The New Lounge

[GhostOf301]

A coordinated strategy where the U.S., alongside allies, targets sectors where China holds strategic monopolies. Like raw mineral production, lithium-ion batteries production, green energy tech, magnets, semiconductors, pharmaceutical ingredients, and electronics assembly—each of which poses a national security and economic risk to the United States. This is exactly where targeted, coordinated tariffs should come into play.

The goal shouldn’t be to isolate China overnight or bring every job back home—it’s to apply sustained, focused pressure on key sectors while giving U.S. industry time and incentive to rebuild capacity over a realistic, multi-year timeline.

We also need to drop the fairy tale that all manufacturing is coming back. The U.S. economy benefits from global labor dynamics, especially in developing markets—that’s a separate debate, but it’s reality. And even if production returns, most of those jobs will be automated. This is about control of supply chains, not recreating a 20th-century workforce.

A real win means securing our strategic production capabilities without self-inflicted damage.

All of this is great. It is a bit of a stretch, though. I was more asking what could come out of the current strategy than what your strategy would be. For the record, I have no strategy as it is out of my wheelhouse. So I am not coming at you on any kind of way.

 

[Th0r]

All of this is great. It is a bit of a stretch, though. I was more asking what could come out of the current strategy than what your strategy would be. For the record, I have no strategy as it is out of my wheelhouse. So I am not coming at you on any kind of way.

I get what you’re saying.

I just don’t see the current strategy as ultimately being successful. Though I don’t know everything, the rollout and method look too deeply flawed to produce real results. Most Americans have no idea what’s coming down the pipe—this strategy is a time bomb, and the fuse has already been lit. Now we’re just waiting for the explosion.

If this course continues, I think we’re headed for real economic damage. You’ll start to see layoffs ripple through industries that rely on imports—especially smaller manufacturers and suppliers who can’t just absorb these costs. Prices on everyday goods will climb, and not gradually. Consumers will feel it at the register, and demand will slow. Meanwhile, capital investment will freeze up because no one wants to build in uncertainty.

You push prices up and production down at the same time, and what you get is stagflation. We haven’t seen that in decades, but this strategy is laying the groundwork for it in real time. I hope I’m wrong—but right now, nothing about this feels stable or sustainable.

 

[Th0r]

No offense, but where were you @Th0r from 21 thru 24? I get that all of us on the right spent 4 years criticizing Biden. Our country turned into a full on shit show while he was in office. Trump may very well might be making some mistakes. I still think it's a little early to be blasting him, but that's a part of the game. Compared to the last administration though? No one knew who was making decisions while Ol Joe was eating Corn puffs, watching Looney Tunes, and being kept away from the public. There is NO defending that.

Sorry, but I tried reading the above novel, but my eyes glazed over.

Sorry I missed this earlier.

I call balls and strikes as I see them. I haven’t criticized Democrats on this forum because I haven’t had the opportunity since I only recently decided to engage—but I will when it’s warranted. What bothered me most was how the people around Biden seemed determined to shield him from scrutiny and prevent any serious primary challenge. Had he stepped aside after one term like he originally said he would, we would’ve had a real Democratic primary—and maybe a very different outcome.

That said, Democrats currently control none of the three branches. They’re not setting the agenda—Trump and the Republicans are. So until that changes, they own the current state of things, and that’s where my focus is.

I see no reason to rehash the same arguments you guys have been having for years. I’m posting here because I like a good debate—and I’m very good at it. I comment on things I understand, when they matter. And right now, the people in power deserve scrutiny. That’s where I’m coming from.

 

[Dattier]

Just curious what outcome of this strategy you would consider a victory worth celebrating. It seems you already have your conclusions.

"It seems you already have your conclusions," says the guy who has nothing to offer but memes p3ning libs.
Faced with solid analysis from someone you have no established knowledge of to base a personal attack on, you hem and haw and resort to "wuh-wuh-wuh-well, if you could do better, why aren't YOU President?"

This @Th0r dude couldn't have shown up at a better time... OH, but even THAT is part of your coloring playbook... see next post...

 

[Dattier]

No offense, but where were you @Th0r from 21 thru 24? I get that all of us on the right spent 4 years criticizing Biden. Our country turned into a full on shit show while he was in office. Trump may very well might be making some mistakes. I still think it's a little early to be blasting him, but that's a part of the game. Compared to the last administration though? No one knew who was making decisions while Ol Joe was eating Corn puffs, watching Looney Tunes, and being kept away from the public. There is NO defending that.

Sorry, but I tried reading the above novel, but my eyes glazed over.

Uh-huh. No response to any actual content at hand, so you try to raise suspicions about the person behind the posts that have you so gobsmacked.

Bu-bu-but President Trump deserves more time to make mistakes while claiming everything he does is amaze-balls!

Hawhaw! Let's make jokes about the last President to make yerself feel gooder about the spectacle de merde you voted for.

And reading a novel makes your eyes glaze over. Did you mean to say that part out loud? Why not just admit that intellectual, logical, well-supported positions make you blow a gasket and you just can't keep up?

 

[KDSTONE]

Uh-huh. No response to any actual content at hand, so you try to raise suspicions about the person behind the posts that have you so gobsmacked.

Bu-bu-but President Trump deserves more time to make mistakes while claiming everything he does is amaze-balls!

Hawhaw! Let's make jokes about the last President to make yerself feel gooder about the spectacle de merde you voted for.

And reading a novel makes your eyes glaze over. Did you mean to say that part out loud? Why not just admit that intellectual, logical, well-supported positions make you blow a gasket and you just can't keep up?

