Talk About Tennis 2.0

Carl Quintanilla‬
‪@carlquintanilla.bsky.social‬
· 12m
#TheMiddleMile

ti-amie wrote: ↑Wed Sep 17, 2025 11:33 pm Carl Quintanilla‬
‪@carlquintanilla.bsky.social‬
· 12m
#TheMiddleMile

I got a bridge and some land in Florida........

The great thing about tariffs is - what is 0.3% ?! it is bilions of dollars, but to the average family, it means nothing - so no political fallout.

Is it true, though?

Suliso wrote: ↑Sun Sep 21, 2025 10:07 am Is it true, though?

well, I mean, if you spend 0.3% more, will you even notice it? More importantly, you will have things going on in your life that you will blame more - like missing a day of work or missing a paycheck for some reason..you wont think of blaming the tariffs unless you are watching carefully - which most Americans ar not.

Yes, but what I was questioning is whether it's true that inflation is only 0.3% which I agree you'd hardly notice. What I hear from Americans here in Switzerland it's far more than that. How much is directly attributable to tariffs is another tough question.

Suliso wrote: ↑Sun Sep 21, 2025 3:13 pm Yes, but what I was questioning is whether it's true that inflation is only 0.3% which I agree you'd hardly notice. What I hear from Americans here in Switzerland it's far more than that. How much is directly attributable to tariffs is another tough question.

Powell didnt say inflation is only 0.3% - he said tariffs are contributing that much to core inflation.

I understand, but is there a reason to trust him on it?

Now that the US has hit H1B visas with a $100K fee, there is misguided jubilation on both sides ! Americans like Bannon and Miller think it will drive Indians back home and free up jobs for Americans. Indians think the return of talented and educated people will enable India to compete with the US in technology. Both are equally mistaken. People in technology today do not 'take' jobs - that is civil service thinking - technology workers create jobs, not 'take' them. On the other hand, even if every Indian returns to India from the technology world, it still takes an ecosystem to create the industry - that takes decades and a major mindset change.. very hard and arduous .

Suliso wrote: ↑Sun Sep 21, 2025 4:09 pm is there a reason to trust him on it?

well, he is supposed to be independent.. is there any reason NOT to?

Sign of a country that is not scared.
China has not bought any US soybean during August. Instead, they bought from Argentina.
Sure, part of this is because Argentina dropped an export tax on soybeans, making the price more attractive. But China is certainly not messing around.
FAFO, Tiny.

How it started...

derek guy
‪@dieworkwear.bsky.social‬
About a month ago, the Trump administration got rid of the de minimis exemption, whereby packages valued under $800 could slide in without import duties. Now there's a backlog as the government can't process all of this paperwork, leading to UPS just destroying packages


How it's going

From a few days ago:

The Tennessee Holler
‪@thetnholler.bsky.social‬
Imagine that

Not a ponzi, not a scam. Crypto is simply solid investment.
Time to buy gold and keep it at home. Not even safe to keep it in a vault (the bank may disappear).

A good article about economic issues currently facing China and as a result the rest of us: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/featu ... ps-success

Some particularly interesting pieces (do read the full article, though):

This tension between breakneck innovation and shaky business models now shapes the future of Chinese firms vying for global influence. Their excitement for AI is among the highest globally, yet few of China’s notoriously frugal consumers are willing to pay. And with so many companies giving away open-source models and free-to-use products, how can any of them turn a profit? China’s quest to become the world leader in AI depends heavily on solving that puzzle.

But for now, there’s no denying that ruthless competition at home has generated momentum more powerful than industrial policy. In a further twist, America’s efforts to constrain China’s AI development have actually forced the domestic industry to become more innovative and cost-conscious.

It’s a tale as old as time in China’s hypercompetitive business landscape. Whenever a new fad emerges — electric vehicles, food delivery, solar panels — scores of rivals crop up ready to capitalize, undercutting each other on price to gain market share, even at the expense of profit.

Chinese youth have developed their own internet slang to refer to this rat race: neijuan, or “involution” It may translate as “rolling inwards,” but what it really describes is the phenomenon of endlessly working harder and longer for ever-smaller rewards. The term has quickly evolved from a Gen Z buzzword to a top policy headache for Xi. When involution takes hold, it can foment a cycle of overexertion and burnout while raising costs for everyone.

It may seem odd that the People’s Republic, where a Great Firewall tightly controls the internet, is all in on open-source’s transparent approach. But Beijing has encouraged open-source AI as a way to speed up progress and drive adoption. It gives China the best chance of collectively closing the gap with US tech giants. And unlike proprietary technologies, open-source code is viewed as immune to export controls. Washington might be able to choke off chips and hardware, but coding is math — it’s harder to strangle.