Alan Greenspan: Trump’s Tariffs Are ‘INSANE!’

by | Nov 15, 2018 | Headline News | 42 comments

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    Former Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan has taken to blasting president Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have flung the United States into a full-fledged trade war with China.  Greenspan says that Trump’s policies on tariffs are “insane.”

    When responding to a question about the trade war with China at an event at New York University on Wednesday, Greenspan said both sides lose out in such an economic battle.  “There are victors and there are losers in a tariff fight,” Greenspan said. “But that doesn’t say that a more important issue is both are losing, it’s just the winner loses less.” According to Bloomberg, Greenspan was also confused as to the reason why the Trump administration insists on economic destruction. “Why we’re doing it [imposeing tariffs] probably is very deep in the psyche of somebody,” Greenspan said.

    Greenspan said the notion that China would outrace the U.S. in all economic respects “is a mistake,” pointing to their lower gross domestic product per capita. The U.S. and China have each levied several rounds of tariffs on each others’ goods, and tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports are due to rise to 25 percent in January in the absence of a breakthrough in negotiations.

    With the end of the year quickly approaching, there have been talks of the two sides attempting to come to a consensus, however, progress is incredibly slow.  It’s becoming a very high likelihood that the tariffs will increase in January further pinching the wallets of the average American.

    “It’s an excise tax, and people think of tariffs other than what it is,” Greenspan said. “It’s a tax, and everybody engaged in warfare of this type, it would mean that you’re withdrawing credit or purchasing power from a whole series of countries.”

    The Chinese are allegedly attempting to dissolve the trade war with Washington, however, it’s a long road, and not a road president Donald Trump looks too intent to budge from at this time.

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      42 Comments

      1. Tariffs a bit “frothy,” eh Al?

        • “Greenspan says that Trump’s policies on tariffs are insane.”

          Spoken like a true, Dual Citizen, Globalist.

          Globalism is economic treason. Traitors should be hung. TRUMP’S policies on TARIFFS are targeting countries which have been taking unfair advantage of American workers, families, businesses, and ULTIMATELY, AMERICAN TAXPAYERS, for decades !!!

          FREE TRADE HAS NOT BEEN FAIR TRADE.

          Free trade has been managed trade and it has been managed to the advantage of other countries at American expense; particularly by China $400 billion, the EU $160 billion, & Mexico $125 billion.

          No nation, no people, can survive as a viable entity with this kind of trade imbalance year after year after year, for decades. American survival depends upon reciprocal trade.

          RECIPROCAL TRADE IS FAIR TRADE. 🙂

          • China for 400 ml. dale He gave the goods in return and received a paper which was called the debt of the USA. Fair trade is a commodity for a commodity. No goods, no trade. You can not borrow goods and not pay debts.

            • China gets the manufacturing facilities and develops the skilled labor. We get a hollowed out country that is eviscerating itself.

              • I’m no economist but if this “trade war” is such a lose-lose situation for both sides, then why is China working feverishly to end it? Also, something you don’t hear much of is China’s economy is sliding into severe recession. Ours isn’t. Maybe too, this is the cause of oil’s sudden drop in price. China, I’m certain, isn’t using near as much and maybe that’s why there’s more supply than demand. Isn’t that why prices generally drop? There never has been fair trade between the US and China. For all these people to fight the president concerning his position and actions shows just what they really are, a bunch of commie sympathizers.

              • Hooray, trickle down economics worked.

                It trickled to China.

                Regarding Greenspan: Yeah it would be nice to have credibility, wouldn’t it pal?

          • We will never see truly reciprocal trade.
            Even Steven sounds like a good plan but almost never happens in the real world.
            That sounds like two kids trading baseball cards.
            I’ll give you Roberto Clemente for Johnny Bench. Really?
            He’s trying to bring the manufacturing back.
            Manufacturing is so 20th century.
            I’ve worked my share of manufacturing jobs. They sucked ass. Depressing as hell.
            American companies should not always be so razor focused on the bottom line.
            I’m not saying profits are not important.
            I’m saying many of these American companies need to start treating their employees better. The current environment we now have absolutely sucks.
            People cannot make plans because they don’t know whats coming a year down the road.
            Most of you guys that have been out of the workforce for a decade or longer have no idea
            how bad things are now.

