jobs. Not by a long shot. Some ideas to consider when thinking about the other major story chronicling the failure of ‘big government’ these days; The economy. Sponsored by Depotstar