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18 years in Wall Street, left after finding out it was all horseshit. Founder/ Master and Commander: iBankCoin, finance news and commentary from the future.
Joined Nov 10, 2007
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Alibaba’a Jack Ma Drops a Redpill in Davos: The U.S. Wasted $14 Trillion on Wars Over the Past 30 Years

And there it is, the unvarnished, raw, truth about how everything went wrong for middle class America.

Since the Vietnam war, more than 45 years ago, the US has embarked on a neocon strategy of war in an effort to build a global empire. The result of that strategy has left American infrastructure second rate, its school system in shambles, and its healthcare system a complete and utter joke.

Just imagine what America could’ve done with $14t of investable dollars, instead of waging wars.

Aside from the wars, America spends more than 50% of its discretionary budget on the military, per annum, 16% of its overall budget.
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That’s the main issue, the sordid topic that is rarely discussed in American politics, for fears of crossing the military-industrial complex.

Jack Ma from Alibaba doesn’t share those same fears, being a Chinese national worth $27b of zero fucks.

In a very rare glimpse into what the Chinese really think about American imperialism and how it shaped the global economy, all the better for China might I add, Jack Ma spoke candidly today in an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.

“It’s not that other countries steal jobs from you guys,” Ma said. “It’s your strategy. Distribute the money and things in a proper way.”

He said the U.S. has wasted over $14 trillion in fighting wars over the past 30 years rather than investing in infrastructure at home.

To be sure, Ma is not the only critic of the costly U.S. policies of waging war against terrorism and other enemies outside the homeland. Still, Ma said this was the reason America’s economic growth had weakened, not China’s supposed theft of jobs.

In fact, Ma called outsourcing a “wonderful” and “perfect” strategy.

“The American multinational companies made millions and millions of dollars from globalization,” Ma said. “The past 30 years, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, they’ve made tens of millions — the profits they’ve made are much more than the four Chinese banks put together. … But where did the money go?”

He said the U.S. is not distributing, or investing, its money properly, and that’s why many people in the country feel wracked with economic anxiety. He said too much money flows to Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Instead, the country should be helping the Midwest, and Americans “not good in schooling,” too.

“You’re supposed to spend money on your own people,” Ma said. “Not everybody can pass Harvard, like me.” In a previous interview, Ma said he had been rejected by Harvard 10 times.
Along those lines, Ma stressed that globalization is a good thing, but it, too, “should be inclusive,” with the spoils not just going to the wealthy few.

“The world needs new leadership, but the new leadership is about working together,” Ma said. “As a business person, I want the world to share the prosperity together.”

Here’s why your country is falling apart.
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The Russians didn’t do that.

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64 comments

  1. joshua

    I agree with him.

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    • infinitezuul

      I agree with him insofar as the reasons Trump won being globalization and not Russia. I do not agree that globalization is a “perfect” strategy, but it certainly would have been much better had the beneficiaries not been like 10 people.

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  2. therealfly

    “Being a great president has to do with a lot of things, but one of them is being a great cheerleader for the country,” Trump said. “And we’re going to show the people as we build up our military, we’re going to display our military.”

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  3. ferd

    But wars are good when we are blowing-up brown people under Democratic leadership. If Trump continues our many wars, that would be racist.

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    • infinitezuul

      It’s going to be funny when the media finally remembers what hellfire missile equipped drones are.

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    • frog

      Ferd, under Democratic leadership like G W Bush?

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      • ferd

        My point (missed by you as usual) is that dumb fucks are so focused on labels and optics ….that they congratulate themselves for being caring libs ….while they are actually tools of warmongering manipulators who are simply delighted that you are distracted by debates over public funding of your sex change, etc. …as it lets them do things that are more important to their agenda.

        Try to get this: Bush was terrible. So was Obama. This isn’t a sport you dumb fucking cheerleader.

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        • derp

          He is pretty fucking dumb isn’t he

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        • frog

          You must live on another planet, if you think Obama was as bad as Bush. I am the first to admit that Obama was not perfect, but you must have no memory at all, if you think Obama was as bad as Bush.

          No one except Right Wing fake news writers and pundits think Obama was terrible. He’s got a very high approval rating.

          If you think Obama was terrible, I can’t wait to see what you are going to think of what a crazy person like DT is going to do.

