Posted in: Japan concerned over impact of U.S. tariffs on China, others See in context
@rainyday
Would you oppose tariffs if the government simply redistributed receipts back to citizens? In other words, prices might go up on goods with no domestic substitutes, but you'd eventually receive a cheque from the government to reimburse you for any tariffs paid. How would you argue against this?
Also, tariffs aren't an abandonment of comparative advantage. They simply raise the level of how competitive a foreign product must be. If it's still significantly cheaper to manufacture buttons in China, then button companies will still chase those cost saving. However, if it's only marginally competitive, then tariffs will prevent these industries (and associated industries) from relocating on a whim.
-6 ( +2 / -8 )
Posted in: Canada, Mexico announce tariffs on U.S. in retaliation for Trump's tariffs See in context
M3 etc...what has the WTO been doing these last decades ?
Proving you wrong about tariffs.
The WTO has been absolutely fantastic for workers in the developing world and for global investors seeking phenomenal returns. Not so much for blue collar workers in developed economies like Japan and the US.
-6 ( +2 / -8 )
Posted in: Canada, Mexico announce tariffs on U.S. in retaliation for Trump's tariffs See in context
@rainyday
Ricardo's theory no longer holds true in the modern world. It was based on a number of assumptions that Ricardo himself acknowledged. The two most important are the mobility of capital and labor. In Ricardo's theory, an English factory owner couldn't simply relocate to Asia, and an Asian couldn't simply turn up in England looking for better wages.
The Ricardian assumption was the English factory owner would invest in some other enterprise that England was competitive at. However, today these opportunities are few and far between, and the factory owner can simply put his capital into a foreign stock market and get far better returns.
If you take the theory of comparative advantage to it's logical extreme, there are certain countries in Africa that enjoy no advantage whatsoever in the modern economy. Should these places be completely abandoned and their citizens relocated to more competitive areas of the world? Or should they try to perseve their society?
Everyone is worse off.
Please, explain in much more detail.
-8 ( +0 / -8 )
Posted in: Canada, Mexico announce tariffs on U.S. in retaliation for Trump's tariffs See in context
@KnightsOfCydonia
I don't disagree with you. I think you're touching on two separate issues. The first is that corporations aren't paying taxes. It's partly because they can shift profits out of the country on paper. Tariffs solve part of this problem by making it impossible to avoid paying something when the goods are imported.
The second issue is wages. Like everything else wages depend on supply and demand. Tariffs create demand for labor by providing a subsidy for domestic manufacturing. If tariffs make it possible to produce something locally, corporations will follow the money and wages will rise, unless immigration is uncontrolled.
-8 ( +0 / -8 )
Posted in: Canada, Mexico announce tariffs on U.S. in retaliation for Trump's tariffs See in context
Let's do a simple thought experiment. Imagine every country imposes a 30% tariff on all imported goods of every other country. Prices rise, but the government collects the tariffs, divides them equally between each citizen, and then cuts a cheque at the end of the year.
Is anyone better or worse off? Who exactly is a winner and who loses? And why? Which country would be a winner and which would be a loser? Would it be a country like China which exports far more than it imports, or a heavily indebted consumer society like the US?
-7 ( +0 / -7 )
Posted in: Canada, Mexico announce tariffs on U.S. in retaliation for Trump's tariffs See in context
@rainyday
corporate taxes can affect dividends that matter to investors but they don’t directly impact consumer prices.
You're assumption that corporate taxes don't directly impact consumer prices in the same way as tariffs is misconceived. Just think about it. If corporate taxes result in lower dividends, and thus a lower rate of return for investors, what do you think those investors are going to demand? Of course, higher profits which is probably going to be achieved through higher prices.
-7 ( +1 / -8 )
Posted in: Canada, Mexico announce tariffs on U.S. in retaliation for Trump's tariffs See in context
*retained earnings
-3 ( +1 / -4 )
Posted in: Canada, Mexico announce tariffs on U.S. in retaliation for Trump's tariffs See in context
@rainyday
Because corporate taxes are only levied on net profit, not on gross income. They aren’t an accounting cost on the balance sheet that has to be made up, tariffs are.
