We can’t control what others do and we can’t stop misfortune from striking. But we can control our own actions. Those who are financially prudent will most likely enjoy success, even if events don’t always go their way.
As a person who negotiated labor contracts I can relate to this. I can understand the point, but as an authoritarian I’m guessing Donald Trump wouldn’t. Our negotiations were aimed at a win-win to the maximum state possible. In fact, I always looked for a way for the unions to take credit when presenting a new agreement to their members.
Take it or leave it‼️
Consider a classic example: Two sisters argue over the last orange in the fridge and ultimately agree to split it in half. One uses the peel for baking and throws away the pulp; the other eats the pulp and discards the peel. Economists call this a Pareto-inefficient agreement. Had the sisters appreciated their underlying interests, each could have walked away with exactly what she wanted, and nothing would have been wasted – a far better outcome than simply dividing the orange.
Had Trump applied this principle to NAFTA, he could have unlocked much more value for America, such as by securing better terms for US businesses in digital trade, finance, and technology exports, while allowing Canada and Mexico to protect key industries that were important to them. The opportunity to expand the pie was there; but Trump’s combative approach squandered it.
didn’t that guy from Texas, Ross Perot, talk about the “giant sucking sound” that would be Canada and Mexico eating our lunch? I wonder if he was right or not in the 3-way presidential debate at that time.?
The world trade volume and various agreements are far more complex than a simple orange splitting example and a union-management negotiation for a short term agreement. NAFTA was a big thing when it was originated but East-West trade became a bigger deal. Even today there is disagreement as to who benefited the most from NAFTA and did the US get the short end. How many jobs were lost, how much was the economy affected overall, still debated.
Trump may or may not come out of this intact but it is certain that the deal makers before him weren’t the skilled negotiators we thought they were.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
Al Lindquist
didn’t that guy from Texas, Ross Perot, talk about the “giant sucking sound” that would be Canada and Mexico eating our lunch? I wonder if he was right or not in the 3-way presidential debate at that time.?
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The world trade volume and various agreements are far more complex than a simple orange splitting example and a union-management negotiation for a short term agreement. NAFTA was a big thing when it was originated but East-West trade became a bigger deal. Even today there is disagreement as to who benefited the most from NAFTA and did the US get the short end. How many jobs were lost, how much was the economy affected overall, still debated.
Trump may or may not come out of this intact but it is certain that the deal makers before him weren’t the skilled negotiators we thought they were.
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