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          • moonshot

            I think Obama was terrible, and I don’t write news, nor am I a pundit. I’m far from the only one.

            Obama ran on hope and change and did not deliver. Argue all you want about obstruction. He did not deliver on the vast majority of what he promised, and has pretty much admitted that in his seemingly year long “legacy tour”.

            At the same time, the things he has done I see as damaging to the country, potentially long term.

            Unaffordable health care system, check.
            Balloon the national debt, check.
            Raise taxes, check.
            Maintain and expand Orwellian spying and groupthink encouragement, check.
            Continue warmongering and empire building across the globe, check.
            Maintain government corruption and policy making.
            Entered around what’s best for the politicians, check.
            Overreach executive branch power in unprecedented ways, check.
            Ignore major swaths of American people in dire need of help, ranging from blue collar whites to inner city blacks, check.

            Are you really thinking it is some moral victory to say yeah, well, by liberal standards Bush was even worse? Where exactly would you like the Titanic deck chairs then, Cap’n?

            I voted for Trump in the hopes of real change. Establishment Republicans and Democrats seem incapable of de-assing their heads. If Trump can’t do it I’d vote him out too, but at least he seems to be awake and listening and giving a fuck about something other than his own political career, his party’s level of power and control, and all the money they can lord over while they play government.

            Please.

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        • frog

          Who, Derp? Yes, he is pretty fucking dumb.

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        • bain

          the ‘deep state’.

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        • frog

          Well, moonshot, good handle you have. Because Trump delivering on what you expect of him would be quite a moonshot. And it won’t happen. Obama was obstructed every step of the way by Republicans in Congress, and so he was kept from doing a lot of what he intended to do. Maybe you’ll come down to earth, once you see how what Trump actually does, compared to what you are expecting from him.

          BTW, you are reading some fake news.
          Taxes under Obama
          https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/taxes

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          • moonshot

            I didn’t read fake news. MY TAXES WENT UP. And I’m not the evil 1%.

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  4. Dr. Fly

    Yes, they seem to have missed all of Obama’s wars and drone strikes, upwards of 27,000 bombs dropped on brown people in 2016 alone.

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      • frog

        I don’t agree with the whole article, but this part is correct.

        “The U.S.’ political spectrum extends from the mythical center to the lunar right. ”

        And I certainly agree that most Americans are far far too passive politically. It worked out well actually to elect the Magic Black Guy for president, at least if you are comparing him to W. But there were plenty of times we should have been out in the streets demonstrating that we weren’t.

        Now people elected the Magic Billionaire Macho Man Reality TV Celebrity– who happens to be crazy and impulsive– to take care of everything so that Americans won’t have to worry their tiny little heads about anything. And elected a Right Wing neocon Congress, as if that makes any sense. And so there are going to be a lot more times we should be out in the streets demonstrating, jamming Congress’s phone lines with our demands etc.

        It is stupid to think that you can elect one person as pres and then go back to sleep for 4 years.

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    • joshua

      When Obama did nothing, he was weak. If he did anything, he’s an asshole. Nothing is going to change with Trump. We will fight stupid wars, that dumb asses will change their minds over if they’re right or wrong twice a day. Kids will die, but not the kids of the people that seem to have the most opinions on war.

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  5. mx2101

    The unknown is if a catastrophe was prevented by our meddling in the world. Had we minded our business, would that have enabled our destruction by now?

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    • ferd

      Nonsense.

      If some country from across the ocean came and killed your family, would be you more inclined to go kamikaze against them or less?

      We drive people to the fringe when we meddle without thinking through the end game. Who has filled the political vacuums we created.

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    • frog

      There are indeed a lot of unknowns. Most Americans don’t even know that ObamaCare is the same as the Affordable Care Act, much less know anything whatsoever about foreign policy.

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  6. frog

    Yes, Ma is right.

    Obama has done less in wars than Bush, gotten fewer people killed than Bush. But most of us who voted for Obama wished he would do less war and bombing than he did do.

    Trump criticized the Iraq War, as did Obama before him. But, since Man God Trump, as Iron Bird calls him, is wanting to build up the military, as therealfly just said above, DT may be a war like president.

    And, since Trump does so many crazy and impulsive things, after he gets us into some unnecessary war(s), he’s likely to be impeached. And Pence is your standard establishment Republican, waiting in the wings there, and will probably be thrilled to give to neocons and the military industrial complex, the gift of more wars.