          • Good. That means Trump is right on track.
            Anything ‘insane’ to idiots like Greenspan must be good.

            • Amen to that.

              • When in doubt, if one is too uneducated to know the specifics the yardstick measure of who is against you is an indicator of good v bad. I agree, the “Establishment Media” doesn’t like Trump, that speaks volumes.

                • exactly, good news for wall street is always bad news for main street. The sooner it collapses, the better.

                  My great grandfather lost 200 acres in the last depression, managed to keep his house, but I’m sure he was in debt the rest of his life. 14 kids at various ages lived through the depression, a world war, the false prosperity begun in the 1950’s built on debt, but the precursor to it all was the 1913 Federal Reserve Act. Repeal the fed and repudiate the debt. Then start dealing with $200T of unfunded federal obligations. We’d be out of debt in a generation.

          • …and all of it fully supported by the confirmation biases of the US slave workers and creates obscene wealth for Bezos Musk Jobs Gates and others to their own obscene power plays and social engineering…the Corporate masters and their planned social engineered workforces who absolutely LOVE their padded shackles and bonds and illusion of “FREEDOM”…. Americans are the biggest brainwashed mass of morons that GIVE these people their fealty for mere pennies and accept the mental imposed restrictions on them and STILL call themselves “free”.

          • I Know. the Boy Scouts are not even a scant shade of when I was in them and EARNED Eagle scout. Didn’t even take 30 years to ruin a great thing, such is the evil nature of Political Correctness and fads…

        • FREE TRADE HAS DONE SO FUCKING MUCH FOR THE AMERICAN BLUE COLLAR WORKER

          JUST LOOK HOW MUCH THE QUALITY OF GOODS HAS IMPROVED

          AND ALL THE INNOVATIONS AMERICA IS MAKING

          LOOK AT HOW MUCH MORE MILLENNIALS ARE MECHANICALLY INCLINED THAN PREVIOUS GENERATIONS

          THEIR GRIP STRENGTH IS LITERALLY THE SAME AS A GIRL’S

          BARCELONA LOOKS LIKE IT BELONGS IN THE AMERICAN RUST BELT

          HOW CAN YOU HAVE A FUCKING ECONOMY THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANYTHING?

          FUCKING BABY BOOMER MORONS

          • How can you have an economy that doesn’t make anything?

            Easy, look to Venezuela for an example.

            • If you take it from others.

              We just celebrated WWI as the makings of the American Century.

              By WWII, my ancestors knew it was a welfare state, and talked about going back.

      2. Alan needs to go to “Allentown”.

        “Allentown”

        Well we’re living here in Allentown
        And they’re closing all the factories down
        Out in Bethlehem they’re killing time
        Filling out forms
        Standing in line
        Well our fathers fought the Second World War
        Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore
        Met our mothers in the USO
        Asked them to dance
        Danced with them slow
        And we’re living here in Allentown

        But the restlessness was handed down
        And it’s getting very hard to stay

        Well we’re waiting here in Allentown
        For the Pennsylvania we never found
        For the promises our teachers gave
        If we worked hard
        If we behaved
        So the graduations hang on the wall
        But they never really helped us at all
        No they never taught us what was real
        Iron and coal
        And chromium steel
        And we’re waiting here in Allentown

        But they’ve taken all the coal from the ground
        And the union people crawled away

        Every child had a pretty good shot
        To get at least as far as their old man got
        But something happened on the way to that place
        They threw an American flag in our face

        Well I’m living here in Allentown
        And it’s hard to keep a good man down
        But I won’t be getting up today

        And it’s getting very hard to stay
        And we’re living here in Allentown

        “Protection of our own labor against the cheaper, ill-paid, half-fed, and pauper labor of Europe, is … a duty which the country owes to its own citizens.”
        Daniel Webster

