Who Owns America? Oligarchs Have Bought Up the American Dream
Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,
“The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls. They got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear… They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying. Lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else… It’s called the American Dream, ’cause you have to be asleep to believe it.”
– George Carlin
Who owns America?
Is it the government? The politicians? The corporations? The foreign investors? The American people?
While the Deep State keeps the nation divided and distracted by a presidential election whose outcome is foregone (the police state’s stranglehold on power will ensure the continuation of endless wars and out-of-control spending, while disregarding the citizenry’s fundamental rights and the rule of law), America is literally being bought and sold right out from under us.
Consider the facts.
We’re losing more and more of our land every year to corporations and foreign interests. Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land has increased by 66% since 2010. In 2021, it was reported that foreign investors owned approximately 40 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, which is more than the entire state of Iowa. By 2022 that number had grown to 43.4 million acres. The rate at which U.S. farmland is being bought up by foreign interests grew by 2.2 million acres per year from 2015 to 2021. The number of U.S. farm acres owned by foreign entities grew more than 8% (3.4 million acres) in 2022.
We’re losing more and more of our businesses every year to foreign corporations and interests. Although China owns a small fraction of foreign-owned U.S. land at 380,000 acres (less than the state of Rhode Island), Chinese companies and investors are also buying up major food companies, commercial and residential real estate, and other businesses. As RetailWire explains, “Currently, many brands started by early American pioneers now wave international flags. This revolution is a direct result of globalization.” The growing list of once-notable American brands that have been sold to foreign corporations includes: U.S. Steel (now Japanese-owned); General Electric (Chinese-owned); Budweiser (Belgium); Burger King (Canada); 7-Eleven (Japan); Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge (Netherlands); and IBM (China).
We’re digging ourselves deeper and deeper into debt, both as a nation and as a populace. Basically, the U.S. government is funding its existence with a credit card, spending money it doesn’t have on programs it can’t afford. The bulk of that debt has been amassed over the past two decades, thanks in large part to the fiscal shenanigans of four presidents, 10 sessions of Congress and two wars. The national debt (the amount the federal government has borrowed over the years and must pay back) is more than $34 trillion and will grow another $19 trillion by 2033. Foreign ownership makes up 29% of the U.S. debt held by the public. Of that amount, reports the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, “52 percent was held by private foreign investors while foreign governments held the remaining 48 percent.”
The Fourth Estate has been taken over by media conglomerates that prioritize profit over principle. Independent news agencies, which were supposed to act as bulwarks against government propaganda, have been subsumed by a global corporate takeover of newspapers, television and radio. Consequently, a handful of corporations now control most of the media industry and, thus, the information dished out to the public. Likewise, with Facebook and Google having appointed themselves the arbiters of disinformation, we now find ourselves grappling with new levels of corporate censorship by entities with a history of colluding with the government to keep the citizenry mindless, muzzled and in the dark.
Most critically of all, however, the U.S. government, long ago sold to the highest bidders, has become little more than a shell company, a front for corporate interests. Nowhere is this state of affairs more evident than in the manufactured spectacle that is the presidential election. As for members of Congress, long before they’re elected, they are trained to dance to the tune of their wealthy benefactors, so much so that they spend two-thirds of their time in office raising money. As Reuters reports, “It also means that lawmakers often spend more time listening to the concerns of the wealthy than anyone else.”
In the oligarchy that is the American police state, it clearly doesn’t matter who wins the White House, because they all work for the same boss: a Corporate State that has gone global.
So much for living the American dream.
“We the people” have become the new, permanent underclass in America.
We’re being forced to shell out money for endless wars that are bleeding us dry; money for surveillance systems to track our movements; money to further militarize our already militarized police; money to allow the government to raid our homes and bank accounts; money to fund schools where our kids learn nothing about freedom and everything about how to comply; and on and on.
This is no way of life.
It’s tempting to say that there’s little we can do about it, except that’s not quite accurate.