    Why people who do not like wars would vote Republicans into the presidency and Congress is beyond me. HRC was unfortunately more hawkish than Obama. But at least she wasn’t crazy like Trump or super hawkish like establishment Republican Pence. And HRC tries to be responsive to the people. So if she were pres, she would respond to demonstrations, petitions etc., and would try to do right by the people. Obama responded to petitions.

    Trump cares only about himself. Even though most Americans want him to release his tax returns, he just ignores us. That kind of thing wouldn’t be happening, if we had Hillary. But fake news, Assange, and Comey defeated her.

    People are getting out to demonstrate against the Obama Care repeal. There are probably going to be unnecessary wars proposed soon too, that we should all get out and demonstrate against too, regardless of who we voted for.

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    • Dr. Fly

      Frog

      your liberalism would be respectable if you applied those same ideologies to Obama.

      HE DID NOT STOP THE WARS. He expanded them and then ended his administration by trying to start WW3.

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      • frog

        I do apply the same to Obama. I never said he stopped the wars. I said he got a lot fewer people killed than Bush, which is true. And I wish he had gotten even fewer people killed.

        When Trump and then Pence get us into some totally unnecessary large scale wars, I look forward to seeing what your view is then.

        We don’t have any recent perfect presidents, who killed no one overseas. You compare Obama to perfection. So I look forward to seeing you compare Trump to perfection too.

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        • chuck bennett

          The word is expanded.

          You are a fraud young he/she

          Regards

          Chuck Bennett

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    • ferd

      Frog. The path of least resistance for any president is more war. The neocons have been running the show since at least 9/11. Hillary is even more inclined to political expedience than was Obama. What evidence is there the Hillary would have stood up the the warmongers? She wanted a no fly zone in Syria …which would have put us into direct confrontation with Assad’s long time ally RUSSIA …I have gone through other examples of her seeming pride in her armchair macho celebration of killing …but still, you remain blind to how flawed she is.

      Only a president who has the stones to stand up to the neocons has a prayer. We’ll see about Trump. I did not vote for Trump and I may have voted for Clinton if I lived in a state where my voted counted. But I find it nauseating that label-focused tools like you spout off like it was an easy and morally superior choice to vote Clinton.

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      • frog

        Well, we’ll see what you think about Trump after a year or so of whatever crazy things he ends up doing, before the GOP Congress gets rid of him and gets Pence, who will certainly be the most neoncon president since Bush, perhaps even surpassing Bush.

        I think HRC would have been the right choice of the 2 major parties, partly because she tries to be responsive to the people. If we would have gotten out there and demonstrated against a war, she would have taken notice. Trump notices no one but himself.

        If you wanted someone with the stones to stand up to the neocons, Bernie would have been your man. I was for him in the primaries. But just because I couldn’t have Bernie didn’t mean I would vote for a crazy person who is a serial liar.

        I can understand why Hillary might think as she does. Because Assad butchers his own people, sending millions of the survivors fleeing and filling the world with refugees. Fighting Assad might solve that problem. But probably only temporarily, leaving a power vacuum that might end up like Iraq and Saddam, so I do agree that it’s not a good idea to do that.

        But I can understand why she might think that way. I don’t think it has anything to do with “armchair macho celebration of killing.” I think it was her attempt at problem solving. I think her intentions are quite good.

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        • fryguy15

          Frog – a year or so of crazy things?! What crazy things? Please elaborate. And what makes you think Clinton is “responsive to the people”?

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        • frog

          Wait a year and you will see what crazy things. 69% of his statements checked by politifact are lies. No one knows what he thinks or will do, but it won’t be good, as he is a serial liar, and a thin skinned person who has constant twitter wars like a teenager.

          If you read any Center or Left of Center media, or follow any real news about Clinton, you can see tons of evidence that she is responsive.

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        • shy

          Most killings can be interpreted as an attempt at problem solving.

          Libya for example,
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgcd1ghag5Y

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        • frog

          Libya

          Everyone says the Libya intervention was a failure. They’re wrong.

          http://www.vox.com/2016/4/5/11363288/libya-intervention-success

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          • chuck bennett

            Frog,

            The more I read you the more I’m disappointed

            Libya is not a failure ? Have you been lately ? Do you have any clue what you’re talking about ? Or are you just playing around pretending to be a mental case with your brain in your boy friends hand.

