British Woes

I read this Comment by John Quiggin immediately after reading this Post by Chris Dillow. Chris claimed it was inherited optimism bias, while John claimed that the Mortgage Crisis was of far greater magnitude in the U.S. John’s assertion about Foreclosures becoming the primary mode of financial catastrophe only reinforces Chris’s claim; Americans following the path of greatest optimism, and abandoning venues promising little success. The American people have a terrible attitude concerning a Government run by Businessmen, possessing the attitude that the American Public should be as protected as greatly as Business. This has led to huge Expenditures with insufficient Taxation from both Sides of Congress, and particularly bad when both agendas are combined. What happens when the Bubble of Government Borrowing bursts, and no one wants to loan the Politicians any more Money which they are unlikely to get back?

The British have been successively critical of the United States this Sunday. The greatest defect of the Jackson article lies in its utter truth. The reason the United States did not deploy sufficient Troops to keep Order in Iraq was the U.S. inability to maintain such a Force Level under rotation practice; the later wrong in both theory and context, leading to basic discontent in the Military and unrest in the American Public. The Bush administration vetoed any sound Plan to raise the essential Military reserves. Jackson praises the U.S. State Dept. Planning for a transition Government in Iraq, which he should not, as it was insufficient to the Task. The State Dept. Plan was rejected, though, for the wrong reasons: it advocated rebuilding Iraq with native economic elements; forestalling the awards of huge Contracts to Bush’s Corporate allies; it seemingly wrong to pay Iraqi labor to rebuild their Country with American Dollars. Jackson’s defense of the British Army position in Basra remains only a justification of his own role, as British failures relatively match American errors; understand that the Days of Colonial Rule has passed with the introduction of the Internet.

There seems to be a major discontent in British society this morning, and it is traveling. This article by a Dane in London finds Denmark is being corrupted by London–earlier corrupted by American practice–and suffering from a Brain Drain to the wealthier Countries, who can pay the higher bonuses. I cannot believe how greatly intelligent Minds are sucked into the Corporate mentality of the sanctity of Bonus awards. There is a simple Solution to Bonuses: passage of a law stating that at no time can a Bonus exceed base Salary through any Means. The search for great Talent can be achieved with the simple Question: Do you want to keep your Job in the first place? Is it that I am just a Simpleton, or that simple Solutions often work best? lgl