China, Brazil, Argentina, the USA and more in relation to agriculture, tariffs, the economy and POWER

 This short video speaks for itself---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHRqR0jBt1s

The title is: 

$164 Billion Blow! China Officially Cancels U.S. Farming Trade!

 [It's less than 11 minutes long, but you do have to suffer through the beginning of a few Ads before you hit the "Skip" button.]

Agriculture, mining and forestry are the "producers" at the base of every economy's energy and monetary*** pyramid.  Agriculture is especially critical.  Watch the video at the link above to see how Power is shifting in the world economy.

***  https://steadystate.org/service-providers-in-the-trophic-theory-of-money/?blm_aid=122634

This only will get worse after Trump takes office in January.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Biden & Crew apparently believe almost anything said by the extremist Netanyahu

 https://www.democracynow.org/2024/12/26/michael_casey_resigns_over_gaza

Watch/listen to why a fifteen-year USA diplomat resigned from the State Department.  Several others also have done likewise, but we don't hear about it from the Mainstream/Corporate Media.

Casey was a frontline diplomat in the Israel-Gaza conflict.  He wrote numerous reports to the Upper Crust of the State Dept. detailing the war crimes of the Israeli military.  They were ignored.  Details are at the link above.

Israel continues to attack children, hospitals, schools, refugee shelters, ambulances, journalists, and basic infrastructure.  Biden & Crew continue their "ironclad support".  The tiny amount of humanitarian aid (food, water, medical supplies) which sometimes is allowed to get through to Gaza is grossly inadequate. People in Gaza are starving, dying from lack of medical care, and often being maimed or killed outright still to this day.  Where's compassion?

The entire scenario is a stain not only on Biden's Administration, but also on our country.  Yes, some are protesting and speaking out against this immoral Gaza policy, but not nearly enough.  Some world Leaders are boycotting Israel, but not enough.  What the Israeli Gov't is doing in Gaza is textbook genocide, and our Gov't is complicit in the execution of it.  There's a high probability that when Trump takes office, he'll make things even worse.

Watch the video at the link above, and then ask:  are the deaths of innocent people in Gaza simply "collateral damage"?  Keep in mind that genuine collateral damage is accidental.  The deaths in Gaza are are not such.  They are brought about on purpose.  The Israeli military knows children are in the hospitals, schools, shelters, etc., being attacked.  The excuse for the killing appears to be:  Hamas is hiding there, so we have no choice.  Really?!  There is, of course, always a choice in such matters.  No sane, ethical person would use such an excuse to murder innocent children.

Every government in the world should be shunning Netanyahu and boycotting Israel.  They should be doing so because millions of their citizens are demanding such actions.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well, and be a friction against the Machine.

Here's what happens when capitalism is deregulated

Enron

Remember the 2005 Documentary, Enron - The Smartest Guys in the Room?  [It's currently available on Amazon Prime, & probably elsewhere as well.]  Remember Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling?  Remember the criminal fraud?  Remember how many people lost their pensions?  Remember the concealment of Enron debt?  Remember the rolling blackouts in California due to the fraudulent manipulation of available energy by Enron "Traders", and the high price of electricity?  Remember how several Enron Executives each secured a Golden Parachute retirement just before the company bankruptcy?  It's all detailed in this riveting film.

Enron was founded in 1985 at the height of the Reagan-Thatcher Neoliberal DEREGULATION ERA.  The Execs in high positions soon developed totally bizarre financial derivatives/instruments/systems for Trading fossil energy.  Later, they appeared to be making massive profits for the company...because they were hiding massive debt.  The whole ponzi-like house-of-cards eventually collapsed.  The lives of hundreds of thousands of people (not only thousands of Enron employees, but employees in other companies, and consumers) were damaged significantly.

The 2007-09 Crash

Remember the 2015 film which dramatized the (commonly called) 2008 Crash, The Big Short with Christian Bale as Dr. Michael Burry?  Weird (and unregulated) private financial derivatives*** caused a financial meltdown felt around the world.  Real estate companies, banks, Wall Street Traders, bond rating agencies, and others all contributed to creating the fiasco.  The groundwork for it all developed during the Clinton Administration CORPORATE DEMOCRATS ERA and the Dubya Bush DEREGULATION ERA.  Millions of people were severely impacted.

