#And everyone else too

[britcision]

Tbh I think the wildest thing about Trump is that he literally doesn’t understand soft power

And possibly cannot even perceive it

He’s going around bitching about trade deficits and defence spending…

But a trade deficit means that the country with the deficit is buying more of your stuff than you are buying of theirs

It’s a good thing for your market, especially if you want independence and to get money from people buying your stuff - it’s not people not paying for things, it’s people buying your products and you not buying theirs in return

You’re “trading” products for money. You still get the money. And you can do things like influence the market and sell shitty dvd players that break after a year so that people need to buy Even More dvd players from you, because they aren’t making their own and are used to buying yours

(Note: in this example, “you” are the party with a trade SURPLUS. That means someone else has a deficit in their trade with you

Being the person with the deficit is also not a bad thing, so long as you’re actively trading; it means rather than creating your own industries that may not do as well as another country’s for immutable reasons like being able to mine for specific minerals, you can buy a good product and skip all the construction costs and focus on the things you can do better

The general rule of trade is that if you keep trading, everyone wins)

But Trump is essentially saying that he wants to stop other countries from buying American goods; he wants our imports (us buying your stuff) to match our exports (you buying our stuff)

So

You get less money, because either you’re buying more of our stuff (our exports rise to match imports), or you can’t sell us anything (we lower imports to match exports)

And he wants to do this with tariffs, which mean it becomes more expensive for American retailers to import international goods - because they pay tariffs to the American government, and the exporter does not pay those

(So you can’t afford imports)

So the only way to do what he wants… is to stop buying American goods

This will do good things for the American economy I pinky swear ���

The defence spending thing is actually even worse, which is fucking wild to me

The main reason that America is a military world power is that you waste all that money on an army you’re not really using to anything but go around showing off and declaring how big your army is

Other countries spend less on defence because we’re spending on things like infrastructure and improving the well-fare of our citizens

So we don’t have a big strong army that can fight your army, because we don’t need one, but we do need things like food for children and healthcare

But Trump is demanding that everyone else make themselves a big strong army

Because the US being able to essentially run a protection racket and ever so casually say “oh gee Russia looks so big and strong. Let us put a military base in your country so we can keep you safe… oh, and I guess maybe some beneficial trade deals while we’re there 😉😉 keeping you safe 😉😉” is… America being exploited?

And listen, Trump doesn’t do subtle. He’d probably just blatantly say “do what we want or we will invade”, and start a war

But because he can’t do that, he seems convinced that there is no value in America spending more on defence, and insists that the very same people he is antagonizing and threatening the sovereignty of should be expanding their own military power

Frankly, they’d probably start spending a little more on defence anyway

Nothing he’s doing will increase American influence on the world stage, because he’s actively forcing the rest of the world to start acting like America has already left

“Stop buying our exports. Build your own army.”

And as a Canadian? I do think it’s about time we were a little less economically dependent on the US - because it gives them too much power

They’re our closest and most convenient trade partner, but not the only game in town

[gasstationpopcorn]

we'll unlock our true power once we collect all pics from this press conference

[togrowoldinv]

Just a little life update as to why I’ve been so busy and not writing as much…

Officially graduated with my Masters of Business Administration today 🎓 I am working at a CPA firm as a tax associate and finishing up my CPA license. Once I get that I will be able to have my free time again lol.

Thankful for the blessings I have received so far in my life. Many more good things to come!

[operationmorewhitecollar]

Can you believe it's been a whole DECADE since we said goodbye??? 😭😭

[tyrannysaurusfloof]

Wine Red - Vampire Stobotnik Collection

In celebration of the conclusion of my vampire Stobotnik fic collection, and to announce that there may be an epilogue coming soon c; , I wanted to post links to them all here now they're all done :) I even know what my next, multi-chapter Stobotnik fic is gonna be and there will be teaser art coming soon xD

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A Bloody Affair - Dr Ivo Robotnik is a vampire working a Government contract to exercise his intelligence, and feed his need for control and perfection. Agent Aban Stone is a human with "perfectly balanced blood" trying to make amends for mistakes on a previous mission Thrown together, it's a test of Robotnik's control and Stone's patience, as the Doctor tries to get rid of the Agent, and the Agent tries to stick with the Doctor longer than anyone else has before. It's a powder keg waiting to go off, but will the results be so negative when it does?

When Twisted, What Remains? - After surviving three years together, Doctor Robotnik and Agent Stone embark on a new chapter of their relationship - vampire and feeder. The change brings challenges and unwanted memories to the surface, and it's just as much of a minefield to navigate as Stone figuring out Robotnik's true identity was. Throw in undisclosed feelings, hard to control instincts, a secret society, and an alien, things are closer to exploding than ever before. Can they come out victorious in the end?

Sandcastle Kingdoms - After their separation at the hands of Sonic the Hedgehog, Agent Stone and Doctor Robotnik need to find a way back together. With the kingdom they had built together crumbling despite their desperate attempts, can they find happiness again, against all odds?

[cozycoffee]

This country fucking hates women. Like that's it. People who voted for Biden in 2020 will vote for Trump or not vote because they prefer racism to women.

[burningarsenic]

hadvar/ralof for the shipping bingo 🏳️‍🌈

Ur always giving me content to talk about ily <3

I definitely love them as a pairing and the whole friends to lovers to enemies to maybe lovers again??? Dynamic they have going on. Definitely divorced in my mind. But divorced in like. A spicy way. Like they're hotter because they're divorced.

[hazywaters]

DIGITAL CIRCUS EP 2 SHOULD BE DROPPING TODAY!!!

Me rn ^

[faithinlouisfuture]

hope that every single one of you has an amazing 2025! x

[everyrishidpanel]

[nebula-lad]

Practicing how to draw Link.

[hannahhook7744]

Happy New Years everyone!

Lots of love to all my lovely friends and followers. Here's to a good year!

[cerealforkart]

WAIT HELLO HOLY SHIT I DIDN'T NOTICE IT WAS YOU WHO POSTED THE ISAT ART,, DNDADS ARTIST FOUND IN MY ISAT TAGS???

Haha yes that's me! Not only do I have impeccable taste in podcasts, I have superb taste in video games too!

Fr tho, it's such a good game, I need to find time to draw more for it soon. Everyone go buy In Stars and Time! It's really good!

[sputnikodin]

disappointed as hell that i have to take from my savings to pay for my plane ticket to see my family for christmas but boy is that a difficult lesson learned

[aenslem]

the Thirteenth Doctor (because of the url you had when i followed you), Everett Young, and, oh no, Michelle Gomez isn't a character, hmm. Regina Mills! oh, and Spones, but they're a ship so they don't count x'D okay, and a lot of other ones, apparently, but those were the first ones i came to think of x'D

/Rodney anon

glad you think of all the people I like when you think of me, and all the people I should make more gifs of :D thanks for the message <3

[its-kataga]

pets you softly

omg that’s so sweet ✨💖✨💖💖💖✨💖💖✨