On Dec 21, 7:28*pm, David Nebenzahl wrote:
On 12/21/2010 7:46 AM harry spake thus:

I am from the UK. I love to tease the Yanks.

We get it. We get it. We get it.

They can't grasp what is wrong with their cult.

'K, true 'nuff.

But good post. Interesting. *I think the PIGS (Portugal, Italy,
Ireland, Greece and Spain are well down the tube. *They will end up
cut away from the Euro.

So tell us, Harry, why do you think you Yurpeens are all that much
better than us Merkins?

OK, granted, you (UK) have a *huge* advantage with your National Health
Service, something that'll probably never happen here. Along with some
other *vestigial* remains of, let's call it what it is, socialism.

But clearly the *entire world* is now going the way of the U.S., which
is to say in a totally neoliberal, market-driven, profits-uber-alles
direction, where if things go bad because of speculation and bubble
markets, the gov't imposes austerity measures (witness: Ireland), the
general public be damned.

After all, Harry, you've got those mobs of students in London smashing
things up, right? I can certainly understand why they're out there.

So no, it's not just the Big Bad U.S. that's to blame. Though arguably
we were the *origin* of the problem, what with the "American Century"
and all, it's now metastasized to the entire world. Including China, I'd
say.

--
Comment on quaint Usenet customs, from Usenet:

* *To me, the *plonk...* reminds me of the old man at the public hearing
* *who stands to make his point, then removes his hearing aid as a sign
* *that he is not going to hear any rebuttals.

The problem in America is simple greed and aquisitiveness. Also, the
instant gratification syndrome. We have it here too but not near as
bad.
Also the turkeys vote for Christmas. ie the blue collar workers vote
for republicans, amazing to Europeans.
They all believe that one day, some time they might get to be rich.
The truth is that to be rich needs a very special mentality. They
need to want not just enough money, they want it ALL. They don't care
about anyone else. We call it "pulling the bridge up after you."

Yearning after this chimera, the poor get themselves into debt for all
the material things, houses, cars etc. Their brains are conditioned
by TV and Hollywood, a deliberate ploy by the wealthy. We have now
got to the stage where not only have the rich taken all the poor's
Money they have taken all the taxpayer's money, plus money that
doesn't exist but the poor are going to have to pay back anyway.
The rich have found a way to steal the future.

All done by Bush and Republicans. You should have let all the banks
go bust and then the gov. taken them over for nothing. As it is the
rich have never had it so good and the poor never so bad. At least not
recently.

I suspect that we ain't seen nuthin' yet. 2011 will be the crunch
year.
Personally I have never borrowed money for any purpose, so I am better
off than most. We'll see.