[Thermodyne]

Why would the US want to join the EU? The few products we supply to the EU will be exempted anyway. And the bulk of our exports are NATO contract items. I see the US backing away from the EU. We will reduce our roll in NATO, and shift the cost of defending Europe back to the EU, where it belongs. And let’s not forget that Europe has a long history of letting Nationalism take control of their leadership. With the two big boys removed from the picture, Europe will probably pick up where they left off prior to WW II.

As to the deficit, with 1% loans, we finance it long term and pay it off as the economy recovers. If you guys remember your basic US government classes, the government is expected to run deficits during times of recession, repaying the debt during time of economic growth. The two flaws in today’s deficit are the lack of bond funding of the war, and the lack of job creation in the recovery. The lack of job creation can be laid right at the feet of overseas job outsourcing. And this will most likely become a political issue for the upcoming elections. I look for outsourcing overseas to become a liability for the corporations involved with it. There is already a movement to back away from free trade and a return to status quo arraignments. Canada has already begun to feel the sting from this. There is quite a lot of talk about applying stiff tariffs to imports that originate from overseas companies that receive direct funding from their governments.

[ July 25, 2003, 19:10: Message edited by: Thermodyne ]