An answer to a reader who thinks Brexit is the fault of the EU

The message from the reader: “Sorry, but it was the President and Chief negotiator of the European Commission who caused the crisis. “ If, immediately following the results of the vote on the 23rd June 2016, the President of the EU had acknowledged the dissatisfaction of a proportion of the British (mainly English) electorate and …

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The future of the dollar (a bit long, but important)

The mighty US dollar continues to reign supreme in global markets. But the greenback’s dominance may well be more fragile than it appears, because expected future changes in China’s exchange-rate regime are likely to trigger a significant shift in the international monetary order. For many reasons, the Chinese authorities will probably someday stop pegging the …

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Money under false pretences

Fossil fuel companies in the US received billions of dollars in tax benefits through government coronavirus relief measures, but laid off tens of thousands of workers, figures show. A group of 77 firms received $8.2bn in tax-code changes under the massive stimulus bill passed by Congress last last year, and some benefited from the paycheck …

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An attack on arts education funding

The U.K. government is facing a backlash from some of the country’s most prominent artists and writers after revealing plans to slash funding for higher education arts courses by 50%. The budget cuts follow a six-week consultation by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and the Office for Students, the independent regulator for higher education in England, that …

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A side-effect of Brexit

Thousands of British citizens in France have been left without a valid driving licence, or face losing theirs within months, because of bureaucratic overload and the failure of the two countries’ governments to sign a post-Brexit reciprocal agreement. “I’d say there are 3,000 who are seriously worried – for whom this has really become nightmarish,” …

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Migrating to an empty continent?

This is the perspective of a native American: “Recently, Rick Santorum repeated a widely held myth of US exceptionalism. “We came here and created a blank slate, we birthed a nation from nothing,” the former US senator and CNN commentator told the rightwing Young America’s Foundation’s summit. “It was born of the people who came …

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The disgusting situation with gun deaths

More than 12,000 Americans have been killed by guns this year alone. As a long-ago foreigner I have never understood how so many people interpret the Constitution so strangely. Arming citizens (it is clear to me anyway) was in the context of membership of citizen militias, defending against foreign interference. Yes, the wording is careless, …

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Side-effects of the virus

The coronavirus pandemic has fuelled an “unprecedented exodus” of migrant workers that has caused the UK population to plummet and may result in “profound” damage to London’s economy, according to a new study. The Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence says that analysis of estimated labour figures suggests more than half a million non-UK-born people left …

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The US postal “service”

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is preparing to put all first-class mail on a single delivery track, according to two people briefed on his plan for the U.S Postal Service, a move that would mean even slower and costlier service for both consumers and commercial mailers. The plan also prevents first-class mail from being shipped by …

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