The United Kingdom Leaving the European Union

[Plowright]

So our genius prime minister has said he will be having a referendum in 2017 which will be open to the people to vote if we want to be in the EU still. First of all this will affect investment because people will not want to invest in a economy which does not know where it will be in four years

second of all apparently this will effect the special relationship between Great Britain and the USA.Barack Obama wants us to stay in the EU, probably so the USA can have it's own little spy/friend filling him in. (I believe this is a good thing and endorse Obama for it)

I was just curious if you Americans have any view on this at all? Apparently with the oath and everything going on over there it hasn't been reported.

Then again I understand that the Americans are not as focused on foreign policy.... So do any of you care in the slightest?

[BlockParty]

So our genius prime minister has said he will be having a referendum in 2017 which will be open to the people to vote if we want to be in the EU still. First of all this will affect investment because people will not want to invest in a economy which does not know where it will be in four years

second of all apparently this will effect the special relationship between Great Britain and the USA.Barack Obama wants us to stay in the EU, probably so the USA can have it's own little spy/friend filling him in. (I believe this is a good thing and endorse Obama for it)

I was just curious if you Americans have any view on this at all? Apparently with the oath and everything going on over there it hasn't been reported.

Then again I understand that the Americans are not as focused on foreign policy.... So do any of you care in the slightest?

It was on the front page of today's print edition of the Wall Street Journal, so it's not being ignored.

I do think most Americans are much more concerned with the unemployment rate, healthcare costs rising faster than a Kardashian's skirt during all-star weekend, the debt ceiling and inability of most anyone in our government to actually be productive. From reading the article, it would seem your Prime Minister is in a tough place and trying to balance appeasing his loyal backers and finding a common ground with a struggling EU foundation, in the end, that's what leaders do, they find the best solution give all the circumstances that are facing them. I would guess the UK stays in the EU, but buys some leverage by flexing some muscle during the next year or two.

[Felton for Prez]

It's not being ignored by the WSJ but it's being ignored by the vast vast majority of the country that doesn't read that publication. Americans couldn't care less about who is in the EU or not. The rest of the world is a gazillion times better at caring about the goings on of foreign countries. I was in India in '04 and my cab driver knew more about the pending presidential election than my wife. It was really enlightening.

Back on topic, the timing of this is horrible. Can't we have a little global economic stability before they try this kind of strong arming? I agree w/ Plow about how this creates uncertainty even if it's a big bluff. I guess it's good to know that it's not just US politicians that are immune to common sense.

[Plowright]

I guess it's good to know that it's not just US politicians that are immune to common sense.

Our Prime Minister and his wife went to a restaurant, paid the bill and left... Only when they got in the car did they realise they had left their month old baby in the restaurant...

So no, US are definitely not the only ones immune to common sense... Hope this makes you feel better about things haha

[SWedd523]

It's been a while since I took a foreign politics class, so I'm going to be a bit fuzzy. I think this is a scare tactic to all of the "freeloading" countries in the EU who look to the more stable and powerful economies to bail them out of tough economic times (Greece, Spain, Ireland, etc). Doing this says, "we aren't going to continue to waste our time if you can't get your stuff together". I know there aren't many thriving economies in the West, but they're being hurt by diverting time and energy into countries that don't carry their own weight.

I think the EU expanded too fast as well. I understand it's supposed to help stabilize economies and governments, but there really should be more stringent requirements on entering into such a conglomeration.

The UK is powerful enough to easily subsist on its own and shouldn't have any problem moving forward without the EU. Those countries aren't going to form any sort of trade embargoes so there isn't too much downfall to such a decision.


Basically, I have no issue with the decision. I think most countries would benefit and grow stronger in the face of the lagging global economy by letting the other nations focus on their own problems while they work themselves out of their own. I wish the US would leave the global assistance market the hell alone and focus on domestic issues until we can rebuild a stronger infrastructure of our own

[Chef]

i would have done it yesterday if i were them. the whole house of cards has a shelf life of less than a decade before the PIGS die and take France and most importantly Germany with them. at least the brits weren't stupid enough to change their currencies.

