Anyone try to buy from Aliexpress recently? I went in to pick up some copper banana connectors, added them to my cart to find out what our new tariffs look like. $13.00 set of 4 bananas, $1.14 tax, $1.20 shipping and $23.40 customs fee! That for a $13.00 item. Trade war has arrived at our door. Grrrrrrr….
Please reframe from the political debates/opinions I just wanted to inform USA audio shoppers what our China tariff reality is now.
Have you ever watched the remarkable story of the creation of the earth from the stars, of atmosphere, of plants, animals, and man. By a fortuitous series of catastrophes we are here.
And we are doing our best to destroy the planet in every way possible. Ever watch a show showing beautiful unpopulated tropical islands, and then they show plastic and other garbage two feet thick lining the beaches?
The problem is not policicians, democrats or republicans, China, Iran, or the U.S. The problem is all of us. Simply, the earth was not made to sustain so many human beings and their waste. Our advance knowledge of medicine has created a situation where people are living too long, people are having too many children, the earth simply cannot sustain this level of population.
The earth is simply too magnificent a planet to let this go unchecked. It is creating universal global unrest, everywhere, and to protect itself will eventually result in destruction of half of earth's population, and then equilibrium will be obtained. Seems pretty obvious to me.
It’s terrible, the sky has fallen. The end has come. We had a smooth running machine until this past January. Everything was going well with international relations, our streets were safe, and we had a sharp leader at the helm.
Haha, just kidding.
Do you want a list of what we had before 01/20 that now we don't and will not - essential services - and a list of the groups @uncledempfor whom the sky has fallen? Millions of people already and give it a few months, it will be 100s of millions .You may have deep pockets and won't feel the pain, and maybe you have never heard of empathy. The next unemployment report will be brutal.
Trump and his oligarchs are and will be fine with higher prices. Especially when they get their big tax cuts and other new big slices of the government pie. The serfs who think he is one of them? I have my doubts for many.
@jsalerno277if you wanted to use that argument 30 years ago about China being a developing country and needs to produce low quality items to develop, would have been acceptable. China has shown that they can produce quality products the same as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan.
It is totally our fault that we find ourselves in this environment. how can you fault an enemy who shoots at soldiers who don’t build fox holes?
I would be willing to bet a nickel that without any research into the subject. That there are countries on this globe that Temu or Sheen are not allowed in their country because of the quality of the items. This is an example of our poor negotiating skills.
I had lunch with Steve and Ray Leung of VAS yesterday.
They told me they cannot get parts, the sellers don't know, so they might charge a ridiculous price, or only charge $2.40 for some set screws and $120. for shipping, it is a mess.
During first Trump term the US economy was booming, lowest inflation in decades, and no US involvement in new Wars. They lying media and Democrats claimed the world would end if Trump was elected. Didn't happen.
Lying media and Democrats claimed Biden was sharp as a tack. Anybody with more than 2 brain cells could see that was not true.
The media, Democrats, and Trump haters have a long record of being wrong. Y"all keep believing the media liars and waste your time with AI searches. Normal people with common sense will get on with life and enjoy the clown show you all provide.
It’s terrible, the sky has fallen. The end has come. We had a smooth running machine until this past January. Everything was going well with international relations, our streets were safe, and we had a sharp leader at the helm.
Haha, just kidding.
I’m headed out to play pickleball with my friends, ta ta.
Yes, I posted twice to make sure my point gets across. I find it sad how the launch of this tarif war will affect our hobby and general everyday life globally because of one man’s egoistic agenda.This will set limitations and experiences as whatever our hobby has to offer globally.Time for me to settle and just enjoy the music, looking it from a more positive outlook.
Happy to get to chime in before the thread is closed; I always show up too late to offend anyone! Thanks to the OP for the heads up on the reality of buying an affordable and cheap component from China.
