JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Politics HERE only!

Marty,
in the age of free trade some countries will always have a trade deficit. Having governments trying to balance trade between countries with different sized economies is crazy because we then have a centrally planned economy. I, as a consumer, would like to have the freedom to buy any product I want, no matter where it is built, just like your wife when she bought a German car. I used to be able to buy German wine at the Publix store around the corner. It was more expensive than the Californian wine, but I had the freedom to decide if I wanted to spend the money on it or not. A few years ago Trump imposed 25% tariffs on EU wine. Now there are no German wines available anymore. Did that help balance the uneven trade? Maybe, but not much.
You and I have no idea where tariffs are currently in place and if they are uneven. Or do have a tariff list? Every day Trump mentions new tariff numbers 10%, 25%, 100%. That looks pretty chaotic to me and doesn't sound fair nor like like a long-term solution. I find it almost impossible to reach a fair tariff agreement. No tariffs at all would be the fairest solution but then the Americans would continue to buy German cars just because they want to and the US trade deficit wouldn't change much. I personally don't think trade wars will solve anything. In fact, they will probably make things even worse. We, the consumers, will have to bear the brunt. We will have to forgo many things. I still think the EU strategy of having the consumers boycotting products from certain countries is the better solution. But as always, we agree to disagree. A trade war would hit the US much harder than other countries because the other countries would still do business with each other. If the US market is not available to other countries they will intensify their connection with China. China is a huge market. I don't think that would be good for the world.

No, but that's a lie. I give what? Posting songs?

The only reason you did that was, well two reasons, one, you didn't like AI songs here, and two, cause at the time you were in a mission to make the site great again. Mtsga...

It wasn't cause I "give it" I'm allergic to bullshit.

Have I been trouble? Of course, but that's not the reason. You have been a menace too.

Anyway, hard to hit a target if it keeps getting moved.

Dom,

You went online and found a video of mine and posted it here and then started making fun of the appearance of a 70 year old man.
Apparently, you were in a row with MFB and you got ahold of his phone number somehow, after he blocked you here, and starting harrassing him with texts.

You are nutty as a squirrel turd.

I asked AI..."What is psychological denial?"

It came back showing only your photograph.

Lol... You gotta be kidding me. I'm not sure if you're smart or not or just appear smart cause many are dumb here. That's why I hang around with people uglier than me...

First of all the insult I slung at you was so petty, so childish, so blase, and in consequential, but you still bring it up today...

This was way before your massacre if my AI work, at least a year or more.. that excuse can not be bought.

Secondly, does it really matter that I made fun of your glasses? And what does 70 have to do with it?

I'm only 15 years younger, I'm not 20.

If the insult bothered you that much, I sincerely apologize. I've been called a lot worse ...

but not being a stupid person I refuse your answer

Ya'll are just pissed because folx would rather read lyrics than listen to AI crap.

Also, the truth on all "songwriting sites" is, those who complain the most are the least productive.

The MP3 forum is doing fine lol...

MartyDom, YOU PROTEST TOO MUCH!

Why don't you go back to the site you came from instead of wishing death on this one?


My guess is HR.com...

Dom,

I spent my life in construction. Do you really think that some entity on my computer screen sends me into a decline.
Nonetheless, your apology is unexpected and accepted.

Tony,
I've spent uncountable hours learning my DAW and I spend months on individual songs.
But this past weekend, I poured a drink and took the lyrics from one of my old songs and uploaded them to SUNO and typed in about 15 words.
It came back with something better than I ever even imagined.

Is it the greatest song ever? No.
Is it beyond my own abilities to not only execute, but even imagine? Yes.
For me, the SUNO backing track and vocals is a joy to listen to as it renders my lyrics.

I split out the stems and took them into my DAW and split them out further in the DAW and messed with the levels and tonality.
Could not be happier with the result.

Gonna do a video of the lyrics and I'll post that in a few days. Dom will recognize the title. He repeatedly ridiculed it.

THE MORALE OF THE STORY
AI is here, wont be denied and is here to stay. Deny that if you need to, but know that.

xoxo

Marty

Your cause is a free for all with no rules.
Now that I am fine with that, you tell me that I should leave?

Apparently your cause is a free for all with your rules?

Well, WHOOP DEFUK'N DO!