[SWedd523]

Exactly how I feel Chef. The moment you align yourself so strongly with that many agreements and treaties, you prevent yourself an "out" for when things go bad. How do you think states like Germany (probably the strongest western economy at the moment) and France, etc. feel about having to bail out those other slacking states?

(I draw an analogy to the current economic situation in the US: people taking food stamps, welfare, government housing, etc, or living off the state because they're given more money then they'd make at a menial job because they aren't qualified enough to make enough honest money. Now we have an entire generation of people who feel like it's okay to take handouts from the govt and have grown lazy to a point where their votes [not necessarily for Obama or any other person] to influence the national argument in regards to individual rights. I wish the welfare system was amended closer to how it was in FDR days when people who needed money were PUT TO WORK digging ditches or clearing roads to where they actually contributed to the national infrastructure)


It's a big reason why I'm against the US entering the UN (it was bandied about for a little while) or any other multinational trade union because we have a hard enough time asserting our influence across the nation without having a legal obligation to do it if we don't. It's not like those nations refuse to trade with us because we aren't part of the UN.

[Chef]

Exactly how I feel Chef. The moment you align yourself so strongly with that many agreements and treaties, you prevent yourself an "out" for when things go bad. How do you think states like Germany (probably the strongest western economy at the moment) and France, etc. feel about having to bail out those other slacking states?

(I draw an analogy to the current economic situation in the US: people taking food stamps, welfare, government housing, etc, or living off the state because they're given more money then they'd make at a menial job because they aren't qualified enough to make enough honest money. Now we have an entire generation of people who feel like it's okay to take handouts from the govt and have grown lazy to a point where their votes [not necessarily for Obama or any other person] to influence the national argument in regards to individual rights. I wish the welfare system was amended closer to how it was in FDR days when people who needed money were PUT TO WORK digging ditches or clearing roads to where they actually contributed to the national infrastructure)


It's a big reason why I'm against the US entering the UN (it was bandied about for a little while) or any other multinational trade union because we have a hard enough time asserting our influence across the nation without having a legal obligation to do it if we don't. It's not like those nations refuse to trade with us because we aren't part of the UN.

actually the best example is the states that will be either asking/needing a bailout or facing bankruptcy or not fulfilling their debts ie kalifornia, illinois, hawaii and about a dozen others. the only difference is thank god the other states aren't bound to them and can function independently or as their own countries if/when things get bad enough from a federal perspective.

oh and eff the UN. as far as i am concerned we should stop sending tax dollars to it and send it packing from our soil.

[Plowright]

In some tiny-small way do you see the USA similar to the EU in any way? Wealthy states sending all their money to poorer ones etc? On a smaller scale obviously... In the long run the EU is trying to become one big country... Similar to how Yugoslavia was, it wants several federal republic states and the EU can act as the central committee

[SWedd523]

In some tiny-small way do you see the USA similar to the EU in any way? Wealthy states sending all their money to poorer ones etc? On a smaller scale obviously... In the long run the EU is trying to become one big country... Similar to how Yugoslavia was, it wants several federal republic states and the EU can act as the central committee

Thats sort of the argument I'm trying to make. They're trying too hard to be a big conglomeration in the mold of the US and it hurts the stronger nations.

Keep in mind, though, that in America is isn't necessarily "rich states paying for poor states". A lot of the perceived richer places like CA and NY have many of their own monetary issues like higher number of inner city welfare recipients and higher immigrant population which use a good bit of money.

We also have taxes on many levels, municipal, state, federal, etc that keep a large portion of a state money in that state in the form of government budget.

I'm sure that's the general belief that they can all be on the same level plane, as a pseudo nations state that allows them to work together and prevent conflict but really, there are too many cultural barriers that make that a pipe dream whereas in the US you have different sub cultures, but they're all still "American".