You're not wrong about taxes only being levied on profits, but what's the practical significance of this when dividends are only paid out on retrained earnings? Whether retrained earnings are reduced by corporate taxes or tariffs is irrelevant to investors. Only the final amount matters.
We can either make the movement of goods across borders entirely free and just tax corporations on their profits. Or we can collect part of those taxes at source as goods move across borders. What's the difference?
In theory there is no difference, but global capital prefers the former because it's easier to shift profits to low tax jurisdictions with clever accounting.
-4 ( +2 / -6 )
Posted in: Canada, Mexico announce tariffs on U.S. in retaliation for Trump's tariffs See in context
Why do people always assume that the cost of tariffs will be passed on to consumers, but they never make the same assumption about corporate or other taxes levied on businesses? Tariffs are just an alternative method of collecting taxes upfront and with the added benefit of exempting all domestic transactions.
Global mobile capital hates tariffs but ordinary Americans will be the big winners in any tariff war.
-13 ( +1 / -14 )
Posted in: Investigators find black boxes after deadly Washington plane crash, continue search for answers See in context
@Mr Kipling
If the helicopter is at fault, which seems to be the case, will the military be held responsible for compensation or the crew directly or the US government?
Ultimately the US government will be on the hook. The way it will probably unfold is American Airlines' insurers will start making payments to the families almost immediately and eventually reach a settlement in exchange for subrogation rights, which then allows the insurer to sue the Department of Defense (or whichever department owned the helicopter) to recover their claims loses. The pilots wouldn't be personally responsible since they're acting within the scope of their employment for the military, even if their actions were negligent.
Not even an investigation and you are already posting about compensation.
I think it's a fair question. People want to know just in case it happens to them or their families.
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: Trump blames diversity hiring as probe into deadly midair collision begins See in context
This is precisely why DEI is so corrosive. Rightly or wrongly, the true competence of every racial minority is called into question when DEI programs are widespread. Particularly in professions which are cognitively demanding such as ATC, pilots, surgeons, etc.
I think the point is that blame shouldn’t be thrown around until the evidence is in here.
What evidence would you need to see to convince you that DEI may have played a role?
-12 ( +2 / -14 )
Posted in: Do you think democracy is the best form of government? See in context
@TaiwanIsNotChina
Can someone run not from the communist party?
Apparently yes. There are various political parties represented in North Korean elections (which I didn't know before today).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_North_Korea
However, what if everyone who ran in NK has to nominally support communist ideology or be kicked off the ballot? Would that disqualify North Korea as a democracy?
If so, what about Germany? The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution investigates every candidate and political party and bans them from running in elections if they espouse ideas which run counter to, or propose to overturn, the current constitution regardless of how much popular support they enjoy. Does this also disqualify Germany as a democracy?
Can one be a journalist there and not end up in a concentration camp?
Maybe. But is the existence of journalists and media organisations now an essential element of democracy? I don't think journalists as we know them today existed in ancient Athenian democracy, or any example of democracy before the development of modern tabloids in the late 19th century.
-2 ( +1 / -3 )
Posted in: Do you think democracy is the best form of government? See in context
@BertieWooster
There are plenty of countries that say they are democratic, but aren’t. Even North Korea is the People's Democratic Republic of Korea.
In your view, what exactly makes the DPRK undemocratic? What is the essential ingredient of democracy that they're missing?
Because they have elections and universal sufferage. Every 5 years Kim Jong Un has been elected leader by the Supreme People's Assembly. In turn, each assembly member was elected by the people in their local constituency. Are these elections not 'real' enough to be democratic?
-5 ( +1 / -6 )
Posted in: Silicon Valley rattled by low-cost Chinese AI See in context
@isabelle
And it's not about answering questions on human rights, democracy, Taiwan, Xinjiang, Tibet, Winnie the Pooh, or many other things either, it seems.
Every AI company is constrained by the laws and sacred cows of its host society. Try asking ChatGPT or Gemini to give you statistics on criminality or average IQ scores by race or ethnicity. It will usually refuse simply because it's beyond the limits of acceptability in American society.