***During the Bill Clinton Administration/Presidency, an attempt was made by Brooksley Born (Head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission - CFTC - and an American Hero) to have such derivatives regulated by the CFTC.  Wall Street, Alan Greenspan, Larry Summers, and many other Clinton Admin officials fiercely and savagely opposed her efforts, and they won.  Too bad for Main Street, again.  Even today OTC financial derivatives are barely regulated, especially those used by securities & insurance firms.

Bottom Line

When combined with various public functions and facilities in a Mixed Economy, and when closely regulated, I believe Capitalism is a valuable economic system.  Unregulated, or even deregulated just a bit, Capitalism is a monumental disaster and an extreme danger to Main Street.  History supports such a contention.  Too bad for Main Street that the incoming Trump Crew is planning to push for unprecedented deregulation.  Too bad, indeed.

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Not only my opinion.  Take Care

The Myth of Capitalism vs. Socialism re Reality

The Myth

There's only one general type of Socialism, and it's all bad/destructive.  [Such is the view of the Political Far-Right around the world.]  There's only one general type of Capitalism, and it's all bad/destructive.  [That's the view of the Political Far-Left around the globe.]  Neither assertion is true.  In each case, there are at least two types:  dictatorial, and democratic.

The Reality

First, let's look briefly at the USA.  My beloved Land is usually thought to have a purely capitalist economic system.  That's certainly the view of most people on the political Right, and probably the view of most on the political Left as well.  The fact is: ours is a Mixed Economy.  While it's primarily capitalist, it has many aspects of democratic socialism.  Here are several of those aspects:  PUBLIC roads; PUBLIC schools; PUBLIC water systems; PUBLIC sewer systems; PUBLIC museums; PUBLIC parks; PUBLIC health clinics; PUBLIC Zoos; the Social Security Administration; prison industries; and the V.A. health care system.  There's more, but you probably get the idea by now.  Also consider the following.

When people refer to "capitalism in the USA", precisely which version of that economic system is being referenced?  Is it Crony Capitalism?  Neoliberal Capitalism?  Disaster Capitalism?  Casino Capitalism?  Monopolistic Capitalism?  Oligarchic Capitalism?  [They all exist here.]  It most certainly is NOT Adam Smith Capitalism.  That's found mostly only in the arena of Small Business enterprises.  Mega Biz people engage in the other forms.  I doubt most of them even have read The Wealth of Nations.

Adam Smith considered himself more of a philosopher than an economist.  Nevertheless, he's lauded as the Father of Economics.  He favored the establishment of SMALL, competitive businesses, not Mega, monopolistic Biz.  He never used the term "capitalism"; instead, he referred to "commercial society".  Most importantly, he believed that economics was only one aspect of the human condition, and not the be-all and end-all of Life.  The full title of his famous book is An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.  He was a Scotsman, and he changed the world.

Let's consider even more briefly the countries which adhere to democratic socialism, such as Norway***.  While they primarily may be socialistic in nature, from all I've read and heard about their economics, it seems to me they do embrace capitalism to a significant degree.  In other words, they each have a Mixed Economy.  I doubt many of their Powers-That-Be would deny it.

***Norway is the richest country in the world...not in aggregate financial wealth, but in the more accurate and comprehensive  measurement of per capita income.  It beats the USA in that regard.

Usually, in any "free world" country it's the Far Right and the Far Left folks who ignore the reality of their Mixed Economy.  They can't wrap their minds around such a concept maybe because it seems to contradict their ideology.  They are "True Believers", and nothing will do except pure capitalism or pure socialism.  Perhaps with age they'll realize that most things in Life are gray, not black or white.

😊😊😊😊😊

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Kirkus Reviews, the Meta-Crisis, Trump, and More REDUX

NOTE:  This essay was first published about six months ago.  With Trump's re-election, it's even more crucial now.

 Kirkus has been around for decades, is number 2*** in the USA for quality book reviews, and is known for being tough on authors.  They have reviewed my second book, 

CHOICES & CHANGE ON THE PATH TO A SUSTAINABLE EXISTENCE -

BEST CHOICES FOR NAVIGATING THROUGH A MONUMENTAL CRISIS.

It's a pretty good review, fair and insightful.  

[***Publisher's Weekly is number 1, but their waiting list is way too long.]

