Lies, more lies, and false statistics.
Sure, the average American spends more money than the average Angolan. But does that make America rich?
I chose Angola because in one statistical revue, it was claimed that Angola was the most expensive country to live in. It is also one of the world’s poorest countries. It is also run by Communists, who got there with help of the Soviets.
Angola is a war-torn nation. There are land mines everywhere. During a recent civil war, Angola had Cuban troops, Chinese strategists, Russians, South Africans, and foreigners from half the world fighting it out. They all left a mess.
Thankfully, the fighting is over. I hope the next political development will be a peaceful one.
The United States hasn’t had a civil war for over 100 years. It has a history of strong industry, hard work, and innovation. Many of the brightest minds of the last two hundred years were either born in the United States or immigrated there.
So, why does CNN tell me that Record Numbers of Americans are Seeking Help?
Well, first a few statistics. According to a recent census analysis, the Americans in the UK had an “average” salary of 70,000 quid a year. Don’t laugh, I never met those Americans either.
Now, it is true that about 200 years ago, an American Captain were paid more than a low ranking British sailor or a Portuguese powder monkey. The British do have a historical tendency to pay the lowest ranking people very badly.
However, the British minimum wage has been, for the past ten years, much higher than the American minimum wage. British workers get more paid holidays. The British own more of America than Americans own of Britain.
Every American I know in Wales has been paid less than their British spouse.
Maybe in London there are a few rich Americans who bring the average up. A few British film stars get American citizenship to avoid taxes. A few American film stars and musicians, and other billionaires, come to London to spend their fortune.
African dictators and Russian con artists also come to London to spend their ill gotten gains. That doesn’t mean that Kenya is richer than Britain. On the contrary, the few people with money from poor places seem to bring that money to richer places.
Is America really a rich country? It has a debt problem about as bad as Portugal’s, if not worse. Millions of Americans need government assistance or they will be homeless. People are surviving, they have run down appartments or trailers that act as shelters, but many of them would be classed as “homeless” in Britain.
America is going through a difficult time. The country should stop spending money on the defence of rich countries, it should stop spending money bailing out poor countries, and worry about its own people. There are bridges and dikes breaking, the place is decaying. Americans need work.
Fire all the “investment” gamblers from the government. The so-called “finance industry” makes one man rich at the expense of another. It’s not real banking, nor is it real investment, it’s extortion and gambling.
The only president that could be possibly worse than the last two is Romney. We need a leader who had to struggle, someone who understands what Americans are going through.
We need someone who understands that America is not a rich country, it doesn’t have money to waste on overseas adventures, aid to foreign militaries, and political pet programs. As they said in the old days “millions for defense, and not a penny for tribute.”