There are a few things we can do (demand transparency, reject cronyism and graft, insist on fair pricing and honest accounting methods, call a halt to incentive-driven government programs that prioritize profits over people), but it will require that “we the people” stop playing politics and stand united against the politicians and corporate interests who have turned our government and economy into a pay-to-play exercise in fascism.
Unfortunately, we’ve become so invested in identity politics that label us based on our political leanings that we’ve lost sight of the one label that unites us: we’re all Americans.
The powers-that-be want us to adopt an “us versus them” mindset that keeps us powerless and divided. Yet as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, the only “us versus them” that matters is “we the people” against the Deep State.
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Originally Posted at; https://www.zerohedge.com//
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Marlow: Harris Campaign Convinced Avoiding the Media Could Work
Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow spoke about how Vice President Kamala Harris has been avoiding the media, noting that this strategy would “work” for the campaign because they would “get positive coverage” from the media, regardless.
During an interview on the Charlie Kirk Show, Marlow pointed out that Harris, “who is against Christmas, for open borders,” wants to take people’s guns away, and to “defund the police” had chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), a “radical loud-mouth jerk” who has lied about his military record.
“We got our ticket. We got a woman who is against Christmas, for open borders, wants to take your guns, and wants to defund the police. She’s picked a radical loud-mouthed jerk, who’s lied about his military record and his deep ties to China. How could this ticket possibly win? Well, the only way is to hide them,” Marlow said.
Marlow pointed to a video of CNN’s Jim Acosta questioning Michael Tyler, the director of communications for the Harris campaign, over a lack of interviews and press conferences.
“I’m sure this is not going to be the first time you’ve heard this question, but the Trump campaign is also going after the vice president for not doing enough interviews, for not holding a press conference. Would it kill you guys to have a press conference? Why hasn’t she had a press conference?” Acosta asked.
“Listen, the Vice President and Governor Walz has been busy crisscrossing this country since the launch of this campaign and adding Governor Walz to the ticket. You saw the way in which they went across the battleground states last week, generating rallies of thousands, 10,000 here, 15,000 there,” Tyler said.
“A campaign rally is not a press conference. Why hasn’t she had a press conference? She’s the vice president, she can handle the questions. Why not do it?” Acosta asked again.
Marlow pointed out how even after Harris appeared on the cover of Time magazine, “She wouldn’t even answer questions for that.”
“They’re clearly trying to avoid the media. What my fear is, is that it will work for them,” Marlow continued. “My fear is that they don’t need to talk to them because they’re going to get positive coverage anyway. Because the media worked so hard to get Biden removed, so they’re all in on getting Kamala elected if she talks to them or not.”
“But, when CNN’s Jim Acosta is the one who is suggesting, ‘Hey can you guys talk to us, please?’ and their answer is, ‘Well, she’s having a rally,’ and, they think they can get away with that,” Marlow added. “They really do. They think this strategy is a winning strategy. Remember, no press conferences, she hasn’t done a single interview, and she hasn’t posted a single policy position online. She’s been a candidate for almost three weeks, I think over three weeks at this point.”
In an interview with Marlow on the Charlie Kirk Show, Breitbart News’s Politics Editor, Emma-Jo Morris, pointed out that Harris is “running a presidential campaign with no policy,” adding that Harris perhaps sees her role as president as a mere representative of the United States, and plans to delegate governing.
“I’m kind of thinking about this thing about how she is running a presidential campaign with no policy, and it’s kind of working, and how is that happening?” Morris said. “What I’ve kind of come up with is, I think that there’s kind of two approaches to being president: running for president and being president. The first one is like Hillary Clinton or like Kamala Harris the first time she ran in 2020, where you get into the policy and you’re really planning on governing, and you explain what the policies are that you’re going to try to govern with, and you try to sell people on them. Then there’s another way of running, which I think is how Obama ran and also was president, which is, ‘I’m not super concerned with policy. I see myself as the representative of the United States, and I see myself as the face of the United States’ and in that context you are “vibes.” Like you’re literally just getting voted on by vibes.”
