Bye bye shutdown, Canadian growth, carbon emissions and Italian pasta

Bye bye shutdown, Canadian growth, carbon emissions and Italian pasta

Eight democrats finally decided to vote to end the government shutdown. Curiously that was the exact number needed since Rand Paul voted no. Is this a coincidence? Those eight are getting heat from the left wing of the democrat party (is there any other wing?). The eight are Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Dick Durbin of Illinois and “independent” Maine Sen. Angus King. I was surprised that Mark Warner of Virginia voted no, given the large number of federal employees living in his state. Also I was surprised that Georgia’s two democrat senators voted no. Jon Ossoff is particularly vulnerable and his vote will be used against him in his attempt at being re-elected. Fetterman said that there were plenty more democrats who wanted to vote yes but were afraid.

But the sharp knives are out for Schumer which is odd since he voted no. Recall all the vitriol thrown his way by the left when he voted for the previous CR? Well now they are after him even though he voted no. Schumer said “Donald Trump has taken the American people hostage. I must vote no. This healthcare crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home that I cannot in good faith support this CR. We will keep fighting.” Yet there are all these calls for his head. Interesting that most are not from senators. Instead they are from representatives like Ro Khanna and governors like Pritzker and Newsom.

But I want someone to explain to me why the same democrats who were whining that the cruel heartless republicans were denying the poor their SNAP subsidies are now yelling at the eight democrats who voted to resume those payments. Elizbeth Warren said during the shutdown “Trump is using hungry children, veterans, and seniors as a political tool. It’s fundamentally wrong.” After the vote ending the shutdown she said “This deal is a mistake. While Trump and Republicans inflict pain on people, Democrats’ most important job is to fight back.” This adds confirmation to her brain having turned to mush.

Would you believe that the UN is holding its 30^th climate conference this year? It’s in Belem, Brazil which should prepare itself for the onslaught of private jets. Meanwhile, carbon emissions have continued to rise. It is hard to preach (and practice) carbon reduction in the face of economic growth. I am reminded of what one African president said when asked to address climate change. He said that no country developed using expensive energy.

Speaking of carbon emissions, it looks like Ford is going to discontinue making its EV pickup, the Ford Lightning F-150 all the while advertising a free charger if you buy one. Hey, its EV division has only lost $13 billion since 2023. Maybe Ford thought the good old boys would trade in their gas F-150s for the electric one. But few wanted to pay thousands more for essentially a vanity pickup. Speaking of vanity pickups, the bottom has fallen out of Tesla’s sales of its cybertruck. Sales are down 40 percent from last year. Over 10,000 remain unsold and Tesla has cut production and staff at its Texas factory. However, there are cybertruck lovers out there. I counted five during a drive the other day in Knoxville. So if you love one, buy it used. Cybertrucks depreciate an astounding 35% in its first year. But just remember, a cybertruck is more than a vanity pickup, it is a statement too and fewer and fewer are willing to make that statement.

Canada’s economy is tanking thanks to Trump’s tariffs. This is not surprising since we are the market for three fourths of its exports. Unemployment is rising. The manufacturing sector has lost 33,000 jobs. Stellantis says that it is moving the production of its Jeep Compass out of Ontario to Illinois due to the 25% tariffs on automobiles. Ontario is suing Stellantis to keep the production in Canada. The Canadian government has of course said that it will increase its spending and cut interest rates – a typical government response. But the losses have caused business investment to tank and is down 16 percent from lost year. Government actions are not going to bring back the lost demand. Canada is trying to pivot to other markets but its best bet is for Trump’s tariffs to be ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court. Trump did say that the only way for them to avoid his tariffs would be to become the 51^st state. Please don’t.

Speaking of tariffs, Trump is going to raise the tariff on Italian pasta to an unbelievable 107%! And I thought he liked Meloni? Supposedly the Italians are “dumping” pasta on the market – selling them below market price to give them an unfair advantage over US pasta makers. The Italian pasta makers say that this is false and the prices charged in the US are above those charged in Italy. This is lunacy. You mean these 13 Italian makers threaten Barilla, Ronzoni , Rao and Mueller? All told, Italians exported 281,000 metric tons to the US in 2024 while US manufacturers produced 1.8 million metric tons. So Pasta Garofalo and La Molisana obviously pose a threat to national security.

I have given up trying to apply logic to Trump’s tariffs (DDE can do it for me) but I thinks Trump just likes picking on the little guy. I am reminded of a quote from the first truly great offensive tackle Bob (Boomer) Brown of the Eagles who said when asked why did he play football, he said “Boomer likes to hit people.”