If nothing else, 2017 was an interesting time. As it drew to a close, it still wasn’t clear if that was simply interesting in the ancient Chinese curse sense or if it foreshadowed even more interesting things to come in 2018.
One thing is for sure, we should expect the unexpected in 2018 — especially when it comes to politics. Who would have predicted at the outset of 2017 that the dominant political narrative at the end of the year would be a movement called #MeToo? And that the movement would have an outsized effect on the race to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate?
Something has angered and mobilized a large proportion of half the population and those women look increasingly like they just aren’t going to take it any more. For people in positions of power and authority — who are still usually men — that’s something to think about seriously in 2018.
Otherwise, the problems are going to multiply and magnify. Fortunately, these problems have a fairly easy solution — treat women with the dignity and respect they deserve as human beings. If men behaved like gentlemen then the atrocities that so many women rightly complain about wouldn’t happen.
Of course, men should treat their fellow males with gentlemanly respect as well. That’s not say they shouldn’t express their opinions with conviction or defend them with vigor. But that can be done without resorting to insults and ad hominem attacks — in other words, we should attack the argument not the arguer. More importantly, people should be prepared to admit they were wrong or mistaken and change their opinions accordingly — especially in the face of overwhelming evidence.
And they should be able to so without accusations of being soft or weak. Wisdom should never be denigrated.
Finally, when people do admit mistakes and apologize sincerely for them, apologies should be accepted. That’s the path to reconciliation. Unfortunately, in this politically divisive age, it’s a path that far too few people in authority appear willing to take.
It’s a wonder, at times, that the U.S. government gets anything done. Yet as this went to press, Congress was about to enact legislation that would slash taxes considerably. Whether this will produce a rising tide that lifts all boats, as Republican proponents argue, or spawn a economic tsunami that wipes out the prospects of all but the most fortunate, as Democrats fear, won’t become immediately apparent. The economic ocean is a turbulent place subject to tidal, climactic, and weather-related forces of which an individual nation’s tax policies are only part of the mix.
What’s clear from the proposed tax changes is that they grant greater control over more of the nation’s money — and what it can do for the economy — to a small group of people who already exert the most control. Will that extra cash be spent on overpriced art objects or villas overseas? Or will it go toward raising the wages of working class people so that they can pay higher taxes?
With the U.S. unemployment rate at a record low of around four percent, and the demand for skilled workers ever increasing, it looks like there’s an incentive for businesses to use their tax breaks to raise wages and invest in training.
Let’s see if that happens, and, just as importantly, if it can soon make up for the trillion dollars in debt the tax cuts will require. Of course, it would be naive to think that the tax cuts will produce immediate effects or that any such effects won’t get lost among other economic noise, such as commodity prices, the value of the dollar, or ramifications from increased or restrained international trade.
The latter is another area that is bound to become more interesting in 2018. That’s especially true of the major trading partners of the U.S. Despite all the concerns raised of late about trade, the U.S. has such a huge internal economy that it relies far less on trade that any other advanced economy. According to the World Bank, total U.S. trade was only 28 percent of U.S. gross domestic product in 2015. Mexico (at 78 percent in 2016) and Canada (64 percent in 2016) are far more trade dependent, which explains why they’re much more eager to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Fortunately, for Canada at least, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers — which has dozens of members in the service truck industries — recognizes the importance of trade to the economies of both countries as well as its membership. It’s not just about being nice to Canadians. Canada is huge export market for U.S.-made equipment, which typically involves cross-border supply chains.
So the future of that trade will be another very interesting thing to watch in 2018.