Originally Posted At www.breitbart.com
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Hurricane Ernesto Public Advisory
000 WTNT35 KNHC 150241 TCPAT5 BULLETIN Hurricane Ernesto Advisory Number 14 NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL052024 1100 PM AST Wed Aug 14 2024 ...ERNESTO EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS WHILE APPROACHING BERMUDA... SUMMARY OF 1100 PM AST...0300 UTC...INFORMATION ----------------------------------------------- LOCATION...23.0N 68.9W ABOUT 175 MI...280 KM NE OF GRAND TURK ISLAND ABOUT 690 MI...1110 KM SSW OF BERMUDA MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...80 MPH...130 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNW OR 330 DEGREES AT 16 MPH...26 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...982 MB...29.00 INCHES WATCHES AND WARNINGS -------------------- CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY: None. SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT: A Hurricane Watch is in effect for... * Bermuda A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area. A watch is typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous. For storm information specific to your area, please monitor products issued by your national meteorological service. DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK ---------------------- At 1100 PM AST (0300 UTC), the center of Hurricane Ernesto was located near latitude 23.0 North, longitude 68.9 West. Ernesto is moving toward the north-northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h). A turn toward the north is expected on Thursday, followed by a slower northward to northeastward motion on Friday and Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Ernesto is expected to pass near Bermuda on Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are near 80 mph (130 km/h) with higher gusts. Strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Ernesto could become a major hurricane by Friday. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). The estimated minimum central pressure is 982 mb (29.00 inches). HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- Key messages for Ernesto can be found in the Tropical Cyclone Discussion under AWIPS header MIATCDAT5 and WMO header WTNT45 KNHC and on the web at hurricanes.gov/text/MIATCDAT5.shtml. WIND: Hurricane conditions are possible on Bermuda Saturday, with tropical storm conditions possible by Friday afternoon. RAINFALL: Ernesto is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches on Bermuda with isolated maximum amounts of 9 inches. This rainfall may result in considerable life-threatening flash flooding. For a complete depiction of forecast rainfall associated with Ernesto, please see the National Weather Service Storm Total Rainfall Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at5.shtml?rainqpf SURF: Swells generated by Ernesto are affecting portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the southeastern Bahamas. These swells will spread toward Bermuda and the rest of the Bahamas on Thursday. Swells are expected to reach the east coast of the United States Thursday night and continue into the weekend. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office. NEXT ADVISORY ------------- Next intermediate advisory at 200 AM AST. Next complete advisory at 500 AM AST. $$ Forecaster Reinhart
Originally Posted at:
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER and CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER
At The NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
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Hurricane Ernesto Forecast Advisory
