I have three separate yet somewhat linked thoughts about the not a trade war trade war so I'm going to thread them. 1. I appreciate people going after the Trump administration for not investing in Asia (financial aid, military assets, diplomatic etc). I have problems with 1/n
critique though I agree with it wholeheartedly. Where were you pre-2017. It's like the world just discovered this problem. This isn't a Trump issue. It's a USG problem. Then for any significant increase, it is going to require legislation to authorize spending. Guess who 2/n
Controls the purse strings according to the Constitution? Let's authorize more spending for a variety of things to increase US investment throughout the Indo-Pacific and Africa. Second, I love when people make valid criticisms but never think about the other side or 3/n
bigger picture of their critique. The agriculture purchase issue is the perfect example. Assume for one minute, Trump announces and China signs a deal to give everything the US has asked for regarding economic reform. Would anyone believe it? I know as I hell I wouldn't 4/n
Yes, the Trump administration is asking for ag buys is a form of central planning. News flash: the Chinese economy especially in ag is CENTRALLY PLANNED. They have quotas for everything. The primary point is yes, the criticism may be valid but what would one of the 5/n
other options be to try and reach an agreement in this case. Like the critique that the current approach hasn't worked, well the other approach didn't work either. I've said many times, there are no good options and China is not going to change so decide which bad option 6/n
You prefer to live with. 3. I forgot the third one but just some disconnected thoughts
