[AdamB]

In The History of the Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon luridly evokes the Rome of 408 A.D., when the armies of the Goths prepared to descend upon the city. The marks of imperial decadence appeared not only in grotesque displays of public opulence and waste, but also in the collapse of faith in reason and science. The people of Rome, Gibbon writes, fell prey to “a puerile superstition” promoted by astrologers and to soothsayers who claimed “to read in the entrails of victims the signs of future greatness and prosperity.” Would a latter-day Gibbon describe today’s America as “decadent”? I recently heard a prominent, and pro-American, French thinker (who was speaking off the record) say just that. He was moved to use the word after watching endless news accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tweets alternate with

The United States of America Is Decadent and Depraved

[MD]

yep. the crazy years are upon us. It won't end well. Exactly how who the fuck knows.

[onlooker]

https://www.salon.com/2014/03/08/35_cou ... e_partner/
35 countries where the U.S. has supported fascists, drug lords and terrorists

[mmasters]

I disagree. Capitalism is the way to go and the party is just getting started. Right now we have Trump straightening out the government and economy. We have decades if not 100 years of natural gas to power the economy. We have more people than ever working to advance the human race in many fields. Breakthroughs are coming.

I believe America will be greater than ever before in the years to come.

[onlooker]

I disagree. Capitalism is the way to go and the party is just getting started. Right now we have Trump straightening out the government and economy. We have decades if not 100 years of natural gas to power the economy. We have more people than ever working to advance the human race in many fields. Breakthroughs are coming.

I believe America will be greater than ever before in the years to come.

I am pretty sure you are being sarcastic?

[Plantagenet]

... U.S. President Donald Trump’s tweets ....

Really?

There are lots of reasons to criticize the USA, but I don't think it makes sense to blame every problem on Donald Trump's tweets.

Cheers!

[mmasters]

I disagree. Capitalism is the way to go and the party is just getting started. Right now we have Trump straightening out the government and economy. We have decades if not 100 years of natural gas to power the economy. We have more people than ever working to advance the human race in many fields. Breakthroughs are coming.

I believe America will be greater than ever before in the years to come.

I am pretty sure you are being sarcastic?

Nope, I am working on one of the breakthrough projects. Life is good. I'm convinced we're here to do great things.

[ralfy]

Here we go again.

[Plantagenet]

I thought a classic example of US decadence and depravity amoung wealthy Americans was Bill Maher's recent statement that he wanted a huge recession to hit so Trump would lose the next election.

What kind of a moron prays for huge numbers of people to lose their jobs and go bankrupt and lose their homes and have their families hurt just so a political candidate he doesn't like will be defeated.

I'm very disappointed in Bill Maher----a multi-millionaire---for wishing for a recession to bring economic pain to hit millions of middle class and poor people.


People like Bill Maher who put the interests of their political party above the interests of their own country are decadent and depraved, IMHO.

Cheers!

[mmasters]

I thought a classic example of US decadence and depravity amoung wealthy Americans was Bill Maher's recent statement that he wanted a huge recession to hit so Trump would lose the next election.

What kind of a moron prays for huge numbers of people to lose their jobs and go bankrupt and lose their homes and have their families hurt just so a political candidate he doesn't like will be defeated.

I'm very disappointed in Bill Maher----a multi-millionaire---for wishing for a recession to bring economic pain to hit millions of middle class and poor people.


People like Bill Maher who put the interests of their political party above the interests of their own country are decadent and depraved, IMHO.

Cheers!

As Sarah Sanders recently said: "At some point Democrats have to decide whether they love this country more than they hate this President"

Clearly Maher hates the President more than he loves his country.

[yellowcanoe]

I thought a classic example of US decadence and depravity amoung wealthy Americans was Bill Maher's recent statement that he wanted a huge recession to hit so Trump would lose the next election.

What kind of a moron prays for huge numbers of people to lose their jobs and go bankrupt and lose their homes and have their families hurt just so a political candidate he doesn't like will be defeated.

