patrick.net

40 posts and no one has said why Trump is the greatest. So far:, cancelled tpp which wasn't going to pas anyway. big tax cut for .1%, said let's do lunch later to NK, didn't fuck up the continued growth of he economy. Other than TPP you could say exactly the same for reagan and bush first term. Where is all this greatness?

I am basing this on performance behavior

Situation
Task
Actions
Results

Almost everything has been exceptional when viewed this way from my point of view, from announcement to current day. Maybe there's something out there that does a nice summary comparison among all presidents as well.

steverbeaver says

I am basing this on performance behavior

Situation
Task
Actions
Results

Almost everything has been exceptional when viewed this way from my point of view

Almost everything as in what?

Let's see, one, now two pro-2A judges, got the voluntary denuclearization of North Korea (a point you forgot, and not having to give billions on cash pallets to get it), fixing the unfair trade system, getting out of the horrible Iran Deal, record low unemployment, pushing a permanent solution to immigration, strong economy, ban of immigration from Shithole Civil War countries, standing up to Chinese Steel Dumping with the EU trying to pass the buck to us, demanding more Euro contributions for NATO, selling a shitload of weapons to Saudi Arabia, and standing up for American Workers against Harley Davidson, instead of giving the "Natural Forces" lie bullshit.

Oh, and top-notch, non-Brownie reactions to Texas and Puerto Rican hurricanes, the latter in the face of gross corruption and incompetence by Socialist Mayors.

Next: NAFTA goes bye-bye. Canada and Mexico need NAFTA a whole helluva lot more than the American Worker.

And we're not even halfway into his first term.

Tell me... are you still forced to buy health insurance or pay a "fine"?

Latest example: precisely zero fucks given when dealing with Chinese bullshit on trade. Situation is all recent previous presidents did jack shit to keep things fair. Task is to make America Great Again. Actions involve stern warnings followed up by actual soft actions in the form of new tariffs. Result is stock market knows what's-what and cares fuck-all about repercussions because they know we will win on this handily. It was a difficult choice to make and had lots of opposition. Does a good leader ultimately rely on "consensus"? How many detractors to his actions were benefitting from status-quo?

If you come at me arguing about how China was fair to US or its other trade partners, there is ample proof to the contrary and I have personally observed it.

TrumpingTits says

No...or rather, this incarnation of NAFTA will go bye-bye. It is a congressional-executive agreement, so it will take Congress to pass legislation in both houses to rescind it and you know that they won't. But, they will be happy to replace it with a new NAFTA. So, we will get a NAFTA 2. And I'd be careful about wishing for a new King, if I were you. You might just get one. :)

If it's a treaty, while the President can make treaties that the Senate has to ratify, the Constitution does not explicitly require Senate approval to abrogate Treaties. The Precedence is somewhat mixed but in favor of Presidential Abrogation.

steverbeaver says

Tell me... are you still forced to buy health insurance or pay a "fine"?

Ah, Another great Trump accomplishment Big Insurance got their mandatory insurance/subsidy scheme nixed.

I'm sure a missed a few other Big Achievements.

TwoScoopsOfWompWomp says

I'm sure a missed a few other Big Achievements.

Yes you did, a BIG one... your 401K balance:

TrumpingTits says

So it is legislation. And like all forms of legislation, only Congress can change it, repeal it or the courts can declare it unconstitutional. Now Trump could simply refuse to follow/enforce the law much like Obama's Regime did. But that could be challenged in court.

Except, NAFTA has a clause in it.

Article 2205: Withdrawal

A Party may withdraw from this Agreement six months after it provides written notice of withdrawal to the other Parties. If a Party withdraws, the Agreement shall remain in force for the remaining Parties.

http://www.sice.oas.org/trade/nafta/chap-22.asp

Many experts believe Trump can withdraw, although Congress could reimpose it - which would be a hugely unpopular move among the Republican Base.

Todd Tucker, fellow, the Roosevelt Institute
Congress can’t block Trump from withdrawing, but he will have other problems to deal with if he does so.

The executive branch has exclusive authority over foreign relations. Presidents from William McKinley to Franklin Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter terminated international agreements without explicit congressional authorization — including some that dealt with trade.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/26/16505508/nafta-congress-block-trump-withdraw-trade-power

So excited. Right now, China and Europe are using Mexico and Canada as backdoors to get Euro/Chinese goods tariff free into the USA, providing Canadian and Mexican jobs while depriving Americans of those jobs they would have gotten if NAFTA didn't exist, while depriving America of Tariff Revenue. A Lose-Lose deal.

Canada has a mere 36M people. It needs NAFTA far, far, far more than we do.

MrMagic says

Yes you did, a BIG one... your 401K balance:

The dow went up 250% under obama. Does that make obama the best president to date instead?

bob2356 says

MrMagic says

Yes you did, a BIG one... your 401K balance:

The dow went up 250% under obama. Does that make obama the best president to date instead?

Ahhhh, math with Bernie supporters...

The answer is NO, the DOW was at 14K and dropped to 7K, and took 5 years to get back to just break even of 14K under Obama, before finishing at 18K when Trump came in.

Even if you started at the 7K number, 18K isn't 250%..

Where do Bernie supporters learn Math?

Oddly, the Dow dropped sharply after Obama’s election, then began to rise again after he was sworn in. With Trump, the rising began as soon as he was elected and didn’t reverse much for a solid year.

bob2356 says

MrMagic says

Yes you did, a BIG one... your 401K balance:

The dow went up 250% under obama. Does that make obama the best president to date instead?

The market went up under Obama during QE Infinity. Wow.

PrivilegedtobeWhite says

bob2356 says

MrMagic says

Yes you did, a BIG one... your 401K balance:

The dow went up 250% under obama. Does that make obama the best president to date instead?

