Permeability

ZERO SUM

If I was an American citizen, I think I would be deeply embarrassed at my country’s president’s ignorance of the most basic principles of economics.  Here are just a few of the simple facts the so-called president doesn’t appear to comprehend:

Ÿ   Import tariffs impose costs – while American steel makers may welcome curbs on their overseas competitors, steel users such as Boeing – one of America’s biggest exporters – and General Motors will face higher costs for their raw materials, which will make them less competitive (and leave Boeing’s main rival Airbus laughing all the way to the bank).  This will reduce exports, cost jobs, raise prices for American consumers – hurting retailers as well – and even make Trump’s promised infrastructure upgrade more costly – bridges, tunnels and railways (not to mention ridiculous border walls) consume enormous volumes of steel.

Ÿ   Import tariffs invite retaliation – countries which see their exports to the US restricted are very likely to impose barriers to US exports in a tit-for-tat move.  Back to square one!

Ÿ   Trade wars have no winners – ultimately everyone ends up paying more (see above).

Ÿ   Trade deficits are normal – it is pointless to worry too much about the US trade deficit with a single country, because it is part of a much larger pattern of deficits and surpluses.  Every trading country will have a surplus with some countries and a deficit with others, depending on what it imports and exports.  America may have a huge deficit with China, for example, but it has a massive surplus with Australia.

Ÿ   You need to look at the whole value chain – much of America’s trade deficit with China is accounted for by American companies outsourcing their manufacturing to China (as well as other markets where labour costs are lower).  True, this may take jobs from American workers, but it brings back profits to the USA and makes goods cheaper for American consumers – if every T-shirt in Walmart was US-made, it would probably cost several times as much.  And manufacturing is only one stage in the entire value chain (does Trump even understand that concept?) – value is also added by raw material production, design, packaging, shipping, distribution and retailing, etc. – much of which remains in American hands.

Ÿ   Giving the rich more money doesn’t benefit the economy – while tax breaks for the super-wealthy – with a handful of token concessions to the middle class – has been the policy of every Republican administration since Reagan’s, the money has never been shown to boost the economy significantly.  The reason for this is simple – rich people already have all they need, so if they receive more money they tend to save it.  By contrast, if the poor get more money they will usually spend it quickly, stimulating demand for goods and services and thereby creating more jobs.  The one thing the rich do consistently spend money on is supporting politicians who will continue to enrich them by pursuing the failed “trickle-down” policy at the expense of everyone else.

The global economy – which every country is part of – is a highly complex and heavily inter-related monster.  Every action in one part of it has consequences far beyond the immediate local result.  Donald Trump’s butterfly mind tends to alight on one contentious issue and rush to take some superficially attractive action in response without analyzing the whole chain of consequences which will follow.  Effective economic leadership requires joined-up thinking – something for which Trump shows no aptitude wha

Unconscious Uncoupling

While admiring the courage and determination with which young Billy is facing his horrific injuries, I can't help feeling his doctors might have made better decisions if they were conscious at the time!

Passport Blues

While Brexidiots have been celebrating the return of the supposedly iconic blue British passport, two ironic facts have largely escaped their attention:

• Contrary to their whines about supposed EU petty bureaucracy, there was never anything in EU regulations compelling Britain to adopt the EU burgundy colour.
• Research shows that areas where fewer people hold passports were more likely to vote Leave.  So we are being forced out of Europe by ignorant people who have never visited mainland Europe and presumably know little about it.  I know those in the Leave camp always complain about Remainers talking about them as if they were stupid, but frankly this kind of thing just proves the point.

Personally I don't give a damn what colour cover my passport has, but I do care deeply that these idiots are depriving me of my right to use it to live, work and travel freely across 27 countries in Europe.

Attention Deficit

Own Goal

Implausible Deniability

Intellectual Property Infringement is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

OH YES, WE HAVE NO VAGINAS

It’s almost year-end, and that means it’s time for The Privates, our much-coveted awards.  Let’s start with the  

Gender Equality Award

 which goes to China’s leadership:

• ·         Female population of China: 652,982,000
• ·         Female representation on the ruling 7-penis Politburo Standing Committee: nil (ever)

"Women in the People's Republic of China enjoy equal rights with men in all spheres of life, in political, economic, cultural, social and family life."  Article 48 of China's constitution.

With former Chief Executive 689 now strutting his spleen on the national stage and unlamented Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen on his way out, this year’s 

Ugliest Excrescence on the Face of Hong Kong Politics Award

 is a shoo-in for Junius Ho. 

  

Most pro-Beijing Legislative Council members have no love for Hong Kong’s localist youngsters, but Junazious is so far the only one to suggest publicly that separatists deserve to be murdered for expressing their opinions.  Nice guy...

For most of the year Donald Trump (already the early recipient of the 

Most Vacuous Political Statement of the Year Award

) looked like a clear front-runner for the 

Bloated Ego Award

as well, but in a cunning late move, obnoxious British loudmouth Nigel Farage – so popular he has never even succeeded in winning a Parliamentary seat at Westminster despite several attempts – came from behind with his absurd whining about not receiving a knighthood for his efforts to advance Brexit. It takes an extraordinary level of brazen cheek (Americans might call it chutzpah) to drive one’s country down the road to ruin and then expect to be given a bloody medal for it!

Returning to Hong Kong, the Hong KongPolice Force are the proud winners of the  

Easily Confused Award. 

Let me offer them a simple clue: if someone is throwing Molotov cocktails, breaking windows, burning cars or brandishing a weapon, you can bash them with impunity; if they are just peacefully passing by, then leave them alone.  Got that?  Of course, the definition of a weapon can be stretched a bit if you’re really determined to nick someone…

That’s it for this year – unless we start giving out awards to people who genuinely deserve them, like Liu Xia, Ahed Tamini, or the Dalai Lama.

NIL RETURN

I clicked on this link this morning:

and got this:

So presumably we can assume that nothing good happened this year.  Which fits in pretty well with my own experience, marked by deaths and disease among my immediatecircle, against the wider background of Britain slumping ever deeper into the slimy sinkhole of Brexit while Donald Trump does his best to ignite either World War 3 or environmental collapse, whichever comes first.  Not that I can do much to stop any of this stuff – indeed anyone who posts on any online forum probably feels like this at times:

Nevertheless, we can hope. Here's a toast to all my loyal readers (however few in number):

 By the way, the link was repaired later - and there are plenty of similar lists online.  So perhaps it's not all doom and gloom.


[Cartoon borrowed from Private Eye.]

Backatcha!

Almost Right

But not spelling, apparently!