Trade wars historically have been symptomatic of more profound underlying problems. Primarily economic in nature. Any big war in history can be tied to economic roots. The degree to which the U.S. financial and economic system is self-destructing varies inversely with the amplitude of the propaganda promoting the opposite.
Yet, in 2016 based on the latest annual W-2 numbers available (SSA.Gov), 55% of worker earn less that $34k per year; 80% of all Americans earn less than $63k per year. Based on the BLS’ labor force participation rate, 37% of all working-age Americans were not considered part of the labor force. But wait, you’re not considered part of the “labor force” if you have not actively looked for a job in the past four weeks.
Just based on these attributes, how is it all possible that the U.S. economy is “healthy and growing?” I’ve left out the fact that household debt hits a new record every month. The average car loan outstanding is $31k. How does that compare to the income numbers? This means that, on average, 80% with a car loan have an outstanding balance that is about 50% of their annual salary. What would happen to the economy if the Government were unable to issue more Treasury to fund the accelerating spending deficit? Sorry to break the news but the economy is collapsing…
Trump’s solution to this is to give us the three-headed neo-con monster called Bolton, Pompeo and Haspel. All three are drooling to drop nukes, spy on U.S. citizens and torture anyone who disagrees with U.S. imperialism.
Paul Craig Roberts posted a must-read article by Stephen M. Walt:
[T]he departures of Tillerson and McMaster and the arrivals of Bolton, Pompeo, and Haspel herald the ascendance of a hawkish contingent that will tear up the Iran deal, reinstate the torture regime, and eventually start a war with North Korea that goes way beyond a simple “bloody nose.” And with Bolton in the White House, Trump is going to be advised by a guy who never saw a war he didn’t like (when observed from a safe distance, of course)…Let me be clear: Bolton’s appointment is on par with most of Trump’s personnel choices, which is to say that it’s likely to be a disaster
You can read the rest of this here: Welcome To The Dick Cheney Administration
Upon reading that commmentary, you’ll understand why it’s not the trade wars that keep up at night…