Quote from: DKG on April 04, 2025, 07:11:55 AMU.S. stocks saw a sharp decline on April 3 after Donald Trump imposed steep reciprocal tariffs on many nations.

In the weeks leading up to the tariff announcement, markets had already faced significant volatility, with some believing the actual risk was overstated.

Trump said the financial markets will take off once the new levies are in effect.

Trump stated that as much as $7 trillion would enter the United States, resulting from investments coming into the country.

"The markets are going to boom," he said, adding that "the country is going to boom."

I wish I shared the president's optimism.

Consider this, America was going to wake up one day and implode in a way that that would destroy the country and leave the country in such a depression, we might never have recovered. We simply cant afford to continue down that path. Is suicide.

Trump doing what he's doing WILL be better. It might not be pretty, but the alternative is do nothing and wake up one day to disaster.

Personally, I have no doubts whatsoever that Trump will make things better for everyone. I quit betting against Trump after his last term. I was proven wrong by him several times.

Who knows though, maybe we will still have a depression. Doesnt matter, it was going to happen anyway.

Crude is in the shitter and that aint good for Saskatchewan.

OPEC countries are going to increase production.

Quote from: Lokmar on April 04, 2025, 10:56:43 AMConsider this, America was going to wake up one day and implode in a way that that would destroy the country and leave the country in such a depression, we might never have recovered. We simply cant afford to continue down that path. Is suicide.

Trump doing what he's doing WILL be better. It might not be pretty, but the alternative is do nothing and wake up one day to disaster.

Personally, I have no doubts whatsoever that Trump will make things better for everyone. I quit betting against Trump after his last term. I was proven wrong by him several times.

Who knows though, maybe we will still have a depression. Doesnt matter, it was going to happen anyway.

If Trump truly wants to Make America Great Again he oughta double the taxes on the Ultra Rich.

That's what Hitler did during the Great Depression and that's how Germany recovered. The top marginal tax rate went from 25% to 50%. He had to find a way to pay for all those infrastructure projects which reduced Germany's unemployment rate from 35-40% down to 0%.

Of course it was an evil time under Mr H qnd I don't recommend that kinda regimen. But he did make the Rich pay and it got results.

If I was dictator for a day I'd make the Billionaire class pay higher taxes. But I'd also provide a incentivized tax breaks to those those who contribute a significant amount of their own money to public work projects, business startups and job creation thereby reducing their tax rates.

I'm not against tax breaks for the rich or business subsidies but they have to be productive not merely enriching a billionaire class at the expense of society. There has to be a net benefit otherwise you're just supporting a bunch of oligarchs similar to a royal court where the kings get everything while the peasants starve

I'd also mandate that the ultra rich would have to donate a significant portion of their wealth upon death for the benefit of society Lokmar

The maximum allowable inheritance should be 1 billion per person, not 10s or 100s of billions per inheritance. Enough to take of their families and loved ones but not so much that it creates dynasties or Oligarchs.

You could tax the rich at 100% and would get enough money to pay for government operations through November of the first year. Then what?

Quote from: Renegade Quark on April 06, 2025, 01:33:45 AMYou could tax the rich at 100% and would get enough money to pay for government operations through November of the first year. Then what?

Taxing the unproductive ultra wealthy would likely bring in enough revenue to pay for the interest on the debt which would provide the government with enough room to address the national debt itself.

As I indicated, generous tax breaks would be provided for those who contribute significant sums to public works projects the government and taxpayers would have to pay for. This makes sense because it reduces the burden on the government which normally has to pay for them. And those contributing to legitimate business startups even as silent Investors with proof of share purchases would get a tax break too.

I thought this was a key mistake of the Harris campaign. Instead of taxing unrealized capital gains Harris should have raised taxes on the ultra wealthy but at the same time offered a a way to reduce that rate thru incentives. Actually this could apply to ordinary citizens as well. Ie, if middle class taxpayers contribute even a small amount to a public works project like $100 or $1000, they get a tax break and their names on a plaque that they have contributed.

