Brexit Talk in America?

#1      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
Was wondering if there was much, if any, talk of the vote in June to determine if the UK should leave the EU. President Obama was here in the past week or so and ticked off a lot of people when he gave his speech saying the UK should stay in the EU. Specifically, when he said that the UK would go to the back of the line with regards to trade.

My thought is they will vote to remain in, but I think it depends on turnout. What complicates things is that if they vote to leave, Scotland will most likely have another independence vote, as they are strong supporters of the EU.

Would be interested to hear what is reported back in the US.
 
#2      

Illwinsagain

Cary, IL
I have seen next to nothing on this with main stream news. However, that does not surprise me. Business news covers it a bit more. I am willing to bet it will get some play as the vote gets closer.
 
#4      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
That makes more sense to me. Maybe not that high but I cannot see it getting passed.
 
#5      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
Shocked that the UK voted to leave. Thought it was going to be a fairly easy win for the stay group.
 
#8      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Unreal. Guess lashing out isn't just a Merican thing. Best quote I've read thus far:

“A quick note on the first three tragedies. Firstly, it was the working classes who voted for us to leave because they were economically disregarded, and it is they who will suffer the most in the short term. They have merely swapped one distant and unreachable elite for another. Secondly, the younger generation has lost the right to live and work in 27 other countries. We will never know the full extent of the lost opportunities, friendships, marriages and experiences we will be denied. Freedom of movement was taken away by our parents, uncles, and grandparents in a parting blow to a generation that was already drowning in the debts of our predecessors. Thirdly and perhaps most significantly, we now live in a post-factual democracy. When the facts met the myths they were as useless as bullets bouncing off the bodies of aliens in a HG Wells novel.

When Michael Gove said, ‘The British people are sick of experts,’ he was right. But can anybody tell me the last time a prevailing culture of anti-intellectualism has led to anything other than bigotry?”
 
#9      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Another good quote from Gary Younge:

“In the end those who placed their faith in the ‘experts’ were always going to be disappointed. The pollsters were wrong; the currency traders were wrong; the pundits were confounded. People who did not feel they had been heard have not just spoken. Given a one-off chance to tell the world what they think of how they are governed they have screamed a piercing cry of alienation and desperation.”

“Given the choice between the status quo and change (changing something, anything) Britain voted for change. It got its wish. This will change everything. As the pound plummets, stock markets dive, the SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, hints at a new referendum for Scottish independence and Sinn Féin revives the question of Irish unity, we enter a period of volatility without precedent or comparison.”

“Like the dog that chases the car only to amaze itself by catching it, those who campaigned for Brexit own what comes next.”
 
#10      

Illwinsagain

Cary, IL
Unfortunately, not only didn't you get your bet in, but you lost in the stock market. Surprising day.

1. I'm in the mortgage business. Rates are matching the lowest I have seen in over a year.

2. I got out of stocks a bit ago. I know trying to time the market is foolish, but it is working out for me.
 
#11      
Given a one-off chance to tell the world what they think of how they are governed they have screamed a piercing cry of alienation and desperation.”

I don't quite get this. In many ways the life of a working class American is worse than it was in 1975. The life of an English working class person is way, WAY better.
 
#12      
I'm amazed that Britain chose to leave. It's such a big deal, and it sounds like the demographic who voted most strongly to leave is not even going to be around to deal with the repercussions, whatever they may be.
["]When Michael Gove said, ‘The British people are sick of experts,’ he was right. But can anybody tell me the last time a prevailing culture of anti-intellectualism has led to anything other than bigotry?”
This has scary implications for the results that we may or may not see this November. But I'd argue that the drum beat for this current parade of anti-intellectualism has been slowly rising in volume ever since Enron. Lower- and middle-class regular folk are tired of being smugly trodden upon by the monied ruling elite. It's no surprise that we're seeing a heyday for populism, and all of its ugly facets.
 
