... BRICmates are far from healthy.
Yes and no. What do you think happens to the Gold - which EVERYONE in India owns by the way, when its confiscated? Oh right. Government vault. China is now paying $30+ premium to buy physical gold over the paper. Wen the Fiats fail, Gold will become a primary basis in any new currency, probably along with rare earths and fossil fuels. BRICS nations are ensuring themselves a place at that table.
Our dollar is once more winning by default and if our fiscal house isn't put on a crash (hopefully permanent) diet the day will approach faster where our debt offerings will go nowhere and monetization and porkulus are the only tools left in the Neo-Keynesian bag and we go full-Zimbabwe.
Sucking the least is not a good long term strategy. The optimism under Trump is going to undermine any fiscal success by finally allowing real inflation from all of the money printing to kick in. Right now foreign nations will still pivot to the dollar for "safety" and they will keep the dollar in the reserves, for now. However, if WWIII actually gets started, you can bet any countries aligned wit the US will dump the dollar as part of the attack. Trump implementing higher trade barriers and Tarrifs with China will depress China's market with the US- which btw are already depressed
http://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/2016/11/trade-data-china-grows-and-us-shrinks.html Many who claim China would never dump US Treasuries do so on the basis that they would loose their major market ( which only can trade with them because they continue to buy our debt as a sort of unofficial aid package. Think Marshal Plan and you aren't far off) And if there is no market to speak of, China's economy is tanking, Trump places more restrictions further killing that market and China will still have this burning desire to buy/hold US debt ? I doubt it.
I am not saying that protections for US jobs are a bad idea - but it gets very very tricky. Smoot-Hawley backfired massively. A tax raises the price you pay. Period. Yes that might make our own labor more competitive but overall the goods and services that you can purchase goes down,and consequently your standard of living.
We are actually producing more oil than we import.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/13/us-oil-production-exceeds-imports/3518245/ - the importation is mostly to keep oil sold in dollars. If the EPA were neutered, I am sure the US could be 100% non-dependent on other nations.
However the underlying economic problems are probably beyond Trump's (or anyone's) ability to solve. Our debt cannot and will not be paid, either via outright negotiated default, or via money printing. Money printing kicks the can, so I suspect even if Trump wanted to to the former, all of the interested parties would do everything possible to prevent it.
Slashing the federal budget will NOT work by itself unless Social Security, disability , Medicare and now Obamacare are effectively repealed. Given the discussions we have had here on Social Security, I don't think many are willing to give up their monthly check, and accept the terms of a default on those systems, so Trump will be unable to accomplish anything other than to possibly kick the can a little further. But I suspect between the newly unleashed inflation pushing rates up ( increasing govt debt) and the inability to negotiate a graceful default, we will end up in the violent default beginning - well - now really.
I am afraid richb is asking the wrong question. The question isn't what trump can do to get our anchors hauled in so we can cast off and sail.. . The question is what can Trump do to batten down the hatches and get America ready to weather the incoming storm.