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Most people in the UK seem to enjoy the same standard of living that we enjoy. They have cell phones, computers, running water, electricity, etc. Yes, they've even got McDonalds and Starbucks and Chipotle! I get the feeling that a lot of people think anywhere that's not the US is some sort of backwards dystopia, but a lot of countries really aren't that different from us in terms of standards of living. Hell, some are better.
Thoughts?
The UK and other western nations have the benefit of knowing the US can provide military aid in a time of need, if we become one of them them who is going to help us?
I'm more concerned with who will become the most powerful country. It should be a country with more responsibility to its citizens and the world and while I don't feel our country is perfect in that arena, China is 20X's worse. Not lookin too good.
That will never happen as long as humans are running the #1 country.
As an ageing, not very prosperous, White man I want health care, energy subsidies, and food stamps available. I do not care if we have military dominance over much of the world. I do not care if China takes over most of South East Asia. China's expansion will be stopped cold by the Russians, the Indians and China's internal demographic debacle. I will watch the conflict between China and India as they compete for the mineral, but not social, resources of Africa. The Somali pirates will not be tolerated by the Chinese. Nor will the Chinese (you think we are raciest) allow Africans to immigrate to the homeland.
Our and Canada’s Military Industrial complex needs to be trimmed. We have no need for another, or even the ones we already have, super carriers or IRBM carrying atomic submarines. Why would Canada worry about the high Arctic? Russia already has enough frozen waste land to keep it occupied for generations exploiting the place. It does not need Canada’s. The Chinese will be willing to buy Canada’s, and increasingly, our raw materials and let us suffer the cost of the extraction.
I think we could cut our military spending at least in half and reduce the size of our active forces by even more. .
I also think we should cut military spending in half.
But your comments above imply that those big countries will be led by rational leaders. World history has shown us that more often than not, they are led by power hungry tyrants such as Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Lenin and many others. These tyrants will take whatever they can and will only be controlled by power. There is no doubt in my mind that the next Hitler will appear in our lifetime.
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roadking2003
I also think we should cut military spending in half.
But your comments above imply that those big countries will be led by rational leaders. World history has shown us that more often than not, they are led by power hungry tyrants such as Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Lenin and many others. These tyrants will take whatever they can and will only be controlled by power. There is no doubt in my mind that the next Hitler will appear in our lifetime.
Yeah, just look at Saddam Hussein... and we bankrolled him, until he acquired greater "ambitions"!
I also think we should cut military spending in half.
But your comments above imply that those big countries will be led by rational leaders. World history has shown us that more often than not, they are led by power hungry tyrants such as Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Lenin and many others. These tyrants will take whatever they can and will only be controlled by power. There is no doubt in my mind that the next Hitler will appear in our lifetime.
All world leaders of late have been able to operate under the umbrella of common sense prevailing lest a nuclear exchange render their little fifedom a smoking pit.
Iran is possibly the only exception to this. They're just plain nuts; with their belief being that reducing the world to a cinder is the fruition of their stupid book stating 'he shall ride in on a flaming steed" or some other bunk in their book they'll mis-interpret like all of the rest of it.
Your country has been the worlds watch-dog now for 5 decades. While engaging in some questionable forays into other countries affairs you have generally been exercising restraint in your incursions that have resulted in relatively few embarrassments (Somalia) and fewer still charges of expansionism (Iraq) coming at you.
Here's what this foreigner would do if he were to be the grand poobah:
Reduce military standing numbers. Quietly, selectively and carefully add to your mothballed fleet in Bremerton. Reduce the pentagon to a triangle. Take the funds saved in the foregoing and instead funnel them into military research and developement(jobs creation) with a view to expanding the useage of remote items to both patrol and prosecute military requirements.
I know, I know; there's no replacement for boots on the ground, BUT given the last few brooha's that you've been involved in, having four times as many drones in the air may have saved a bunch of lives from those dang IED's and allowed you to keep the AlQueda and Taliban afraid to come out of their caves.
