“It’s an incredible deal. It goes down, certainly, if it happens, it goes down as one of the largest deals ever made” – Donald Trump
After the G20 meeting held in Argentina last week, our fearless leader declared victory on trade with China. But his claim is wishful thinking, not a formal agreement. The incredible deal, “if it happens,” is not a deal. On Monday morning, before the stock market opened, Trump doubled down on his statement, tweeting “China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S. Currently the tariff is 40 percent.” This is a big fat lie, there is no agreement to remove tariffs of any other amount.
Here is the true story. China and the U.S. agreed “to delay additional taxes on each other’s goods for the next 90 days.” This is at best a truce, not a trade deal. Changing the story in the face of failure comes naturally to a dishonest man. Trump lied about the truce on day one. How can China or any other nation trust Trump?
Trump’s negative impact on the climate crisis
Healing the planet and the future of life is a question of courage, time, and money. Honest behavior is fundamental to confront the greatest threat in history.
Courage. Denial is a common response to the climate crisis, it is tempting to pretend all is good. There are many ways to deny the facts, consuming time and effort. Denial is not a solution. Healers find courage looking at the past and deciding to build a better future.
Time. We have 12 years to avoid a tipping point. Success depends on what we do in the next two years to slow global heating by 2030. Severe weather will get worse as carbon emissions continue each day. Tick, tock.
Money. The high cost of sequestering carbon and the transition to a low-carbon economy requires healthy economies and free trade. Tariffs and sanctions disrupt and put the brakes on the global economy.
Trump’s climate deception
As President of the U.S., Trump has an obligation to speak and act honestly. When he says, “I don’t believe in climate change” Trump is failing to perform his role. Trump is free to believe in the Tooth Fairy, but his lack of concern for life and his promotion of fossil fuels are unacceptable.
Honest communication
Climate solutions require clear understanding of context and words. Climate change and global warming are technical terms used by climate scientists. When used informally, warming does not sound like a big deal and climate is just another word for weather. Climate disruption, climate crisis, climate breakdown, and global heating are honest terms.
UN Paris Climate Agreement – Round Two
At the opening ceremony of the 2018 United Nations Climate Conference, COP24, December 3-14, California’s former governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, said, “Every time you talk about America, you’re right when you say that our leadership in Washington is a little bit backwards. But you’re wrong when you say that America dropped out of the Paris agreement,” and proudly mentioned “the extraordinary work that is going on state and city levels.”
Arnold is right, the American youth and many other people concerned with their future are finding solutions to energy, transportation, public health, and the food chain, addressing not only the climate crisis, but the health of our living planet.
Honest responses to the climate crisis
U.S. Rep.-Elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sunrise Movement, an international youth climate group, are promoting the Green New Deal. They met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to obtain Democratic support.
The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 7173) will drive down America’s carbon pollution and bring the climate crisis under control, while unleashing American technology innovation and ingenuity.
SustainUS, a powerful youth group on resilience and reparations is attending COP24 with stories of resilience, hope and solutions, making bold demands that challenge the innate unfairness of the climate crisis.
The healing of nature will happen at community levels with people determined to make a beautiful world.
Rise up
Why would Americans follow a dishonest man? Trump must go.
Dr. Luis Contreras
While COP24 goes mostly unreported, Trump plans to increase CO2 emissions from US coal-fired power plants.
Is there an end-game for Trump’s denial?
Here are some statements Trump made in a October 2018, “60 Minutes” interview:
“I’m not denying climate change, but it could very well go back.”
“I don’t think there’s a hoax. I do think there’s probably a difference. But I don’t know that it’s man-made.”
“I will say this. I don’t want to give trillions and trillions of dollars. I don’t want to lose millions and millions of jobs. I don’t want to be put at a disadvantage.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/12/06/epa-announces-plan-ease-carbon-emissions-rule-new-coal-plants/
On Tuesday, Dec 4, the stock market went down 700 points.
Lies have consequences, Big fat lies have yuge impacts at international level
Did Trump think no one would notice?
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/markets/dow-falls-700-points-fears-mount-tariffs-are-choking-global-n943641
So the stock market went up 400 Dow points in Monday morning and went down 700 points on Tuesday
What Trump said about the “incredible deal” had a serious impact on the US Stock Market. If Trump lied to make the market go up, how is this not a deliberate manipulation? SEC should decide. Here is how one investment advisor saw it:
======== How to profit from China’s trade concessions =======
Jim Cramer gives investors his playbook for how to make money on the U.S.-China trade truce.
Monday, 3 Dec 2018 | 6:00 PM CT
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/12/03/how-to-profit-from-chinas-trade-concessions.html
Monday was full of surprises – no one trusted what Trump said, so the story got messy
======== Mnuchin says Trump and Xi had a breakthrough moment – no, they did not ==========
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/12/03/mnuchin-says-trump-and-xi-had-a-breakthrough-moment.html
When Trump lies, everyone in his staff has to lie
Mnuchin tried to make a difference between the “deal” and a REAL Agreement to happen some time in the future. It did not work!
Talk is cheap – it is not, it is a waste of time — China has the advantage, they will get a good deal from US
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/12/03/mnuchin-says-were-working-towards-a-real-agreement-with-china.html
The problem with lies is you have to make up another lie to cover the first … a waste of time
Here is a relevant December 5th report on Trump’s “erraticism” – a weird word to avoid using “lies”
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President Trump’s renewed threats of more tariff pain in the absence of a deal with Beijing — as top administration officials walked back expectations for a breakthrough — helped send stocks plummeting Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average recorded its fourth-worst day of the year on a percentage basis, shedding 3.1 percent. The broader S&P 500 dropped 3.2 percent, falling below its 200-day moving average, a critical threshold for traders. And the tech-focused Nasdaq fell 3.8 percent. The declines all but wiped out gains since last Wednesday, when Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell suggested the central bank could moderate the pace of its interest rate hikes. That mini-rally had gained steam as the Trump administration looked to be declaring a cease-fire in the trade war with China.
Investment managers said the Trump team’s erraticism in the wake of the G-20 summit over the weekend sapped confidence that a trade peace is at hand. And the confusion started at the top, with Trump starting his Tuesday by reversing his claim from the weekend that he had secured “an incredible deal” in Buenos Aires. Instead, Trump said in a series of tweets, the weeks ahead will reveal “whether or not a REAL deal with China is actually possible.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-finance-202/2018/12/05/the-finance-202-stocks-tank-as-tariff-man-sows-confusion-over-u-s-china-trade/5c0705161b326b60d128011e/