512 WTNT25 KNHC 150240 TCMAT5 HURRICANE ERNESTO FORECAST/ADVISORY NUMBER 14 NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL052024 0300 UTC THU AUG 15 2024 HURRICANE CENTER LOCATED NEAR 23.0N 68.9W AT 15/0300Z POSITION ACCURATE WITHIN 30 NM PRESENT MOVEMENT TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST OR 330 DEGREES AT 14 KT ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE 982 MB MAX SUSTAINED WINDS 70 KT WITH GUSTS TO 85 KT. 64 KT....... 40NE 30SE 0SW 0NW. 50 KT.......100NE 100SE 0SW 0NW. 34 KT.......150NE 150SE 60SW 100NW. 12 FT SEAS..200NE 200SE 120SW 165NW. WINDS AND SEAS VARY GREATLY IN EACH QUADRANT. RADII IN NAUTICAL MILES ARE THE LARGEST RADII EXPECTED ANYWHERE IN THAT QUADRANT. REPEAT...CENTER LOCATED NEAR 23.0N 68.9W AT 15/0300Z AT 15/0000Z CENTER WAS LOCATED NEAR 22.4N 68.7W FORECAST VALID 15/1200Z 24.7N 69.1W MAX WIND 80 KT...GUSTS 100 KT. 64 KT... 40NE 40SE 10SW 20NW. 50 KT...100NE 90SE 40SW 50NW. 34 KT...150NE 150SE 90SW 100NW. FORECAST VALID 16/0000Z 26.8N 68.6W MAX WIND 90 KT...GUSTS 110 KT. 64 KT... 50NE 50SE 20SW 30NW. 50 KT... 90NE 90SE 50SW 60NW. 34 KT...160NE 160SE 110SW 110NW. FORECAST VALID 16/1200Z 28.6N 67.4W MAX WIND 100 KT...GUSTS 120 KT. 64 KT... 55NE 55SE 30SW 40NW. 50 KT... 90NE 90SE 60SW 60NW. 34 KT...160NE 160SE 130SW 120NW. FORECAST VALID 17/0000Z 30.5N 66.1W MAX WIND 95 KT...GUSTS 115 KT. 64 KT... 55NE 55SE 35SW 40NW. 50 KT... 90NE 90SE 60SW 70NW. 34 KT...170NE 170SE 140SW 140NW. FORECAST VALID 17/1200Z 32.2N 65.5W MAX WIND 90 KT...GUSTS 110 KT. 50 KT... 90NE 90SE 60SW 70NW. 34 KT...170NE 170SE 120SW 150NW. FORECAST VALID 18/0000Z 34.0N 65.2W MAX WIND 90 KT...GUSTS 110 KT. 50 KT... 90NE 90SE 60SW 60NW. 34 KT...170NE 170SE 120SW 140NW. EXTENDED OUTLOOK. NOTE...ERRORS FOR TRACK HAVE AVERAGED NEAR 125 NM ON DAY 4 AND 175 NM ON DAY 5...AND FOR INTENSITY NEAR 15 KT EACH DAY OUTLOOK VALID 19/0000Z 38.5N 63.0W MAX WIND 90 KT...GUSTS 110 KT. 50 KT... 90NE 90SE 60SW 60NW. 34 KT...170NE 180SE 120SW 130NW. OUTLOOK VALID 20/0000Z 45.0N 55.0W MAX WIND 75 KT...GUSTS 90 KT. 50 KT... 80NE 100SE 80SW 60NW. 34 KT...170NE 200SE 160SW 110NW. REQUEST FOR 3 HOURLY SHIP REPORTS WITHIN 300 MILES OF 23.0N 68.9W INTERMEDIATE PUBLIC ADVISORY...WTNT35 KNHC/MIATCPAT5...AT 15/0600Z NEXT ADVISORY AT 15/0900Z $$ FORECASTER REINHART
Originally Posted at:
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER and CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER
At The NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
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Japan set to lift ‘megaquake’ warning
Japan will lift its week-old “megaquake” warning later Thursday if there is no further major seismic activity, the disaster management minister said.
The alert last week prompted thousands of Japanese to cancel holidays and stock up on essentials, leading to bare shelves in some stores.
“If no particular change in seismic activity or crustal deformation is observed, at 17:00 (0800 GMT) today, the government will end the special call for attention,” said Yoshifumi Matsumura, minister of state for disaster management.
“The possibility of a major earthquake has not been eliminated,” he said, urging citizens to regularly check their preparedness “for the major earthquake that is expected”.
Last Thursday Japan’s weather agency said the likelihood of such an event was “higher than normal” after a magnitude 7.1 jolt earlier in the day that injured 14 people.
That was a particular kind of tremor called a subduction megathrust quake, which in the past have occurred in pairs and can unleash colossal tsunamis.
The advisory concerned the Nankai Trough “subduction zone” between two tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean, where massive earthquakes have hit in the past.
