President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

1) Our economy is in a 9-year depression -- being propped up by an insane amount of credit creation. And it would still be the envy of France right now. Secular stagnation doesn't even describe it. That "youth unemployment" thing you mentioned. ... it is a massive problem. Their business climate is untenable and their economy, while better than some of the southern European economies that lived a bigger fantasy than France has, has sunk to a pretty low place.
2) Melonchon wasn't the "super-lefty" candidate. He is a communist. Not like, "Call a green party member a communist." As in, he campaigns the way Karl Marx would. He campaigned on things like a universal guaranteed salary. ... whether you work or not. It is not like Jill Stein. Meloncho has been there for decades, never taken very seriously beyond the fringe. Which should clue you in. ... why did he suddenly become a more viable candidate?
3) Indeed, the reason that a clown like that got the support he did (same holds for Marine Le Pen's populism) is precisely because of what I said. The country is such a mess than people are turning to the fringe. ... rather than voting for the BS promises they latched onto that created the mess they now want to revolt against. It's what got Donald Trump elected here. Except there, the problems are worse than what the rust belt has been feeling here.
4) With respect, you still don't understand how an absolute bozo like Donald Trump got elected (things aren't bad here, they are great!). ... Get out of your bubble. Same as, you have no clue what is going on in France. If you get your news from the 16th arrondissement in Paris, indeed, things are just peachy.

 

1) You might want to consider that your tourist's view of France may not be giving you a clue about what millions of people -- say in say, Thoinville or Hénin-Beaumont -- are living the last decade. Their version of the rust belt has suffered even worse than ours has. That protest against Hollande? What are they protesting? Answer: the mealy, socialist, free lunch, no price to pay mess they created for themselves over the last few decades, culminating in Hollande.
2) Our economy has grown at less than trend for 9 years -- with unprecedented "stimulus" (trillions of dollars of asset buying to create endless credit) that was supposed to create breakout growth but has just put us into massive debt (by monetizing it). We are living on credit right now to hold off having to deal with reality. This quarter, even with their inability to measure it honestly, they printed growth of .7 percent last week. This has been our RECOVERY off some pretty low lows. Again with respect, wait until the history books identify a depression in hindsight for you.
3) At what point do you look at all of the populism around the world (including here) and choose to understand that people are motivated by their standard of living, not some mysterious racism and xenophobia gene. That racism and xenophobia is not the cause. It's the symptom of the actual cause.
4) As I said, get out of your bubble. What the ECB has done for Europe (not the EU, but the central bank keeping the status quo of socialist promises that bankrupted the continent) is what we have gotten here with our shenanigans. But there, it is more exaggerated. When you monetize more and more debt, you make rich people richer -- by blowing asset bubbles that appreciate the things only those people can buy. That eventually ends in a massive credit crisis -- which you (and most people) won't see until we are in the aftermath paying the price. In the interim, it makes a small group of elitists richer. ... while working class stiffs who are increasingly more and more helpless are grabbing their pitchforks. What you see is racism, though.
5) Macron is going to win -- very, very likely. The fact that this is the election they even are having is remarkable, in itself.