Brexit yes or no?

@quitwhendone Your logic is impeccable. And I support your points. But I disagree with your decision. My reasoning being that while any internal political ambitions remain with member nations, they cannot be relied upon to show financial responsibility. Look at the relief that has been to Greece in exchange for promises of reform and the govt has later failed to make these reforms under political pressure. Other basket case economies like Portugal, Spain and others are likely to follow a similar course along with others in worsening economic climate, while Germany under a new Chancellor is likely to be less supportive, throwing the load onto other members. I see Britain as being out of this club when they pass the hat around next time. Yes. It will hurt Britain to leave.. I just see it hurting more to stay.

@whowasthatmaskedman First of all, I must point out that I am an American. I admit Britain's and Europe's affairs are very little of my business. I must also point out that I don't really have an in-depth understanding of how the EU is supposed to work. My news and information on the subject are not good enough to understand the details and nuances of the cooperation agreement. But I do have a basic understanding.

Perhaps nations like Greece should be suspended or expelled from the Union. Or be forced to have the EU governing body take over management of the country until things are significantly improved. Or, perhaps there are some nations that are simply not economically and governmentally ready to join the Union. Maybe that should be addressed as well.

I don't understand how there are all these "basket case" economies when there is one currency, one central bank and one set of economic and trade rules. My understanding was that the Union and its economic and financial uniformity was supposed to address such problems.

I don't know what the tax structure is for member nations and their citizens. I am assuming it is a fair and equitable system amongst the member nations. I also don't know what the common defense arrangements are. Perhaps NATO and the EU should essentially merge. And the internal security arrangements are mostly unknown to me. Is there a European Interpol or Interpol-like organization under the auspices of the EU?

As an American, I look at the history of this country and how it was formed. 13 separate states joined together. Eventually, 37 more states joined our union. Some states were far poorer than others. Some had vast natural resources. Others didn't. Some had industrialized economies. Others were agrarian. Some states relied upon the slavery of Black people to drive their economies. Others banned such slavery. Two states were an ocean and a country away. And the citizens of the 50 states are of multiple races and ethnicities.

But all of our American states are stronger together because of a strong federal government and strong educational institutions. The banking and economic environments also add to the strength of the union. The opportunity for personal and financial growth is readily available to all American citizens regardless of their home state or ethnicity.

If it worked well here, it can work well there. The US would not be the world's largest economy had we limited the number of states and the number of citizens in the nation. We are the largest and most robust economy in the world because we allowed a wide variety of people and states to join in.

I think the concept of a union in Europe is sound despite perhaps needing some tinkering with the fine details. The US has had many disputes and growing pains through our development as a nation and those disputes (especially political) continue to this day. In fact, we've had a very bloody civil war in the 1860s because of the differences between our member states. Yet no one here disputes that everyone in this nation is MUCH better off because the union remained intact when the Civil War ended. There are problems here but we make it work. And it works not just to the benefit of the nation as a whole and all its citizens but also for benefit of the world.

I think that in the long-term, the EU will prove to be beneficial for all the member states, including and especially the UK. The UK will be one of the leaders of the Union for a long time to come. Your advanced economy, banking system, educational and social institutions put you at the front of the pack in Europe. I think the UK should use its unique position to lead and cooperate, not separate.

I look at the EU and see great long-term potential for ALL member states. I think it is short-sighted to dwell on some of the current issues. There will always be issues. There will always be improvements to be made and they will be made. The people of the UK and Europe are smart enough and resourceful enough to make it work for all Europeans, including those of the British Isles. I say look to the future and the vast potential this union provides and give it a chance to work.

Oh, wow, I didn't realize how long my reply had become. Sorry lol.

@quitwhendone Thats fine. Length of the reply is not important as long as you have a point and choose your words with meaning. Please take it as a compliment that I had no idea you were American😉. (I am Australian myself) But that does give me the chance to demonstrate a point that is crucial. America has the same economic issue in that every year is spends more globally than it creates in trade of collects in taxes. The rest it just prints the money and calls it a deficit. (Currently $23 to 26 Trillion if owes to the rest of the world, for buying and importing more than it makes and sells overseas.) America has gotten away with this so far by being the reserve trade currency, and being the big man on campus in trade globally. But thats not important in this case.. In the case of Greece or Portugal, another member has to make up the slack , so that the EU as a whole keeps its reputation in trade. But that means profitable nations keep having to put their hands in their pockets.. Now add the burden of EU policies on everything from environment, road safety , immigration and anything else not directly trade related and you have another layer of government you have to pay for. AND add a coming world downturn and thew fact that Europe relies heavily on tourism, which both terrorism and the coming downturn will cut into. In short, the basketcases will become vampires and the profitable nations will have difficulty keeping the thing afloat..
As an American you have a situation with poor states and rich states which works as a comparison. If you lost the west and south west, imagine the income of the nation.
So my point is, Britain should take the money and run, to avoid being bled dry in the longer term.