Gary Cohn resigns as Trump's top economic advisor
- Gary Cohn has resigned as White House chief economic advisor.
- Cohn's planned departure comes on the heels of a decision by President Donald Trump to impose stiff tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
- The former Goldman Sachs president had strongly opposed tariffs. (Link)
I am shocked. (Seriously, that's not sarcasm). A brilliant man, he was one of the few sensible people amongst Trump's advisers. Over time his frustration with Trump was becoming more and more obvious.
It was an "open secret" in Washington that he wasn't there to support Trump, but rather for altuisitc reasons. He was there in hopes that he could restrain Trump from acting out on his impulses-- which Cohn knew would hurt America. But Trump's ridiculous and destructive Tariff policy was the last straw for Cohn...
At a meeting with steel and aluminum executives last Thursday where Trump announced the move, Cohn argued against it, warning about price increases for steel and aluminum products, according to a person in the room.
An Axios reporter Thursday reported via Twitter that last Thursday Trump canceled a meeting that Cohn arranged for him with companies that use steel and aluminum in their products, in an effort to dissuade the president from imposing the tariffs.
Cohn also faced pressure to step down following Trump's defiant response to violence at a white nationalist rally in August. In an FT interview published that month, Cohn said he faced pressure both to leave Trump's White House and to stay in it. He even drafted a resignation letter, according to The New York Times .
The economic advisor told the FT that the White House "must do better" following Trump's widely criticized response to violence at the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The interview may not have helped his case with the president.
"Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the K.K.K.," Cohn told the FT. "I believe this administration can and must do better in consistently and unequivocally condemning these groups and do everything we can to heal the deep divisions that exist in our communities."
The other day, somebody said, "Saying America is now run like a banana republic is an insult to banana republics..."
Well... comparing America to a Banana ..can be a slippery slope indeed!
But in all seriousness, I think the problem is that Trump doesn't like democracy-- he prefers one man rule. As head of a large real estate company, he gave the orders. (He didn't sit down with, say, the people in the mail room or the people in Accounting -- and seek input which he considered in making decisions).That was not a democracy (& if he didn't like someone he said "You're fired").
But being a head of an entire country is different (if you don't like what some group of citizens want-- you can't fire them. You have to represent the people..if you don't you will be voted out of office or in some cases be impeached.
That's pathetic! You should be ashamed...
I am.
Forgive me Bob for I have sinned...
(Actually I think yo umay have made the reply after I posted that comment-- but then I edited it by adding a lot more).
Anyway-- after I monkeyed around with my original comment, I decided I wasn't going to go banana over it).
a goldman sachs guy / globalist, disagreed with trump? LOL too funny.
why would a globalist want to end the practice of selling out our country? (rhetorical - don't bother)
exactly. and he failed. why? trump keeps his promises. fair trade is not a new idea
the days of other countries getting rich off our backs is coming to an end.
just another bad day for the liberal world order :)
Why did trump hire him then?
same reason he worked for trump. (control)
except trump did in fact use cohn to get some stuff done that trump wanted done. (win)
trump used him... while cohn had no control over trump.
just because the guy helped get the tax cuts passed is no reason to listen to him on trade.
So you are admitting that trump is a leach that uses people for his own gains. Good to know.
And as I recall, the right wing was all up in arms about Goldman Sachs before the election, but suddenly changed their tune when trump hired what, 10 of their top people? Weird how that hypocrisy is so blatant and totally accepted but the cons.
trump is kicking liberal ass both here and abroad.
trump wins again. get used to it.
Actually the government monkeying around with things-- but artificially intervening in the works of capitalism-- the government interfering with corporations & the natural forces of capitalism) is usually something the left will do. The right, OTOH, believing in purer forms of capitalism (and not government meddling) is against government trying to manipulate things-- they prefer market forces, not the government, determining things. (in this case the executive branch) . A tariff means bigger gov't, more government interference with natural market forces!!!
And true libertarians feel even more strongly against more government. Which is why a true Lbertarian, Rand Paul, said this (video covers other topics as well-- his comment on Trump's tariffs start at about 3:20 into the video):
Which brings up another issue-- despite what many people erroneously think (especially liberal Democrats, BTW!) Donald Trump is definitely not a conservative. He often panders to the far right-- but that's playing politics. (And he panders to the Evangelicals which is really bizarre. Before he was president he hardly ever even entered a church, probably hasn't even opened a Bible for ages-- and his treatment of women is definitely not the sort of morality that any true Christian would condone).
