WSJ.com By The Editorial Board
"We’ve courted Mr. Trump’s ire by calling the Mexico and Canada levies the “dumbest” in history, and we may have understated the point. Mr. Trump is whacking friends, not adversaries. His taxes will hit every cross-border transaction, and the North American vehicle market is so interconnected that some cars cross a border as many as eight times as they’re assembled.
Mr. Trump also objected when we reported an analysis by the Anderson
Economic Group that the 25% tariff will raise the cost of a full-sized
SUV assembled in North America by $9,000 and a pickup truck by $8,000.
Is this how the new Republican Party plans on helping working-class
voters?"
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-takes-the-dumbest-tariff-plunge-5da57946?
Don't really know what you want to convey.
Of course different people judge/bet differently. At the same time,
there is no reason to assume that people are equally proficient in
judging likely impact of Trumps Tariff.
More specific, the WSJ editorial has cited "an analysis by the Anderson Economic Group that the 25% tariff will raise the cost of a full-sized
SUV assembled in North America by $9,000 and a pickup truck by $8,000."
And the following democratically relevant question:"Is this how the new Republican Party plans on helping working-class voters?"
What is your judge/bet? And if your numbers are different from those
provided by the Anderson Economic Group, please explain 1) your numbers
are more accurate and/or 2) the Mad Logic in Trump's Tariff move.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler,"
WSJ.com By The Editorial Board
"We’ve courted Mr. Trump’s ire by calling the Mexico and Canada levies >the “dumbest” in history, and we may have understated the point. Mr. >Trump is whacking friends, not adversaries. His taxes will hit every >cross-border transaction, and the North American vehicle market is so >interconnected that some cars cross a border as many as eight times as >they’re assembled.
Mr. Trump also objected when we reported an analysis by the Anderson
Economic Group that the 25% tariff will raise the cost of a full-sized
SUV assembled in North America by $9,000 and a pickup truck by $8,000.
Is this how the new Republican Party plans on helping working-class
voters?"
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-takes-the-dumbest-tariff-plunge-5da57946?
Another piece from WSJ Editorial Board
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china-working-class-voters-dc140dbc
----------------------------------------------
Opinion | Trump’s Tariffs Whack Trump Voters
Whatever happened to GOP concern for the working class?
The Editorial Board
March 4, 2025 6:12 pm ET
President Trump won the Presidency a second time by promising
working-class voters he’d lift their real incomes. Which makes it all
the more puzzling that he’s so intent on imposing tariffs that will
punish those same Americans.
Tariffs are taxes, and Mr. Trump’s latest tariffs are estimated to be
about an annual $150 billion tax increase. Taxes are antigrowth. That’s
the message investors are sending this week since Mr. Trump let his 25% >tariffs on Canada and Mexico take effect. The President also raised his
10% tariff on China by another 10%. Canada and China retaliated, while
Mexico is holding off until Sunday.
The border taxes, and the uncertainty they bring, are weighing on growth
and consumer confidence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3.4%
since Mr. Trump took office, erasing the ebullient gains that followed
his November election.
Brace for higher prices on berries, bell peppers, and, gulp, beer.
Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC Tuesday that tariffs on Mexico may
force the company to raise prices on fruits and vegetables. About 30% of >vegetables and fresh fruit sold in the U.S. come from Mexico. Modelo’s >Mexican-produced Especial is the best-selling beer in the U.S.
In article <bf7a61ee0edd192426ee622b0302edc2@www.novabbs.com>,
ltlee1 <ltlee1@hotmail.com> wrote:
??? You could not access the beginning post of this thread: The BBB
model of Western democracy.
I read it. But it doesn't cite any sources that define BBB, nor does it define BBB itself. Did I miss something?
??? You could not access the beginning post of this thread: The BBB
model of Western democracy.
Brainless Black Boxes. I agree that half of America is brainless. VeryI don't mean American people brainless at all. Rather, the US democratic
sad.
Trump is an idiot with charisma.
But Americans are fighting back. We don't want a dictator.
------------------------------------------------------
Politicians Think You're Dumb. Are They Right?
A striking new study reveals that elected officials have a far more pessimistic view of voter behavior than do citizens themselves.
Jerusalem Demsas
March 25, 2025, 6 AM ET
Across 11 different democracies, politicians share a shockingly
pessimistic view: They believe that their voters are uninformed, unreasonable, and short-sighted. In a paper recently published by the American Political Science Review, the University of Calgary political scientist Jack Lucas and his co-authors surveyed 12,000 citizens and conducted face-to-face interviews with nearly 1,000 elected officials.