I really hope you're proud of yourself

Brian,

Respectfully, please bring back "The Rant Arena" and consolidate all this miscellaneous crap to where it belongs...

My offer to be your "Site Janitor" is still open.

Tony

You're missing the point again Tony.
I DIDN'T DO IT.

I wrote some song lyrics and typed in about 15 words and this amazing rendition came back with incredible vocal inflections, that conveyed the lyrics better than I ever could.

Ignore AI if you must.

Gotta go to the city and try to get a building permit for some plans. You'll have to somehow derive meaning for your life in my absence. ;_

xoxo
Marty

Talk about "denial."

There is no one available here to be "site janitor." You, least of all.

Well time to drive to a studio , Which one will it be ? Well keep the Malibu for long drives

LOL

Oh! Really Rob,

Well okay, but if someone gets to be the advantaged and someone else is relegated to the disadvantaged...I want the disadvantaged to be you and the countries that you advocate for. That works for me. Let's do that. And once done, we can sit back and pontificate about how some trade deficits are to be expected.

I know the comeback;
The US is big and it only makes sense that the smaller countries get handicapped?
Not anymore. It appears that the deficits have gone on too long and gotten too wide. So it's time to take a hard look and bring them back down.

As for me, I am looking at GMC trucks. I believe that they won't be tariffed. I need to check where Canyons are assembled.
I don't build anymore and don't need to go pick up a few pieces of sheetrock or plywood now and then, so I may go down to the midsize Canyon. But if I catch a deal on a Sierra, I may grab it.
My wife likes her Mercedes. Good car. If the EU gets right with all this, maybe she'll buy another.

ps. Per Google Gemini...
According to the information available, GMC Canyons are manufactured at:

GM's Wentzville Assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri, United States.  
This plant is the primary production site for the GMC Canyon, as well as its sibling, the Chevrolet Colorado.

Marty

How was the US disadvantaged by Canada that created the trade deficit??

Steve

I read that the Sierra could get almost 16,000$ more expensive. You should hurry up.
https://www.carscoops.com/2025/03/t...average%20price%20up%20to%20%2430%2C194.

Steve,

Question #1 - Is there a trade deficit? Yes.
Question #2 - Is it an organic thing that grew over time and represents the OPTIMAL relationship between the 2 countries in its current state?
Question #3 - Or has it become bloated in favor of Canada?

Marty's answer:
I do not know. I'm just an old guy spectating from Texas, but I'm delighted that people smarter than me are looking into it.


That's all I got Steve.

Marty

OMG! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

I'll take my chances Rob. I'm betting that summer will be a good time to buy a car after a dismal Spring and tax-refund season.
I've been wrong before and I'm prepared to be wrong again.

I'm leaning towards a Canyon.

Rob,

Per Gemini regarding Sierras,

Based on the information gathered, GMC Sierra trucks are assembled in several locations:

Fort Wayne Assembly Plant (Roanoke, Indiana, USA):
This plant produces various GMC Sierra models, including the 1500, 2500HD, and 3500HD.  
 
Silao, Mexico:
Some GMC Sierra 1500 models are also assembled in Silao, Mexico.
Flint, Michigan, USA:
This is where GMC sierra HD models are assembled.
Therefore, GMC Sierra assembly occurs in both the United States and Mexico.


I suspect that the lower trim levels are put together in Mexico.
I usually buy the lower trim levels.

I get the feeling, Marty. that you don't really know much about how trade deficits/surpluses occur...Rob B. had the right answer but you chose to ignore his point in your response ..... Having governments trying to balance trade between countries with different sized economies is crazy"

Trade deficits don't get bloated in "favour" of one country over another they just happen

The disadvantage you have is this: the US is exporting to a market of 40 million people with a maximum upside in 2025 of maybe $500B to $600B
Canada is exporting to a market of 341 million people....8.5 times bigger....our upside is 4 to 5 Trillion...tariffs have nothing to do with it...
There have been three free trade agreements between Canada and the US, the last 2 with Mexico....your guys signed all three and our guys signed all three with the trade restrictions clearly noted....the last one signed by Trump....everything was out in the open....my suggestion is you have someone phone Musk and tell him to fire the US negotiators....they just might be the problem


One last point....the deficit is not going away and it is going to get very much bigger because you need our natural resources and energy which make about 40-50% of our exports to the US

Just some thoughts

Steve

Steve
Are those the facts of life?
Or is that the narrative that the smaller countries need to convince themselves and the bigger countries of in order to get the outcome that they want?
Is Trump concerned with Canada or the overall circumstance that the US finds itself in after decades of having its mfg base gutted by cheap labor in developing countries, that just keep taking and taking?

