Doug Pancoast

@TheModerateCase Every single one of those countries existed 100 years ago. The country you’re too afraid to name didn’t. That’s a starting point. It is also occupying land in violation of UN resolutions and committing genocide against a people. Hopefully that explains to you the difference

China isn’t asked to justify its existence. Russia isn’t asked to justify its existence. Iran isn’t asked to justify its existence. Saudi Arabia isn’t asked to justify its existence. The United States isn’t asked to justify its existence. Yet one country is subjected to that question every single day. Ask yourself why.

@ShangguanJiewen If you talked to more people and didn’t act like a CCP spy, you would find that a LOT of Chinese citizens hate the the CCP and want a different government. But they can’t say that openly because the government still arrests and tortures people who do. And yet you support them.

Was just at the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in Shanghai. It was very busy, with long lines, filled with families. The vast majority of Chinese citizens clearly adore the Communist Party of China.

@ChrisinLiuzhou What happened during Covid definitely wasn’t freedom. Posts stating the truth about the virus deleted. People who spoke out against the restrictions arrested. It’s okay, I guess, if people don’t care whether their government has unchecked power, but people in China are not free

"China has no freedom" — Have I misunderstood the meaning of freedom? We endlessly hear the word freedom thrown around and when it's coupled with China, you know it's not going to be a positive read. What does freedom mean? You ask 10 different people you'll likely get the same number of different answers. Is freedom a magical number of censorships or restrictions thrown on you by the government of the day? Not really. I think freedom is a framework; It's the ability to walk home safely at 3am Raise a family Start a business Get healthcare when you're sick Have a roof over your head with access to running water It's the ability to be able to live the life that you want, following the set of laws that society has set and knowing that you are the maker of your own destiny. Saying Chinese people have no freedoms is a pointless discussion that tells us nothing. Of course they do. Why? I lived there and did or saw the things I mentioned above. Every country has restrictions. The real question isn't freedom or if restrictions exist. It's about what restrictions you're willing to accept for the outcomes they'll deliver.

@NikkiHaley If Iran took a lead role in overthrowing our government, shot down a US passenger plane killing everybody on board, & killed our president, how do you think we should respond? Because we did ALL of those things to Iran. Either you’re the most ignorant politician or you’re a liar

The people blaming Israel for situation in the Middle East need to stop talking about Israel and start focusing on the Iranian regime. They are the ones trying to kill Americans on American soil.

@CUNY_Prof @JDVance You just hate anybody who doesn’t put Israel’s interests ahead of America’s. You’re in the wrong country, bud.

I cannot believe I'm saying this, but @JDVance has been just as inept and divisive as VP as Kamala Harris was. I didn't think that was possible.

@ShangguanJiewen In China, the private sector accounts for over 60% of GDP, 70% of technological innovation, 80% of urban employment, and 90% of all enterprises. For a country you think is socialist, that sure is a lot. Read a book, dude. Preferably not a book written by the Communist Party.

It occurs to me that the vast majority of US citizens have exactly no idea what the words "Communism" "Socialism" and "Capitalism" actually mean. Please leave your definitions in the comments. Socialism is when workers get:

@marklevinshow Ronald Reagan stood up to Israel and forced them to withdraw from Lebanon. You would call Reagan a traitor today because he isn’t totally beholden to Israel like you are.

There's lots to learn from Bill Buckley, Milton Friedman, Barry Goldwater, and Ronald Reagan, not so much Tucker Carlson and Pat Buchanan.  Just saying.

@ShangguanJiewen That’s ironic that you say that because I am pretty positive that you have no idea what they mean.

@CUNY_Prof @JDVance Conflating criticizing the Israeli government and being anti-Semitic doesn’t work anymore. People have figured that old trick out. People are free to criticize the Israeli government and still love Jews. You’re going to have to come up with a new shtick.

