I wish all of the talking-head bloviators had been forced to answer the question (correctly) before being allowed to pontificate about Brexit over the weekend.
Of course, Herman van Rompuy is the President of the European Union.
Everybody knows that, right?
Not!
Nigel Farage – a Brit member of the European Parliament and leader of the Brexit campaign – made that point colorfully clear in a classic takedown on the floor of the EP.
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Among the caustic jabs that Farage landed …
Amid the Brexit hysteria over the weekend, Google reported that – in Britain – the most googled questions were:
(1) How will Brexit effect me?”, and
(2) “What is the EU?”
Worldwide – and, probably among pontificating blowhard pundits — it was simply “What is the EU?”.
As a service to loyal readers, here are some key EU statistics.
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Some facts worth noting:
Total GDP for the 28 EU countries is only about 10% more than the U.S. GDP ($18.5 trillion to $16.8)
The Top 5 EU economies – Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain – account for more than 70% of the EU’s GDP.
Together,, the UK and Germany account for almost 40% of EU GDP
Specifically, the UK’s GDP is roughly 16% …. but, the UK only got 8% of the votes in the EP (European Parliament)
And, there’s more …
For sure, yesterday’s vote in the UK to leave the EU was a jolt to the Establishment – the world financiers, political elites and open border aficionados.
Cutting to the chase, the vote of the people appears to have swung on one issue: immigration.
According to Bloomberg, immigration surpassed the economy as voters’ major concern.
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And, since immigration into the UK is now essentially regulated (or unregulated) by EU whims, 75% of voters with immigration concerns logically opted to to pull the “Leave” lever.
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My take: Some implications for the U.S. election…
Obviously, the Establishment lost … and immigration emerged as a determining issue.
Hmmm …
The world economy is likely to take a short-term hit …. with some derived damage to the already weakening US economy … during the run-up to the election.
Double hmmm.
Imagine: what if Donald J. stops saying dumb stuff …
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