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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's carbon bubble economy is bound to pop the only question is how bad it will be - Salon
Donald Trumps carbon bubble economy is bound to pop the only question is how bad it will be
Donald Trumps policies dont really exist in any conventional or coherent sense, but his promises, pledges and appointments so far tell us enough to know that hes devoted to the kind of bubble economics that ultimately can only burst. First, theres the carbon bubble, pursuing economic growth through fossil fuel investments that can never pay off because 80 percent of the fuel can never be burned. (Sean McElwee wrote about it here three years ago.) Second, theres Trumps reliance on vastly accelerated economic growth to wave away budget concerns and other reality-based question about what he wants to do on multiple policy fronts. Third is a more fantastical bubble the imagined resurgence of traditional working-class jobs in mining and manufacturing, at a time when even China is losing manufacturing jobs to cheaper labor markets.
Each of these bubbles just might expand for a while in the short run which so-called balanced and objective journalists will report as signs that Trumps policies are working. But theyll have to join with Trump in denying reality in order to do so. Lets examine each of these bubbles to see why.
The most troubling aspect is Trumps commitment to the carbon bubble, a commitment to expanding the production of fossil fuels, despite the fact that 80 percent of existing reserves are unrecoverable or unusable worth absolutely nothing if were to survive as a civilization.
<snip>
Thats where Trump and his announced administration comes in. For high-carbon industries to continue to be attractive investments, they must spin a tale of future growth, Steffen writes. No one is spinning that tale harder than Trump, with a cabinet and chief advisors in which nearly every member is a climate denialist with ties to the Carbon Lobby. No one except, of course, Vladimir Putin. Italy is one of Europes troubled southern economies, but its 2015 GDP was almost 40 percent more than Russias. Without oil and gas, the Russian economy would collapse altogether. Hence, perhaps, the most fundamental reason for the Trump-Putin bromance. - Salon
Donald Trumps policies dont really exist in any conventional or coherent sense, but his promises, pledges and appointments so far tell us enough to know that hes devoted to the kind of bubble economics that ultimately can only burst. First, theres the carbon bubble, pursuing economic growth through fossil fuel investments that can never pay off because 80 percent of the fuel can never be burned. (Sean McElwee wrote about it here three years ago.) Second, theres Trumps reliance on vastly accelerated economic growth to wave away budget concerns and other reality-based question about what he wants to do on multiple policy fronts. Third is a more fantastical bubble the imagined resurgence of traditional working-class jobs in mining and manufacturing, at a time when even China is losing manufacturing jobs to cheaper labor markets.
Each of these bubbles just might expand for a while in the short run which so-called balanced and objective journalists will report as signs that Trumps policies are working. But theyll have to join with Trump in denying reality in order to do so. Lets examine each of these bubbles to see why.
The most troubling aspect is Trumps commitment to the carbon bubble, a commitment to expanding the production of fossil fuels, despite the fact that 80 percent of existing reserves are unrecoverable or unusable worth absolutely nothing if were to survive as a civilization.
<snip>
Thats where Trump and his announced administration comes in. For high-carbon industries to continue to be attractive investments, they must spin a tale of future growth, Steffen writes. No one is spinning that tale harder than Trump, with a cabinet and chief advisors in which nearly every member is a climate denialist with ties to the Carbon Lobby. No one except, of course, Vladimir Putin. Italy is one of Europes troubled southern economies, but its 2015 GDP was almost 40 percent more than Russias. Without oil and gas, the Russian economy would collapse altogether. Hence, perhaps, the most fundamental reason for the Trump-Putin bromance. - Salon
Same old tired RW politics. Just holding the world hostage while cities drown.
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Trump's carbon bubble economy is bound to pop the only question is how bad it will be - Salon (Original Post)
ffr
Jan 2017
OP
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)1. As long as the Saudi's are willing to play his game,
the unknown is Iran. If Iran and Iraq feel squeezed,good by Gravy Train.