Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“‘Why is Taiwan such a hot flash point?’ That’s what U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R‑Ark.) asked Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the United States Indo-Pacific Command. ‘Why could it lead not only to a catastrophic war, but also global Great Depression? Why should Americans care about an island on the other side of the world?’ The admiral told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the senator’s ‘last point [was] quite salient. Many a research organization postulate that conflict in the western Pacific over the Taiwan question would result in a 25 percent GDP contraction in Asia and a knock-on effect of 10 to 12 percent GDP reduction in the United States of America, with unemployment spiking seven to 10 points above base and likely 500,000 excess deaths of despair above base as well.'” (04/23/25)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2025/04/23/2halve-and-halve-not/