I recall when Japanese made goods were really crappy, and a Honda Civic was small enough to get around a traffic jam on a sidewalk. It also got over 40 mpg…
My current Honda pilot was made in Canada, the US and Mexico. The result of a collaborative trade relationship has helped many nations, not just a few.
i am interested in components irrespective of where they were built. Having a global economy means being able to buy a McIntosh component built in the US, or a Moon Audio amplifier made in Canada, or a Laiv Audio DAC from Singapore.
Singapore does not impose a tariff on US goods under the US-Singapore free trade agreement, yet a ten percent tariff has been imposed on them in direct violation of that treaty.
As the US goes back on its word, it demonstrates it cannot be trusted. I think this will have long term repercussions.
And my retirement will be fine. I moved most of it into treasury bonds in early November, and into gold and cash more recently. The economy is headed downhill with the king of bankruptcies at the helm. Time to buckle up.
and I’ll be listening to music on a great Singaporean system.
Tim
Great point about the nursing home situation. I've read that 80% of patients in nursing homes are 100% on Medicaid. Nothing else covers them. These are someone's parents. About 60% of them are in some type of memory care facility due to their dementia. Happens to a lot of us as we age.
If Medicaid is taken away, the majority will end up at their kids homes. Over 30 states have familial law that mandates kids take care of their parents even if they are estranged. They will garnish your wages if necessary. Memory care runs around $12-$15K a month. Let that sink in. All of this is so the super wealthy can get another round of unneeded tax breaks.
Someone who thinks "TDS" -- unknown to the DSM and to all professional literature of the subject -- is a genuine pathology, and who meanwhile accuses people with IQs in the 140 - 160 range of not only suffering from it, but of intellectual deficiency [!!], is too self-refutational to merit reply. But just in case anyone doesn't know, "TDS" is a political slogan whose purpose is to normalize the psychiatric diagnoses of sociopathology and malignant narcissism, which philosophically translate to solipsism and politically translate to authoritarianism.
The gon hifi crew probably has thicker wallets than the avg dude out there...not the right crowd for a proper assessment.
But, a vast chunk of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Watch the ClusterF when they hit their favorite Walmarts for all their necessities soon enough. Don’t feel bad for anyone though. They got what they wanted..
On a different note, the sum total of all Chinese exports to the US equates to the GDP of one mid-sized Chinese metro area probably. Do "THEY" need us more than we need "THEM"?....nope
Are all the BRICS+, partner nations and others going to rally behind them, dedollarize some more, whatever? probably...Hang on to your pants
I can't give you an easier opportunity than pick to one thing he said and prove it's true. The fact that you haven't done it is pathetic and alarming in the same time.
Since Admin has seen fit to allow this CRAP to continue I just want to say to EVERY SINGLE DEMONcrat LOSER here,YOUR A BUNCH OF PEDOPHILE,RAPIST,DRUG SMUGGLING,MURDERER,ILLEGAL ALIEN,CORRUPT JUDGE,THIEVING POLITICIAN SUPPORTERS!
@freediver, I see you still have not found an effective treatment for your Tourette's syndrome.
For all this "efficiency" Rump spent $258 Billion more in government spending in his first 100 days than Biden did in his. Elmo saved nothing but fired thousands of necessary government jobs and cancelled contracts almost over or not even started yet.
What Elmo did get was all of our private information to make a security state that will rival Chinas. The only upside is we'll never have to read another thread about how bad a world actor China is anymore and to buy American.
See... there's a silver lining to this black cloud.
US will have trade surplus with every country, we will be entirely self sufficient, full employment with livable wages for every worker, no inflation, not going to touch SS or Medicare, US no longer runs deficits, debt being paid down rapidly, Canada 51st state, US owns Greenland, Panama Canal, now Gulf of America, no income taxes for those making under $200,000, Trump is the Pope, Trump is running the world. Now tell me who is deranged!
well, it will take time short term pain for long term gain we NEED to be able to get to a point where we CAN make all the essential goods ourselves . china IS an enemy ( we sure are to them ) and their plan is to take over world invade taiwan etc wake up! communists and socialism is the hand maid, precursor of communism!
