US debt - Trump vs Biden vs Covid

Yes, but the bigger picture is that $2T was due to the Covid panic and shutdowns. In hindsight that always 20/20... it could have done for for less, but you don't know that at the time. I'll point to China as another example of how not to do it... but they had a far worse outcome that is still rippling through Xi's modernized Maoist authoritarian radical left centralized economy. 

I agree. So much of of what Trump did well was obfuscated by the massive spending that was
enacted to battle covid when the magnitude of the covid problem was still unknown. Every day,
Biden's people say exactly what kingrig said above, thinking that people forget about the
late cycle growth, investment, low unemployment and relatively smaller deficits, relative to
today, that were being achieved prior to the covid outbreak.

Still, I fault Trump for not doing more about the deficit that DID exist prior to covid. I
see it as critical, and he sees it as just another policy issue. Unfortunately, Biden's people
don't seem to care at all. Trump is saying he wants to balance the budget, but I look at that
like his promise to build the wall and make Mexico pay for it... it didn't happen and he won't
balance the budget either. But if he's a one-term president, at least he might give it the
'ol college try, given that re-election is out and he won't have to impress anybody.

The other thing I didn't like about Trump, is that he caved on Sequester and made a deal to
increase social spending in order to secure half as much as that for defense. Sure, our defense
was hurting, with tons of hardware rotting away in storage in the desert. But the Sequester was
the last, significant barrier we had to unbridled government spending, and Trump sacrificed it.

But in the end, Trump is the only president in my lifetime who actually enacted supply-side
economics in a meaningful way, and the result was the highest GDP ever achieved, with no inflation
and low unemployment, more than 8 years after the last economic recession...

... it's just a shame that covid came along and wiped out people's memory of such an
unprecedented achievement. End of this discussion for me... too political and I'd rather focus on
Transocean and deepwater drilling.

Apparently, 2 socialist idiots came up with a lose-lose plan to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory... upholding the highest traditions of the looney far Left. 



And now this...

U.S. reimposes sanctions on Venezuela after opposition elections ban upheld
By Shikema Dey - January 31, 2024
oilnow.gy/featured/u-s-sanctions-back-for-caracas-on-gold-oil-and-gas-operations-after-opposition-elections-ban-upheld/

Venezuela’s top court on Jan. 26 closed the door on key opposition candidates running against Nicolas Maduro for the presidency later this year. The Biden administration, in turn, reimposed the sanctions it had eased in a push for free and fair elections in the South American nation.

U.S. State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller on Jan. 29 said the ban violates the Barbados agreement, signed to allow for a level playing field in the upcoming polls. In support of it, the U.S. had issued “General License 44”, allowing relief to Venezuela’s oil and gas sector.

“Absent progress between Maduro and his representatives and the opposition Unitary Platform, particularly on allowing all presidential candidates to compete in this year’s election, the United States will not renew the license when it expires on April 18, 2024,” Miller outlined. The U.S. revoked General License 43 – which authorized transactions involving Minerven – the Venezuelan state-owned gold mining company. U.S. entities were given 14 days to wind down any transactions authorized under that license.

One analyst had already predicted this. Energy Expert, David Goldwyn

David Goldwyn, President of Goldwyn Global Strategies LLC and former U.S. State Department’s special envoy for international energy affairs, had expressed reservations regarding Venezuela’s forthcoming elections, that they may not align with international standards for fairness. Goldwyn predicted a likelihood of certain sanctions being reinstated by January, starting possibly with reversing gold sales or trading debt instruments. He was not far off.

Goldwyn had said that oil-related sanctions might endure until further conditions are met, possibly indicating the Biden administration’s aim to maintain diplomatic credibility while nudging the Maduro regime towards compliance. Brian Nichols, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, declared that “all options” were under consideration, including the annulment of licenses allowing the export of Venezuelan oil and gas should President Nicolas Maduro fail to demonstrate a commitment to fairer elections.

Maduro has until April to decide whether he will hold credible elections or face the wrath of more U.S. sanctions. It would be in his best interest to, since the ease of sanctions saw Venezuela’s economy slowly mending.

Condemnation of the ban poured in over the weekend.

The Organization of American States (OAS) General Secretariat on Jan. 28 said the move eliminates any possibility of a free election this year.

According to the OAS, the decision, along with the recent “prosecution and political imprisonment of opponents,” was evidence that the Maduro administration “had no intention of allowing” a clean election.

“This dictatorial logic of political persecution and violation of the political rights of citizens — absolutely foreseeable and to be expected given the background of the regime — once again eliminates for Venezuela the possibility of free, fair and transparent elections,” the OAS statement said.

The European Union (EU) also weighed in with concerns.

It said “Decisions intended to prevent members of the opposition from exercising their core political rights can only undermine democracy and the rule of law. The EU calls for the full implementation of the Barbados Agreement and the continuation of an inclusive dialogue process that can lead to fair and competitive elections in 2024.”

Maduro’s main presidential challenger prefers World Court process to resolve Essequibo controversy | OilNOW

Machado is Maduro’s main opponent and appears to be his biggest threat to re-election.

Maria Corina Machado with supporters

Venezuela’s Controller General, Elvis Amoroso had banned her from public office in June due to her support for U.S. sanctions against Maduro’s regime. Despite the ban, Machado continued her campaign and won the opposition primaries in October last. However, Venezuela’s top court suspended the primary results and ratified bans on her and other opposition candidates, after Venezuela’s attorney general Tarek William Saab said his office was investigating the primary and members of its organizing commission for electoral violations, financial crimes and conspiracy.

But she has no intention of backing down from the election.

Machado posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Jan. 29: “I received the mandate of almost three million Venezuelans who exercised popular sovereignty. They cannot hold elections without me and those millions of Venezuelans that we represent.”

Kingrig- what an abjectly asinine statement you make regarding Trump’s deficit and one that demonstrates a complete & total lack of perspective and common sense. Thanks for outing yourself. It will make it easier for me to place future comments of yours into proper context.

Just to make sure we’re on the same page, let me guess - you also think that under Biden, his admin deserves credit for record job growth coming out of the 2020 pandemic nadir?