Trump Deserves a Darwin Award

My inbox is full of emails touting Donald Trump’s “Time to Get Tough” book, now with Rush Limbaugh’s endorsement. He blames most of America’s problems on a “tidal wave” of illegal Hispanic immigrants and unfair Chinese trade practices. He reminds me of H.L. Mencken’s classic one-liner: “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.” One might add, “dangerous,” because Trump appeals to our desire to blame someone else for problems we created. If you want something to worry about, have a look at the math questions that Chinese high school students have to answer to qualify for college admission.

Let’s review the facts.

Immigration from Mexico actually fell after the 2008 crash, mainly because construction jobs disappeared.

The best data we have suggest that net immigration from Mexico was negative between 2005 and 2010–that is, more Mexicans left the U.S. than arrived. Hispanics, to be sure, are more visible in the workforce–their share of total employment has risen from about 14% 10 years ago to to 17% today–but that is due to the natural increase in the Hispanic population. In 1990, non-Hispanic whites had a fertility rate of 1.7 children per female, vs. 2.9 children for Hispanics. This bumper crop of Hispanic children has been entering the workforce for the past several years. But that has nothing to do with recent trends in immigration.

As for China: During the early 2000s, U.S. imports from China were growing at 20%-30% a year. Since 2011, imports from China have hardly grown. That’s because China’s currency has appreciated by one-third since 2005 (from 12 cents to the dollar to 16 cents), making Chinese goods pricier in the American market.

That’s not what we ought to be worrying about.

China is graduating twice as many PhDs in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines as the U.S. China’s economy is way behind the U.S., but catching up fast in key areas. Chinese missiles can sink any U.S. aircraft carrier within a range of several hundred miles from its coast. China can knock out American satellites. Chinese computation capabilities are on par with America’s. China has more industrial robots installed than any country in the world. China is about to become the dominant producer of Internet communications equipment (with Huawei replacing Cisco as the global market leader). China and its periphery manufacture everything that goes into American tech products.

America used to have disruptive, innovative tech companies. Now we have corporate giants run by patent trolls rather than engineers, and their mission is to suppress innovation. Apple, a design company that relies on Asian production, now accounts for two-thirds of all profits in the S&P 500 Technology Sub-Index.

America used to have nonpareil defense technology. Now we are betting the defense budget on the F-35, a plane like the proverbial horse designed by a committee, and sold by defense industry lobbyists.

Ronald Reagan knew that America’s edge in defense technology also translated into an edge in civilian technology. The Defense Department stood godfather to most of the major innovations of the 1960s through the 1980s, from lasers to computer chips to the Internet. Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative helped convince the Russians they couldn’t compete with us. Back in 1983, I was a junior researcher crunching numbers on defense spending and productivity for the then head of plans at the National Security Council, Norman A. Bailey. Why do you think China decided to break with Russia and support America de facto during the Cold War? The answer is simple: China respected and feared America’s technological prowess.

Yes, I’m for tough enforcement of immigration laws. I want a long, tall fence on the Mexican border. But Trump deserves a Darwin Award. If we obsess about Mexicans and Chinese microwave ovens, we’re going to lose, and lose bigtime.

1 posted on 08/04/2015 2:23:31 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

But Trump deserves a Darwin Award

2 posted on 08/04/2015 2:26:48 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd (With Great Freedom comes Great Responsibility)

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong.

I thought that was the left's mantra.

3 posted on 08/04/2015 2:27:37 PM PDT by BitWielder1 (I'd rather have Unequal Wealth than Equal Poverty.)

Darwin will be nowhere in view as long as Trump approximately hits high points that nobody else of note is even coming close to.

4 posted on 08/04/2015 2:27:39 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)

5 posted on 08/04/2015 2:27:47 PM PDT by Eddie01

Apparently the author doesn’t understand what a Darwin Award is.

6 posted on 08/04/2015 2:28:17 PM PDT by Hugin ("Do yourself a favor--first thing, get a firearm!")

Production In vs. Production Out?

7 posted on 08/04/2015 2:29:30 PM PDT by Eddie01

To: Responsibility2nd

Trump seems kind of the Andrew Jackson of political figures.

8 posted on 08/04/2015 2:29:41 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)

Someone please post a chart comparing the decline of education to the increase in federal (liberal) takeover of same. Same with the decline of manufacturing to the increase of federal interference of free markets.