I'm a Texan. Are you sure that we can't survive without your energy and natural resources?

Or...are tariffs that make your products unviable in US markets going to choke your country out?

Rob is so one-sided, I'm not sure what realities he actually gets correct if any. He seems to be a Rachel Maddow-EU-German fan boy.



I'll leave you with some thoughts...

IMO and others, Canada is our very best ally. We share an ocean that distances us from ancient European animosities. You are our peaceful neighbor to the north. Cold AF. Too liberal, but so is Minnesota.

Americans dont want to see that relationship destroyed. It would hurt people who are not our enemy and it would hurt us. Trump doesn't either.
The Canadian trade relationship is one of many that he wants scrutinized. So do I and others.

Take a breath. My prediction fwiw, it will wash out fine. Your people and our people will hug and kiss, and move on.

Marty,
please, I like you. You're a nice guy, but I hate it when you say things like that. Were you serious here? Is that what you think of me? Marty, really?

Forget the UE and Germany for a moment. Let me create an example that makes it easier for you to understand. Let’s assume there was a very small country with a population of just 100 people. This here is a songwriter forum, so let’s assume one of those 100 people was a very successful singer-songwriter, someone like Taylor Swift. That person sold tons of merchandise, downloads, CDs, etc. to fans in the USA. That would lead to a very uneven trade balance between the US and that small country. On the one side you have 340 million Americans downloading songs and buying merchandise and if I understand you correctly, now you want the US government to force the 100 people of that small country to buy so many US products to create an even trade balance. Sorry, but that won’t work. The example I described actually existed in the late 70s in Sweden. The group Abba made up for over 60% of Sweden’s GDP. I understand what you want but tariffs won't solve the problem.

On second thought Marty, you crossed a line here and I honestly can't imagine you wrote this. I'm ending our discussions immediately. I actually regret the time I spent showing you how useful AI tools can be. i wish you all the best. Over and out - Robert

Like I said, Tex, you don't know much about it....educate yourself and find out why we supply 4 million barrels of oil a day (20% of your daily consumption) and 100% of your natural gas imports ....you also supply oil and natural gas to Canada... it's called strategic buying that both countries need to do to keep their costs under control....we will continue to trade with the US and you will continue to have a trade deficit with Canada, that's just math or did you miss the point where I said the market we sell to is 8.5 times bigger than the market you sell to, that's why American companies buy up Canadian companies, with our blessings, especially in the resource sector....but we will renegotiate a new treaty with the US and you will still have a trade deficit... that won't change and the US will have no problem with the new arrangement...and once again, Dallas, when both countries sign a trade agreement, they both get the outcome they want....they both agree to what's in the document...it's part of the word "agreement"...unless your negotiators really are that stupid

Hi Rob...don't be too concerned about what Austin says....he's from Texas...lolol

Tariffs is a tax on citizens by a different name. In some cases they are necessary, but in most cases they are stupid and counter productive. I'll tell a simple story to show how stupid they are. Bill Smith, and his small family of three, ran a vegetable farm in Canada. A friend of his, Tom Jones and his family of twelve had an orange grove in a Southern State. They decided to sell to each other at farm gate prices because it would be cheaper than paying wholesale and retail prices. Tom needed $100.00 worth of mixed vegetables per month for his large family, Bill only needed about $20.00 worth of oranges per month for his small family. It worked well until government put a 25% tariff on Tom's purchase, so now he had to pay $125.00 for the same vegetables. Canadian government decided to slap a 25% tariff on Bill's purchase, which now cost $25.00. So the governments just added the tariff money to their coffers, and Bill and Tom's cost went up, the only ones to gain were the respective governments.

