fwiw some of my thoughts...
Trump's wall is now a fence and Obamacare repeal is more of an improvement.
In UK, Boris Johnson did the same when becoming London Mayor. Said he'll remove red Ken's congestion charge. However, not only did he not remove it, he expanded on it to Chelsea and with sponsoring cycling in London has made a fantastic transformation in London leading to less congestion and ultimately cleaner air and healthier Londoners!!!
imho There is totally an incorrect assessment of issues facing the US and the West right now and it is competition in markets from the Asian tigers, Latin America and Africa. The West has messed up in the ME in their greed to steal resources. That is the real issue that has been emerging; increased competition in the market place.
Globalisation is not the issue here. It is capitalism which polarises haves and have nots in the inequitable way it distributes reward. This operates at National and International levels.
West has had it's peak and perhaps the main argument coming out of this is that migrant labour need to go back as we don't need as much as before to produce output levels we now do.
If we don't address inequitable distribution of wealth what other way is their to resolve the issue of people at the bottom-end of the wealth spectrometer fighting for what little scraps left for them. Natural instinct here is to turn on what ever is different to you. Just territorial pissing contest on lamp posts as I like to call it.
For example to reduce costs and maximise profits help and support centres have been moved over to India in Mumbai.
Same for South West trains; driver-less trains and carriages with no conductors will not improve service or seats for passengers or reduce fairs. However, costs will be reduced and fat cats get more of the cream as unemployment rises. I do not like machines as opposed to simple manned ticket offices.
Because labour is cheap in BRIC nations production costs are lower along with price of land. No way West can compete in the long run as the technology gap narrows and disseminates becoming standardised. China and India each have their own satellite hosting service along with US, EU and Russia. More importantly, they can provide these high tech future services at lower costs than we can.
Customers and Bosses benefit from cost cutting (although I'm not sure about customers benefiting). Always better to compete in product differentiation than via price competition. Our utility costs still rising. Fat cat cream the cost cutting in bigger and bigger salary and rewards.
Who loses? In the case of the help and support centres moving to India, it is local staff who lose their jobs because they don't move to India.
Then there is international companies who locate abroad in low tax countries like Ireland, not pay any or just pay remarkably low tax. Starbucks can employ cheap labour some almost at less than min-wage depending on age etc, whilst paying no tax on billions of profit.
Solution is definitely NOT to:
1. Give tax cuts to top earners or big coporations
2. Raise tariffs hurting domestic consumers raising prices
3. Come out of Nato, whilst trying to encourage other countries to spend more on weapons
4. Get hard on Russia in Ukraine and Syria where US don't belong anyhow
5. Break out of previous free trade agreements
6. Come out global climate change agreements
Never heard of such crazy ideas but people on the bottom and some aspiring top end politicians now on the band wagon. Shocking.
I do hope some people pause for thought and stop and think a little re: above points.
In some respects if the US implodes and comes down a peg or two, I reckon it will benefit the rest of the globe develop and catch up more.
As it stands US being a super power is like a black hole consuming all light and irrespective of population, want's to consume more and more at greater levels, screwing its own and rest of the people who gets in the way of big corporations supported by politicians in both, the Republican and Democratic party.
The only benefit that can possibly come out of Brexit and Trump is that people will start looking at why the protest votes are happening and examine reasons for polarisation of people and society and understand true cause.
Inequitable distribution of wealth is feeding prejudiced and territorial racism as a basic fight for survival. Attack what is different to you.
To those who may want to start jumping up and down! Not saying problem is "Capitalism or Globalisation or Free Movement of People". These very people like drug addicts see the solution as poison. On the contrary socialism performs much better in declines. Capitalism performs better in rewarding society on the way up. When there is plenty and peeps at the bottom get fed just a little bit more they are ok with it. When things are scarce and what little they have continue to be taken away from them, then they have less to lose and more ready to fight. Just simple social survival behaviour really.
Last point; there is clearly a conflict of interest in politics. Polticians should be working for the people not big business interests. Elections take place once every 4/5 years but polticians are in the pockets of Big Corp., 24 hours, 365 days a year so a phone call for pay back and favours can be received any time. This balance needs to be addressed. Remove the money from politics. Can't see it happening but one can only dream.
In summary, I'm saying the problem is inequitable distribution of wealth which the current system of politics and capitalism feeds on is showing it self in the fight for survival at the bottom end of the wealth ladder. What we are seeing is people who lived and worked alongside in jobs are now turning on each other in the streets. This is the symptom not the cause. :idea:
Current appreciation of cause and solution all totally wrong at the mo. Very dangerous for US and UK policy that will have repercussions for many years into the future imho.