        “The wealth … independence, and security of a Country, appear to be materially connected with the prosperity of manufactures. Every nation … ought to endeavor to possess within itself all the essentials of national supply. These compromise the means of subsistence, habitation, clothing, and defence.”
        Alexander Hamilton

        “Free trade results in our giving our money … our manufactures and our markets to other nations. … It will bring widespread discontent. It will revolutionize our values.”
        William McKinley

        “Open competition between high-paid American labor and poorly paid European labor will either drive out of existence American industry or lower American wages.”
        William McKinley

      3. Mac, I am very disturbed that whenever I or another poster confronts you know who, our posts are tied up in moderation, and the comment I made to you a few nights ago, which might not have gotten posted, was that there is perhaps some kind of intentionally placed malware attached to your site or your Disqus system that prevents his being exposed.

        I’m not paranoid because it has happened so often throughout many months and not just with me.

        This is your site, not the government’s.

        And nobody, and no entity should be able to hack your site’s environment so that a seemingly ultra-racist and ultra-prejudiced and highly irrational person whose real purpose I have alleged is to derail the cogent and mostly rational thought expressed here, can undermine why you even created this site.

        – the Lone Ranger

        • I AM THE ONE WHO TRAINED MOST OF THE REGULARS ON HERE IN PREPPING AND SURVIVALISM MORE THAN A DECADE AGO

          I HAVE HAD MORE OF MY POSTS CENSORED THAN ANYBODY ELSE IN THE HISTORY OF THIS SITE

          YOU PEOPLE ONLY EVER SEE THE MOST POLITE THINGS I WRITE

          AND EVEN THE DEPLORABLE BRAVEHEART, MY WORST ENEMY ON THIS SITE, WILL TELL YOU EISENKREUTZ AINT NO PAID GOVERNMENT TROLL

          LET ME ASK YOU, DEAR BOOMER, WHAT HAVE YOU EVER DONE FOR THIS COUNTRY OR FOR PREPPING SINCE YOU’RE CRITICIZING ME?

          • Criticizing you? Nah.

            Rather, EXPOSING YOU as an agent provocateur.

            Your first sentence is irrational, not supported by evidence. Your second sentence is the same.

            Your invoking Braveheart reminds me of Sirhan Sirhan at one of his parole hearings saying even Senator Robert Kennedy would be promoting his release.

            I won’t go for the bait that is your last sentence.

            “The lady doth protest too much methinks.” – Shakespeare

            – the Lone Ranger

        • Lone Ranger…same for me for calling out you know who…..

        • Yeah, I am also a little sick and tired of the moderation crap message that they don’t know my IP address or email address by now. Couple years into it and same shit different day of bullshit excuses.

      4. I’m sure Allen ain’t a Globalist!!! I don’t understand why so many average Joe’s are mad about these Tariffs, seems if these big International Corporation that bailed out of America may have to come home because even with their cheap labor the playing field gets leveled this would be a good thing. Sure there will be some pain, but there was plenty of pain when we lost all of the jobs when these Companies left. Hang tight Donald! Trekker Out

        • Barack Obama asked Steve Jobs if he could move production back to America. Jobs replied that it was impossible to do this … The iPhones are not produced in America because they cannot be produced there. The level of infrastructure and labor in the country does not even closely match the needs of Apple … According to one of Apple’s executives, “The United States simply stopped producing people with the skills we needed.”

          • Even if we could make those those things in America, our labor force would be exploited.
            Its all about the shareholders, CEO’s, earnings and all the financial jargon.
            Nobody gives a fuck about the backbone that makes it all happen.
            Those are just faceless, expendable slaves.
            I’m not anti-capitalist or anti-business. I just think corporations shit on people too much.
            Been to a few rodeos, you know?

          • ““The United States simply stopped producing people with the skills we needed.”

            Thats pretty much across the board. I worked in the Pet-Chem and Oil Refining industries. Both historically trained new maintenance personnel every 8 or so years. Neither have “opened up the shops” since 1982. They all fed like vultures from the laid off workers from other industries.

            They all never planned for the future because they knew that there was no future.