"A straightforward and useful guide to better living.

Haley offers a short handbook for more ecologically sensible living..."  

~ Kirkus Reviews

The full review can be found here:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/scott-c-haley/choices-change-on-the-path-to-a-sustainable-existe/

My three books can be found here:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BVJMMWLG/about

At the link, click on "All Books" (above my name, near the top of the page).

Please hear me:  I don't care one whit about the piddly revenues received from book sales.  If I could afford it, I'd pay for any purchases myself; but I live very modestly (by Western World standards), and can't do that.  What I do care about are these two things:  1) the crucial concepts in the books (and elsewhere) have been rigorously researched by expert scientists in their respective fields (not by me, I'm just the messenger), and need to be spread far and wide if humans are to survive & thrive; and 2) gaslighters and serial liars like Trump are poo-pooing those concepts, and too many people seem to be believing the lies.  That must change quickly.

The Meta-Crisis we're in is real, and the threat is existential - the very existence of human civilization is under grave threat.  The key to navigating through the Crisis is SOCIO-ECO-EDUCATION, and then peacefully pressuring the Powers-That-Be to take significant mitigating action.  Without such, I fear for the quality of life my grandchildren and all younger generations will have to endure.  Help out:  become an informal educator whenever and however possible.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Here's precisely why & how the American Empire is ending, and Trump has a very minor role

 Jeffrey Sachs is a respected international economist, a notable Professor, and an experienced consultant to governments in the arena of international negotiations.  In this relatively short and recent interview, he gives a no-holds-barred view of why and how the unipolar world is changing to a multipolar one.  The days of the Government of the USA being the Big Kahuna are coming to an end.  In most respects, such is not a bad thing.  On the international stage, our Fed Gov't over decades has become arrogant and bullying, and that has been in play long before Trump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swVjCFqL6-s

Trump became somewhat popular largely because of his TV Reality Show.  Here's the only thing you need to remember about that show:  it was scripted FICTION.  In the real world, DJT primarily was a failure in business.  If you don't believe it, look closely into his various businesses from the 1980's to the present.  You'll find numerous bankruptcies, the shafting of contractors, the shafting of employees, court cases against him, fines, etc.  He once claimed he got his start with "a small loan of a million dollars" from his father.  

David Cay Johnston, the investigative journalist and Pulitzer Prize winning author, has written a number of best-selling books about economics, Big Business, and Trump.  In one of the Trump books, he states that Fred Trump "loaned" Donald a total of sixty million dollars over the years.  So much for DJT's "small loan".

It wouldn't surprise me at all if, when Trump says he'll "make America great again", he  imagines a hundred-year (or maybe a thousand-year:) State-Corporate Complex with his descendants at the helm.  Based on his history of the last forty years, though, what's highly likely to occur is this:  he will self-destruct.  In the next two to four years, his management and policies will destroy the popularity he has now with the 28% (of all American adults) who elected him.  Example:  watch what happens when he implements his much-touted Tariff increases.  [See this 12-minute clip, previously posted on this blog:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvJ4XS9_h_0&list=WL&index=69 ]

BOTTOM LINE:  Trump will not be able to stop what Prof. Sachs says is coming to the world extremely soon.  DJT's so-called strongman image is a complete charade.  Most of his supporters soon will see he's nothing more than a serial liar who is somewhat clever.

Watch the Jeffrey Sachs interview (the first link in this essay).  It's quite an eye-opener.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

27.8% of ALL Adult Americans Voted Trump into Office in 2024 = not much of a mandate

 While his victory was impressive, let's put Trump's win into GENUINE perspective, as follows.

1.  In 2023, there were 262,083,034 ADULT Americans in the USA.  That number includes all voters plus all those who don't vote.

2.  In the election, 72,895,705 people voted for Trump.

3.  Conclusion:  it took only 27.8% of ALL adult Americans to elect our President.  [Historically, it usually took only a tad over 25% to win the Presidency.]

The "mandate" being touted by the Trumpican Party is a mandate from about 28% of American adults.  Even if we consider only those who voted in the election, Trump secured only a fraction over 50% of the vote.  It was barely a majority.

Everyone should keep ALL these numbers in mind when thinking about what some are calling "the greatest victory in the history of American elections".  Such characterization is a real stretch, eh?

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Not only my opinion.  Happy Trails