New US President

How do u feel about Donald Trump?

I didn't think I cared for our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. But you know... maybe he isn't too bad after all. :-)

Regards,
Steve

I just hope America will be better with him!

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Hilda Arthurs

How do u feel about Donald Trump?

Hi Hilda,

A very successful entrepreneur I was speaking with thought there are going to be many business opportunities with Donald Trump...

Why?

My interpretation is, because there's change. Whenever there's change, there's opportunity.

Donald Trump is causing rapid legislative change.

Every change means there will be winners and losers.

That means opportunity. If you can figure out who the winners will be, you can figure out how to "win" from the change, too. If you can figure out who the losers will be, you can figure out how you can profit by helping the "losers."

Here's an example I just thought of...

Trump has floated the possibility of a 20% tariff on products from Mexico entering the USA. That is essentially a tax that US consumers will pay to the US government on any products from Mexico. However, because the price of Mexican products will be higher to US buyers, Mexican producers will end up selling fewer products in the USA.

About 60% of avocados sold in the USA come from Mexico. That means avocados from Mexico will (with the tariff) cost a lot more!

Who will be the winners? Other avocado exporters... Like Chile, Indonesia, or Colombia. They'll probably be able to sell more avocados in the USA, if there's a tariff on Mexican avocados. I suppose you could rush out and buy an avocado farm in Chile!

Who will be the losers? Obviously, Mexican avocado farmers will lose. Could you help them? Maybe... If someone started a guacamole production company in Canada, and bought avocados from Mexico for their guacamole, I suspect it is no longer a Mexican product, but a Canadian one. This guacamole could then be sold in the USA without a tariff. Because of lower demand for Mexican avocados, they might be able to buy the Mexican avocados more cheaply (since they're in Canada, not the USA), and get a higher net profit than they would otherwise. They could possibly outcompete US guacamole companies (who would have to pay a higher price for avocados). So there could be an opportunity there.

If the USA puts a 20% tariff on Mexican products, Mexico will probably retaliate with a 20% tariff on US products. The USA sells a lot of machinery to Mexico, so they will probably make fewer sales, as Mexico will then buy more of their machinery from China, South Korea, or Germany. There will be winners and losers among US companies too.

That means plenty of opportunities for those who know how to spot them!

All the other legislative changes create opportunities too (though some are easier to take advantage of than others)...

Best wishes,

Dien

Forget about tariffs and taxes and concentrate on your everyday life in the US as Jeff Sessions wants you to pay the government for being a citizen. Mind you, I was a Trump supporter but when he nominated this scoundrel I was shocked.

How does he want you to pay? It's called civil asset forfeiture. Here's an exerpt from an assistant US attorney explaining it:

The government simply files a civil action in rem against the property itself, and then generally must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the property is forfeitable under the applicable forfeiture statute. Civil forfeiture is independent of any criminal case, and because of this, the forfeiture action may be filed before indictment, after indictment, or even if there is no indictment. Likewise, civil forfeiture may be sought in cases in which the owner is criminally acquitted of the underlying crimes…

Get what he said? Here is a real life example. The DEA has agents in train stations taking money from people who pay for their ticket in cash. Oh, and they also have agents in airports taking money from people who pay for tickets in cash. The agents simply walk up to the person and take the cash they have and say the money comes from drug proceeds. Yep, that's it. All it takes is what was once a very common act, paying cash.

Civil asset forfeiture was enacted under then Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert in the 70's. Dennis was found guilty of pedophile actions and was himself a receiver of civil asset forfeiture.

The new US president is gonna give us quite a ride.

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by sandalwood

Forget about tariffs and taxes and concentrate on your everyday life in the US as Jeff Sessions wants you to pay the government for being a citizen. Mind you, I was a Trump supporter but when he nominated this scoundrel I was shocked.

How does he want you to pay? It's called civil asset forfeiture. Here's an exerpt from an assistant US attorney explaining it:

Hi Tom,

I think you and I are of one mind on this!

You feel your property is safe.

But it's not.

The government can seize it, with no warrant, and no trial.

They just have to "suspect" it is the proceeds of a crime. No proof is needed.

They can take the money in your wallet, your house, even your business assets (like a van, business equipment, or even a hotel).

If you want it back, you have to spend the money to take them to court!

Of course, if they've taken most of your money and property, you don't have the money to go to court. The government then wins by default.

Many innocent people have had their property taken. The government seems to see it as another way of "taxing" you...

Is that freedom?

Here's a post I wrote about it in the past...

What really scares me even more than a Greek exit is...
http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?p=35549

How to keep your property safe? Physical property seems to be easier to take than non-physical property... Keeping your money in stocks might be safer than holding physical property, physical cash, etc. Though I don't know what is the best way to keep your assets safe from the government.

Best wishes,

Dien