The 800-kilometre (500-mile) undersea trough runs from Shizuoka, up the Pacific coast from the Tokyo region — the world’s biggest urban area — to the southern tip of Kyushu island.
In 1707, all segments of the Nankai Trough ruptured at once, unleashing an earthquake that remains the nation’s second-most powerful on record.
That quake — which also triggered the last eruption of Mount Fuji — was followed by two powerful Nankai megathrusts in 1854, and then a pair in 1944 and 1946.
Japan’s government has previously said the next magnitude 8-9 megaquake along the Nankai Trough has a roughly 70 percent probability of striking within the next 30 years.
In the worst-case scenario 300,000 lives could be lost, experts estimate, with some engineers saying the damage could reach $13 trillion with infrastructure wiped out.
The Japan Meteorological Association (JMA) warning was the first under new rules drawn up after a 2011 quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
The 2011 tsunami sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst post-war catastrophe and the world’s most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
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Hurricane Ernesto Intermediate Advisory Number 13A
000
WTNT35 KNHC 142350
TCPAT5
BULLETIN
Hurricane Ernesto Intermediate Advisory Number 13A
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, National Hurricane Center Miami FLORIDA AL052024
8:00 P.M. ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME Wed Aug 14 2024
- AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTERS FIND ERNESTO IS STRENGTHENING
- HURRICANE WATCH IN EFFECT FOR BERMUDA
SUMMARY OF 8:00 P.M. ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME 00:00 COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME INFORMATION
LOCATION 22.4 NORTH 68.7 WEST
ABOUT 180 MILES, 290 KILOMETERS East Northeast OF GRAND TURK ISLAND
ABOUT 720 MILES, 1160 KILOMETERS SOUTH SOUTHWEST, OF BERMUDA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS 80 MILES PER HOUR, 130 KILOMETERS PER HOUR
PRESENT MOVEMENT NORTHWEST, OR 325 DEGREES AT 16 MILES PER HOUR, 26 KILOMETERS PER HOUR
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE 981 MILLIBAR, 28.97 INCHES
WATCHES AND WARNINGS
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY: None.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for
- Bermuda
- A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area.
- A watch is typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical storm force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous.
- For storm information specific to your area, please monitor products issued by your national meteorological service.
DISCUSSION AND OUTLOOK
- At 8:00 P.M. ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME (00:00 COORDINATED UNIVERSAL TIME), the center of Hurricane Ernesto was located near latitude 22.4 North, longitude 68.7 West.
- Ernesto is moving toward the northwest near 16 Miles Per Hour, (26 Kilometers Per Hour).
- A turn toward the north northwest and north is expected tonight and on Thursday.
- A northward to northeastward motion at a slower forward speed is expected Friday and Saturday.
- On the forecast track, the center of Ernesto is expected to pass near Bermuda on Saturday.
- Data from Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 80 Miles Per Hour, (130 Kilometers Per Hour) with higher gusts.
- Strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Ernesto could become a major hurricane by Friday.
- Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km).
- The estimated minimum central pressure is 981 mb (28.97 inches) based on Hurricane Hunter aircraft data.
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND
Key messages for Ernesto can be found in the Tropical Cyclone Discussion under AWIPS header MIATCDAT5 and WMO header WTNT45 KNHC and on the web at
hurricanes.gov/text/MIATCDAT5.shtml
WIND:
- Hurricane conditions are possible on Bermuda Saturday, with tropical storm conditions possible by Friday afternoon.
RAINFALL:
- Ernesto is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches on Bermuda with isolated maximum amounts of 9 inches.
- This rainfall may result in considerable life threatening flash flooding.
- Rainfall is expected to diminish this evening across Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
- Total rainfall amounts from Ernesto are expected to be in the 6 to 10 inch range, with maximum amounts of 12 inches across southern to eastern Puerto Rico, 3 to 6 inches across northwestern Puerto Rico, and 4 to 6 inches across the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
- For a complete depiction of forecast rainfall associated with Ernesto, please see the National Weather Service Storm Total Rainfall Graphic, available at
hurricanes.gov/graphics_at5.shtml?rainqpf
SURF:
- Swells generated by Ernesto are affecting portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the southeastern Bahamas.