Illegal immigration: Why has it become necessary for various states to craft their own laws and then be subjected to Washington's throwing them under the bus of the supreme court? Must be a need somewhere else it wouldn't be happening, right? Tracking down and deporting them should be a priority based simply on the rule of law that they have already broken; easy-peasy. All this debate over "they're simply seeking a better life" is bull-c**p! You would no more tolerate 12 million Canadians swimming across the great lakes than you would a lye enema! The economic burden these place on you is atrocious. So you end up cutting your own lawn, all well and good to get your obese arse out in the sunshine.
Trim welfare by forcing both means tests AND drug testing across the board. You force a bus driver and sports figures to give urine samples but a mother who had three children out of wedlock from different fathers or a guy who'se unemployable because he routinely shows up drunk for a job interview should be immune? Prioritize, prioritize should be the watchword for your budget development. A valid disability precluding useful employment should be paid a living pension OR welfare but not BOTH!
Lobby groups should be banned from even entering the parking lots of Washington or States Legislatures. Major pharmaceutical corps. should have controls placed upon them that guarantee's the costs of drugs go down throughout the life of a patent IF the costs of producing that same drug have gone down through expansion of consumer market base. Further; they say they need unrestricted profits so that research and development of new drugs can happen, oooopsy; I wouldn't merely take their word for that but enact legislation that actually requires and oversees it; I mean if you can take over GM, you should be able to make affordable drugs for all a reality, right?
Require all oil companies to pay into a fund at a higher rate to forestall the inevitablility of a spill anywhere within your borders. the tobacco inustries were required to contribute to a fund to be paid out upon successful suits agaisnt them why not BP or Shell. Spills are gonna happen regardless of all attempts to prevent. The nature of the beast, we keep sucking on that particular teat and it's inevitable we're gonna slober some milk down our bibs.
Universal health care would flow from some form of controls placed on all to pay a deductable based on their income tax rate. Now of course this would assume a fair tax rate be developed that eliminates loopholes. This would, of course, require the elimination of the current mish-mash of health care insurance systems that have your congressmen receive one type of health care and your counter worker in an auto-parts store, another. ALL should be provided with a basic level of health care that negates the going bankrupt due to an unforeseen catastrophy happening to any member of a family. BASIC being the operative word here; you want a better level, you're free to pay for it through any optional top-up insurance programs.
Foreign aid: this one would of nature include the funding provided to the U.N. as that is the worst type of foreign aid, to-wit: You throw a whole pile of money into a bottomless pit to watch it go to the benefit of countries that have already espoused a mandate to target your a**'es through terrorist or economic actions. Country's like Haiti, et al would be required to display an embracing of the very basic of corruption retraints, rule of law along with human rights, among other considerations before they get dime-one from any pool of money you've contributed to.
Kyoto, Durban, Geneva, Kalamazoo or any other pollution accords agreed to would include ALL polluters and not merely serve as a wealth re-distribution system to enable the buying and selling of carbon credits on the open market like an estate auction of your grandma's silverware.
You're never going to be a second-rate country as virtually all out there are trying desperately to emulate you, but a major shift to leading by example is necessary. Why put yourselves at risk by hamstringing your ability to respond to ANY of the worlds tests by sinking any further down the budget abyss.
In another thread I saw a person mention something about the US becoming a "second-rate world power" like the UK. And it got me thinking... how bad could that actually be?
Most people in the UK seem to enjoy the same standard of living that we enjoy. They have cell phones, computers, running water, electricity, etc. Yes, they've even got McDonalds and Starbucks and Chipotle! I get the feeling that a lot of people think anywhere that's not the US is some sort of backwards dystopia, but a lot of countries really aren't that different from us in terms of standards of living. Hell, some are better.
Thoughts?
Well firstly, despite diminished ability, I do not see any other country taking the #1 slot. China? Please.
Secondly, you are equating world power status with living standards. That is inherently incorrect. The USSR was a Superpower yet its citizens lived a pretty grim existence. Switzerland is not a world power by any definition and her people live quite well.