9 posted on 08/04/2015 2:30:07 PM PDT by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!)

Hey David!

Have you considered distinguishing Legal Immigrants from ILLEGAL Immigrants?

If you had, you’d notice it was the LEGAL Immigrant who returned to Mexico following the 2008 recession,...NOT the ILLEGAL!!!!

10 posted on 08/04/2015 2:35:05 PM PDT by G Larry (Obama is replicating the instruments of the fall of Rome)

Idiotic. Just plain idiotic.

I was in Landstuhl, Germany when an eventual Darwin Award ‘winner’ leaned out of his car to view the current total solar eclipse, drifted into a stone bridge support and removed his upper body.

I believe Trump is alive and doing better than ever.

The writer is totally deluded and likely has no upper body to support his/her missing brain (the human logic center).

11 posted on 08/04/2015 2:36:34 PM PDT by BBB333 (Q: Which is grammatically correct? Joe Biden IS or Joe Biden ARE an idiot?)

His analysis of the problem with China is correct.

Nothing, however, he says about it changes one iota of what Trump is saying. We need to bring our industry home. We need to secure our border. We need to promote American interests.

Bringing in hundreds of thousands of H1Bs - every year - while Americans are out of work is a mistake. I’m a Cruz guy, but its a mistake. Ted, please pay attention. This one is going to bite you.

12 posted on 08/04/2015 2:44:11 PM PDT by marron

You may have a point there, IF he REALLY, in the entire book, narrowed our problems down to those two items. I haven’t YET read the book. But I CAN say that when your boat is leaking through a hole in the bottom, you don’t waste time raising the height of the transom!

Those two items you singled out ARE severe problems. And silly though I may be, I’m confident that President Trump would get around to addressing ALL of rest them in due time.

13 posted on 08/04/2015 2:44:47 PM PDT by Tucker39 (Welcome to America! Now speak English; and keep to the right....In driving, in Faith, and politics.)

Darwin awards for mediots using Pew Skewed Spewing to throw bs into the wind and call it news or an op ed.

14 posted on 08/04/2015 2:49:28 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (Rev. 22:11 Let the evildoer still do evil, the filthy still be filthy, the righteous still do right!)

To: Jim Robinson

Funny. I just read and article saying that 42% of students in a Canton GA elementary school are in a program for English as a second language.

15 posted on 08/04/2015 2:50:23 PM PDT by Amntn

Trump is exactly right

Most of America's problems are caused by illegals and China's unfair trade practices.

None of the others running said this. Trump has been saying it for years. Now some are trying to copy Trump. Career politicians are bought and paid for by lobbyists and big daddy donors and are corrupt

16 posted on 08/04/2015 2:52:50 PM PDT by Democrat_media (Obama will use Obamatrade to import hundreds of millions of 3rd world people into the U.S.)

RE: We need to bring our industry home.

everybody agrees to this. The question is and always has been — HOW ?

Trump’s solution seems to be TARIFFS. Not sure if this is the answer.

17 posted on 08/04/2015 2:54:48 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

LIKE: Anybody could possibly know how many illegals there are... LOL..

Hello.... They are ILLEGAL... Stowaways.. uninvited guests..
party crashers.. trolls.. spectre's.. invisible..

Counting them is neigh near impossible..
Anybody says he knows is blowing smoke up your caboose..

If you like that... you have more important problems than illegal aliens..

18 posted on 08/04/2015 3:03:21 PM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited (specifically) to include some fully orbed hyperbole..)

RE: The Chart in the article about Migration flows between US and Mexico... several question come to mind:

1) Are they counting LEGAL or ILLEGAL immigrants or both?

2) If It includes illegals, I begin to be skeptical — Did they self-identify as illegal when being surveyed?

19 posted on 08/04/2015 3:07:58 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

If you want something to worry about, have a look at the math questions that Chinese high school students have to answer to qualify for college admission.

The Chinese study for the test, and have a tendency to cheat or memorize test answers to apply robotically. According to a friend of mine from China, their educational system does not produce superior students than even ours, and ours sucks too.

20 posted on 08/04/2015 3:08:06 PM PDT by Greetings_Puny_Humans (I mostly come out at night... mostly.)

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