- These swells will spread toward Bermuda and the rest of the Bahamas on Thursday.
- Swells are expected to reach the east coast of the United States Thursday night and continue into the weekend.
- These swells are likely to cause life threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Please consult products from your local weather office.
NEXT ADVISORY
Next complete advisory at 11:00 P.M. ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME.
$$
Forecaster Reinhart
Originally Posted at:
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER and CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER
At The NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
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‘Nation-State’ Fiscal Policy Is Like Declaring War On The American Economy
by Matt Agorist, The Free Thought Project:
(The Mises Institute) The 2024 Republican National Convention will be remembered for the raw emotions evoked by an attempted assassination the preceding weekend of its presidential nominee Donald Trump and for the now mostly Trumpified Republicans posing as the populist champions of American workers against the elitist Democrats.
This convention, however, should be remembered for another reason too. It marks the entrenchment of an organized “national conservative” movement within the party that espouses an anti-free-market ideology, overtly scorning individual liberty in favor of a powerful nation-state. This shift in Republican thinking is most clearly evident in Trump’s choice of J.D. Vance as the party’s nominee for vice president (who recently explained his “NatCon” principles in a Foundation for American Innovation podcast) but is also hinted at in Trump’s advocacy of retaliatory tariffs in his acceptance speech:
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
“And right now as we speak large factories, just started, are being built across the border in Mexico. So with all the other things happening on our border and they’re being built by China to make cars and to sell them into our country, no tax, no anything. The United Auto Workers ought to be ashamed for allowing this to happen and the leader of the United Auto Workers should be fired immediately and every single auto worker, union and non-union should be voting for Donald Trump because we’re gonna bring back car manufacturing and we’re gonna bring it back fast. The ability, some of the largest auto plants anywhere in the world, think of it, in the world.
“We’re going to bring it back, we’re going to make them, we don’t, we don’t mind that happening. But those plants are going to be built in the United States and our people are going to man those plants and if they don’t agree with us, we’ll put a tariff of approximately 100 to 200% on each car, and they will be unsellable in the United States.”
For his part, Vance closely echoes the talking points of such NatCon champions as American Compass and the Claremont Institute. While conceding that free markets are better than government planners at allocating resources and empowering people to meet each other’s needs (Vance even cites the Austrian economist F.A. Hayek on that point), NatCons like Vance protest that America already has a de facto industrial policy that punishes capital-intensive industries while leaving them vulnerable to the malign policies of the Chinese Communists. According to the NatCons, Americans have a moral obligation to reorient their existing interventionism toward favoring American victims of Communist Chinese policies, not continue to favor the Wall Street and Big Tech elites that profit from the existing globalist order.
There are two fundamental errors in the NatCon portrait of America’s deindustrialization and the NatCon recommendation of “industrial policy” as a remedy, one theoretical, the other historical. From a theoretical perspective, the erection of new trade barriers and fresh governmental malinvestments of labor and other productive inputs can only diminish, not increase, the productivity of workers and thus can only lead to a deterioration of their living standards.
Read More @ TheFreeThoughtProject.com
Originally Posted at https://www.sgtreport.com
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EXCLUSIVE: Jack Posobiec joined by ‘J6 praying grandma’: ‘I will not let my grandchildren be brought into a country with Marxist ideology’
Jack Posobiec was joined by the January 6 “praying grandma” and her lawyer for an exclusive interview on Human Events Daily on Wednesday. Two days prior, a judge ruled that Rebecca Lavrenz would not face prison time but would have to undergo a year of probation with 6 months of home confinement and pay a hefty $103,000 fine.
