“China’s limits on rare-earth exports to the United States were a much bigger problem for us than Trump’s tariffs were for them.
Trump didn’t cause this imbalance, which successive U.S. administrations have failed to address. But he was clearly oblivious, imposing punitive tariffs without any apparent awareness that China could strike back.
Trump has also proved willing to be moved by Chinese promises to resume purchases of U.S. soybeans. You might say that he ceded the future to China in return for a hill of beans. This is especially amazing when you bear in mind that China made similar promises to buy U.S. goods during the first Trump administration and never came close to delivering on those promises.
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China now faces tariffs not significantly higher than those imposed on our erstwhile allies in the European Union.”
Trump’s deal with China has made things less bad than they were before the meeting, but they are still way worse than they were before Trump engaged in a trade war with China.
Even if they were real people, it would be misleading to cherry pick certain people out of the many losing benefits and present this like it is representative of who is losing benefits. 2/2
The people killing Christians in Nigeria are Boko Haram. Boko Haram is a part of ISIS, and they are killing all sorts of people, not just Christians. They are rebels against the Nigeria government. Yet, Trump talks like the government is doing or aiding this. Hurting the government would weaken its ability to fight Boko Haram, potentially leading to more innocent deaths. Nigeria said they welcome help to fight Boko Haram.
“Venegas isn’t the only U.S. citizen to run afoul of the increased emphasis on immigration enforcement. Just days ago, according to 16-year-old Arnoldo Bazan, ICE officers in an unmarked car and without uniform insignia beat and choked him in Houston. He was finally released but his father was deported.
Two weeks ago, ProPublica reported it had found more than 170 cases of “agents holding citizens against their will, whether during immigration raids or protests.” In some cases, U.S. citizens were initially accused of assaulting or impeding officers, but charges were rarely brought, suggesting there was little substance to the accusations. “Our count found a handful of citizens have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors.”
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The problem with emphasizing mass arrests without warrants of supposedly foreign-looking people over targeted actions is that the government doesn’t just drive up the numbers; it scoops up many people who have every right to be where they are and do what they’re doing without being molested by agents of the state.”
“Board game makers have been hit particularly hard by Trump’s tariffs, which have raised the cost of importing just about everything. Cephalofair is based in California, but like many other businesses in the industry, Johnson’s company relies on contractors in China and Vietnam to make the tokens, pawns, cards, and other physical elements of its games.
Manufacturing all those parts in the U.S. is not possible if game companies want their products to be competitively priced. With high tariffs in place, the costs compound quickly. Nathan McNair, the co-owner of Pandasaurus Games, broke down the math in a post on his company’s website. The added cost of the tariffs makes every step more complicated, from design to sales, and can even change what games a company chooses to make in the first place. “This has not just squeezed our margin; this has substantially increased our risk,” he concluded.
Trump’s tariffs have already stung Cephalofair in several ways.
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for businesses like Johnson’s, which can’t afford to risk the possibility of being hit with a massive tariff bill just because a shipment arrives at the wrong time.
Instead, those businesses will do what Johnson has done: Delay orders, slow production, and hope more stability emerges.”
“He’s planning to pay for these proposals with various tax hikes, including a large jump in the city’s corporate tax rate from 7.5 percent to 11.5 percent.
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Unfortunately, raising the corporate tax rate could also hinder the job market, cause corporations to relocate, and decrease long-term government revenue, potentially damaging New York’s status as the financial capital of the world.
Corporations hit with higher tax rates would seek ways to cut costs, possibly harming workers through either layoffs or lower wages.
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In the United Kingdom, for example, around one in six British companies cut hiring in the fourth quarter of 2024 in anticipation of tax hikes that took place in April 2025. If New York employees aren’t directly laid off, they could face lower wages in the long run.
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Already, the exodus of banks from Wall Street to corporate tax havens, such as Elliot Management’s relocation to Florida, has cost the city millions in managed assets. New York City simply cannot afford to watch other businesses follow.
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“”Businesses have only three options to pay for higher taxes: raise prices; reduce costs; or lower returns to investors,” as the authors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce report wrote. “In reality, they do all three.” The fourth option, one even more feasible if a tax hike only hits New York City, is that businesses will flee.”
“The Pentagon is directing every state and U.S. territory to create “quick reaction forces” within their National Guards, which will be trained to respond to civil disturbances and emergencies
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The memo instructs the National Guard Bureau to train these forces in riot control tactics, rapid deployment procedures, and the use of nonlethal weapons. The federalized forces will complement the National Guard Reaction Forces, which have existed for decades to provide emergency relief
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These units are expected to fully mobilize within 24 hours of activation, with an initial contingent of roughly 200 troops that will be pulled from the guard’s unit that specializes in chemical and nuclear disaster response, ready by New Year’s Day. By April, the new quick reaction force will reach 23,500 soldiers strong
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Critics see the move as establishing a permanent, federally coordinated crowd-control infrastructure. Janessa Goldbeck, a Marine veteran and CEO of Vet Voice Foundation, told The Guardian that the memo represents “an attempt by the president to normalize a national, militarized police force.”
It’s unclear whether the new order—or any future deployments under it—would pass legal muster. Federal law generally prohibits the use of federal troops in civilian law enforcement, while the Insurrection Act allows exceptions only under narrow circumstances.”
China is dominant in rare earth mining and refining. Catching up on how to refine efficiently may be the hardest part. The U.S. could do this not long ago, we let it slip and are now regretting it!