Oddbean

A few reflections from the recent 3 hour talk with Elon Musk and Donald Trump on Twitter/X. Trump's main strength in my view is the energy sector. With a potent and competive energy sector, without unnecessary red tape regulations, electricity becomes cheaper to produce. The pricing of all goods, services and transports are heavily impacted by the cost of energy. This is also a sector where Trump has no competition, except Vivek Ramaswamy who quit the presidential race. Both Kamala Harris and RFK jr both have a bad record on energy policy, related to beliefs in global warming doomsday scenarios. Regarding Trump we have an 8 year historical record his support for the US energy sector, in opposition to the UN Agenda 21 policies that are fueled by irrational climate alarmism. Overiew: 2017. Trump pulls the US out of the Paris climate accord. He says that it is "designed to kill the US economy". https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iI24uAdAYro 2020. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump opposed the anti-energy policies that the WEF have an obsessession with implementing. Trump referred to the climate alarmists as "prophets of doom". https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0UiFRZ3t_KM 2021. On January 20, 2021, Biden signed the US back into the Paris climate accord. This was done on his first day in office, indicating that this was a high priority matter. 2023. Trump was critiquing Germany for closing its nuclear power plants and implementing harmful climate alarmism policies. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sJSr4tFkjcA 2024. February. Trump announces that he will not allow the creation of a CBDC. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oUjMK8d6omo In light of the above, it is reasonable to assume that Trump takes energy policies seriously and is willing to sacrifice his own reputation in the media in order to secure American energy interests. Without energy there is no civilization. My main disagreement with Trump is his positive outlook on the mRNA vaccine development. First I would like to clarify that I think it is a terrible idea to inject mRNA spike proteins into the human body. Yet, as far as I understand Trump's position, his general stance is embracing medical competition and production, in an assumed societal environment where individuals can access medical treatments under informed consent and under a climate of free speech. His support for Hydroxychloroquine in 2020 demonstrated an openness for experimental approaches on a voluntary basis, in spite of the demonization and ridicule from the mainstream media. I do support medical freedom and my starting point is that all kinds of medicine should be available for purchase, including experimental treatments. If someone is seriously ill I can't deny them the option to choose an experimental treatment provided that they are aware of and have access to data that can reveal the risks involved. The key issue here is to have a societal climate where free speech is in full effect and individuals can find and share opinions, experience and research that highlights the potential risks of any particular medication or treatment. This failed catastrophically during Covid due to online censorship and demonization campaigns. The failings during Covid were legion and in particular related to central planning. I will here highlight two out of many points of failure. 1. Governments purchasing millions of doses of experimental vaccines for taxpayer money. This is not how a free market operates. In a free market individuals buy their own medications based on their own personal judgement and estimation of risks to their health. This also requires a genuine free market where all medications are available to consumers so that potential working solutions can be tested and spread via word-of-mouth recommendation. Banning certain medications or treatments is not a free market policy. 2. Presidents and government officials pressuring the public to take experimental vaccines. Add the demonization of critics and those who do not consent to a particular treatment. Justin Trudeau is one noteable example of presidents during Covid that abused their position to stigmatize critics and create a climate in favor of mandated experimental vaccines. These political pressures in turn caused corporations to fall in line with the government pro-vaccine position over inflated fears, both of the virus and also fears of government fines against companies that would not cooperate with government policy. We saw mandated vaccines as a result with devastating effects on individuals living under immense pressure to take a treatment that could harm them, or face losing their livelihoods. I could write more in depth here on these Covid-related horrors of central planning but I will leave all the deeper details for now. It is entirely possible to support experimental treatments while at the same time not agreeing with tyrannical central planning mandates and accompanying censorship. Allowing for experimental medicines comes with both risks and possibilities. Having a free market, based on indivudual liberties and informed consent, is fundamental. Hence the importance of free speech. Without proper information of risks and a genuine ability to reject a treatment, we have no basis to formulate consent. #Talk #Trump #Elon #Musk #Energy #Climate #Vaccine