2 ( +6 / -4 )
Posted in: Do you think democracy is the best form of government? See in context
The concept of 'democracy' as a political system is so amorphous and ill-defined that it's almost pointless to even discuss. Everyone has their own personal definition of what true democracy is or should be. Any examples of democracy failing can simply be dismissed as not being real democracy.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: China to build world's largest hydropower dam in Tibet See in context
Likewise any motion to negotiate a settlement to the dispute over the Nile between Egypt, a downstream nation, and Ethiopia upstream is vetoed by China.
When exactly did China veto this motion in the SC? Do you have a date or a resolution number? I'm genuinely curious because I don't see it, and it would be disappointing if you're just making stuff up.
-1 ( +1 / -2 )
Posted in: UK, Italy, Japan launch joint venture to develop next-generation fighter jet See in context
Let's cut to the chase, for efficacy, AI and DRONE capabilities needed, NOT manned aircraft.
Looked at it a different way; A modern manned aircraft is basically a drone, but one that's nearly impossible to jam because there's a little person riding along inside. It's a bit like the Japanese Ohka in WW2.
2 ( +2 / -0 )
Posted in: Australia's plan to ban children from social media proves popular and problematic See in context
Only the large platforms like Facebook will actually cooperate with this, and young people will inevitably coalesce around "cooler" unregulated networks. Unless they go full Chinese firewall, ban VPNs, and set up a new agency with the power to ISP ban thousands of uncooperative sites, I give this little to no chance of succeeding. But I don't blame parents for wanting it.
0 ( +1 / -1 )
Posted in: Australia moves to ban children under 16 from social media See in context
I can see the appeal of this but without even the slightest hint of how it will be enforced, I'm skeptical. When all Australian teenagers migrate to some overseas based service that doesn't comply with Australian regulations, will government also have the power to order ISPs to block it?
Also, why focus only on social media? If they're going to roll out such ambitious and sweeping regulations, why not include mandatory age verification for all pornography sites?
5 ( +6 / -1 )
Posted in: Lower-priced new cars are gaining popularity in U.S., and not just for cash-poor buyers See in context
Even $15,000 is ridiculously expensive when you realise how much cheaper cars could be. I wonder how many struggling people would willingly buy a $3500 Tata Nano if it were street legal in the US.
As wages and living standards continue to decline and the divide between 1st and 3rd world begins to blur, how long until our current safety standards are viewed as a luxury that society can no longer afford, and people should not be forced to pay for?
1 ( +2 / -1 )
Posted in: High court rules Japan's dual nationality ban constitutional See in context
@browny1
I'm not sure the Fujimori case shows Japan's hypocrisy. According to the Japanese govt, Fujimori was born in Peru (some question this) which gave him Peruvian citizenship by birth, but his parents also registered him with the Japanese consulate which granted him Japanese citizenship.
Today, the Nationality Law stipulates that a young person must choose one nationality by a certain age, but those who fail to do this are not automatically stripped of citizenship if they don't file the paperwork.
To complicate things further, Fujimori was born in 1938 before these laws were on the books. What was the law at the time? Should the new law be retrospectively applied to every dual citizen, or only those under 21, or those born before it was enacted? It's not a clear cut situation.
0 ( +2 / -2 )
Posted in: High court rules Japan's dual nationality ban constitutional See in context
For those who insist on allowing dual citizenship, would you accept certain restrictions or a second class of citizenship such as in Australia and some other countries where duel citizens are prohibited from sitting in parliament, or holding certain public positions, ie judges, police officers, etc? This seems like a very fair compromise to me.
0 ( +4 / -4 )
Posted in: High court rules Japan's dual nationality ban constitutional See in context
Kondo, who was born in Japan, acquired U.S. citizenship in 2004.
I'm sympathetic to those who were born with 2 citizenships, and even those who acquire citizenship in a third country which doesn't require an oath of allegiance. But the idea that Japan should tolerate or make any allowances for someone who became a US citizens by swearing the following oath seems absurd:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America
Call me old fashioned but I think words matter and they should have consequences.
7 ( +10 / -3 )
Posted in: Haitian gang slaughters at least 70 people as thousands flee See in context
Haiti is a small outpost of west-Africa in North America. The living standards, social norms, and economic development of Haiti mirror those found in most west-African countries. Some people will bend over backwards to avoid seeing this.