I usually like your posts, but this one is a bit off.
Well firstly, despite diminished ability, I do not see any other country taking the #1 slot. China? Please.
Secondly, you are equating world power status with living standards. That is inherently incorrect. The USSR was a Superpower yet its citizens lived a pretty grim existence. Switzerland is not a world power by any definition and her people live quite well.
I usually like your posts, but this one is a bit off.
How about no one taking the so called no. 1 spot. America is being picked apart by not just China but Brazil, India, and Russia. With a few exceptions, most American allies are also becoming less reliable. Turkey is going its own way and Germany and France weren't very supportive of America back in the Iraq war.
I'm not sure why a lot of Americans are betting Southeast Asian countries are going to strengthen their alliance with America at the expense of China. It is funny how few analysts ever mention how those Southeast Asian countries have a large Chinese minority that has a disproportionate amount of economic control. For example, over 70% of all large Indonesian companies are run by ethnic Chinese; Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines are also the same. I don't know if people know this but overseas Chinese (especially those in Southeast Asia) were responsible for the initial bulk of the foreign investments in China when China enacted its economic reforms. These ethnic Chinese businessmen are unlikely to want to anger China and will lobby their respective countries' leaders to acquiese to Chinese demand and temper their alliance with the USA so they (the businessmen) can make sure that their business opportunities in China aren't in danger. This isn't very different from Republican businessmen like Sheldon Adelson (one of the biggest contributors to the Republican Party) who is known for being extremely pro-China due to his massive casino interests in Macau which now produces the bulk of his income.
How about no one taking the so called no. 1 spot. America is being picked apart by not just China but Brazil, India, and Russia. With a few exceptions, most American allies are also becoming less reliable. Turkey is going its own way and Germany and France weren't very supportive of America back in the Iraq war.
I'm not sure why a lot of Americans are betting Southeast Asian countries are going to strengthen their alliance with America at the expense of China. It is funny how few analysts ever mention how those Southeast Asian countries have a large Chinese minority that has a disproportionate amount of economic control. For example, over 70% of all large Indonesian companies are run by ethnic Chinese; Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines are also the same. I don't know if people know this but overseas Chinese (especially those in Southeast Asia) were responsible for the initial bulk of the foreign investments in China when China enacted its economic reforms. These ethnic Chinese businessmen are unlikely to want to anger China and will lobby their respective countries' leaders to acquiese to Chinese demand and temper their alliance with the USA so they (the businessmen) can make sure that their business opportunities in China aren't in danger. This isn't very different from Republican businessmen like Sheldon Adelson (one of the biggest contributors to the Republican Party) who is known for being extremely pro-China due to his massive casino interests in Macau which now produces the bulk of his income.
Well, I am sympathetic to the notion of the USA not getting involvied. However, that is a topic for another thread. I was just criticizing the equating of world power status with living standards.
Typical new attitude being bestowed upon America. Why achieve to be great when you can be second rate. Should be Obama's campaign slogan.
Oh, dear.
One of my favorite conservative authors, the late Joseph Sobran, put it this way:
Quote:
G.K. Chesterton, with his usual gentle audacity, once criticized Rudyard Kipling for his "lack of patriotism." Since Kipling was renowned for glorifying the British Empire, this might have seemed one of Chesterton's "paradoxes"; but it was no such thing, except in the sense that it denied what most readers thought was obvious and incontrovertible.
Chesterton, himself a "Little Englander" and opponent of empire, explained what was wrong with Kipling's view: "He admires England, but he does not love her; for we admire things with reasons, but love them without reason. He admires England because she is strong, not because she is English." Which implies there would be nothing to love her for if she were weak.
Of course Chesterton was right. You love your country as you love your mother – simply because it is yours, not because of its superiority to others, particularly superiority of power.
Well, I am sympathetic to the notion of the USA not getting involvied. However, that is a topic for another thread. I was just criticizing the equating of world power status with living standards.
Oh I agree with you completely. You can also add Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan in the list of poor living stadards and great power status.
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