The Donald Trump Score Card

Trump and the Republicans in Congress cower away from healthcare reform until at least 2021.

Trump has been carnival barking about healthcare reform since 2015.



Trump says no Republican health-care plan until after 2020 elections
President says plan will be cheaper, ‘more usable’ than ACA, but offers no details
By Mike Murphy
Published: Apr 1, 2019 11:36 p.m. ET

Trump says no Republican health-care plan until after 2020 elections

 

I used to drive trucks in and out of Long Beach and Wilmington. I used to deliver Colorado Beef and Pork to Bandini Boulevard.

 

Trump now will not release his taxes, after no Mueller and no McGahan. He sounds guilty.

 

We know what was not said. Trump says they didn't talk about Russia's interference in our election. Apparently, Trump thinks it's no big deal.Trump talked to Putin about 'Russia hoax,' but didn't mention Russian interference in the election ⋆ 10z US politics

 

Although some farmers seem pleased with Trump giving them essentially a welfare check to counter lower sale prices for crops such as soy due to the trade war he initiated, such financial support ultimately comes from the taxpayers or the repurposing of money from other farm or non-farm programs that can damage farmers and others.

The same type of handout is also needed to counter the higher costs of steel and aluminum for farm equipment due to Trump's metal trade war which he said was needed for national security.

Another drawback of the trade war is that it gives other countries such as China and those in South America an opportunity to gain a foothold in a market such as soy that otherwise wouldn't have been worth the cost and risk of the investment. Farmer in the U.S. may have to grapple long-term with competition from such new suppliers.

 

The Unexpected Side Effects of Trump’s Trade War
Farm income is down, and equipment prices are sky-high.
Olivia Paschal
Mar 19, 2019

The Unexpected Side Effects of Trump’s Trade War

excerpt:

"Several weeks ago, John Boyd’s combine broke down. The machine is an absolute necessity for Boyd—he, like most commodity farmers, uses it to harvest the soybeans, corn, and wheat he grows every year in Baskerville, Virginia. What he really needs is a whole new combine, which would allow him to harvest his crops more efficiently, and which would last him much longer than fixing his current machine or buying a used one. But a new combine would cost him more than $480,000. With his farm income down and equipment prices up, “I haven’t been able to buy anything at all,” Boyd says.

Like farmers around the country, Boyd is in the crosshairs of the trade war, caught between the 25 percent tariffs that the United States has imposed on imported raw materials such as steel and aluminum and the retaliatory tariffs that China and other countries have imposed on major American agricultural exports, especially soybeans. Though the United States and China have been trying to negotiate a new trade deal, a resolution isn’t likely to come until at least April.

The trade war almost couldn’t have come at a worse time for the agricultural industry: Farm debt is on the rise, farm income is in a three-year trough, and the American Farm Bureau Federation’s chief economist said last month that many farmers are dependent on off-farm income to keep their operations running. But farmers can’t push pause on their crops to try to wait out the trade war—they’re at the beck and call of the planting and harvesting seasons."

 

A $12 Billion Program to Help Farmers Stung by Trump’s Trade War Has Aided Few
By Alan Rappeport
Nov. 19, 2018

A $12 Billion Program to Help Farmers Stung by Trump’s Trade War Has Aided Few

excerpt:

"So far, farmers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota have been the biggest recipients of assistance, the U.S.D.A. said, with soybeans, wheat, corn, dairy and hogs being the goods most in need of support.

The bailout has also benefited two United States senators who continue to run active farms: Charles E. Grassley, the Republican of Iowa, and Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat.

Like any program offering free money, there are also opportunities to game the system. On Monday, the watchdog organization Environmental Working Group released a report that shows city residents who own shares in farms and relatives of farmers have been capitalizing on the bailout and that some farmers appear to have been paid large sums of money."

 

Does Trump Even Understand How Tariffs Work?
It’s unclear what the president wants to accomplish with his trade war.
Annie Lowrey
Dec 6, 2018

Does Trump Even Understand How Tariffs Work?

excerpt:

"This weekend, President Donald Trump announced a major economic deal with Beijing. “China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars,” he wrote on Twitter. “Farmers will be a a very BIG and FAST beneficiary of our deal with China. They intend to start purchasing agricultural product immediately,” he added. “Farmers, I LOVE YOU!”

A few days later, Trump flip-flopped. “We are either going to have a REAL DEAL with China, or no deal at all—at which point we will be charging major Tariffs,” he wrote. “If a fair deal is able to be made with China, one that does all of the many things we know must be finally done, I will happily sign. Let the negotiations begin.”"

 

Inside China's strategy in the soybean trade war
Josephine Mason, Hallie Gu, Karl Plume
December 27, 2018 / 2:08 AM

Inside China's strategy in the soybean trade war - Reuters

excerpt:

"Major Chinese agriculture firms have recently started adopting the same tactics, but the nation’s pork sector remains dominated by smaller operations that - until now - didn’t have a strong financial incentive to justify the time and expense required to overhaul feeding systems and formulas, industry experts said.

Now, China’s 25-percent tariff on U.S. soybeans - a retaliation against levies by U.S. President Donald Trump on a wide range of Chinese imports - is accelerating the push to slash soymeal rations.

“The Sino-U.S. trade tensions will inevitably promote the wider application of this know-how,” said Yin Jingdong, professor in animal nutrition at China Agricultural University."

 

Trump says tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods will increase to 25%, blames slow progress in trade talks
Spencer Kimball
Published Sun, May 5 2019 12:13 PM EDT Updated Sun, May 5 2019 3:58 PM EDT

Trump says tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods will increase to 25%, blames slow progress in trade talks

 

Been thinking about this. Trump supports Israel, but his white supremacists supporters don't. What am I missing?

 

Trump supporters are stupid people who never finished the sixth grade of elementary school and have never heard of Israel. They think there are only two countries in this world, over here and over there.

 

I've got a question about Joe
But I've been... Biden my time.

 

And the stock market fell overe 300 point today, so far. I heard conservative Republican economist guru, Arthur Laffer of Laffer curve/supply side economics fame, warning against the dangers of tariffs and trade wars, which he blames for the Great Depression. I think this is Trump's Achilles heel. If he keeps it up, his beautiful economy will go down the tubes, and an important chunk of his base will melt away. Too bad the whole country will have to suffer so horribly to bring that about.

 

I've been trying to tell Republicans for the last 49 years that their idea of how a national economic system should be run is … wrong.

 

I wouldn't believe him on just about anything, including the weather and time of day, but somehow I believe him when he says he didn't press Putin about interfering in our elections.

 

Meanwhile, Trump has his highest approval rating since taking office.

Trump Approval Remains High for Him, at 46%

 

Winning!