          • The US workers simply refused to be paid slaves wages…..That’s the REAL reason. Steve Jobs was just another mercenary capitalist who wrapped himself FAKE in philanthropist robes to maximize his obscene wealth.. Bezos Musk and the rest of the obscene con artists and slave owners liberal media owners/CEOs are no different. They are all simply power hungry con artists and the rest are just unwashed exploitable masses.

            Wake the f* up. You cant escape this paradigm, but if it inflicts pain by Tariffs and trade wars then you should rejoice that you are not alone in your miseries and that the Chinese slaves suffer worse than you do for much less in return.

      5. I didn’t much like Greenspan’s opinions as the head of the Fed and I like them even less now that he’s a private citizen.

        He speaks from the viewpoint of the upper crust of the financial elite, representing only what is best for them, not as one of the average American people.

      6. Smoot-Hawley tariffs caused a deep depression in 1930’s America.
        I have said many times on this site I want to see a depression
        as opposed to inflation. Things cost way too much! The real markets have been hijacked by Democrats/Socialists/Globalists. Crash their BS systems, I want to see the wailing and gnashing of teeth.
        Bring it on!

        • Careful what you ask for.
          Only a sick bastard wants to see weeping and gnashing of teeth, en masse.
          Basically, what you are saying is hooray for me and fuck everyone else.
          I don’t want to see a recession, depression, hyper inflation, market downturn,
          or any of that shit. People are already suffering right now.
          Sadly, its only going to get worse.
          Even the uber prepared will run out of supplies before a lengthy depression is over.
          Look at Switzerland. Have those fuckers ever suffered what we have in history?
          Probably not.
          Bigger is not always better.

        • Things cost too much.

          The answer is to take action that will cut their prices significantly.

          And cut the money supply even more significantly.

          So a ten dollar item will cost only, say, three dollars and your wages will go from 20+ an hour to maybe 2 an hour. You come out way ahead that way.

          • Wut.

            Cut prices to 1/3 present cost, and wages to 1/10th present cost??? And you come out ahead?

            Uh how??

            • You probably haven’t studied the history of the great depression which, btw, was started by the Fed contracting the money supply -twice- not by tariffs.

              Depression was what the OP (rellik) was calling for and prices being too high were what he partly used to justify it.

              The reality is that collapsing prices are the result of shrinking the money supply and lowering income as a result. This is what depression is, shrinkage of the economy, which is why cutting interest rates and increasing the amount of money available is used to fight it. If you want low prices you can’t have higher wages, just lower ones so less money instead of more money is chasing whatever goods are generally available.

      7. Greenspan still sniffing around for more shekels.

      8. This is coming from a man that publicly denied the housing bubble and encouraged people to become house poor. Trillions of dollars of value in the portfolios of average people evaporated under Greenspan’s watch. His credibility is worth jack shit. I can’t believe that anyone would listen to Greenspan about anything financial, let alone publish an article about that jackwagon here.

      9. Whats the matter? A little fiscal pain bu

      10. Whats the matter? A little fiscal pain but the trade war is being won by the massive infliction of pain against Chinas OWN debt through the trade imbalance?

        China has owned us for years by complicit administrations. About time someone changed the trajectory FOR GOOD OR BAD….SMH, people just cannot stand reality and slight discomfort, and are undeserving of even the slightest illusion of security or prosperity THEY ABSOLUTELY DO NOT EARN.

      11. The tariffs have nothing to do with trade, profits, labor or anything else. The tariffs are Trump’s attempt to get the US back in control of it’s strategic supply train.
        From Rare Earth metals to circuit boards to missile switches the US is dependent on its potential adversaries.
        An absurd situation.

      12. The pot calling the kettle black.

        How novel.

        Now watch him pull a rabbit out of his ass.

        Idiot.

      13. Greenspan is a flaming globalist. Of course he hates what Trump is doing.

        Trump also has the FED banking system in his sights, and Greenspan can’t stand for that.

        Who the heck pulled this guy out of the Alzheimer’s ward to criticize POTUS?

      14. alan greenspan is a parasite.

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