we CAN get all minerals we need in USA yes they exist in sufficient quantities we need to get over the NIMBY of developing mines and making what we need here yup they do sometimes polute ! too bad we can try to use tech and be careful today we signed the agreement w/ ukraine to develop mineral extraction lucky those mines are largely in territory Russia wants peace actually so thousands of US miners engineers in way will be deterrent ! even PUTIN wants peace as they are and have been hurting ! i get exotic car parts made in Russia ! they have every grade of titanium ever made and skilled engineers who are tired of working , making military parts! .it is a PIA to pay them! have to use a neutral 3rd country or bitcoin! 90K factories closed in USA due to stupid NAFTA and similar over past decades some are coming back w/rising wages and transportation,shipping cost it is not such a big gap if we make things HERE we are almost competitive ! anyone remember when wall mart USED to brag everything sold was made in USA ? it can be again yes we will pay more it's worth it
look ahead, give this all a chance you short sighted anti Mr T folks he means well is doing has done MORE right than any other ever did FACT ! it just needs to reach tipping point then we will succeed as manufacturer no matter who is president ! ( as long as we do not become socialist/ communist ! ) we USED to be there we will again
Ranking U.S. presidents by the number of lies told per day while in office reveals significant differences, particularly highlighting Donald Trump's presidency. Here’s a summary based on available data:
1. **Donald Trump**:
- During his first term, Trump made an average of **21 false or misleading claims per day**, totaling **30,573 claims** according to The Washington Post. Other sources, like the Toronto Star, reported an average of **6 false claims per day** from January 2017 to June 2019, but the higher figure from The Washington Post is more widely cited as indicative of his overall presidency [[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_misleading_statements_by_Donald_Trump).
2. **Other Presidents**:
- While the search results did not provide specific daily averages for other presidents, it is noted that Trump's lying has been characterized as unprecedented in American politics. Historians and political analysts have described him as the most prolific liar in the history of the presidency, with no close second [[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_misleading_statements_by_Donald_Trump).
3. **Comparison with Previous Presidents**:
- Historically, other presidents have been known to stretch the truth or mislead, but none have been documented to the extent of Trump. For example, previous presidents have occasionally lied, but Trump's approach has been described as a systematic and strategic use of falsehoods [[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_misleading_statements_by_Donald_Trump).
In summary, Donald Trump stands out significantly in terms of the number of lies told per day while in office, with no other president coming close to his documented figures.
---
Learn more:
1. [False or misleading statements by Donald Trump - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_or_misleading_statements_by_Donald_Trump)
You start with a ridiculous accusation of 100's of lies told daily, then want to argue. Argue, not discuss is your desire. You can't possibly make that kind of accusation unless you are at the man's side 24/7. There is no place to go with your disconnect from reality.
During the next 4 years, there will be a major realignment of trading partners via various trade agreements. New suppliers will be found to replace the U.S. After substantial investment in infrastructure such as ports, trucking terminals, warehousing, etc.; former U.S. trading partners will not simply crawl back because there’s a new POTUS. That isn’t going to happen. They won’t trust the U.S. anymore as a good faith partner.
In the meantime, tens of thousands of jobs at U.S. ports, U.S. terminals, U.S. warehousing will vanish.
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedgefund in the U.S. says that there is danger ahead.
DT is the worst thing that has happened to America and democracy in my lifetime. I have eyes, ears and a mind to witness it. But what is far worse is the psychological operation campaign he has waged on the MAGA crowd. They have enabled him and as an effect of this..the demise of a great nation. It’s only a matter of time before America becomes a full blown oligarchy. His followers can’t see it.
Since Admin has seen fit to allow this CRAP to continue I just want to say to EVERY SINGLE DEMONcrat LOSER here,YOUR A BUNCH OF PEDOPHILE,RAPIST,DRUG SMUGGLING,MURDERER,ILLEGAL ALIEN,CORRUPT JUDGE,THIEVING POLITICIAN SUPPORTERS!
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