Jolly Good Show, Brexit!
Congratulations to the good people of Great Britain for pulling off a neat trick that we Yanks couldn’t – you’ve regained your independence without firing a shot and without bloodshed. Must have picked that up from a few of your other colonies. From this side of the pond, we watched you stand tall the last time somebody tried to unite Europe under a single government, and now you’ve done it again.
Jolly good show.
A quick spin around the Twitsphere revealed three primary reactions among the Britishers who favor foreign rule. Let’s take a look:
1. Brexit voters are racist.
Psh. Whatever. Not an argument. Next!
2. Brexit voters are old.
Those with more experience, the wise and crafty, did reject foreign rule. Bear in mind that they recognize all the cool countries are doing it these days. They know that it’s a lot more fun in the short term. They also recognize the long term costs, and while eating your Brexit vegetables might not be a whole lot of fun now, someday you’ll thank them for being grownups and expecting you to act like grown-ups, too. Now run along and play, Junior – the grown-ups have a nation to run.
3. The markets hate that Brexit won!
About that. You know those global multi-national corporations that it’s trendy to hate? They are the ones shaken to the core by Brexit. They want one market because it is good for their bottom line, not because it is good for the average Briton. That they are rattled is a good thing. Britain has sent a warning shot across their prow that the path forward for the multi-nats is not going to be as easy as they thought it would be yesterday. The people are waking up and looking out for their own interests – not for the interests of the global crony capitalists. That’s got them shook. Good.
The huge plunge in Britains index that “wiped out 140 billion” (or whatever the number is up to) was a very useful correction. That money wasn’t real money – it was bubble money waiting to burst. Whatever short term pain Britain experiences will more than be offset when that bubble bursts in a big way on the Continent, and the island economy is relatively shielded from the shock by taking their medicine early. You should be celebrating that dip because it is a sign of return to normalcy.