People might think that 'socialist" but that's exactly what the government does with 401k plans in the US or RRSP'S in Canada. The ordinary person gets to defer a portion of their taxes if they contribute a maximum every year but then have withdraw from it and pay taxes when they retire. Meanwhile the contribution is being invested back into the economy during the contributors working years. So is the current system socialist? I  don't think so. Of course the capitalist governments and system want a return on their willingness to allow people to defer taxes until retirement.

Similarly making the ultra wealthy cough up their fortunes upon death isn't really socialist either. Because already governments already make Americans pay inheritance taxes. And let's face it, the ultra wealthy can't take that money with them when they die so their fortunes may as well be put to good use.

I don't think that's really 'socialist' either because its saying that for being allowed to live a Privileged life while they were alive the society wants a payback when they die. And if ordinary citizens dont get off tax free under the current system in our capitalist systems, why should the ultra rich?

I also question the wisdom of allowing a single billionaire to own the Hawaiian Island of Lanai when in reality that island should be split up to allow multiple buyers to own it. Otherwise that's  a monopoly which is actually the antithesis of free market capitalism because it stifles competition and the free market.

For that reason I would tax land hoarders too. Anything outside of 1 home and 1 vacation home would be progressively taxed. This is similar in concept to a department store with a max limit 2 per customer policy. Again that's not really ' socialist'. Not only does that permit free market consumerism it prevents hoarding & the hoarders from marking up prices. That's why homes are out of reach for many Americans & Canadians because the governments have allowed corporations or offshore buyers from China to hoard the land and resell it at inflated prices. That's why land hoarding controls should be put on place. The current system rewards land hoarders but often punishes the single homeowner who ends up paying more tax on their homes every year. Why not punish the land hoarders instead and make them subsidize everybody else?

Actually I'm in favor of what Arkansas's Republican governor Sarah Huckabee did - which was to outlaw Chinese nationals from buying land in her state. Is that 'socialist' ? Or just that she wants to discourage land hoarding and provide her own state residents and Americans to own homes at affordable prices which reflect the actual free market? I think the latter is true.

Quote from: Renegade Quark on April 06, 2025, 01:33:45 AMYou could tax the rich at 100% and would get enough money to pay for government operations through November of the first year. Then what?

I assume this is in response to Joe's trolling.

Trump wants to take anybody off the IRS radar who earns less than $150,000 per year. He will call that a giveaway to the rich for troll purposes.


He's an asshole, put him on ignore.

Here's an informative video from the perspective of a Retired Portfolio Manager on how to weather the current economic storm DKG DKG:

Just a reminder that I have the septuagenarian troll on ignore.

Quoting me when I have him on ignore is a really pathetic plea for attention. Maybe he should retire from forums and find a new hobby and a life before it's too late.

Quote from: DKG on April 08, 2025, 07:26:40 AMJust a reminder that I have the septuagenarian troll on ignore.

Quoting me when I have him on ignore is a really pathetic plea for attention. Maybe he should retire from forums and find a new hobby and a life before it's too late.

I wanna invest in the markets later this year after the coming crash & recession,  eh DKG DKG.

I'm glad I held off & kept a lotta dry powder to invest eh DKG?

Quote from: DKG on April 08, 2025, 07:26:40 AMJust a reminder that I have the septuagenarian troll on ignore.

Quoting me when I have him on ignore is a really pathetic plea for attention. Maybe he should retire from forums and find a new hobby and a life before it's too late.

The only person that don't have old Joe on ignore, Thiel is the only poster who's leg he doesn't hump.

As of January, China held $761 billion in US Treasuries, making it the second-largest holder of American government debt, behind only Japan.

The number is official, but Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, estimated that the actual total is closer to $1 trillion once hidden holdings through European custody accounts are included.

By offloading this debt, China directly pressures US borrowing costs. Selling Treasuries forces yields to rise, which drives up interest the US government must pay to fund itself.

Quote from: Thiel on April 10, 2025, 03:02:07 PMAs of January, China held $761 billion in US Treasuries, making it the second-largest holder of American government debt, behind only Japan.

The number is official, but Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, estimated that the actual total is closer to $1 trillion once hidden holdings through European custody accounts are included.

By offloading this debt, China directly pressures US borrowing costs. Selling Treasuries forces yields to rise, which drives up interest the US government must pay to fund itself.

Once they do that, and I hope they do, we wont be able to afford their cheap shit.