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[nenjin]

This is why Trump is an asshole. If he were the head of GM he'd have done the exact same thing.

Nah, he'd probably hire a bunch of undocumented immigrants for less than minimum wage and then 'forget' to pay them later.

They don't even need to be immigrants. He's happy not paying US citizens for their work as well.

[Kagus]

This is why Trump is an asshole. If he were the head of GM he'd have done the exact same thing.

Nah, he'd probably hire a bunch of undocumented immigrants for less than minimum wage and then 'forget' to pay them later.

They don't even need to be immigrants. He's happy not paying US citizens for their work as well.

An equal-opportunity employer, in other words.

[Gentlefish]

So...he's going to protect American workers by hurting GM so that it has to lay off more American workers. Seems legit.

I don't like Trump, but I think you're just being unfair here. What alternative(s) do you propose? Penalizing the company specifically and obviously for removing jobs in America is a good way to encourage companies to, you know, hold jobs in America. It's not the best method, but it's one that is simple and possible to implement...or at least threaten to implement...before the plants actually close.

If they lay off more American workers, well, what do you propose? If they do that then there's no point subsidizing them if they're not actually creating jobs here. Well, even LESS of a point subsidizing them than there is now that they're closing down a bunch of plants here.

How about making the subsidies based on the workforce? Like, "For every US worker you employ, you get a shiny new nickel" (or whatever...I'm throwing out random numbers here). Then it's just a matter of adjusting the subsidy amount to make it economically feasible for GM to employ US workers instead of moving those jobs offshore. Which is about the only reason ANY industry should be getting taxpayer subsidies in the first goddamn place, IMHO.

Trump is using the subsidies as a blunt object rather than a carrot-and-stick. He's using tariffs the same way. Hell, he uses Twitter the same way.
All he knows is stick.

Meanwhile, Mississippi reminded everyone why it's last in the country in most metrics of being a good place to live.

Thank God for Mississippi, otherwise my great state of Idaho would be.

[RedKing]

So...he's going to protect American workers by hurting GM so that it has to lay off more American workers. Seems legit.

I don't like Trump, but I think you're just being unfair here. What alternative(s) do you propose? Penalizing the company specifically and obviously for removing jobs in America is a good way to encourage companies to, you know, hold jobs in America. It's not the best method, but it's one that is simple and possible to implement...or at least threaten to implement...before the plants actually close.

If they lay off more American workers, well, what do you propose? If they do that then there's no point subsidizing them if they're not actually creating jobs here. Well, even LESS of a point subsidizing them than there is now that they're closing down a bunch of plants here.

How about making the subsidies based on the workforce? Like, "For every US worker you employ, you get a shiny new nickel" (or whatever...I'm throwing out random numbers here). Then it's just a matter of adjusting the subsidy amount to make it economically feasible for GM to employ US workers instead of moving those jobs offshore. Which is about the only reason ANY industry should be getting taxpayer subsidies in the first goddamn place, IMHO.

Trump is using the subsidies as a blunt object rather than a carrot-and-stick. He's using tariffs the same way. Hell, he uses Twitter the same way.
All he knows is stick.

Meanwhile, Mississippi reminded everyone why it's last in the country in most metrics of being a good place to live.

Thank God for Mississippi, otherwise my great state of Idaho would be.

Most of the Deep South feels the same way about Mississippi. It's like that one cousin you have that helps keep you from being the black sheep.
"Well, I may have flunked out of school, and Alabama might have wrecked his car while drunk, but at least we didn't get an underage girl pregnant while high on meth and trafficking migrants, like Mississippi!"

Oh Lord....I never knew I wanted to see this, but somebody needs to make something like Hetalia but with the fifty states.

[Egan_BW]

North Carolina is best girl by far

[Karnewarrior]

I'd considered something like that, although it was more focused on the Nations being the main characters, with States being effectively Santa's Elves. The idea was basically the Nations were real-sized people, generally semi-to-scale relative to one another (eg. Russia and America were big motherfuckers, but within the bounds of being noticeably the same as Britain or France, and even the tiniest Nations like Luxembourg were the size of young children) while the States were tea-cup sized people subservient to the Nation. States could become Nations by collecting a superpower National Identity and usually fighting off their ruling Nation when they came to claim the NI. For example Korea was a totally different entity than South or North Korea, who were actually the States of Peyongyang and Seoul with one of Korea's NI gems each. The general idea was that the Nations and States would have personalities that would justify all their historical actions in a coherent narrative, so America was a cocky-but-goodhearted Jock with a rebellious streak, China was a sly old man who liked to toy with those around him, North Korea was a paranoid hikkikomori living in South's closet (while denying that South owned the house) etc.

I ended up making a quest for it, but I didn't really follow through.



Anyway, what does everyone think about the situation in Ukraine with those ships headed for the Sea of Azov? I really wish we could just DoW Russia and kick their ass, but that's not really plausible. Hitting them in the economy doesn't seem to be helping much though, and Chief Cheeto isn't really helping.

[PTTG??]

California is rich, attractive, and incredibly accident prone. Like, knocks over bookcases, sets himself on fire, that sort of thing.

[Egan_BW]

Forgets to pay the water bill...

[Dunamisdeos]

Ya'll are weird AF please continue.

[Trekkin]

Well, if we seriously want to try to make America Powers Hetalia, we could divide the states into sibling groups roughly along these lines (borrowing heavily from The 11 Nations of America here and intentionally messy):

Washington, Oregon, and California.

Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and the Dakota twins

Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.

Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Carolina twins, the Virginia twins, Maryland and Delaware.

Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine

Florida, Alaska, and Hawaii are only children.

[RedKing]

The Failing Jeff Bezos puppet Washington Post published an interview with Trump today, in which he blasted the Federal Reserve for, y'know, doing their job. Amidst the usual early-dementia word salad was this gem:

"They're making a mistake because I have a gut, and my gut tells me more sometimes than anybody else's brain can ever tell me."

Internet, you know what you have to do.



Also, the Democrats took the bold move of nominating Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House for next Congress.
My first thought.

[Telgin]

Trump's inability to use complete sentences, only broken by such amazing anti intellectual statements as that, is a classic example of something being funny if it weren't so terrifying.

I really don't have much else to say, except to repeat that the general anti intellectualism in the US is troubling in fundamental ways that I have difficulty communicating.

[Kagus]

fundamental ways that I have difficulty communicating.

Not as much as he does, apparently.

[Karnewarrior]

Also, the Democrats took the bold move of nominating Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House for next Congress.
My first thought.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Dunamisdeos]

The current situation does not force them to admit fault in any way, therefore nothing needs to change in any way.

Welcome to old people 101.