In this wide-ranging study of countries including Australia, Denmark, Germany, and Canada, the researchers find that elected officials and
voters diverge wildly. Unlike politicians, voters believe themselves to
be policy-oriented, politically knowledgeable, and engaged.
..
------------------------------------------------------
Western democracy is suboptimal. But ritualistic voting is blocking
democracy from evolving. The following from ""Democracy is like the
appendix" by Dylan Evans in "What Should We be Worried" edited by John >Brockman 2014:
"Democracy is like the appendix. The very thing that makes majority >dissatisfaction inevitable in a democracy—the voting mechanism—also
makes it hard for a better political system to develop. The reforms that >would be necessary to pave the way for alternative systems of governance
lie well outside the safe middle ground of the median voter. Politicians >advocating such reforms are unlikely, therefore, to be voted into
office."
"Democracy is like the appendix. The very thing that makes majority >dissatisfaction inevitable in a democracy—the voting mechanism—also
makes it hard for a better political system to develop. The reforms that >would be necessary to pave the way for alternative systems of governance
lie well outside the safe middle ground of the median voter. Politicians >advocating such reforms are unlikely, therefore, to be voted into
office."
How to improve democracy?
A guide:
1.0 Democracy is about rule by the people.
2.0 Representative Democracy is a better version than Plato's version of >democracy
2.1.0 Representative Democracy is operated on a BBB model.
2.1.1 In Western Democracies, Ritualistic voting and democracy are often
seen as one and the same thing.
2.1.2 In reality, Ritualistic elections block democracy from evolving.
Voting is blocking democracy from evolving. The following from
""Democracy is like the >appendix" by Dylan Evans in "What Should We be >Worried" edited by John
Brockman 2014:
"Democracy is like the appendix. The very thing that makes majority >>dissatisfaction inevitable in a democracy—the voting mechanism—also >>makes it hard for a better political system to develop. The reforms that >>would be necessary to pave the way for alternative systems of governance >>lie well outside the safe middle ground of the median voter. Politicians >>advocating such reforms are unlikely, therefore, to be voted into
office."
2.1.2.1 Ritualistic elections over-demand the people.
2.1.2.1.1 Why many people don't vote?
2.1.2.2 Ritualistic elections under-demand the people.
2.1.2.2.1 Why Election with low approval rating were elected term after
term.
In article <b39a8efcb2df50a52a71ea49f720878a@www.novabbs.com>,
ltlee1 <ltlee1@hotmail.com> wrote:
How to improve democracy?
A guide:
Nothing below says anything about how to improve democracy. It does, however, repeat the absurd claim that voting is a bad thing:
"Voting is blocking democracy from evolving."
[…]
bmoore@nyx.net (bmoore) wrote:
In article <b39a8efcb2df50a52a71ea49f720878a@www.novabbs.com>,
ltlee1 <ltlee1@hotmail.com> wrote:
How to improve democracy?
A guide:
Nothing below says anything about how to improve democracy. It does, however,
repeat the absurd claim that voting is a bad thing:
"Voting is blocking democracy from evolving."
[…]
Modern democracies (electocracies) evolve/change *ONLY* via voting?
Which major "western" democracies avoided "discontinuities" during last
200 years? USA *at federal level* (see "rebelled" CSA states) and UK.
Russia forces Ukrainian "system" to evolve without voting ["suspended" elections].
So yes, voting in a quite few cases "delays" necessary changes.
Do it mean that the balance *must be* negative? Can't any fixes fix it? >There is a huge difference between may/should be (further) improved
and unfixable.
As somebody said:
A _good_ king/emperor is much better (efficient) than democracy.
A bad king/emperor is _MUCH_ worse than (typical) democracy.
How to avoid bad kings/emperors?
Why is Plato's conception of democracy discarded?
Simple. Plato grossly mischaracterized the people's collective ability
to govern.
Why is Voting bad for democracy?
The same reason: Voting, likely mobbing, grossly mischaracterize
people's collective ability to govern.
If one wants argue that ritualistic voting is somehow infallible and >therefore the best for the people, please do.
Anyway, I had presented Rasmussen Report's surveys in which likely that
3 out of 4 likely voters in the US said the US government did not govern
with the consent of the people. WHY?
Are these US citizens dumb as many elected officials in various Western >Democracies think their citizens are?
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