The Very Stable Genius was sold to us as a businessman, and therefore too savvy to get mired in petty DC turf battles. So how's that working out?

Great piece by Carl Arbogast at Red State this morning entitled "Four Reasons Trump's Tweet Attacks on Amazon Are Complete Garbage."

Arbogast may be a bit too presumptive in ascribing as a motive for the tweets Trump's naked envy of anyone richer than he is - which Jeff Bezos certainly is - but it's surely a factor to at least some degree.

In any event, here are the four ways the VSG made a fool of himself with this particular social-media outburst:

1. The Postal Service does not “lose” $1.50 each package it delivers for Amazon – This goes back to Trump’s myopic view of business and how he sees it only through the lens of “winning and losing.” Trump has a long history of ripping off vendors and bilking others that he always assumes somebody gets a raw deal. Yes, Amazon gets a break because they’re a bulk shipper, but that’s no different than any other shipper. The Postal Services losses are tied up heavily in pensions and benefits. Anybody who knows the slightest about business recognizes the revenue the USPS collects from Amazon helps them, not hurts them. Just like Trump did when idiotically imposing tariffs he thinks the “problem” (of which there is none) will be “solved” merely by the USPS raising rates it charges Amazon. Of course, one of the consequences of that move would be for the consumer to pay the additional costs. Amazon would not suffer. Aside from that, as Amazon continues to build out its logistical operations, they will start using the post office less and less over time. What will Trump complain about at that point?

2. Amazon does not own The Washington Post; Jeff Bezos does – This is a little dishonestly wrought rhetorical trick meant to make it seem as if the Post acts as an arm of Amazon which it does not. To say the Post must register as a lobbyist is absurd and Trump uses it because the rubes will follow along with whatever drivel escapes his fat fingers on Twitter or his big mouth at a rally.

3. Yes, Amazon does pay taxes – First of all, the days of buying stuff on Amazon (outside of third-party vendors) and not paying sales taxes are over. Amazon maintains a presence in almost every state. As they built out their distribution network, the opened more shipping centers. Even in states where it does not maintain a presence, Amazon said last year they were in fact, going to start charging and collecting sales tax. Amazon also pays property taxes on the distribution centers it owns, its retail stores and the Whole Food Stores it acquired last year. That Amazon had revenues of $106 billion in 2017 goes to show they are collecting billions in sales taxes for states as well.

4. No, Amazon is not putting “many thousands of retailers out of business.” – Yes, the online retailer grabbed 44 percent of all online retail commerce in 2017, but overall, Amazon accounted for only 4 percent of retail sales in 2017. Walmart, Kroger, Costco, The Home Depot, CVS and Walgreens all had higher retail sales than Amazon in 2016. Companies are not going out of business because of Amazon but because of the changing retail landscape. Businesses that have adapted to that landscape are still doing well. Others are not. The “Amazon is putting companies out of business!” is the same fear-mongering nonsense many said about Walmart ten years ago.

Arbogast ends his piece expressing hope that Larry Kudlow can talk some sense into the VSG.

That would be good, not only for this situation, but the latest development in trade relations with China:

China says it's rolling out new tariffs on U.S. meat, fruit and other products as retaliation against taxes approved by President Trump on imported steel and aluminum.

The Chinese finance ministry says in a statement that the new tariffs begin Monday.

The announcement follows through on warnings Chinese officials have made for several weeks in an escalating trade dispute with the United States.

China's Customs Tariff Commission is increasing the tariff rate on eight imported U.S. products, including pork, by 25 percent. It's also imposing a new 15 percent tariff on 120 imported U.S. commodities, including fruits.

The tariffs mirror Mr. Trump's 25 percent charge on imported steel and 15 percent hike on aluminum. Mr. Trump's tariffs are partly a response to complaints that Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology.

The shills had been portraying this as yet another example of 5-D chess, saying that China was now willing to come to the table and discuss longstanding issues.

Well, maybe so, but not without retaliating first.

Yes, Larry, get on the VSG's schedule for some time today.