Lavrenz is a great-grandmother from Colorado in her mid-70s who owns a bed and breakfast. She was prosecuted for entering the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and praying. Her lawyer, John Pierce, revealed that his client was reportedly hit with the largest misdemeanor fine in American history. On top of that, Lavrenz will be restricted from using the internet for 6 months which will keep her from being able to raise money to help pay the fine or talk about the upcoming 2024 election.
Lavrenz told Posobiec that her being put on trial and prosecuted was “appalling” and said that the American government is “turning so ungodly.”
“My main mission in this whole event is because of God. To restore our country back to its original intent as a Godly nation,” she explained. “And if they can take away my inalienable rights that were given to us by God, to speak freely, to share what I believe, even if it disagrees with them.”
However, she said she was simultaneously “excited” because the government thought that she was the “loudest voice out there for January 6.”
“I think they’re afraid of me.” She quoted Thomas Jefferson, who stated “if we fear the government, that’s tyranny, and I will never bow down to tyranny. But if the government fears us, then that’s liberty.”
“Do you think it’s possible that one of the reasons that they went after you so hard as they did and as they are, is because you’re not afraid of being a proud Christian mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and doing so publicly inside our capital?” Posobiec asked Lavrenz.
“They knew that I wasn’t afraid, because as a Christian and very strong believer in God, he’s the higher authority in my life, and they can put me in prison, but they can never shut off the freedoms that are in my heart and what God has already put in me, because I love my I love God more than anything, and then my country, and I will stand up and fight for my country, for my children,” Lavrenz replied.
She later said in the show: “Karl Marx said in the mid 1800s his one mission in life was to dethrone God. And when I was in that capital for the 10 minutes … I just saw my three little grandchildren, and I said to myself, I said, I will not let my children or my grandchildren be brought into a country with a Marxist ideology. Not on my watch.”
Watch the full episode below.
This Story originally came from humanevents.com
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Donald Trump Promises to ‘End the Era of Inflation, Mayhem, and Misery’
Former President Donald Trump unveiled a pledge on Wednesday to fight inflation by cutting energy prices in half, securing the borders from illegal immigration, bringing supply chains back to U.S. soil, and reducing regulatory burdens on American businesses.
In remarks that drew a sharp contrast to the policies of the Biden-Harris administration, Trump told an audience in Asheville, North Carolina, that he would cut energy costs in half, restore home affordability by securing borders and deporting illegal immigrants, impose 10 to 20 percent tariffs on imports from countries he accused of taking advantage of the U.S., and end taxes on tips and Social Security income.
WATCH — CNN’s Bolduan: “Despite Any Data” Dems Put Out, Voters Prefer Trump on Economy:
Trump has long criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s energy policies, saying they sparked the surge of inflation that sent prices rising at the fastest rate in four decades. On Wednesday, Trump expanded this line of criticism, arguing that the Biden-Harris administration had eased back on its restrictions on fossil fuels for political reasons and predicting that if elected Harris would return to the anti-fossil fuel, anti-fracking policies she has long defended.
“Now they’re drilling, but the day after the election—if they win this election—the drilling stops,” Trump said. “By contrast, I am announcing today that under my leadership the United States will commit to the ambitious goal of slashing energy prices by half.”
Trump said he would reverse the Biden-Harris policies that thwart energy extraction in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. He also promised to end the electric vehicle mandates put in place by the administration.
Trump sought to connect Vice President Kamala Harris to the current administration’s economic problems, especially runaway inflation, pointing out that she was one of the biggest cheerleaders for Biden’s economic policies and the critical tie-breaking vote for many of his key pieces of legislation.
WATCH — Karine Jean-Pierre Can’t Explain Why Biden, Harris Never Backed “No Tax on Tips” Before:
C-SPAN
“Kamala has declared that tackling inflation will be a day one priority. Think about it. For her, day one was three-and-a-half years ago,” Trump said. “She says her plan is going to bring down prices. Why didn’t you do it? You’ve been there three-and-a-half years.”
