The Logical Result from Isolationism
The UK is suffering a deep gasoline shortage, with panic buying, long lines and even violence at gas stations breaking out all over the country. Oh, there’s plenty of gasoline, but it can’t get to gas stations. Why, you ask? No truck drivers. No truck drivers? Where did they go? The answer? Back to their homes in Eastern Europe. When isolationist conservatives in the country managed to pull off the almost impossible task of pulling out of the European Union, all free immigration between member countries and the UK came to a screeching halt. So, not only did EU trade agreements end with Brexit, so did immigration. So, the jobs that Brits don’t want, wait staff, dishwashers, slaughterhouse workers, housekeepers, and yes, truck drivers, have gone unfilled because of the isolationist policies of conservatives who push the same policies pushed by Trumpist Republicans in the US. Boris Johnson has just put the British army on standby to put them into trucks to move gasoline from the ports to gas stations.
If you’re looking for how Trump’s plan to stop immigration would work out, you only need to look at the UK. Trying to wall off the country doesn’t work, has never worked, and will never work. Countries’ economic prosperity is dependent on being a member of a global society which includes global markets and the ability of people to move to where the jobs exist. That’s not what we’re seeing the in the UK, and conservatives in the US are trying to run us over the same cliff.
The human race seems to have survived this long despite itself but I’m having serious doubts about the long term prospects.
1I think the obvious point here is that Johnson and Trump didn’t cause anything to happen or people to feel the way they do. They simply read the room better than their opponents. They were able to feed off of people’s fear and hatred of the other and ride those coattails to victory. There has always been a subset of voters that can’t connect the dots. They see what they want to see, but can’t grasp that when you do one thing then three or four things happen as a result.
2It’s been apparent for many years with immigration and farm workers. I vividly recall driving past miles of citrus groves in southern California where fruit was rotting on the ground because there were no workers to harvest it.
3It will be the conservatives who fare the worst once they are utterly without all the service people they have mindlessly depended on as their god given right. The rest of us who have always had to scramble in order to exist will actually survive and even thrive largely due to our adaptability. And yes, agriculture is now faring badly in this country due to the lack of labor. There is somehow a mindlessness in conservative politicians that allows them to think that food will magically appear whenever it is needed at their table. Oh, one thing more on agricultural labor. there are politicians et al. in the US of A who blame the farmer’s wife for not producing the necessary dozen or more kids to work the farm. Pro woman they are not. Large farm families disappeared as long ago as the Great Depression. Incidentally, large farm families ate more of what they produced which meant less farm produce of all nature to sell. Farmers with large broods saw a percentage of their children leaving home for better opportunities in the cities and they couldn’t blame them. Farmers buy at full price and must sell wholesale. Even a new student of economics knows whtat that means.
4I’ve had similar thoughts about being careful what you wish for. For example, with our Authoritarian Curious, my understanding is those countries don’t allow private arsenals. They don’t have to. And there would be no voting to change it back. Funny if it was republicans, not Obama, who took their guns away.
5Ironic, eh Boris? iirc In the 20th century the US had two periods of isolationism which nearly resulted in the sinking of Britain by the Germans. Both Boris and tRumpy, jeniuses of history and PPPPPP. Or, what’s the plan guys, if you destroy the current one?
6This inability to foresee the logical consequences of their actions has plagued Republicans for as long as I can remember. Eisenhower was the last one who, for example, foresaw the outcome of the growing military-industrial complex. And props to Nixon for seeing that poisoning the air and water was a bad idea.
But with Ronnie RayGuns and trickle-down economics (otherwise known as ‘pee-on-the-poor economics), it’s all been downhill ever since…no money for infrastructure, dumb down education, shrink the middle class, poison the planet, all-for-me-and-none-for-you,… The list goes on.
And it is as true on the local level as it is on the national level. I’m sure we all have examples of rotting school buildings, polluting industries, over-development, and county employees being grossly underpaid under republican maladministration. None of them actually believe in government, and apparently none of them can see more than two weeks into the future.
7Ms Hussy, let’s not forget we got the Republican definition of life begining at conception and ending at birth during the Reagan years.
8Gasoline was expensive in the UK before, if they start paying tanker drivers the equivalent of $14,000 per week like they did in TX after the February debacle, there will be even more walking over there!
9I’d say “told you so”, and walk away if it weren’t for my Remainer friends, who are suffering from Tory greed and xenophobia along with the greedy xenophobes.
10My daughter lives in the UK, truck drivers can still cross the border they just need a passport now. There is a shortage in England and in Europe of truck drivers, many older drivers retired, some succumbed to covid and some European countries have paid people to stay home during Covid. And still are.
11There are grocery shortages also because of far fewer drivers.
Ah, Democracy…
Ready for a voter qualification test yet?
12Had enough of the Electoral College?
Gerrymandering?
Get your friends to vote.
Brexit causes food and fuel shortages, from the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/24/food-petrol-shortages-brexit-goods-johnson-botched-deal
13well, they showed those libruls, didn’t they!
14OK, but how’s the petrol supply?
15