Sadly, one of the few people with a backbone (and intelligence) will no longer be in the circus called the ''administration''.
One step further down the road of trade wars.
currently...
we are losing on every trade agreement. meaning, we have already lost the trade wars...
sadly, we gave up without a fight. (past administrations 41-44 selling us out)
time to change that
We'll see what happens...In trade wars there are no winners. Take for example if the EU increases the tariffs on motorcycles (Harley Davidson) who is losing sales and just closed the Kansas City production facility. The EU accounts for around 16% of HD revenue. Not a good thing for HD...
Targeted tariffs are much more effective since they target the country that is dumping. When it's a open tariff affecting all countries, even our allies, there is going to be push back. The tariffs may do much more damage then any good.
Cheers
HD is in a postion that the older bikers are hanging up their leathers and HD relience on large bikes is coming back to bite it in the ass. They have been pushing their smaller bikes and hopefully that will negate some of the damage being done.
If the EU does add a 25% tariff to motorycycles, it will, without a doubt, hurt HD.
India has a 100% tariff on motorcycles and HD is doing pretty well there, but they get around the tariffs by building the bikes in India.
Many of the other bike manufactors are experiencing a slow down in sales as welll. The market is changing and those that can't change with it will die. Hopefully, HD will not be one of them.
By any chance are you Are you familiar with the Cato Inst?
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded as the Charles Koch Foundation in 1974 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch,[6]chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries.
On domestic issues
Cato scholars have consistently called for the privatization of many government services and institutions, including NASA, Social Security, the United States Postal Service, the Transportation Security Administration, public schooling, public transportation systems, and public broadcasting.[50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]
The institute opposes minimum wage laws, saying that they violate the freedom of contract and thus private property rights, and increase unemployment.[58][59]It is opposed to expanding overtime regulations, arguing that it will benefit some employees in the short term, while costing jobs or lowering wages of others, and have no meaningful long-term impact.[60][61]
It opposes child labor prohibitions.[62][63][64] It opposes public sector unions and supports right-to-work laws.[65][66] It opposes universal health care, arguing that it is harmful to patients and an intrusion onto individual liberty.[67][68] It is against affirmative action.[69]
It has also called for total abolition of the welfare state, and has argued that it should be replaced with reduced business regulations to create more jobs, and argues that private charities are fully capable of replacing it.[70][71] Cato has also opposed antitrust laws.[72][73
So, whatever you may think about their views-- they are obviously not a bunch of liberals!
So what do the say about tariffs-- how do tariffs fit into the Cato Institute's (carefully thought out) political philosophy?
I thought you'd never ask!
Here's what they say :
America’s Misunderstood Trade Deficit
Let me begin by thanking Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen and members of the subcommittee for inviting me to testify on the growing U.S. trade deficit.
No aspect of American trade is talked about more and understood less than the trade deficit. It has been cited as conclusive proof of unfair trade barriers abroad and a lack of competitiveness among U.S. industries at home. It has been blamed for destroying jobs and dragging down economic growth. None of these charges are true.
If you really want to know the actual facts about their position, you can read the rest-- its HERE
(And no-- the CATO Inst is not run b ythe likes of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren-- or,perish forbid-- Hillary Clinton!
These people have a very deep understanding about economic facts (most people won't agree with how they interpret those facts they are too far right for even some conservatives-- but that's another issue-- one of opinion. Trump, OTOH, has very little understanding of world economics. (And no-- Trump is not a true conservative!!!)
In other contexts, Cohn had shown neither.
He did join the Trump White House. Did he not know what he was doing? Did he not care?
The people who join Trump, and then get burned... deserve it!
Yes, he did join the Trump administration, and now he quit. IMO, because he see's that this administration will do more damage to the economy than he ever thought.
Rat and ship come to mind.
Well, I'm not judging the total person. And people join a president's staff for different reasons. Some like his political philosophy. Some merely want to use it as a stepping stone to later advance their careers. So people are motivated by having fame. etc.
