Great Britian might be the only country that is as close of a mess as is the US, but ultimately it doesn't have the heft to compete in the Global Screwed-Up division. But, bless its heart, it's trying.
The beatings will continue until moral improves. It's simply a fact that the highest living standards occur in countries/regions with strong central governments. Amazing how many people don't understand that, or won't.
5 comments:
Is it possible to know whether they are objectively better or worse off?
Oh yes!
We are definitely worse off, economically, politically and diplomatically.
And this is before you factor in the dogs breakfast which is the Northern Ireland Protocol I have to live with.
EM, how specifically does the NIP affect you?
Background first.
Two conflicting treaties affect Northern Ireland.
The Good Friday Agreement ended the Troubles. Among other things it defines an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. People and goods move freely between the two without checks or duties.
The Brexit Treaty moved the UK including NI outside the European Union, becoming, in the jargon, a Third Country.The Northern Ireland border is now an EU border.The rules regarding imports to the EU across that border are much tighter than moving goods within the EU, including mandatory checks, paperwork and sometimes duties.
This creates a paradox. The GFA requires an open border while the EU requires a closed border.
The compromise is the Northern Ireland Protocol. Goods and people can move freely between Northern and southern Ireland. For trade purposes the EU border now runs down the Irish Sea and goods are checked by customs and paperworked when they get off the ferry in Belfast.
The result is that it is now easy to bring stuff from Ireland and the EU into NI, but difficult, expensive and time consuming to bring it in from the rest of the UK.
While this affects anything I buy across the water, the biggest problem has been food. My local supermarket has stopped bringing perishable goods from England because of the cost in time and paperwork. Every packet of ham slices needs a veterinary certificate.
These goods are now purchased in the ROI or EU, so the English suppliers have lost the business.
Similarly with live animals. NI is an agricultural economy, with a lot of cattle moving in all directions.
Collateral damage? We've taken a big economic hit, the NI government has shut down and both politically and economically links to the UK are weakening while links to the ROI and EU are strengthening. It's making a United Ireland more likely.
Wow. What a mess.
It looks like the Republic of Ireland is doing quite well if GDP/capita is a good measure: https://datacommons.org/ranking/Amount_EconomicActivity_GrossDomesticProduction_Nominal_PerCapita/Country/europe?h=country%2FGBR&unit=%24
Is there any appetite for a united Ireland?
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