shawn1122

They must enter a unique switch serial number (that corresponds with inventory) to make the purchase? Don't see why it has to be contigent on a subscription.

This is the unspoken lie about the supposed trade imbalancr. America has a deficit with many countries when it comes to goods but has a massive surplus with nearly every country on services.

Think app stores, streaming services and financial services as you've come across. America got there first and so American companies profit off of these in perpetuity. Unless you're like China and have a domestic version of all such services. Which the world may need to move to if the US is no longer seen as a reliable partner.

America is the epicenter of the dis and misinformation distrubution machine that is social media. It was bound to be an issue eventually. Flew too close to the sun. AI/LLMs will only accelerate the process.

In hindsight, it's amazing how ready the far right was for this new means of communication. Historically the left has been younger and more tech saavy but the far right seems like they're a decade ahead of the left when it comes to spreading their propoganda on social media.

Vance is more protectionist than Trump. Trump has surrounded himself with a group of people who believe in American exceptionalism and isolationism like a religion.

Laura Loomer (far right conspiracy theorist who plays Jigsaw in the Saw horror film franchise) came in and advised Trump to fire National Security Agency director Gen. Timothy Haugh as well as multiple others for disloyalty, in favour of more Trump-friendly appointees.

This is usually a a step before we go full Emperor has no clothes because intelligence is supposed to be apolitical. If Trump only wants intelligence that feels good to him, then the US is truly fucked.

Its doubtful that America will recover from this. The rest of the Western world needs to figure out how to make their soft landing.

The vast majority of Americans allowed for this by either voting for Trump or refraining from voting at all. There is certainly some global animosity towards the American voting public, though little has been said so far, as we wait to see if the people have any sway over the global recession their choice may cause.

Most of us have come to realize that the American government does not care about the world, which is fine. But this is the first time I've seen ordinary people around the world wish economic pain upon the American people, mostly because they know it's the only reason that their government will change course.

At no point in my lifetime has America's allies wished pain upon its people. It's precedent setting and these attitudes are not going to go away overnight. Trust is a very hard to rebuild.

America's allies invoked Article 5 of the NATO agreement after the attack on September 11th, 2001. Our countrymen then put their lives on the line (some of whom died) for several questionable American led military incursions.

This is a betrayal that likely won't be forgotten in either of our lifetimes. Anyone who thinks that the US can just vote in a democrat in 2028 and everything will go back to normal is kidding themselves.

Odd how it tends to be Americans that do this. Bizarre settler colonial mindset.

Most would immediately get ill and die due to lack of exposure to diseases that the remainder of humans have developed immunity to. They also respond aggressively to any contact. Seems reasonable to respect their autonomy.

The stakes in Canada are certainly higher than in the US where many do not know or are just now learning what a tariff is.

Perhaps this election is less vibes based due to those high stakes but I do feel Carney is the right vibe, or at least the one Canadians are looking for, even if it is not intentional and just happens to be who he is.

He is in many ways the antithesis to Trump, in terms of being relatively dry and matter of fact, which is the type of leader Canadians are looking to rally around.

I appreciate your insights. Far right wolf-in-sheeps-clothing conservatives have seen success globally by presenting themselves as reformists and it seemed like Canada was about to go down the same path.

Perhaps it wouldn't have played out that way once Poilievre's lack of substance received broader scrutinity but Trudeau's and the Liberal party's approval rating just a few months ago would suggest otherwise. Poilievre, Jenni Byrne and the rest of the conservative party likely assumed this would be a cakewalk.

Credit to Trudeau for realizing people were tired of him and Canada for having a system where a new leader could be voted in by the party before an election was called, so that it didn't turn into the shitshow that was the Biden-Harris handoff.

His policy proposals are acceptable but in this day and age that is not how elections are won, especially with misinformation being pumped directly into our veins.

Elections are won on vibes and he comes across as calm and rational in a time when Canadians are desperate for that energy (with an agent of chaos ie. Trump breathing down our collective necks).

If we're being completely real, the liberals were getting decimated in this election regardless of who they put forth if not for Trump's aggressive threats towards Canada's sovereignty and economy.

Trump's actions will create a power vacuum that will benefit the worlds biggest players, especially China.

But smaller players may also have a chance to jump a few rungs on the influence ladder. Could Canada be one of those nations?

Most people are afraid of how tariffs will tank the global economy (which they will) but there may be a small window of oppurtunity here too.

Nor does the US need to make everything.

The US is a service economy. It makes money through capital and intellectual property. Being the first to innovate means also having the opportunity to wedge yourself as a permanent middle man and charge people around the world to pass go.

Think Uber eats for example. If I order food in Toronto from a Toronto based restaurant fulfilled by a courier in Toronto, 30% of my payment is going to them in silicon valley for managing that order.

Similarly, when you purchase an app on Google or Apple store, they are collecting 30%.

If I am in Norway purchasing a game on Steam from a Norwegian developer, you guessed it, 30% is going to Steam.

This is America's strength now, not making t shirts, shoes or cars entirely domesticallty.

Most of the world was ok with paying the markup for convenience.

Since the US have gone rogue, many are calling for an end for respect to US intellectual property. Perhaps each country should have its own Uber, app store etc so that the cut can stay within our borders.

One case: Uber was charging 30% commission for managing rickshaw rides in India (a country with relatively low purchasing power per capita).

It was only after domestic options like Rapido or Namma Yatri undercut them that they moved to a subscription based model, charging drivers 20 to 40 rupees daily, rather than taking an exorbitant commission of 30% per ride. To India's credit, it has a robust IT sector located in one of its major cities (Bangalore) which helps promote competition in this case.

When he applied tariffs to washing machines in 2018, people stopped buying. Demand and production decreased resulting in domestic job losses.

Now, not everything is not a washing machine, but that doesn't bode well.

Anyone who thinks this is just a shortcut to prosperity needs to look at history. In a country that expelled the Democrats due to affordability issues, this is not going to end well.