Not to put words in Mac’s mouth, but we’ve all made the point that Thor’s concerns are well argued and as such duly noted, but that it’s too early to label Trump’s moves as mistakes. Thor has laid out a strong case as to why they will be proven to be mistakes.
Raise suspicions about the person. I’ve noted the timing of Thor’s arrival and if I were more cynical in nature I might find said timing convenient, but he brings a lot of knowledge and civility to the table so that outweighs any initial
concerns I might have had.
Again, you keep asserting that everyone is a-ok with all of Trumps moves on the economy That’s not a fair summary of our posts the past month or so. Perhaps it’s our predisposition to mostly give Trump the benefit of the doubt, or maybe Thor will be mostly proven correct in time.
Either way, it’s awfully early to be doing victory laps.

 

[KDSTONE]

Uh-huh. No response to any actual content at hand, so you try to raise suspicions about the person behind the posts that have you so gobsmacked.

Bu-bu-but President Trump deserves more time to make mistakes while claiming everything he does is amaze-balls!

Hawhaw! Let's make jokes about the last President to make yerself feel gooder about the spectacle de merde you voted for.

And reading a novel makes your eyes glaze over. Did you mean to say that part out loud? Why not just admit that intellectual, logical, well-supported positions make you blow a gasket and you just can't keep up?

Amaze-balls. Some of the sh- you post reminds me of that scene in Mean Girls when Regina George tells the girl from Party of 5: “ Quit trying to make Fetch happen. It’s not gonna happen”.

 

[KDSTONE]

I get what you’re saying.

I just don’t see the current strategy as ultimately being successful. Though I don’t know everything, the rollout and method look too deeply flawed to produce real results. Most Americans have no idea what’s coming down the pipe—this strategy is a time bomb, and the fuse has already been lit. Now we’re just waiting for the explosion.

If this course continues, I think we’re headed for real economic damage. You’ll start to see layoffs ripple through industries that rely on imports—especially smaller manufacturers and suppliers who can’t just absorb these costs. Prices on everyday goods will climb, and not gradually. Consumers will feel it at the register, and demand will slow. Meanwhile, capital investment will freeze up because no one wants to build in uncertainty.

You push prices up and production down at the same time, and what you get is stagflation. We haven’t seen that in decades, but this strategy is laying the groundwork for it in real time. I hope I’m wrong—but right now, nothing about this feels stable or sustainable.

Tightened immigration will prevent mass layoffs is one theory.

Trump tariffs to increase unemployment, but mass layoffs unlikely | Fox Business

Economists at Allianz forecast Trump's tariffs could negatively impact the U.S. economy, increase unemployment, cause higher inflation, and decrease exports due to retaliation.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[GhostOf301]

"It seems you already have your conclusions," says the guy who has nothing to offer but memes p3ning libs.
Faced with solid analysis from someone you have no established knowledge of to base a personal attack on, you hem and haw and resort to "wuh-wuh-wuh-well, if you could do better, why aren't YOU President?"

This @Th0r dude couldn't have shown up at a better time... OH, but even THAT is part of your coloring playbook... see next post...

You're not relevant. We are discussing disagreements with a level headed and non condescending, douche, who is far more intelligent than you.

Wish you well.

 

[Mac9192]

Amaze-balls. Some of the sh- you post reminds me of that scene in Mean Girls when Regina George tells the girl from Party of 5: “ Quit trying to make Fetch happen. It’s not gonna happen”.

Ol @Dattier whines about how he’s treated here, then comes back to post more of his usual garbage.

He’s like the kid that runs his mouth, and gets his ass kicked. The guy stops, but he decides to run his mouth again, which then the guy goes back to pummeling him some more.

 

[Th0r]

Tightened immigration will prevent mass layoffs is one theory.

Trump tariffs to increase unemployment, but mass layoffs unlikely | Fox Business

Economists at Allianz forecast Trump's tariffs could negatively impact the U.S. economy, increase unemployment, cause higher inflation, and decrease exports due to retaliation.

www.foxbusiness.com

The theory that tight immigration and labor shortages could help delay layoffs makes sense to me, especially in the short term. I agree it’s possible that employers might hold onto workers longer than usual given how hard it’s been to fill positions in recent years.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the rest of Allianz’s forecast. They’re projecting just 0.8% GDP growth for the U.S. this year, with a mild recession stretching from Q1 through Q3, driven by policy disruptions and tariff escalation. That lines up with what you’d expect when rising costs and uncertainty start weighing down the economy—and honestly, I’ve kind of figured Q3 would be when the crap hits the fan anyway.

I genuinely hope Allianz is right and we avoid a wave of job losses. But with inflation already up and growth slowing, unemployment is the last missing piece. If that starts to move, we’re not talking about risk—we’re living stagflation. At this point, the pieces are on the board. It’s just a matter of when and where they fall.

 

[Th0r]

Just to expand on what I said earlier—one of my more specific concerns is how these tariffs are affecting small businesses. Electronics like phones and computers might be exempt for now, but most of the products small retailers depend on—tools, packaging, textiles—aren’t.

In towns like mine, where the cost of living is high and the economy relies heavily on tourism, that hits hard. A lot of our local shops, like others across the country, source their inventory from China. Now we’re seeing a real slowdown in international bookings, and people are starting to worry. Stricter visa policies, rising tariffs, and global tensions are all playing a role.

This isn’t some distant policy debate—it’s showing up right here in everyday life. That’s why I’ve been speaking so directly about this. These are small, seasonal businesses with tight margins. They can’t absorb a sudden 50% spike in costs. And those are the jobs I’m most concerned about in the short term.