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The U.S. is one of the most successful countries in the world. I labeled Estonia as well as other Baltic states as a "mixed bag." The fact is that Estonia depends for its economy somewhat on Internet fraud. But it is more successful than most countries in the world. I should have been clearer.
Agreed, as far as that paragraph.
Why then are people flocking to the U.S.? Canada, Australia, New Zealand and to some extent the U.K. depend upon the U.S.'s security blanket for their social welfare system. Monetary aid is not the big thing here; it is the fact that everyone knows, from our involvement in WWI and, despite FDR's waffling WWI that those four countries' freedom are non-negotiable. I don't know that those countries have a higher living standard than the U.S. but to the extent they do, they owe it to the U.S. That is true of Continental Europe as well.
Agreed.
We need it now, for our protection, unless those countries gain the willingness to restrain their bad actors. Notably, the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan, and tacitly the KSA, under the The Abraham Accordschose a form of protection from the West, in the form of Israel.
The Post-WW II mandates are a possible model for what I have in mind. It is a form of colonialism, perhaps with a less stigmatizing label.
For immigration: The US has loosely-monitored land border with a region that is a major source of emigration. That alone would mean that the US would have significant immigration. The US also has prioritizes family reunification, which means effectively unlimited immigration. But even despite those factors, Canada has a much higher immigration rate (compared to its population) than the US. Even many European countries do.
For the US’s alleged success, look at Freedom House rankings. The US has (I believe) a 90/100 rating, which is far lower than Canada and many European countries. Same for various human development indices. The US is far from being the most free, the richest (particularly if you factor in the US’s massive income disparities) or the most developed country (looking at infrastructure or human capital). As recently as the 1980s and the 1990s, the US topped the charts. But now it’s slipped tremendously.
To compare the US and Estonia: let’s say that you had two 21-year olds. One had parents who gave the person a private education at elite boarding schools and Yale, and they also provided internships at Fortune 50 companies through their connections. The parents grew controlling, though, which caused a fight between the person and the parents. The other one had parents who beat the person, robbed the person and forced the person to live at home and do chores until age 21. Yet both persons now have jobs at top-tier companies.
Which person did better? If you look at the results you’d say that both did equally, but if you look at what they overcame, the second person clearly did better.
The first person is the US and the second is Estonia.
The UK doesn't 'depend on the 'US security blanket' for its social welfare system! That's bollox, I doubt it's the same for the other countries you mentioned either.
The United States does need a return to colonialism. I suggest we start by joining the Commonwealth, ask the Queen to name a governor (Prince Harry, perhaps), and put our military under the command of Her Majesty's Armed Forces.
We've made a total mess of our independence and it's time to bring in some competent management to clean it up.
Creating world stability, or at least the illusion thereof; creates confidence from foreign investors in the U.S. dollar.
Economics play into our foreign policy, if the greenback is ever dethroned as the main planetary fiat currency; our standard of living goes way down.
Neither country is our problem. I am glad we are out of Afghanistan but the way we did it was so horrible. Haiti, not our problem. As a country with a debt totally out of control. A pandemic that keeps putting as the worst in the world in dealing with it why are worried about solving other countries problems? Lets stop worrying about everywhere else and get our house in order.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit
So long story short, no we don't need a return to colonialism, we need a departure from quasi-colonialism and imperialism.
If these countries left us alone that would be fine. But they don't.
Haiti -
Let's take Haiti first because that's the easiest. They send waves of emigres to the world, especially the United States. The indescribable misery ensures that will continue. Securing our borders sounds nice, but for domestic political reasons that isn't going to happen. Even the harshest administration would not be willing to push boats full of helpless people out to sea.
Afghanistan -
Afghanistan is more complex but still very clear. Attacks such as those that occurred on February 26, 1993, the embassy attacks in Tanzania and Kenya, and the September 11 attacks, as well as other, lower-grade attacks, emanate from Afghanistan and other failed states. While they don't have much in the way of resources, they have a "government" that can issue passports and provide safe haven. Politically, sealing the country, i.e. "nothing goes in and nothing comes out" is not possible. The borders with Pakistan and Iran are porous, and I presume that is the case with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Also, no one is going to shoot down "civilian" planes going in and out.
Summary -
For those reasons, Haiti and Afghanistan are very much our concern.
The United States does need a return to colonialism. I suggest we start by joining the Commonwealth, ask the Queen to name a governor (Prince Harry, perhaps), and put our military under the command of Her Majesty's Armed Forces.
We've made a total mess of our independence and it's time to bring in some competent management to clean it up.
Not a fan of Harry and Meghan, but in retrospect, if we had headed down the path that Canada and Australia took, things might have turned out better.
If these countries left us alone that would be fine. But they don't. Haiti - For those reasons, Haiti and Afghanistan are very much our concern.
The Dominican government is finally building a border wall, so Haitian exodus will be on the increase.
For many years, they were allowed to cross and work in the DR; now more willl be working apparently in Broward county et al Florida.
Where the public buses have been announcing directions in Creole for 2 decades, to my amazement.
They also work on the cheap in many construction trades, lowering wages across the board.
My customers(subcontractors)used to hire them when they were losing $$ on a job.
If these countries left us alone that would be fine. But they don't.
Haiti -
Let's take Haiti first because that's the easiest. They send waves of emigres to the world, especially the United States. The indescribable misery ensures that will continue. Securing our borders sounds nice, but for domestic political reasons that isn't going to happen. Even the harshest administration would not be willing to push boats full of helpless people out to sea.
Afghanistan -
Afghanistan is more complex but still very clear. Attacks such as those that occurred on February 26, 1993, the embassy attacks in Tanzania and Kenya, and the September 11 attacks, as well as other, lower-grade attacks, emanate from Afghanistan and other failed states. While they don't have much in the way of resources, they have a "government" that can issue passports and provide safe haven. Politically, sealing the country, i.e. "nothing goes in and nothing comes out" is not possible. The borders with Pakistan and Iran are porous, and I presume that is the case with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Also, no one is going to shoot down "civilian" planes going in and out.
Summary -
For those reasons, Haiti and Afghanistan are very much our concern.
(1) What makes you think colonization would reduce migration from Haiti? Experience suggests that if anything colonization ensures a steady stream of migrants from said colony. France is full of Algerians/Moroccans/Senegalese, the UK is full of Indians/Pakistanis/Jamaicans etc.
(2) Any place can harbor terrorists. In fact, there could be an attic in a house down the street harboring a terrorist cell. Most (and perhaps all, I'm blurry on some of them) of the 9/11 perps weren't Afghans with Afghan passports. Most of them were Saudis or other Arabs with several of them already living in the West. So where does it stop? Elements in both the Saudi and Pakistani security apparatus (allied to the U.S., often trained and supplied by the U.S.) have played a role in promoting and supporting Al Qaeda-like terrorist groups. Are Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on your list, too? And did U.S. control increase or decrease support for radicals and terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan? Are people who are under foreign rule more or less likely to support violence against said foreign rulers? Would ISIS have ever happened without the U.S. invasion of Iraq and U.S. support for Sunni militants in Syria? Highly doubtful.
And since 2002 the West has seen a steady flow of migration from pretty much all the impacted countries. I recall that recent Uber commercial where the guy was praising Uber's flexibility that allows him to travel back to Afghanistan frequently. Maybe that's the new rule of thumb, every million dollars of U.S. ordinance dropped on a foreign country generates 20 Uber drivers from that country in the U.S. 5 years later.
So, all in all it actually seems to me like application of U.S. influence, funding and even military force does in fact actually increase both migration and terrorist support from whatever country the U.S. seeks to 'help out'.
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