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The US-problem |
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Dutch Josh
Adviser Group Joined: May 01 2013 Location: Arnhem-Netherla Status: Offline Points: 95287 |
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Posted: May 19 2016 at 3:30am |
To much power in the US is concentrated in a small group of the very rich. They depend to much on fossil energy, even linking the US $ on that energy. Almost 1% of the US citizens is in prison, a large proportion of the US citizens need foodstamps, have problems with healthcare, housing and education.
That is the reason why Bernie Sanders is that popular. Dissatisfaction is also the reason for Donald Trump getting that popular. The US should rethink her energy policies. The US adiction to fossil fuels is not only the main reason for climate change. It is also the main reason for wars in countries like Mexico (called a "drugs-war"but with very strong US links), Colombia, bringing Venezuela and Brasil close to civil wars. Not to mention the "civil"wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Ukraine and (soon) Turkey. Most US citizens see the need for change but a small group still want the US to be the "only superpower governing the world". With allies like Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia/Gulf States and Ukraine moving towards World War 3 is insane. "What you give is what you get". The US has been involved in many wars since the collapse of the Soviet Union. NATO has moved east, with a lot of former Warsaw-pact countries becoming NATO (and EU) members. "Balkanization" breaking up larger countries in to smaller parts (like the former Yugoslavia) is a pattern one may expect to see in the near future coming to the US itself. Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, Puerto Rico, may want to leave "the union". English is not longer the main language in the southern states. "A union divided can not stand". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%27s_House_Divided_Speech
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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein |
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Dutch Josh
Adviser Group Joined: May 01 2013 Location: Arnhem-Netherla Status: Offline Points: 95287 |
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The 18th and 19th century did see a lot of wars inside the US-the 20th century was mostly peacefull for the US itself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_(1789%E2%80%931849). It was not just wars with "Indians" but the US did see wars with the UK from Canada wich brought destruction of Washington in 1812. Later on there were wars with Spain for Florida, Mexico for Texas, California etc. Even in 1898 again with Spain for Cuba, Philipines.
"Illigal imigrants" will not be stopped by building walls. Racial conflicts can not be stopped by putting over a million "Afro-Americans" in prison, giving food stamps to a large portion of other minorities. The WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) is the new minority in the US. Maybe Trump is representhing that group ? The Republicans were not able to push their "traditional"candidates (Bush-clan etc.) The division with the Democrats is even stronger. The Clinton-clan against (New York, Jewish intelectual) Bernie Sanders. Both parties will have difficulties accepting their future possible President. The US economy is the basis for the US "superpower"status. In itself being less dependent for oil from outside would be a good thing. But fracking may cause earthquakes (but those quakes might be even less spread and therefore "bigger" without the fracking. Fracking could give extra seismic pressure release points ?) were it not that the value of the US $ is linked to energy. Ghadaffi (Libya), Saddam Hussain (Iraq), Iran, Russia, China, Venezuela, Brazil were/are thinking of paying for energy in other currencies than the US $. Most of the US$ value is based on the counterbalance value in energy. Fossil fuels are the backbone of any war-effort. Strategicly the "group"with the most energy resources will win any war. (That is why the US keeps supporting Saudi Arabia, the main reason the US want Assad to go in Syria. Russia and Iran combined may have more energy resources than the "US-group".) In the 19th century slavery divided the union. In the 21th century energy is dividing the union. Alaska, Texas being the traditional oil-states. California has other needs, high-tech it needs a global market, but the drought is making live in California "very hard". A lot of fracking-oil is only profitable with high oil prices. The "old states" are financial/banking global players. The pieces of the US jig-saw may not fit together as well as they once did.
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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein |
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Dutch Josh
Adviser Group Joined: May 01 2013 Location: Arnhem-Netherla Status: Offline Points: 95287 |
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Just like the US the EU is also in crisis. After the "old cold war" the EU enlarged towards the east with (poor) countries like Poland, Romania, Bulgaria. The introduction of the Euro € in 2002 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro is becoming more and more a problem.
Also the expention towards countries like Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia may be "a bridge to far" overstretching what is possible. The refugee-crisis is unpayable for Europe. "We" can not handle millions of refugees costing over a hundred billion Euro's per year. The TTIP-treaty with the US is "stretching"the US-EU relationship. With a possible Brexit (Britain out of the EU-but maybe Scotland after a referendum staying in the EU and going after the € in stead of the British pound), Grexit (Greece out of the EU but with a treaty with the EU and EU money to deal with refugees-now Turkey is not doing that job). Politcal unrest in Spain (Catalunya, Basks), France, Poland, Germany there is also the need to "look at the options". The EU will have to take a few steps back. Nationalism, in a certain role, can be constructive in redifining were to go to in the future. (The US may not longer have "one EU" in NATO, TTIP etc. but several "blocks" of countries (Netherlands, Belgium. Luxemburg=BeNeLux working together with Germany and Austria. Scandinavia more as a block, Also southern Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Portugal). Poland has links with the Baltic states and Ukraine.) The European Union can get weaker but that will get balanced by smaller co-operation of European Blocks. The US Union may not have that "strong states"to fall back to.
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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein |
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Dutch Josh
Adviser Group Joined: May 01 2013 Location: Arnhem-Netherla Status: Offline Points: 95287 |
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When companies grow "to big to fail"states will fail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_public_corporations_by_market_capitalization and http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#tab:overall.
European companies (like Royal Dutch Shell, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Dutch_Shell very dominant in the Netherlands politically, but a global player) have to "spread"their power over several regions. US companies (and to a certain level that goes also for Chinese, Russian, Brasilian (Petrobras) companies) may have more grip on their native country. US politics is Wall-street-made. A democracy can not function in that way. (In the Netherlands Shell is much to dominant due to the royal family who owns up to 25% of Shell http://royaldutchshellplc.com/tag/queen-beatrix-of-the-netherlands/, the British royals proberbly also have large shares in Shell. In a certain way royalty here is comparible to the Gulf States, only for "show" we have a democracy. Important decisions are not made by parlement.) I think citizens have a civic duty to inform themselves. When "news" is brought by the same companies that own much in a country that is a democratic shortcoming. We-as humans-are all in the same boat. We-as citizens-have to reformulate what a democracy should look like. Access to education, healthcare, housing etc. should be democratic rights-fundamentals. Not only for people in "the west" but if we do not want to spent billions on refugees-those rights have to be global fundamental human rights. Even if that means that a very rich elite, the 0.1%, has to give op some of their incredible wealth.
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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein |
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Dutch Josh
Adviser Group Joined: May 01 2013 Location: Arnhem-Netherla Status: Offline Points: 95287 |
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https://www.rt.com/usa/350069-dallas-police-killed-protest/ , https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/1602,
The violence in the US will escalate further. The basic problems are more or less the same as in Europe. Second/third class citizenship, "apartheid" discrimination of everyone that is not fitting in with the dominant culture.
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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
~Albert Einstein |
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