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The week's question
In December 2024, in the thread "Re: BRK: Why Not XOM?", BreckHutHigh asked the members: "What about the long road trips with kids?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
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Personal Finance / Macroeconomic Trends & Risks
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Author: mungofitch 🐝🐝🐝 GOLD
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Number: of 4460 
Subject: Re: Maple Scan - app to avoid USA Products
Date: 04/10/25 4:06 PM
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As a Canadian living in the US I will admit the level of anger might be a blind spot for me; but I view most of this as temporary.

Certainly our situations are different.

I have no particular anger, more just things on my "to do" list to adjust to the new and permanent reality.

If the US takes over Canada, the government's firmly stated intent, there will be no such thing as Canadian citizenship. I won't ever take US citizenship, so I'd be stateless. I wouldn't be able to get a bank account without a valid passport. These are not small concerns. I'm not interested in being any part of an expansionist empire, nor supporting it. You may feel differently. (though I definitely wouldn't currently advise leaving the US and trying to return)

I'm the first to admit that these thoughts all sounds really extreme, but they are all pretty minimal minimal rational reactions to actual news items. The extremeness isn't the reaction, it's the news items. If you're in the US, living behind the Orange Curtain, maybe it sounds a lot more normal, but trust me, that's just the news bubble effect. The US is now a declared ally of Russia and North Korea (UN vote etc), and a declared adversary of Canada and the EU, and of what was once called "the West". Many people may not agree with their government's stance, but in the end that's not very relevant, any more than the opinions of those in Russia who aren't fans of Mr Putin: you have to live with it.

I think the US exported around $3.2 trillion dollars worth of stuff last year. If my circle of worldwide contacts is at all representative, that is about to drop like a stone. There are only about 75 out of thousands of goods categories for which the US supplies over 50% of international supply, so for most things the world can do without. There is no US-source product I wouldn't pay twice (or 3X) for if I can find an alternative. China is acting like the adult in the room and, relatively speaking, standing up for the rules based international order. How times change.

Jim
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