Children

One of the most concerning things about the border crossings during the Biden years was the number of unaccompanied minors. The AP reported that the Trump administration is conducting a massive, multi-agency review of 450,000 migrant children who crossed the US-Mexico border without their parents during President Joe Biden’s term. There is no way to determine how many children came in or where they are.

Iran oil

One of the big discussions currently going on in the Trump cabinet involves Iran. One side is pushing sanctions and threatening military options and the other side is pushing diplomacy and negotiations. A good compromise would be to stop all oil shipments from Iran and send the ships back. Iran cannot survive without revenue from oil and gas exports.

Trade

The GDP is negatively effect by the trade deficit. GDP is consumption, investment, government spending and export/import balance. The GDP is $27.7 trillion and the trade deficit is $1.2 trillion meaning without the trade deficit the GDP would be $28.9 trillion.

NATO

There are 32 countries in NATO and the US contributes $3.6 billion which is 16% of NATO’s budget but that is only part of the story. NATO’s military personnel strength is 3.4 million and the US contributes 1.3 million or 41%. Some countries like Germany send troops but they are not allowed in combat. NATO countries spend less than 2% of their GDP on defense while the US spends 3.7%. Since the founding of NATO in 1949 the US has been the major supporter. Trump is asking that NATO step up its support especially since the Ukraine War started. These countries have been using their defense money savings to provide social services to their people and it will be difficult, if not impossible, for them to reduce these benefits, so it means higher taxes. NATO countries are required to come to the rescue if any country is attacked. When the US was attacked on 9/11 other countries joined the US. The US spent $2.3 trillion plus $530 billion in interest for a total of $2.8 trillion. The other countries added $130 billion or 4% of the total. The US suffered 7,085 deaths while the other countries lost 1,449. The US sent 100,000 troops while the other countries sent 30,000.

Wages

As the reshoring gets underway, the big question is how will the US overcome the wage difference between here and different countries. A good example to look at is the garment business in Bangladesh where the minimum monthly wage is $113 or 63 cents an hour. The first step is to understand the inefficiency. The average number of employees in a US textile mill is 13, while in Bangladesh each mill employs 800. The new mills being built in the US get more product per employee. If the US employee makes $50 per hour including benefits the labor cost is $650 per hour while in Bangladesh the cost is $504 (63 cents times 800) per hour. The US is seeing a resurgence in textile manufacturing, including the construction of new facilities. The newer mills are more efficient due to technology and AI. In addition, the transportation cost from Asia is eliminated and that has increased by 300% in recent months. Having mills in the US allows the companies to change styles more quickly which means more sales. The point is that the oft talked about wage discrepancies regarding cheap foreign labor may not be as great as first appears. This means that if tariffs are removed from all sides the US may be able to compete. .

Private investment

Both Biden and Trump agreed that bringing home jobs to America (reshoring) was good for the USA. Biden with his America Frist plan and Trump with MAGA have pushed for reshoring. Trump started things in his first term by placing tariffs on China and Biden added new tariffs. Next Biden passed the CHIP Act and the Infrastructure and Jobs Act which promoted American jobs. Trump has followed up with tariffs designed to make products made in America more competitive. So far foreign and domestic companies have pledged more than $5 trillion dollars to invest in US manufacturing. Biden spent $2 trillion of government money which adds to the deficit and causes inflation while spending private money will do neither. Private companies are even setting up their own power systems to ease the stress on the grid. This is the capitalist system at work. Government should make things easier for private companies by using regulations and tax policies in ways that promote efficiency.

Protest

This is a headline from NPR May Day protestors will rally nationwide against the war on working people. Anti-Trump protesters have expressed a range of concerns regarding the administration's recent actions, including the elimination of thousands of federal jobs, immigration raids, and billionaire Elon Musk's involvement in downsizing the U.S. government. This article emphasizes the federal government not the private sector. It is the private sector (manufacturing jobs) that has been devastated by globalization over the past 50 years. This is what Trump is trying to reverse but it is not being well received by the establishment groups, who want to maintain the status quo. Trump is trying to bring back the millions of jobs that were offshored by big businesses trying to increase profits at the expense of the working people. Government employees have not felt the sting of these lost manufacturing jobs and would like to keep things has they have been. The country is undergoing a metamorphosis as these industrial jobs are coming home. This is pro labor and unions welcome this change of direction. American workers will once more be making products here in this country for American consumers. This will mean high paying jobs much like was the case in the 1950’s where wages increased by 4% while inflation rose by only two percent. Reshoring will revitalize the unions. Increased worker benefits will raise prices but new factories using the latest technology along with AI will lower cost. The protestors are using the cover of government layoffs to hide the real agenda which is deporting illegal migrants.