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[scriver]

I'd pretty much agree that Trump is Flirting with Fascism in the general way he speaks and rethorics.

[smjjames]

I'd pretty much agree that Trump is Flirting with Fascism in the general way he speaks and rethorics.

You mean like a populist demagogue (did I use that term correctly?)?

He hasn't gone so far as to advocate killing illegals or anything like that.

[RedKing]

Well, it was inevitable that the two topics should converge:

"As I have long stated, we are so tied in with China and Asia that their markets are now taking the U.S. market down. Get smart U.S.A." Trump tweeted.

He added in a separate Tweet: "Markets are crashing - all caused by poor planning and allowing China and Asia to dictate the agenda. This could get very messy! Vote Trump."

Yes, because the solution is...umm...what, exactly? Ban Americans from investing in Asia? Ban Asian investors in America? Ban news from Asia? Build a wall of money around the US to keep American dollars from migrating overseas?

The most amusing part of this is that the only real contagion link is fear. Chinese market investors are largely Chinese, and they don't have a broad exposure in other world markets. So it's not like they're selling US stocks to get the money to cover their debts in China. There is a potential long-term link through the Taiwan and HK markets, but that's not what you're seeing -- you're seeing the world financial community losing their collective shit because the money machine that has been Chinese growth for the last 20 years is finally beginning to slow down.

Not fall, not stop, not even slow down to the levels that most countries would consider "strong growth". Just slow down to "very strong" from its previous level of "holy shit money falls from the sky". It's pathetic. The entire financial system needs an injection of brains rather than capital.

[LordSlowpoke]

but is it going to dip below 5%

[Bauglir]

Ah, I wish I still had money to invest with. Damn tuition.

[Playergamer]

Can...can we please stop talking about Donald Trump and talk about actual politics? Please? As a white straight christian conservative male, I think that he's insane and he's going to run the GOP even further into the ground. Although, of course, he has had to suffer due to his lack of hair-privilege, and we should all acknowledge his struggle.

[Frumple]

Just as soon as someone starts doing actual politics instead of vaguely fellating in trump's direction, sure. Please send letters to the appropriate republican candidates and ask them to do so. They wouldn't listen to me. Too liberal.

I guess we could talking about the dems, but we sorta' have been talking about the dems and there's not much to say, not much really going on in general, and mostly we're just sitting around waiting for the sideshow to start really rolling while the republicans start the time honored primary tradition of tearing into each other.

[RedKing]

but is it going to dip below 5%

5% of what?

If you're asking if China's GDP growth rate will dip below 5%, then the answer is yes. Eventually. Despite their size, they didn't break the laws of economics. Economic activity is cyclical, and eventually the Ferris wheel of money will come around and China will have a recession that will shake the pillars of Heaven and quite possibly cause massive unrest inside the PRC. Which is probably the biggest thing Beijing is terrified of.

But that time is not now. That's one big honking wheel, and it'll take some time to reach its peak. Now 10-20 years from now....who knows?
Unless a colossal moron like Trump gets elected and imposes draconian capital controls to starve China of investment income, in which case the wheel will come spinning around a LOT faster.

Albeit, the argument can be made that the wheel will be smaller in that case and that investment in China now just makes the eventual fall that much worse. But that's not the argument he's making. Actually, he's not really making an argument at all, just grunting "UNGA CHINA BAAAAAAD....JAPAN BAAAAAAAD" and flinging poo to the west and south.

@Playergamer: Hey, you guys (i.e. American conservatives) brought this on yourself. You lie down with dogs, you get fleas. You lie down with racist birther troll xenophobes who worship wealth, you get Donald Trump.

[Bauglir]

I guess I could talk about the strange position Clinton is in? She's the presumptive nominee and has a preposterous number of endorsements already, which is one of the most significant predictors of who wins primaries (way better than, for instance, poll numbers). So there's a good chance she's going to skip straight through the usual infighting that so often contributes to lukewarm support once the whole thing is over. But on the other hand, she's pretty much constantly living the same attack on her reputation that the process usually creates, so it might not actually make that much of a difference to her performance in the general election anyway - most people who would be skeptical strategic voters already don't like her and would jump at a candidate who more closely aligns with them. Arguably, the discovery process is already complete, not being skipped.

But that paragraph wasn't particularly entertaining. I guess deep down, on some level, bread and circuses really do it for me.

[Playergamer]

@Playergamer: Hey, you guys (i.e. American conservatives) brought this on yourself. You lie down with dogs, you get fleas. You lie down with racist birther troll xenophobes who worship wealth, you get Donald Trump.

...uh. I just think that small government is usually better then big government, taxes should be lower, and that people's constitutional rights need to be protected above everything else. I try not to touch anything else besides that in politics, since the GOP has gone far off the rails in recent years and is now completely insane.

[RedKing]

No argument here. Have you looked at libertarianism? It's like Republicanism, but with 50% less crazy (except for the part where laissez-faire capitalism becomes a religion, and BioShock is the story of a utopia that the player character had to disrupt with his stupid parasite ways.)

[Helgoland]

No argument here. Have you looked at libertarianism? It's like Republicanism, but with 50% less crazy (except for the part where laissez-faire capitalism becomes a religion, and BioShock is the story of a utopia that the player character had to disrupt with his stupid parasite ways.)

So basically you're looking for European-style liberalism? You'll find that among the liberals, not among the libertarians...

[smjjames]

@Playergamer: Hey, you guys (i.e. American conservatives) brought this on yourself. You lie down with dogs, you get fleas. You lie down with racist birther troll xenophobes who worship wealth, you get Donald Trump.

...uh. I just think that small government is usually better then big government, taxes should be lower, and that people's constitutional rights need to be protected above everything else. I try not to touch anything else besides that in politics, since the GOP has gone far off the rails in recent years and is now completely insane.

Sounds like you're one of those rare moderate (read: non-insane, not bible thumping, not idiotic) Republicans, which is actually a good thing around here.

Though seriously, the Republicans pretty much have themselves to blame. I'm sure one of the better political analysts here can better dissect it though.

[Strife26]

Ow. This drop hurt a little bit. If I was less lazy, I'd buy some more stock right now for this dip, and very not lazy I'd take my own investment advice again.


Strife's investment advice, pick a few mutual funds and a good company or two, then invest the exact same amount in them every month. If they gain money in a month, great. If they don't, great (because you're getting more stock for that month)

[smjjames]

Anyhow, it's looking highly likely Biden will run, he'll be a good alternative to Hillary, just needs to differentiate from her somehow.