What kind of a moron starts a trade war with his closest allies? An escalating trade war will result in a recession.

[Cog]

Not if the our trading partners drop their already existing tariffs they have on the USA. Trump isn't going to roll over like previous presidents.

Sorry your girl lost yellowcanoe. But not really.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Not if the our trading partners drop their already existing tariffs they have on the USA. Trump isn't going to roll over like previous presidents.

Sorry your girl lost yellowcanoe. But not really.

Here we go again. So first, no one will retaliate with new tariffs because:

a). They're too stupid.
b). They're too skeered of Trump.
c). They like and respect Trump too much.
d). They're too awed by Trump's hair.

And in fact, watching the news shows the type of retaliation that takes place, often rapidly, already.

And of course, anyone who disagrees with you on any political point involving Trump automatically voted for HRC.

That's really odd, since almost everyone disagrees with various Trump policies, and HRC lost the election. Clearly a logic error with the math there.

[Cog]

Well outcast you seem aggravated by everything trump does so to me that indicates a preferance for his opponent. So what pissed you off so much about tax cuts and a booming economy? Surely his tweets don't get inside your head like they do most liberals.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Well outcast you seem aggravated by everything trump does so to me that indicates a preferance for his opponent. So what pissed you off so much about tax cuts and a booming economy? Surely his tweets don't get inside your head like they do most liberals.

Neither spending nor tax cuts that aren't paid for are good. That's a major reason I don't like the antics of both major parties, which TOGETHER have piled up all the debt via varying ways of buying votes.

Constant lying doesn't sit well with me for a POTUS. Constant nonsensical ideas, proposals, vacillation and self-contradiction aren't exactly great things for a POTUS either.

...

If the economy "booms" enough to see consistent large budget surpluses by the time Trump leaves office, be sure and get back to us about that tax cuts idea though. Don't hold your breath.

[mmasters]

Countries like China and Canada are more dependent on the US than we are on them. We're in a position to negotiate the trade imbalance.

If the US stopped trade with China the results would be catastrophic for their economy. If China stopped trading with the US the results wouldn't be good but it wouldn't be catastrophic. Again, we're in a position to negotiate.

[rockdoc123]

Countries like China and Canada are more dependent on the US than we are on them. We're in a position to negotiate the trade imbalance.

If the US stopped trade with China the results would be catastrophic for their economy. If China stopped trading with the US the results wouldn't be good but it wouldn't be catastrophic. Again, we're in a position to negotiate.

I do not believe this to be true. Trade includes services along with actual hard manufactured goods. The US trade pictures actually count on services more so than hard goods and have done so for some time. To that end, the US had a trade surplus with Canada in 2016, not a deficit. The US exports more agricultural products to Canada than it imports. Exactly how does the US win a trade war with Canada? You increase the cost for US consumers on the products you apply tariffs to, Canada responds by finding other markets for their products that have been tariffed which in the end lowers the available goods for the US in the future.

the fact that the US has such a large overall trade deficit means they cannot afford to just stop trading with countries who Trump claims are taking advantage of them. If they did so the standard of living of the average American would decrease since all the goods that currently are imported from China can either not be produced at all in the US or are much more expensive to produce. If they can alter their manufacturing to produce these goods albeit at a higher price due to labor and tariffs they have imposed on imported raw materials then the American public loses...costs rise, standard of living decreases.

And how does eliminating all tariffs help? The Chinese can produce goods at a lower cost as can many other countries. Removing tariffs doesn't change that picture. With no tariffs in place, the trade imbalance just gets worse as it is cheaper for Americans to buy elsewhere than in the US.

To some extent, the trade deficit in the US is a bit of a red herring. The economy is booming and unemployment is very low. Companies are not going out of business, in fact, most are doing quite well. Imposing greater tariffs runs the risk of upsetting all the good that has been done to the economy so far. The trade imbalance largely points to the fact America can afford to buy a lot of imported goods because they are overall doing quite well.