But I'm not even judging his economic policies. Rather, everything I read about him seems to indicate that his main motivation was to try to restrain Trump from his worst impulses (in the area of economics). And apparently he was disillusioned several time and was thinking of quitting.
He could get many other much higher paying jobs in the private sector-- he didn't have to do this.
And he did know what he was doing-- he was trying to get Trump to move away from some of his crazier ideas-- which would hurt the country.
The people who join Trump, and then get burned... deserve it!
He wasn't fired-- he quit. So he didn't get "Burned".
And in any event, its not like he can't get another job. He's highly regarded in the financial community-- he can get many jobs-- he can pick the one he wants. And after leaving the government, he can get a job with much, much better pay, better perks- and much, much more pleasant working environment!
Perhaps.
But we're not discussing "other contexts" We are discussing this particular context!
Perhaps.
But we're not discussing "other contexts" We are discussing this particular context!
Wow this is fun-- three ENTPs in the same discussion!
ENTP PERSONALITY (“THE DEBATER”)
The ENTP personality type is the ultimate devil’s advocate, thriving on the process of shredding arguments and beliefs and letting the ribbons drift in the wind for all to see. Unlike their more determined Judging (J) counterparts, ENTPs don’t do this because they are trying to achieve some deeper purpose or strategic goal, but for the simple reason that it’s fun. No one loves the process of mental sparring more than ENTPs, as it gives them a chance to exercise their effortlessly quick wit, broad accumulated knowledge base, and capacity for connecting disparate ideas to prove their points.
Link to that article about ENTP (external site)
Link to introductory article on NT about MBTI Personality Types
So what personality types are different people on NT? Click HERE and scroll down!
I suspect that all persons who gave themselves to Trump, rather than overtly oppose him, will be remembered for that one fact, regardless of what they may do otherwise.
"Backbone and intelligence?" Cohn? Are you implying that Cohn did not know who and what Trump is, nor how Trump historically operated? If that is the case then Cohn was in over his head from the moment he walked through the door.
He's a smart guy-- of course he knew all that. In fact, that's why he took the job-- to rein Trump in for the good of the country!
And believe me, this I can tell you-- he didn't need a job. He didn't need the money (a huge pay cut for him actually). And hi mpresence was not a big help to Trump in increasing his poll numbers. And probably not in any other way,since Trump probably didn't take any of his advice.
There's so much cynacism in the world today-- but I can tell you this-- there are some indivdiuals who are idealistic. Unbelievable (but true). Bigly!
No, I'm not implying that at all bbl. I'm sure that he was aware of how Trump operated. IMO, he felt that he could do some good by advising Trump on specifics. Or taking him to school on the economy. My comment re backbone was that Cohn disagreed with Trump on the VA racist thing and made it very clear how he felt about Trump comment. Next he was disagreed with Trump on the tariff thing and voiced it in no uncertain terms...Some thing that few in the WH seem to be doing.
Now we'll see who will take the position, that should be interesting since it seems that he will apply the tariffs without using a targeted approach, the shotgun approach could, and IMO will, start a trade war that no one will win.
Smart? Yes he may be that. But, was Cohn able to truly assess the situation he was walking into? I suspect he couldn't and falsely believe he could make a difference in a situation where a difference could not be made. The environment would not permit it.
My basic reply to you is the same I made Krishna.
But there is this too. "A trade war no one can win." ? ? Handled properly a trade war can prove to be advantageous. However, the trade war must be waged for the right reasons, have a specified goal in mind, have alternatives already in place and be prepared to adapt to the new market demands. Unfortunately, this administration is totally unaware of any of those parameters. I suspect it is not even flying by the 'seat of its pants.' I am more inclined to believe it forgot to put its pants on.
As I stated in my comment above...The shot gun approach (which the administration is taking) is, IMO, the wrong way to approach this. Without a targeting approach we may end up fighting numerous countries in a tariff war. Most of them will be our allies.
IMO, this is completely the wrong way to approach this situation.
Exactly. And this is what the Russians want. And this is what the focus should be on. America is under attack from without and within.
How many covfefe boys did trump hire?
I just seeded an article that may help answer that question! (Plus its from the highly respected Onion News Network-- so how bad could it be?