5 ( +6 / -1 )
Posted in: Toyota boosts its investment in air taxi company Joby Aviation by another $500 million See in context
If you look past the seemingly futuristic vehicles, there's no real innovation here. It's just a helicopter. In Sao Paulo, helicopters have always been a popular way for the wealthy to hop from building to building, avoiding the out of control crime, poverty and disorder below.
If companies like Joby Aviation become successful, it will mostly be due to deteriorating living standards and the Brazilification of American cities rather than any major advances in quadcopter or AI technology.
5 ( +8 / -3 )
Posted in: French national arrested on suspicion of fatally assaulting man in Tokyo See in context
@OssanAmerica
"If correct, the France can charge him with murder as well"
Would you care to explain that comment? The crime occured in Japan where only Japanese law has jurisdiction.
One assumes that Japan should be the only country with jurisdiction in this case, and in practice it will probably be the only country to actually excercise jurisdiction, but travelbangaijin's comment is not entirely absurd.
Under domestic French law, French courts reserve the right to excercise jurisdiction in any case where a perpetrator or even a victim is a French national. So if you assault a French tourist on the streets of Tokyo and the victim is unsatisfied with Japanese police response, a French court could theoretically issue a warrant for your arrest even if you are not French and have never set foot in France. Unsurprisingly, Japan and most other countries do not recognise this broad jurisdiction and it is rarely excercised, but it does exist in France.
To give a real example, there was a controversial case a few years ago where a French court issued an arrest warrant for a Japanese woman involved in a custody battle with a French man because the children being 'abducted' were French citizens. The couple had lived, married, had children, and divorced entirely in Japan under Japanese law.
1 ( +1 / -0 )
Posted in: Severe obesity on the rise in U.S. See in context
"As long as my tax money doesn't go towards their healthcare"
American healthcare is by private health insurance.
Are you ready for a mind-boggling statistic?
Despite having a privately run system, the US government still spends $1.5 trillion in public funds on healthcare (Medicare, Medicaid, etc). That's roughly $4500 per capita. The UK spends $242 billion (£181 billion) to publicly fund the entire NHS. That works out to only around $3560 per capita.
More tax money is spent on healthcare in the US than the UK, largely due to exorbitant prices.
2 ( +3 / -1 )
Posted in: Australia, Britain to sign treaty for joint production of submarines See in context
The AUKUS sub will be nuclear, based off tech from the UK Dreadnought Class and US Virginia class
I think the bigger question is whether the AUKUS sub "will be" at all. Alot can change by the late 2030s when these subs are expected to set sail.
-1 ( +3 / -4 )
Posted in: Court acquits 88-year-old man in landmark 1966 quadruple murder retrial See in context
@itsonlyrocknroll
M3, a lawyer friend suggested the other day, a prolonged interrogation from a J prosecutor, some times over days/weeks possibly without periods of sleep/rest, and I would admit to stealing the crown jewels.
The interrogation is effectively the trial in Japan. You will be locked up for weeks, and you probably will lose your job, but the other way the system works is that if you persevere, insist on your innocence, and don't confess, there is a very high likelihood that prosecutors will drop all charges against you. The reason they are so eager to extract that confession is because they are extremely reluctant to proceed without it.
10 ( +11 / -1 )
Posted in: Court acquits 88-year-old man in landmark 1966 quadruple murder retrial See in context
@David Brent
One thing which terrifies me about living in Japan is being arrested for something I didn't do. There's no pursuit of truth here; it's just about ticking boxes and getting a conviction.
I think everyone in Japan shares this fear to some extent.
But have you ever considered that this fear is also part of what keeps the crime rate so low? When people are scared that they might easily be swept up by the police or wrongly accused, they go out of their way to avoid even the appearance of doing anything illegal. They shun anyone and anything associated with criminal activity. For better or worse it's a form of detterence.
11 ( +19 / -8 )
Posted in: China complains to Japan about 'negative' China references in Japan, US communique
More likely a sign from below.
Posted in: Overflowing sewage stops Bryan Adams concert in Australia
I thought Musk's X was supposed to be moderator free and people could write whatever they wanted.
Posted in: Kanye West's account on X goes dark after hate-filled rant
Posted in: Emergency dispatches by Tokyo Fire Department in 2024 exceeded 930,000