The President attacks widow of tech icon Steve Jobs
On Sunday morning, September 6, 2020, Donald Trump went to his Twitter to call out Apple co-founder Steve Job’s widow, Laurene Powell Jobs who has financial backing to the Atlantic magazine. On Thursday, The Atlantic published a story that reported Trump called American who had died in war both “losers” and “suckers”.
The initial tweet stated: “Steve Jobs would not be happy that his wife is wasting money he left her on a failing Radical Left Magazine that is run by a con man (Goldberg) and spews FAKE NEWS & HATE. Call her, write her, let her know how you feel!!!”
Check out tweet below:
Steve Jobs would not be happy that his wife is wasting money he left her on a failing Radical Left Magazine that is run by a con man (Goldberg) and spews FAKE NEWS & HATE. Call her, write her, let her know how you feel!!! https://t.co/wwuoP85bQE
Whenever a solution to climate change is proposed, one of the first questions is “how much does it cost?” Perhaps the premiere reason that the world perpetually fails to prioritize the climate crisis is because of money; countries, corporations, and individuals around the planet do not want to spend more in order to combat an issue that feels so removed.
This, however, is a paradox. When the effects of climate change come to fruition (as if they have not already), they will affect everyone. The environment will not discriminate. Obviously, developing nations with low GDPs will be the most vulnerable to the nature’s wrath, but the impact will make a dent in the global economy, hurting everybody’s wallets.
A new study from the Economist Intelligence Unit says that over the next generation, climate change could reduce the world’s economic growth by 3%. It will hit parts of Africa, South America, and the Middle East most severely, but it will also affect wealthy parts of the world in significant ways.
The United States, for example, could see its growth reduced by 1% in the next thirty years. If global temperatures continue to rise, that figure could increase to over 10% within the next century.
This should be an economic wake up call for governments and people around the world to start taking the battle against climate change seriously, and to start investing in the fight now because the cost is only going to go up over time.
The fact that 2019 is likely to go down as one of the hottest years on record should also signal that global warming is not as removed as some might think and thus demands more immediate action. Events in 2019 such as the floods in Venice, the wildfires in California, Hurricane Dorian, and the ongoing melting of the polar ice caps have already cost the world billions of dollars. Natural disasters like these will start happening at greater frequencies as carbon emissions increase—and the money will keep pouring out of our pockets as a result.
Sadly, another study (this one from the UN Environment Programme) reports that despite ambitions of sustaining global temperatures at 2 degrees Celsius, we are still burning 50% more fossil fuels than necessary to achieve that goal by 2030. Then, if we change the temperature goal to 1.5 degrees Celsius—as many climate scientists have suggested is required—then we are burning 120% more fossil fuels than needed.
These are harrowing figures not just for our global health, ecosystems, and well-being, but also for our currency. Right now, burning fossil fuels is a big money maker, and switching to alternative energy sources could be costly. If we keep relying on non-renewable energy, though, then we might as well be throwing dollar bills into the furnace. Evidently, our financial and ecological priorities are correlated. Industry, Governments and politicians need to realize this connection and act upon it before it’s too late. And we all need to remind them, as loud and often as necessary.
Additional 10% Tariffs on $300 Billion will Commence September 1st…
Germany’s DAX down 2.5% while the Hang Seng Index loses 2.35% after Trump’s Tweets and Threats. China says they will respond in kind: “If the U.S. is going to implement the additional tariffs, China will have to take necessary countermeasures,” Hua Chunying, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said at a briefing in Beijing on Friday: “China won’t accept any maximum pressure, threat, or blackmailing, and won’t compromise at all on major principle matters…”
The DJIA was up more than 300 points on Thursday, when the announcement was made, then it ultimately ended the session down 280. The new tariffs are on the 300 billion in goods that have been, until this point, coming into the country without a toll. There are also 250 billion in Chinese goods that already have a 25% levy attached.
Recent trade negotiations in Shanghai concluded on Wednesday with little or no progress. Talks are scheduled to resume in September.
Speaking on July 30th, before reporters Trump speculated that China may be thinking of delaying a resolution until after the election in 2020, saying:
“They would just love if I got defeated so they could deal with somebody like Elizabeth Warren or Sleepy Joe Biden…. They’ll pray that Trump loses. And then they’ll make a deal with a stiff, somebody that doesn’t know what they’re doing like Obama and Biden, like all the presidents before.”
Donald J. Trump
Calling the tariff a “small additional levy” Trump also said in a series of tweets that China’s promise to buy large amounts of agricultural products from the US, was not kept.
…buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so. Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States – this never happened, and many Americans continue to die! Trade talks are continuing, and…
While speaking to reporters this afternoon at the White House, he also threatened to lift the percentage to 25% and beyond, “But we are not looking to do that, necessarily”.
Products that will be included in this new batch of tariffed goods will be consumer electronics such as iPhones, toys and shoes, among other items.
There was some surprise noted, as the meetings and discussions in Shanghai appeared to end on a somewhat positive note, initially. Now, with this announcement, there is a sense of the talks having fallen short of any progress at all.
Fallout of the Trade War to Begin Hitting Home
Trump continues to claim that China will pay these levies, although studies have shown that the consumer in the US will ultimately pay through higher costs on all tariffed goods. The higher prices will also harm sellers in the US due to a reduced volume of sales.
While there is sill also a lot of “carrot” talk, how the negotiations can also take a turn for the better at any time, coming from both sides, it does not appear that there is much substance to be gleaned from these pronouncements.
Since the percentage of some of the products that will be affected, such as toys, include as high as 85% currently coming from China, these tariffs can have a substantial effect on the marketplace.
Also, possibly unintended beneficiaries to the trade war are neighboring countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, that are already showing signs of increased activity due to the shifting of origin of manufacturing to those countries in order to avoid the levies.
Tariff-man is staying true to his self-given moniker and in September, as the next wave hits, it is yet to be seen what the economic effects will be, either in China or here in the US.