#13      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
I'm guessing that a lot of Brits who voted to leave the EU would really like a do over once reality sets in. Not talking about today (the hard "medicine's" already being delivered), but say a couple of years from now.

Scotland is likely to bolt the UK now.
 
#14      

Illwinsagain

Cary, IL
I'm guessing that a lot of Brits who voted to leave the EU would really like a do over once reality sets in. Not talking about today (the hard "medicine's" already being delivered), but say a couple of years from now.

Scotland is likely to bolt the UK now.

I am guessing Germany would like a do over and not be in the EU and never have heard of a Euro.

IMHO, the Brits leaving is not what makes this a huge deal, it is the playbook for how to leave the EU for all of the nationalist that makes it HUGE. If everyone else stays together, this will blow over. Kind of like Y2K.
 
#15      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
Scotland is likely to bolt the UK now.

this is quite interesting in that the SNP will definitely have another independence vote before the UK leaves the EU (something like two years after they invoke the "Escape Clause" or whatever it's called). Many of the people I talked to at work about the independence vote two years ago said that they were British first and Scottish second. Went that way regardless of sex or age or economic status. Now, I didn't talk to a large number of people, but still, thought it was interesting they thought that way.

Scotland would have been destroyed if they were independent during the oil price crash.
 
#16      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
I'm guessing that a lot of Brits who voted to leave the EU would really like a do over once reality sets in. Not talking about today (the hard "medicine's" already being delivered), but say a couple of years from now.

Could be. Hard to say. Many people in the UK don't like being given rules by people that aren't elected. My cab driver yesterday told me he voted to leave based on a documentary he saw on TV (probably on BBC but he didn't mention which channel) about the EU and how much money is wasted, etc. Of course, there is waste in the UK government as well, but in theory, the people of the UK have the chance to remove those from government whereas the EU folks are appointed and people in the UK cannot vote them out.

The people of the UK also don't like the open borders policy of the EU. In Scotland, we don't see the same type of issues they see in London and other English cities with regard to immigration but to them, that is a real issue.

Since I'm heading back to the US full time in a couple of months, I won't be able to see how this unfolds, at least in the same way I would have had I lived here during the transition period. Kinda bummed about that.
 
#17      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
IMHO, the Brits leaving is not what makes this a huge deal, it is the playbook for how to leave the EU for all of the nationalist that makes it HUGE. If everyone else stays together, this will blow over. Kind of like Y2K.

This is the key for sure. I wonder which other countries will consider leaving as well. Haven't heard anything specifically reported since the vote was official Friday morning, although I was in the Middle East on Friday so I didn't get to see any of TV coverage here at home.
 
#18      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
Also looks like Jeremy Corbyn may be done as the leader of the Labour party. He sacked one of this shadow cabinet for trying to get him out as leader and now five other members of his cabinet have resigned in protest.
 
#19      

Illiniaaron

Geneseo, IL
Can't believe all of the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the UK's exit and those trying to make a moral argument against it. What a surprise, they voted for self-determination and a stronger sense of nation. How wonderful it would be to stay artificially tied to countries like Greece who irresponsibly ring up massive debt on social welfare with no intentions of ever righting the ship. How many of you would like to share a common market with the whole hemisphere and become partially responsible for all of the economic problems in South America?
 
#20      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
Can't believe all of the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the UK's exit and those trying to make a moral argument against it. What a surprise, they voted for self-determination and a stronger sense of nation. How wonderful it would be to stay artificially tied to countries like Greece who irresponsibly ring up massive debt on social welfare with no intentions of ever righting the ship. How many of you would like to share a common market with the whole hemisphere and become partially responsible for all of the economic problems in South America?

Well said. In the end, the UK will be fine.
 
#21      

bdutts

Houston, Texas
Also looks like Jeremy Corbyn may be done as the leader of the Labour party. He sacked one of this shadow cabinet for trying to get him out as leader and now five other members of his cabinet have resigned in protest.

Looks like 10 have resigned.