Trump outlined a hopeful, bright vision for the country and the U.S. economy.
“We will have prosperity and we will have peace,” he said. “We will end the era of inflation, mayhem, and misery.”
“Vote Trump and your incomes will soar, your savings will grow, young people will be able to afford a home, and we’ll bring back the American dream better and stronger than ever before,” Trump said.
The surge in illegal immigration during the Biden-Harris administration has pushed up housing prices and strained government budgets, Trump argued.
“I will seal the border. I will send them all back to their countries where they belong. Prices will come down, come down dramatically, and come down fast,” Trump said.
WATCH — Former Obama ICE Director: Harris “Owns” Part of “Untenable” Border We Had Under Biden Whether or Not She Was “Czar”:
Trump said that the surge in immigration is also endangering the health of Social Security and Medicare. He promised to shore up those programs by deporting illegal immigrants who might someday become a drain on them.
He also said that he would end taxation of Social Security benefits, pointing out that when the tax was first introduced during the Reagan administration it only affected a small number of wealthy beneficiaries. Because the threshold triggering taxes was not indexed for inflation, however, it now imposes taxes on retirees with below the median income in the U.S. That problem has become even worse in recent years thanks to the surge in inflation under Biden-Harris.
Trump reiterated his plans to end taxes on tips and to make the individual tax cuts enacted during his presidency permanent.
On trade, Trump went further than he has in the past, promising to impose tariffs of between 10 and 20 percent on “foreign countries that have been ripping us off for years.” In earlier statements, Trump had proposed a 10 percent tariff.
The tariffs will “bring back millions and millions of jobs and bring in billions and billions of dollars,” Trump said.
Trump asked his audience to contrast his administration to the current Biden-Harris regime.
“Does anyone feel richer under Kamala Harris and crooked Joe? Is anything less expensive?” Trump said. “Are you better off with Harris and Biden than you were under a person named Donald Trump?”
Originally Posted At www.breitbart.com
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Trump Vows to Sign Executive Order ‘Directing’ Agencies to Defeat Inflation
Former President Donald Trump vowed that if elected president, he would “sign an executive order directing” each cabinet secretary and agency head to “use every tool” they had to defeat inflation.
“On my first day back in the Oval Office, I will sign an executive order directing every cabinet secretary and agency head to use every tool and authority at their disposal to defeat inflation and to bring consumer prices rapidly down,” Trump told the crowd from Asheville, North Carolina.
Trump’s comments come as the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Wednesday that inflation had risen in July. The consumer price index was reported to have climbed up to 2.9 in July, up from a year ago.
In June, the inflation index rate increased by three percent from a year ago.
President Trump: On my first day back in the Oval Office, I will sign an executive order directing every cabinet secretary and agency head to use every tool and authority at their disposal to defeat inflation and bring consumer prices RAPIDLY DOWN.
It will be a… pic.twitter.com/TIGu2Rfw0v
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 14, 2024
“We’ll do it very rapidly,” Trump added during his speech. “When you look at the cost of groceries, the cost of bacon went up four and five times. Bacon, I don’t order bacon anymore, it’s too expensive. It will be a whole of government effort to raise the standard of living and make American life affordable again.”
During a recent interview with Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk, Trump commented on how “a lot of people” don’t have the money to be able to afford “a whole cart” of groceries anymore.
Under the Biden administration, grocery prices have seen a sharp increase. In 2021, food prices saw an increase of 6.3 percent and 10.4 percent in 2022, according to TheStreet. In 2023, the increase in food prices was reported to have “slowed” to 2.7 percent.
As Breitbart News reported, a recent YouGov poll found that 77 percent of Americans feel that inflation is a “very important” issue.
Another poll from the Financial Times found that inflation has been among the three top sources of financial stress for 78 percent of voters.
Originally Posted At www.breitbart.com
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