Careful, @JDVance, your antisemitism is showing. Now look, I actually SUPPORTED the MOU. Very publicly, in fact. In op-eds, on major shows. So you can't call me an operative of the Israeli government. I supported the MOU as worth a shot even though I believed Iran would violate it. You failed and...here we go again. You blame the Jews. You dismiss your ties to Tucker as ludicrous. Huh? His son worked for you. He got you the gig you're in. Be straight with us. Why is it that anything that ever goes wrong is because of the Jews? And why is it that every time you blame the Jews, you call it something that is "well funded." The "Israel Lobby" is but a pittance of the lobbyist money that goes to America and to American politicians. It's a pittance even just among lobbies tied to other countries. And why is it that you conceal that this Cabal that was against you and the MOU was in truth a huge organic movement by AMERICANS and who had no idea of this "well funded" secret campaign that you're talking about, nor was there even time to be influenced by it? Why are American JEWS viewed by you as less American than all other Americans? This requires therapy, but more importantly for the American people, makes you unqualified to be in this job. You and the MOU were taking widespread hits from AMERICANS before the MOU text was even released! So your story doesn't hold water. We all know why you do it. Being antisemitic is cool! And easier than ever. And you're a master at using that hate to make excuses for your failures and gripes with the world. Islamism and Socialism is destroying America as we know it, but you're unconcerned about that. Somehow the problem is .02% of the world's population. Those pesky Jews. I will tell you this. I voted for Trump three times. But I will never vote for you.

@ComicDaveSmith Good. America doesn’t need politicians like him who say whatever they think it takes to get elected. We have those already. We need a younger more charismatic Ron Paul, who will stick to his values and speak the truth no matter what. Stop falling for phony politicians.

Judging from the reaction, it seems to be the worst case scenario for JD Vance. The hawks are furious at him for being reasonable and he’s not winning anyone over with his half ass defense of this idiotic war. His political future looks bleak.

@baoshaoshan @michaelxpettis People can be better off today due to improvements in technology and productivity and the economy today can still be fragile and unsustainable because it relies on unreliable exports and debt growth. I don’t think you understand what you’re talking about or who you’re talking to

@michaelxpettis A nonsensical benchmark. Recall that in 1983 consumption’s share of GDP >60%. People were worse off then than today.

Reuters: "The surge in bad consumer debt is mainly the result of ​last year's relaxed credit issuance to meet government consumption targets, said bankers with knowledge of the matter." The only sustainable way to raise the role of consumption in driving economic growth is to raise the share of GDP that households are directly or indirectly able to retain. Temporary measures, like issuing consumption vouchers, forcing banks to expand consumer lending, or encouraging shopping holidays, only shift consumption, often from the future to the present. If we are certain that future growth will take off, and drive a consumption surge with it, these temporary measures can be a good way to stabilize growth. But if growth instead slows, today's various "consumption boosting" strategies will only exacerbate the slowdown. reuters.com/business/finan…

@AndyBxxx Last time I went to Hong Kong almost every Hong Kong person I talked to couldn’t stop talking about how much they hated China and the CCP. That’s the truth. It actually annoyed me at the time and it still kind of annoys me now, but the reality is most Hong Kongers HATE the CCP.

Flashback to one of my visits to Hong Kong during the failed color revolution.

@ShangguanJiewen @Brooklynmonk Dude. Just look up the top countries in the world by GDP per capita & ask if the top countries are more capitalist or more socialist. United States is 8th. China is 74th behind Mexico. You really are arrogant for somebody so ignorant about economics and history. It’s embarrassing

@Brooklynmonk Assertions are not arguments. (F: fail) Please present facts to support your premises. I am not interested in your opinions, only the truth. Please resubmit your ideas for a passing grade.

Everywhere capitalism has been tried, it failed. The only capitalist countries that moderated their people's suffering embraced socialism alongside markets. The USA is an example of the excesses of capitalism, where 700,000 people suffer abject poverty.

@RepThomasMassie Your ENTIRE party voted against it. Look, I’m a big fan of yours because of what you did with the Epstein files. I also agree with you about Israel. But you have no political home. You have no political future. And America is poorer off because of it. The tide is not changing.