            From the #1 country in GDP per person and the highest Standard of living in all of Africa.

            To. Steaming pile of shit.

            Can you explain that?

            Not double talk, explain it.

            Regards

            Chuck Bennett

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        • shy

          In the destruction of Tawergha for example, how many crimes against humanity does it take to make it wrong?
          How much is enough systematic murder, torture, rape, mutilation, pillaging, and ethnic cleansing?

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  7. juice

    nail on head excellent post & words, Herr Fly

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  8. mr.wiggles

    Frog, I got news for you my friend. No one gives a fuck.

    Just remember that.

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  9. mr.wiggles

    In other news, CCJ got beat “the fuck” down today.

    Something fishy is going with at that company. Their CEO had been spitting so much game about how well positioned they were and how they handled the downturn in uranium prices like champs.

    Pffff, great job dickhead

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  10. sarcrilege

    “The U.S. Wasted $14 Trillion on Wars ”
    Pfft, you ladies are such small thinkers. It was money well spent to secure foreign supply of oil instead of depleting our own reserves. Once everybody else runs out of their oil, we got them by the balls, so to speak.

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    • Dr. Fly

      You’d make a great neocon shill.

      Oh wait…

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      • frog

        He sounds like Rex Tillerson from DT’s cabinet. Sacrilege, are you Rex Tillerson?

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        • Dr. Fly

          Rex is merely telling the neocon shills what they want to hear. Trump is the truth.

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        • frog

          Is DT the Way, the Truth, and the Light? How is it that 69% of his statements checked by politifact are lies then?

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        • Dr. Fly

          Politifact is liberal trash.

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        • frog

          Yeah, that’s how Right Wing fake news succeeds. Their consumers can’t fact check their fake news. Because Right Wing fake news claims that every real fact checker site has a liberal bias.

          Because of this, the sky is the limit for how many and how huge the lies can be, that Right Wing media can get away with.

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      • sarcrilege

        reality check: it’s not like any of the $14T was real money (gold, silver). The USD is no more than confetti conjured out of thin air; and for this confetti we built military that ensured brownies in ME take worthless confetti for valuable oil. What is not to like about that?

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  11. heckler

    Excellent post. Time to realize what our massive military spending is – a gigantic jobs program and the backbone of our never ended war abroad / police state here at home.

    The Bob Dylan line goes “Join the army if you fail.” Poor families send their sons and daughters off to fight, while back here at home it sure does seem like we get dick to show for it.

    We are supposed to be a nation of peace, so enough with idolizing our war machine (and our troops for that matter). We’ve been losing these wars. I like winners.

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    • joshua

      Good post, Heckler… Although, there really isn’t a such thing as winning and losing in the sort of wars we fight now.

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    • fryguy15

      Danielson – the military spending ensures that King Dollar remains the reserve currency and that the USA is perceived as the #1 world power. Your comment is naive and borderline rude.

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  12. Dr. Fly

    VIDEO ADDED to post.

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  13. gorby

    Baba knows all.

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  14. frog

    Fryguy15, you raise an interesting question– whether the U.S. having the world’s reserve currency is a reward that other powerful countries give us for being the world’s policemen. Perhaps it is.

    And the question that anyone who is anti-war and anti-neocon– as I myself am– may need to ask is this. What happens if we stop all the wars, stop being the world’s policemen, and end up no longer having the world’s reserve currency? How then do we pay off our debt, if we can no longer print our way out of it?

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    • rigged game

      Why can’t we print our way out of it? Issue about two trillion in new currency every year. Backed by NOTHING. It’s called M1.

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      • frog

        There is a problem if other countries will no longer accept currency that we just print, backed by nothing. If you don’t have the world’s reserve currency, you run into these problems. E.g. if Greece owes the U.S. a debt for stuff they bought from us, and then they just print currency and hand it to us, would we accept that in payment of that debt?

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  15. margin call

    Maybe he can get China to quit fucking around in the South China Sea, thereby allowing the US to save a couple bucks on freedom of navigation exercises.

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  16. heaterman

    Fly…truthfully now…tell me honestly you did not hire Frog just to up your click count…
    I think I have never run into a lib quite as brainwashed as he/she/it is.

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