Now here is a case when tariffs make sense. John Nobel had a business making hunting knives. He paid $20.00 and hour to his employees who made about ten knives and hour each, meaning his labour cost was about $2.00 per knife. He decided to move his operation to China where he only paid $2.00 labour per hour, which cost .20 cents per knife. Giving him a $1.80 per knife advantage over other knife manufacturers back in the States. If the US government slapped a tariff on John to take away that advantage, it would make sense. Other than that, it was a great way for governments to make money without the stigma of directly taxing their citizens.

I'm done with cars for now , either way you look at it , they're money pits

OH MY!

Seems the Canadian contingent and German-EU foreign ambassador are all in a tizzy this morning.

I need to educate myself?
Maybe.
I don't know tariffs. I doubt you do either Steve. I think that you have memorized the company line here.
For years I was told that walls did not work on borders and the US border could not be properly managed without "comprehensive immigration reform."
But then, Presto! Seems they do work when properly managed with some accompanying manpower.

Rob, your little examples of things that make all of this easy for me to understand are tiresome, frankly. And too anecdotal and self serving to take seriously.
The fact that you profess to be a Floridian and a proud American, with a documentation issue, is a bit baffling when you exclusively and reflexively express contempt for everything Trump does... even when he expels more dangerous criminals from the US than I ever imagined would happen. Yet, you would still vote for the candidates who denied that there was a "border crisis" and loaded the country up with them. That makes no sense to me. You don't seem to have my safety as a priority. And honestly, if you dont have TDS, imo, no one does.

And Everett...a tariff can be considered a tax...IF SOMEONE ACTUALLY CHOOSES TO PAY IT. I plan to buy a truck assembled in Missouri, not Berlin, China or Mexico. Feeder parts are another issue. We'll see on that...if tariffs are still in place this summer.

I am admittedly, nothing more than a spectator on this AND SO ARE ALL OF YOU. I am spectating from Texas. You all are spectating from outside the United States, therefore Rachel Maddow et al have a different narrative that you have bought into and want desperately to be true. I don't know whether it is or not.

BUT HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS...
If Trump goes through with "Liberation Day," then all of these assertions will be reality tested.
We can watch and see the results.
If I come back here and read your assertions and proclamations again, and they have aligned with any actual outcomes...I will give you that and admit to having it wrong.

MY PREDICTION...
It will be a mixed bag and the propaganda machines will invent narratives.

I'll be in my truck most of today. For today, you all will have to derive purpose for your lives from some other source and find another bogeyman to gang up on. LOL

Have a good day fellas,

Marty

How bout an AI President?

Won't happen soon , but how much worse could it be? Would eliminate all bias, assuming bias is not programmed in.

Wouldnt need fact checking, would create the most logical solutions.

It's coming

Seems the Canadian contingent and German-EU foreign ambassador are all in a tizzy this morning.

I need to educate myself?
Maybe.
I don't know tariffs. I doubt you do either Steve. I think that you have memorized the company line here.
For years I was told that walls did not work on borders and the US border could not be properly managed without "comprehensive immigration reform."
But then, Presto! Seems they do work when properly managed with some accompanying manpower.

Now I know why you don't understand....you can't read.... I have never said anything about tariffs....I spoke of the trade deficit and that it was not going away....
you then switched to talking about walls... come on, Lonestar concentrate on the topic ....

just having fun, Marty

Steve[i][/i]

The 1% runs the world , You guys on these puppets.

Hey Everett,
thanks for the fantastic explanation on how tariffs work … or don’t work. I really like the way you described things.

Many Americans think that only certain car models will be affected by the upcoming car tariffs. Every car built in the U.S. includes many parts from other countries. Current plans call for a May 3 start for 25% tariffs on car parts. So basically, all cars will be affected. Some more, some less. I worked half my life in Product Marketing. Manufacturers create lines of products and within each line they have different models or variants: entry level, mid-class and expensive top-level models. Due to these new tariffs, it could happen that an entry-level model gets a much harder tax hit than a top-level model. What surely won’t happen is that top-level cars will sell at a lower price than the entry-level cars because of the tariffs. After the new taxes are in place the Product Marketing teams of every car company will sit together and re-evaluate their model strategy, which includes pricing. We won’t see one specific model becoming more expensive because of the tariffs. It will be more like a blanket price increase over all models. Experts project ALL cars that today cost 40,000$ or more will become at least 8,000$ more expensive no matter where a specific model is built. And even carmakers that hardly get hit by the tariffs will increase their prices. If the competition has to raise prices by 8k, they would be dumb if they wouldn’t improve their margins by raising prices as well. I couldn’t say it any better than you did: tariffs are a great way for governments to make money without the stigma of directly taxing their citizens. This all might lead to a recession in the auto industry. We'll see.

