this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2025
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[–] [email protected] 220 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Did anyone mention how the 1930 tariffs sparked a wave of retaliatory tariffs by other nations, greatly reducing international trade, pushing a natural resources poor Japan to conclude that in order to survive it needed an empire, so it invaded other countries, committing such atrocities that even Nazi Germany was like "whoa dude, chill", which lead to their participation in WWII, Pearl Harbor and the deployment of nuclear bombs? No?

[–] [email protected] 121 points 1 week ago (2 children)

That's quite the oversimplification, and I approve.

[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Haha yeah, but I could do even better:

Tariffs bad because history

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[–] merc 16 points 1 week ago

There's a lot of oversimplification. But the US embargo on Japan in 1940 led directly to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The US embargoed all oil to Japan. Japan calculated it had less than 2 years worth of oil before it ran out, so it needed to capture the Dutch East Indies (modern day Indonesia, more or less) because they were a major source of oil. The American puppet state of the Philippines was between Japan and the Dutch East Indies, so they had to deal with that somehow. Their decision was to preemptively attack Pearl Harbor and hope that they could consolidate their gains in the Pacific by the time the US was able to counter-attack.

Japan's actions in WWII weren't directly about tariffs, but they were about spheres of influence, like the Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

A lot of Trump's posturing seems to be about bringing back these spheres of influence. The US wants to control North America, taking over Greenland and Canada, and leave Europe to become part of the Russian sphere.

[–] [email protected] 82 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Japan was expanding long before 1930's. Korea, Mongolia, and parts of China were already under Japan long before 1930.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 week ago

Yeah that comment is wildly ignorant of Japan's actions and aspirations pre1930. Fuck Trump and these tariffs, mind you.

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[–] [email protected] 142 points 1 week ago (14 children)

The whole plan was to move production back to the US. The thing though is, that you can't make Americans sit and sew Jeans that sell sell for $15 or assemble electronics for $6/hr

Maybe you could 100 years ago, but there is s a reason why we trade across the world and its not because we are kind. It is because it makes companies more money.

This will be mostly messy for the US. The rest of the world now has tarrifs on the US. But US now has tarrifs on the whole world. Any other country can look into expanding in new markets now, but the US has shut all its doors

[–] [email protected] 55 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Yeah we can't make everything.

Not only do most of those low level factory jobs suck we simply don't have the workers, we're at less than 5% unemployment.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 1 week ago (1 children)

we're at less than 5% unemployment

So far

[–] vulgarcynic 17 points 1 week ago (4 children)
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[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Nor does the US need to make everything.

The US is a service economy. It makes money through capital and intellectual property. Being the first to innovate means also having the opportunity to wedge yourself as a permanent middle man and charge people around the world to pass go.

Think Uber eats for example. If I order food in Toronto from a Toronto based restaurant fulfilled by a courier in Toronto, 30% of my payment is going to them in silicon valley for managing that order.

Similarly, when you purchase an app on Google or Apple store, they are collecting 30%.

If I am in Norway purchasing a game on Steam from a Norwegian developer, you guessed it, 30% is going to Steam.

This is America's strength now, not making t shirts, shoes or cars entirely domesticallty.

Most of the world was ok with paying the markup for convenience.

Since the US have gone rogue, many are calling for an end for respect to US intellectual property. Perhaps each country should have its own Uber, app store etc so that the cut can stay within our borders.

One case: Uber was charging 30% commission for managing rickshaw rides in India (a country with relatively low purchasing power per capita).

It was only after domestic options like Rapido or Namma Yatri undercut them that they moved to a subscription based model, charging drivers 20 to 40 rupees daily, rather than taking an exorbitant commission of 30% per ride. To India's credit, it has a robust IT sector located in one of its major cities (Bangalore) which helps promote competition in this case.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago

you can't make Americans sit and sew Jeans

You can with

🌈🦄 ✨ slavery ✨🦄 🌈

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (6 children)

if anyone has any questions about getting out of the country, ask away.

I'm a long-term traveler.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 week ago (8 children)

What countries do you recommend that have the easiest visa requirements?

[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

at this point, visas are very easy to get in general, but Thailand is still one of the easiest and is one of the friendliest and most affordable countries around.

if you're a US citizen, you have visa-free travel in Thailand for 60 days.

if you need a visa, go to the evisa website, thaievisa.go.th, fill out the form, pay the fee, they'll email you the visa in a couple days.

I usually recommend Thailand or somewhere in Southeast Asia as a first destination. good food, great healthcare, cheap living, great people, beautiful environment, and they're very used to travelers so there are local and expat support systems nationwide.

another nice thing about Southeast asia is that there are tons of other friendly places close by.

it's about as easy to live there as anywhere else, but the support systems and the country being very used to travelers might make first time travelers more comfortable.

oh PS thailand has a lot a lot of really good all you can eat buffets for 3 to 10 dollars per person.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I've read in some unsubstantiated comments that the state of the authorities of Hungary is so fucked up, they barely check if you can bribe a family tree researcher to make up some BS that your grandparents were Hungarian.

Pretend they were 1956 refugees that never had papers in the US, find some people who actually got lost in 1956 that have birth certs in Hungary - like maybe killed by the Soviets - learn some elementary Hungarian, be white, and boom, EU citizenship.

