Trump the materialist these days wielding the metaphor "The Wall" at least as deftly as artist Roger Waters ever did.
Trump not looking for advice and assistance from his mother...
Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb?
Mother do you think they'll like the song?
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls?
Oooh, ahh Mother should I build the wall?
Mother should I run for President?
Mother should I trust the government?
Mother will they put me in the firing line?
Oooh ahh, Is it just a waste of time?
Hush now baby, baby, don't you cry.
Mama's gonna make all of your nightmares come true.
Mama's gonna put all her fears into you.
Mama's gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She won't let you fly, but she might let you sing.
Mama's gonna keep baby cosy and warm.
Ooooh baby, ooooh baby, oooooh baby,
Of course mama's gonna help build the wall.
Mother, did it need to be so high?
Some people think there will be even MORE illegals coming in after the wall is built. I don't understand that argument. I see it as a symbolic deterrent more than anything else. It's mental and physical and like building a fence between you and your neighbor. It wouldn't even cost as much as your house itself and as Mike put it, it would be like someone making 50 grand spending $100 on a fence in his backyard.
ReplyDeleteWhat I was fearing was the wall being used as an excuse for the running out of money morons to cut deficits to fuck. Run that deficit, whine about being out of money, then start cutting social programs because of X, Y and Z.
It's not the deficit that matters it is the govt's leading flow and resulting rate of non-govt expenditure taking place within the monthly fiscal intervals....
ReplyDeleteIf Trumps trade policies increases the rate of domestic non-govt expenditure within the fiscal time interval then we can have higher domestic output with smaller deficits in the fiscal interval...
The deficit is an ex post accounting measure it can't be used as an input to a deterministic functional equation ...
I've heard Mike talk about fiscal flows in his videos and also pointed out how 25% of our industrial capacity is going unused too. I've been meaning to understand the more technical side of what he was talking about and upon looking at my statement, just saying "deficits" dumbs down the full extent of the factors and changes at work, though I know some of these MMT professors tend to use the terminology that way. I'd like to see some more resources besides the Daily Treasury Statement so I can read more about this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the explanation, Matt.
"Some people think there will be even MORE illegals coming in after the wall is built. I don't understand that argument. I see it as a symbolic deterrent more than anything else."
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, what the advocates of building the wall never tell you is that all the evidence shows that the vast majority of so-called illegals coming in are coming in through the ports. That isn't a reason not to build the wall, but it tells you that the wall is a politically contrived argument and therefore, as you say, symbolic in that it directs the hate into a "them and us" nationalistic issue, when in fact there is a "them and us" class issue. Second, huge numbers of people have voluntarily left because the US economy is not in the best of shape. Third, people only come to the US because their economies have been ravaged by Washington's policies. So if the trade and other economic agreements were rewritten, the illegal migrant problem would end. Neoliberals and nationalists prefer to tell absurd stories rather than focus on the economics which has destroyed huge swathes of Central and South America and has also had very adverse effects on American workers.
Most of the big stuff that Trump promised on the campaign trail was either cosmetic or symbolic, aimed a populist grievances rather than actually addressing real problems and pressing issues.
ReplyDeleteDelivering on the cosmetics and symbols right off the bat is good political strategy and it builds political capital for more difficult issues down the line.
But none of this is really addressing the issues that need to be addressed comprehensively to be efficient and effective. So far, it's all politics. But paying attention to politics is highly necessary in a democratic republic where the voters are necessary for election and reelection and representatives need to be bribed, cajoled or threatened. The logic may be a bit crazy, but it is completely coherent.
Tom, I agree about the cosmetic and symbolic nature of a good deal of what Trump is all about, although it may well turn out to have the political capital aspect to it. As on other threads, I think our only divergence essentially comes down to our respective judgements of how much Trump can achieve given the forces arrayed against him.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I'm of the opinion that all the political capital in the world cannot overcome the very many difficulties which are built into how the state operates and the economic and financial actors who effectively own the country. I think you believe that there's a lot more wiggle room, that Trump can get a lot passed before the big actors try to impede him, and there's always the public who'll back him, who may potentially be whipped into something very useful or, just as possible, something scary. Only time will tell.
I don't think Trump is afraid to say, "You're fired." He already did it before taking office and again on assuming office. That sends a powerful signal to the people remaining who want to remain.
ReplyDeleteOn a different material systems front, there have been a few articles like this one appearing lately in an emerging field, mapping the effect of the sun's magnetosphere (polarity changes) on earth climate: Diminishing solar activity may bring new Ice Age by 2030
ReplyDelete