Alternative Visions- Trump-Putin Meeting: Endgame or PR Event
Today's show discusses what's behind the announcement that Trump and Putin will meet next friday in Alaska. Will it mean the beginning of the end of the Ukraine War? Why not. Why Trump sent his envoy, Witkoff, to Moscow to meet with Putin for 3 hrs last week. What will Zelensky, the Europeans and US neocons—all who want war to continue—will now do. Also discussed: Trump's phony corporate & foreign govt announcements they'll invest trillions in US economy + Israel's announcement it will occupy all of GAZA + US raises bounty on head of Maduro, Venezuela'ls president Maduro to $50 million. (for print version analysis of the Trump-Putin meeting read my article of same title on my blog, http://jackrasmus.com)
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1:00:20
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1:00:20
Alternative Visions- Trump's Tariff War Escalation + US GDP: Behind the Numbers
Today's show dives into Trump's latest multi-country tariff war. What's the latest for August, a critical month. Latest Japan & EU deals as 'templates'. Trump's phony announcement of both countries to invest $17 trillion in USA. Political tariffs attack on India, Brazil and BRICS. Russia 100%. Trump's retreat on China. What's up with Mexico & Canada? Key dates of August 8, 12. Second half of show discusses latest US GDP numbers for April-June. Why US growth is NOT 3% but closer to 1% and the US economy is sliding toward stagnation or even recession. Why Trump's Big Bill on Taxes and Tariffs are a drag on US economic growth.
Today's show discusses recent 'flash points' of the past week in US and geopolitical developments. Trump's tariffs policy revenue and political objectives. Why DNI director Tulsi Gabbard resurrected the Russiagate affair and targeted Obama. Why German Chancellor Merz is now Europe's biggest war hawk. Why Israel and Turkey are facing off over who runs Damascus. How Zelensky is maneuvering with the west to stay in office and continue the war. Why Trump's foreign policy shifts are really about restoring the American military and the Empire. Why the 2020s are not the 1980s.
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58:07
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58:07
Alternative Visions- America's 25 Year Tax Cutting Fiscal Train Wreck
Today's show discusses Trump's just passed $5 trillion tax cut. The four big lies about the Trump cuts are debunked: why the cuts won't 'pay for themselves'; why the total is at least $5 trillion+ and not the official $3 trillion estimate reported by the media; why the cuts won't add 1-2% to GDP or raise wages and create jobs as the govt claims; and why they'll result in deficits and debt over the coming decade far more than the $3.3 trillion the Trump administration and mainstream media are telling us. The show summarizes the $22 trillion taxes cut from 2001 to 2025 by presidents Bush, Obama, Biden and Trump, and how that's resulted in US budget deficits now averaging $2 trillion a year, a $38 trillion US national debt, and interest payments of more than $1 trillion/yr paid to wealthy US and foreign bondholders of that debt. Why Trump's tax cuts represent a continuation of Neoliberal fiscal policy on steroids. (For a published article on this subject, go to Jack Rasmus's blog at http://jackrasmus.com or to Counterpunch, LA Progressive or Z blogs).
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58:40
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58:40
Alternative Visions- US Empire vs. Iran
Today's show picks up the discussion of last week on 'How US Goes to War' and comments on the Trump bombing of Iran last Friday. (For a print analysis of the bombing event read my recently published article, 'Trump's Forever War' on my blog, http://jackrasmus.com or on Counterpunch, LA Progressive, Z network and other sites). Today's show discusses Trump's tax bill, its real dimensions and why it will accelerate deficits, debt, and the fiscal crisis of the US imperial state, followed by what's behind Trump's bombing of Iran and why that war has just begun. The show concludes with further sharing of themes and analysis in my forthcoming book, 'Twilight of American Imperialism', Clarity Press, out later this year.
Netherlands