I'm putting this SUNO creation up here because, well, it's political. It's right there in the name of the song.

It's also an F-bomb carpet bombing, so you're warned upfront. By way of history, a friend sent me a meme last week, basically a stream of consciousness narrative F-bombing of his highness. I said to my friend "hey, I can make a song out of that!".This is that. Short, but not sweet.

It's called, simply, "The Trump Song".

https://suno.com/song/cfebe2eb-660f-48f2-8212-065c5e600c1e?sh=DouK4Rgpe3uk8H7z

And as I said it will get more attention here.

Hi Michael,
and Marty says I'm suffering from TDS... He's probably never met you yet.
The song is dangerously catchy. You can immediately sing along with it. I can't get it out of my ears. Well-done.

All the best - Robert

We have sections for songs

... and we used to have a thread for "RANTS"

You can't get fucke you Fucke you out of your head ?

Fucke you Fucke You , well its catchy by robots for robots

HA!
Good one, Elvis!

BTW...
When I click on the "Open Discussion" forum over at TSF, all I see is "YOU" lol!

Tell Owen I said he can still kiss my A$$!

Me ? I'm barely on here lately. But is about time for a nap , let me listen to fucke you trump one more time

Lol... Take your meds, Elvis... It's nap-time...

Dear Dear Me!
I am away from my computer for a few hours and it appears that I was bombarded by the Rachel-Maddow-Foreign-Canadian-Fem-boy-army.

Though outnumbered by a multiple, I will not be silenced by this onslaught.

It is the eave of "Liberation Day."
Gather round.
Rather than responding pedantically to ongoing TDS induced blatherings, I will set the stage for "Liberation Day."

Imagine that I sell you a rubber duck for one US dollar.
But then you tell me that the exact same rubber duct will cost me $4 if I buy it from you.
I respond. WTF! It's the same damn duck.
You respond, yes it is, but I have a long list of infallible reasons for wanting to sell it to you for 4 times what I pay you for the same damn duck. And Justin Trudeau and Angela Merkel agree with me completely.
I respond, keep the damn duck. And by way, ISN'T THAT A FORM OF TAX?
And you respond, It' only a tax when I say it's a tax, not when you do.
I respond, Phuque the duque then. Ducks cost you $4 now.
And you respond, OMG! OMG! OMG! YOU CANT DO THAT. YOU CANT! YOU CANT!

That is the core of what is at work here.
Tomorrow, it appears that we get to see how it plays against reality.

My wife predicts the entire episode will be up and down in a month.
I think a bit longer.
We'll see.

Ben

Your song is lovely.
I know a woman who teaches preschoolers. I've sent it to her and suggested that she play it for the class.
In art class this week, they were showing the kiddies how to draw a swastika on a Tesla.

Rubber ducks... Really, Marty?
YOU'RE NOT A REAL TEXAN!

Try this...

I've worked hard all my life. I've got a nice house on a nice spread. I've got a nice garden and I tend to be quite generous.

However, my nearest neighbor is a trailer-trash pig farmer who has become far too "dependent" upon my generosity. In fact, he has become arrogantly demanding because his pigs need my corn!

So, I decide to actually make a little profit with my produce elsewhere. Screw him AND HIS STINKING BACON! I can raise my own damn pigs!

I think as experiment we should rotate positions in the board. Where we are now music.... song postings music and recording talk.

Right now, as set up, the site is showcasing politics, v religion etc, where they should be the side dish.

Take for example creative writing forum. Somebody could have posted something 3 months ago and I never saw it

I know it's been like that a while here, but just a thought, the top of pag/ wheel,always gets the grease

WTF are you talking about ? Fucke You Trump song ?

Haha, Elvis.
Yes, I think he thinks you wrote that song.

Fucke you Fucke You Fucke You song ? Well no lol

I'll say it again... Move stuff around don't show case this non sense.

Put music on top of site