I take no responsibility for this harebrained idea and reiterate that this is just some ridiculous thing I read back on Reddit way back when.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 week ago (9 children)

Hungary itself is leaning quite heavily into an authoritarian vibe these days. If one were to go this route, I’d recommend taking advantage of your new EU-citizen status and find permanent residence in a country with stronger democratic traditions.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

What tips or suggestions do you have for families with young kids?

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Three big ones are:

  1. There are lots of international families, so they'll have company, support networks and infrastructure.

  2. There are tons of safe, affordable countries with easy access to good education.

  3. Native English speakers are all but guaranteed jobs as ESL teachers, so the parents will have access to available, steady income abroad.

A lot of people don't know about international schools, which is where most international families send their kids.

Other than the first two points, there are not many differences between my individual and family advice. For many families, moving from the US to a country like Thailand means safer, more affordable lives with a better quality of life.

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[–] [email protected] 77 points 1 week ago (1 children)

There was also the McKinley Tariff of 1890 that is taxed foreign imports at almost 50% and caused increased prices and consumer backlash and lead to Democrats winning Congress in a landslide.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 week ago

Aren't you glad Trump promised you don't have to vote ever again now?

[–] [email protected] 73 points 1 week ago (2 children)

There's in general no way this can work long-term. When nations cooperate, they both benefit. If you're the only nation not cooperating with everyone else, then everyone else will surpass you until you're North Korea levels of yesteryear.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Looking at this through the lens of "how can the oligarchs benefit", it makes complete sense - Strip all government assistance, remove social nets, add tariffs that will basically kill most small businesses (think also farms, mom and pop shops, etc). Lead to depression, billionaires swoop in and buy up land/homes/business for pennies on the dollar (or just basically crush small businesses to get them out of the way). One couldn't design a better way to fuck over everyone and enrich the oligarchs

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago

Yup, a fire sale for oligarchs.

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[–] [email protected] 68 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is what happens when a populace isn't properly educated.

Prepare for this country to be on a downward slope for the rest of our lives. That's the most likely future for us.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago

The brain drain can already be seen, most have already moved abroad, or are waiting to.

[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 week ago (8 children)

If I recall my history right, the 1929 stock market collapse precipitated the Great Depression, and the tariffs were a (misguided) attempt at trying to set the economy straight.

[–] Rekorse 24 points 1 week ago

Dont let facts get in the way of a cheeky social media post.

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[–] [email protected] 57 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'd like to see U.S become so weak that Natives are able to reclaim their land. Imagine them scalp those nazi regime supporting mfers. Brings a happy tear in my eye.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I theorize that this is why most/all US leaders have been pro-Israel. Because if they were anything else, the native population would be like "hey, so what about us and our stolen lands?" and US leaders will absolutely not deal with that.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 week ago

I'm pretty sure it's the money. If minority groups were lobbying just as hard to both parties, the populist leaders would switch.

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Thanks for the insight, stacy! By the way, why are you still posting on a nazi platform? Oh for internet points? Cool, cool.

Edit: Damn, there's more nazis on Lemmy than I thought.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 week ago (9 children)

Because that's the platform that needs to hear it

Circlejerk preaching to the choir is fun, but doesn't reach the people who need to hear it

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Edit: Damn, there’s more nazis on Lemmy than I thought.

As a rule, Lemmings are steadfastly against any course of action that might make an actual difference. They'll post about guillotines and green Mario until the cows come home, since no one actually expects them to act on that sort of thing, but whenever anyone suggests anything that a typical person could actually do it's nothing but excuses.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago

It appears the extent of their participation is spewing vitriol and clicking downvote buttons. lol

Meanwhile, I'm going to a capital protest tomorrow. Those of you doing things, KEEP RESISTING THESE FUCKS.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 week ago

angrily looks at the "verified" badge

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 week ago (15 children)

Wait. I just realized something. One of the significant reasons humans are such amazing creatures compared to the other species is our generational knowledge we can pass down. But we have a saturation point. We need consciousness information downloading. Not immortality. But a way to download Wikipedia to our brains. That's the next step.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 week ago

Third time is a charm. No seriously this unhinged president will be the destruction of the nation as the Democrats predicted. It was fun while it lasted but since I'm not rich I'm screwed.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 week ago (4 children)

How did 1930 one caused a depression when we were in the 29' crack?

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Maybe depression is the goal along with the whole gamut of initiatives whose only logical aggregate result would be the weakening of the United States

Seems fairly easy to accomplish when an entire political party's ideology is built upon a foreign power's propaganda

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[–] captain_aggravated 20 points 1 week ago (2 children)

The last tariff I personally remember was the 1983 motorcycle tariff signed by Reagan. The Yamaha Virago was seen as such a threat to Harley-Davidson that they pushed for and got a tariff imposed on imported motorcycles over 700ccs engine displacement. Yamaha's answer was to reduce the engine displacement from 750 to 699cc. The 250cc Virago is still in production today, though they install a straighter handlebar on it and call it a "V-Star 250."

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

I feel like those 80s motorcycle tariffs are why the US motorcycle industry is so uncompetitive today. In the 80s, HD got fat my making bikes that wouldn't be viable anywhere else in the world. HD didn't have to compete because tariffs guaranteed their market. Meanwhile Honda, Yamaha,. Kawasaki, Suzuki were developing a lean, lightweight model, we saw the convergent evolution of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle and lean production processes. It was specifically those tariffs that made the big 4 what they are today - basically unstoppable.

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