The market went up under Obama during QE Infinity. Wow.

Exactly.

Amazing what happens to the market when you juice it with over $4 TRILLION of printed money, then what happens to it when the printing press is shut off.

Since Bob likes doubling of the market under Obama, he must like doubling of the debt under Obama too, right?

Those pesky facts.

Trump can’t repeal a Congressionally passed law. The Constitution says only Congress may do that. So there’s that.

skridlov says

Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy R,. FDR

Slave owners and racists.

TrumpingTits says

Yeah. TREATIES. Not Congressional-Executive Agreements. Those are just like domestic laws that stay on the books until Congress says otherwise.

Nope. The President has foreign policy power, and only the Senate (not the House) can approve foreign agreements as a check on the near absolute power of the Presidency in this area.

SCOTUS has already stood aside while similar agreements were nixed by Presidents, including McKinley and Carter. SCOTUS has historically been extremely shy of restricting the Foreign Policy powers of the President.

So the Congress may have passed enabling legislation for NAFTA, but the President can abrogate participation in it.

The Constitution is strangely specific by explicitly mentioning treaties have to be approved by the Senate, but says nothing of their abrogation. Historically, Presidents have unilaterally done so, and such actions took effect immediately, even if the Senate huffed and puffed before "approving" it (not that their approval is needed).

TrumpingTits says

Yeah. TREATIES. Not Congressional-Executive Agreements. Those are just like domestic laws that stay on the books until Congress says otherwise.

If one President makes an agreement with Congress , another President may nix. Just like every other Executive Agreement.

If Somehow Obama made the Iran Deal some kind of Congressional-Executive agreement, Trump could have withdrawn from it.

Almost every expert, even Globalists from the Roosevelt Institute, agree that Trump can pull out of NAFTA. Neither the Senate, and certainly not the House, has the authority to impose an international agreement without the President.


This could be the SCOTUS issue of Trump's Presidency, but I'm very confident that SCOTUS will not take away the President's historically interpreted as near-total foreign policy powers. By historically, I mean since the birth of the Republic.

bob2356 says

MrMagic says

Yes you did, a BIG one... your 401K balance:

The dow went up 250% under obama. Does that make obama the best president to date instead?

You should be ashamed of yourself for that one.

Aphroman says

How many people paid the fine each year for not having insurance

About 4.5% of taxpayers, which is quite a lot

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/28/us/politics/obamacare-individual-mandate-penalty-maps.html

ThreeBays says

It's party time, since Republicans switched from bitching about the deficit to pretending it doesn't even exist.

The new talking point is "we can never pay it back", forgetting that in some way it WILL be paid back (inflation). Or that most of it is owed to entities in US of A. Also, giving money to defense contractors is OK, but paying anyone else is a crime.

Aphroman says

That’s less than the increase in gas prices that afe crushing low income Americans, under Trump

And somehow the President controls worldwide gas prices? Interesting how your mind works.

Aphroman says

That’s less than the increase in gas prices

High gas prices are extremely good - I wish gas was $5-8/gal. This allows development of alternative energy sources (less global warming and/or dependence on Gulf terroristocracies) and really helps state where I live. Also, as we all are adults here (hopefully), we know that Obamacare was a giveaway to insurance companies.

I have a friend who was "taxed" ~$1400 for not buying the sham that is Obamacare.

Aphroman says

Locking Her up?

Hard to do after half the country voted for her. History will reveal the Clintons' and Bushes' crimes.

Bob, knock it off with the "are you a native english speaker" crap.

Your personal insults and racism are not the topic here.

drB6 says

High gas prices are extremely good - I wish gas was $5-8/gal. This allows development of alternative energy sources (less global warming and/or dependence on Gulf terroristocracies) and really helps state where I live.

It's also very bad for the poor - who often have to drive the farthest commute each day for their jobs since they can't afford to live near the coast in California.

Gas taxes are the most regressive taxes out there.

socal2 says

It's also very bad for the poor - who often have to drive the farthest commute each day for their jobs since they can't afford to live near the coast in California.

Gas taxes are the most regressive taxes out there.

Good for TX - low taxes and many jobs created.

Aphroman says

Are you saying that the President has no effect on gas prices?

Remember $5 gas? I do. It was under Obama’s reign of terror. $3.50 seems like a bargain still to me!

drB6 says

as we all are adults here (hopefully), we know that Obamacare was a giveaway to insurance companies.

Yes, that was my problem with the mandate. It's wrong to force people to pay a small set of private companies whatever they say you have to pay or face fines.

It was a tax which we were obligated to pay to certain favored companies.

Patrick says

Yes, that was my problem with the mandate. It's wrong to force people to pay a small set of private companies whatever they say you have to pay or face fines.

Since the people who didn’t have insurance were the ones who had to buy it, they often couldn’t afford to budget 12% of their income for that one thing. And so, effectively it became a tax on the uninsured.
That’s how it affected my parents anyway, before they went on Medicare.

It's all about trapping people and forcing them to pay.

You can make a great product, but that takes work. If you're well connected, it's much easier to just use the government to take the money.

Trump just doesn't give a shit.

CNN wimper "But we are real news too ......"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=dO1f9EZ-0uw

Tim Aurora says

You do know that Emergency care in US is mandatory ( if not entirely free) , which means that uninsured normally ended up in Emergency costing the Govt

But the uninsured didn't have $1000 / month for a $5000 deductible shitty ass plan, either.

Tim Aurora says

You do know that Emergency care in US is mandatory ( if not entirely free)

It’s only free if you’re an illegal immigrant. Otherwise they come after you with the bill. This is known. Stop trying to obfuscate the issue.