Looking at Trump's U.N. speech

Trump didn't get a good start at the U.N., being laughed at when he tried to give a speech to an audience unlike the friendly crowds at his rallies. Whoever was the speechwriter ought to be sacked for failing to shape the speech for the audience; it was written more for a domestic crowd ready to hear more propaganda. Here are some of my thoughts as I hear his speech.

"Ultimately, it is up to the nations of the region to decide what kind of future they want for themselves and their children."

"The United States has launched a campaign of economic pressure to deny the regime the funds it needs to advance its bloody agenda. Last month, we began re-imposing hard-hitting nuclear sanctions that had been lifted under the Iran deal. Additional sanctions will resume November 5th, and more will follow. And we’re working with countries that import Iranian crude oil to cut their purchases substantially."

So on one hand, he thinks people should decide what they want for themselves, free from external intervention. Yet just minutes later, he talks about taking steps to influence things in another country (Iran). Dude, which is it?

While the United States and many other nations play by the rules, these countries use government-run industrial planning and state-owned enterprises to rig the system in their favor. They engage in relentless product dumping, forced technology transfer, and the theft of intellectual property.

Can't blame someone for being better at playing by the rules, right? When those in power set the rules, they did it to help themselves. A newcomer comes along, shows that he understands the rules well, and can even exploit them to his favor. But you can't blame him; he is just using those rules you set against you. Can only blame yourself for being stupid, for not seeing how the rules can be abused.

The United States lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs, nearly a quarter of all steel jobs, and 60,000 factories after China joined the WTO. And we have racked up $13 trillion in trade deficits over the last two decades.

It is easy to blame China for everything. But has anyone looked at the increase in service sector jobs? Because it may just be a shift in the economy away from manufacturing (which can be onerous) toward provide value-added services. Jobs could have been lost because of automation. Adam Smith told us about competitive advantage. It is better for nations to produce what they are good at producing, and trade with each other. Could it just be that the U.S. is better at producing services instead of goods? You know, the white collar jobs. Those that pay better instead of being stuck working shifts at a factory.

The United States stands ready to export our abundant, affordable supply of oil, clean coal, and natural gas.

Dude, that's your reserve... that's your insurance. The reason the U.S. has been happy to get oil and other stuff from others, instead of depleting its own resources, is that it was keeping those resources as insurance, as a backup plan should things run dry. When the rest of the world is short of oil, and you still have oil, you are going to have a big voice. But if you start using up that oil now, you are just going to run dry together with the rest of them.

Illegal immigration funds criminal networks, ruthless gangs, and the flow of deadly drugs. Illegal immigration exploits vulnerable populations, hurts hardworking citizens, and has produced a vicious cycle of crime, violence, and poverty. Only by upholding national borders, destroying criminal gangs, can we break this cycle and establish a real foundation for prosperity.

Sad to say, this doesn't solve the problem. It is just containing the problem, keeping it away. The problem is still there. The real way is to see what is causing all the poverty that makes illegal immigration profitable to criminals.

The United States is the world’s largest giver in the world, by far, of foreign aid. But few give anything to us. That is why we are taking a hard look at U.S. foreign assistance.

That's why it is called aid and assistance. If you expect something in return, it is called trade.

My biggest apprehension is this: with the U.S. moving more and more toward isolating itself from the rest of the world, someone else will move in to take its place. And when the rest of the world moves along, the U.S. may get left behind. A superpower in decline, who gets left behind, in possession of nuclear weapons, is a force to be feared.

The Imperial Japanese Army used to have a saying: between competent and incompetent leaders, between decisive and indecisive leaders, the most fearful thing is an incompetent leader who is decisive.