Though my amendment to strike $3.3 billion in aid to Israel from the State Dept Approps bill did not pass, 104 House Members voted in favor of it. The tide is changing. Americans want their tax dollars to be spent improving things here at home, not waging war and genocide.

@thecyrusjanssen I actually lived in China longer than you and more recently than you. But keep on pretending you’re a China expert. I get it dude. Everybody has to make money somehow. Propaganda is the way some people choose to make money.

Oh of course I care about this…but the entire gutter oil story was a massive deal when it broke in 2016 but China has changed tremendously in past 10 years. Are there still places using gutter oil? Sure I wouldn’t be suprised but to say there is a “good chance” restaurants in China is using it is flat out wrong. China has cracked down on this and Chinese consumers demand healthier products. I was at local hotpot restaurant in Guangzhou and the staff were explaining how many higher end restaurants now all own farms, and provide farm to table meats, Chinese consumers are so lucky they want this fresh, organic meat. I have lots of Chinese friends and spend a ton of time in China. So instead of giving an incomplete picture of China, why don’t you come here and experience it for yourself?

One of my favorite things about traveling in China is the access to affordable fresh food 👇 This was my lunch today, only 29 RMB ($4.28) and what I do is take the skin off, eat two chicken breasts, a cup of rice, cooked egg, fresh veggies, and cup of herbal soup for my beverage. In the United States this meal would easily cost you $25-30 but in China you can hit every macro nutrient with ease for 1/6 the cost. The US could solve our entire health crisis with access to food like this

@ShangguanJiewen Wow. So you really don’t care that MILLIONS of Chinese starved to death because of his socialist policies and then more died because of his Cultural Revolution. You must really hate Chinese people. I think you’re a legitimate psychopath, dude.

Mao saved China from the Western and then the Japanese imperialists. He is highly regarded by the vast majority of Chinese citizens. But you demand that Chinese people hate him all you want. See where that kind of hate and ignorance gets you here. Oh, and could you film your ass getting kicked when you try to tell Chinese people your opinion? Thanks.

@thecyrusjanssen I know why you’re afraid to criticize China and its government. You’ll lose your fans, your source of income, and risk losing access to the gravy that pays your bills. But don’t complain because I say both good and bad about China while you are only able to say the good.

@thecyrusjanssen I lived in China ten years, dude. Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu. You would even say that I still live in China now (though many people here disagree with that claim). China is a fantastic country. But why would being honest about its problems be giving an incomplete picture?

@michaelxpettis I understand that in your mind, and in most rational people’s minds, this is not a criticism of the government. But that line is not a static one and that line seems to have moved since we last talked.

@michaelxpettis Just be careful. The political climate seems to have changed in China. In the past you have told me personally that you were free to make criticisms of the government without any fear of repercussions. I’m not sure you can bet your freedom on that anymore.

"You need to remain abreast of Beijing's policy dialogue to read the tea leaves of the Communist Party's intentions." I am surprised you are suggesting that the problem is that I don't know that Beijing believes it is serious about wanting to raise the role of consumption in driving growth. Of course I know. Everyone knows, and has known for years. That's also what the Japanese wanted in 1986. But simply saying they want it isn't enough, and I would have thought that after several years of failure in China, it might have become obvious by now that there is a difference between what is politically desirable and what is economically likely. Beijing wants to raise the role of consumption in driving growth, but it also wants to do so without undermining growth. That's the real problem, and eventually many more policy advisors will understand that low consumption is not just an accident, or something an absent-minded policymaker forgot to do. It is fundamental to the structure of the economy. This means that to raise the consumption share of the economy, wishful thinking is not enough. As we saw with Japan in the 1980s and after the adjustment began, China cannot sustainably raise the consumption share of GDP by more than an insignificant amount without undermining its manufacturing competitiveness, and with manufacturing representing such a high share of GDP (even higher than property development at its peak), China also cannot raise the consumption share of GDP without slowing GDP growth. I am still a little shocked that there seems to be so little interest in understanding why other countries have wanted to do the same thing and found it so difficult.