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Michael Bloomberg: Brexit is stupidest thing any country has done besides Trump


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Michael Bloomberg: Brexit is stupidest thing any country has done besides Trump

Exclusive: Billionaire media mogul says it is ‘hard to understand why a country doing so well wanted to ruin it’

Graham Ruddick Media editor

 

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire media mogul and former mayor of New York, has said Brexit is the “single stupidest thing any country has ever done” apart from the election of Donald Trump as US president.

 

Bloomberg argued that “it is really hard to understand why a country that was doing so well wanted to ruin it” with the Brexit vote, in a series of outspoken remarks made at a technology conference in Boston a fortnight ago.

 

At that event, Bloomberg, 75, also warned that some workers at the financial media company that bears his name were asking to leave the UK and US because they think the two countries no longer like immigrants and are no longer welcoming.

 

Full story:  https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/oct/24/michael-bloomberg-brexit-is-stupidest-thing-any-country-has-done-besides-trump

 

-- The Guardian 2017-10-25

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I have to agree with that statement. The Pound nosedived straight after taking 20% of my monthly cash with it. I know many UK people were unhappy about the amount of immigrants from other EU countries coming in, but most of them failed to appreciate that they had exactly the same opportunity to go work in France, Spain, wherever.

Now the future, which was looking OK, is far more uncertain. as in will we get a Brexit deal or not and the Pound is still seriously weak.

Not sure it is up there with the stupidity of electing Trump, but IMO, definitely wasn't a smart move.

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22 minutes ago, webfact said:

Michael Bloomberg: Brexit is stupidest thing any country has done besides Trump

This is a fascinating question that I haven't answered to my own satisfaction yet.

 

On the face of it, electing Trump ought to be ahead by several miles. 

 

However, Trump is short term and there are various ways to remove him; he could be impeached, the Russia probe might (will) get him, the 25th amendment, etc. Or, he could simply have a heart attack tomorrow; he is 72, doesn't exercise much and does not seem to be in good shape.

 

The UK had free access to a market of a couple of hundred million people in a stable, peaceful area with countries of generally similar values (democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc.), and gave that up for... sovereignty? The right to be small? Sorry, I still don't quite understand why the UK left.

 

Hmm...

 

More thought required...

 

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58 minutes ago, webfact said:

‘hard to understand why a country doing so well wanted to ruin it’

Big business and Mr Bloomberg might have been doing "so well" but Joe Soap, the average UK citizen, hasn't been; hence the vote to leave.

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21 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Big business and Mr Bloomberg might have been doing "so well" but Joe Soap, the average UK citizen, hasn't been; hence the vote to leave.

But is Joe Soap better off now? Is he getting more lather on his loofah or is he shrinking in the shower?

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1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

This is a fascinating question that I haven't answered to my own satisfaction yet.

 

On the face of it, electing Trump ought to be ahead by several miles. 

 

However, Trump is short term and there are various ways to remove him; he could be impeached, the Russia probe might (will) get him, the 25th amendment, etc. Or, he could simply have a heart attack tomorrow; he is 72, doesn't exercise much and does not seem to be in good shape.

 

The UK had free access to a market of a couple of hundred million people in a stable, peaceful area with countries of generally similar values (democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc.), and gave that up for... sovereignty? The right to be small? Sorry, I still don't quite understand why the UK left.

 

Hmm...

 

More thought required...

 

Couple of hundred? Over 500 M !!!!

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36 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Big business and Mr Bloomberg might have been doing "so well" but Joe Soap, the average UK citizen, hasn't been; hence the vote to leave.

Exactly.  The opening sentence of the article says it all :-

 

"Billionaire media mogul says it is ‘hard to understand why a country doing so well wanted to ruin it’"

 

I think most recognise that whilst the wealthy were doing very well, the poor and average were not doing "so well".  Something Mr Bloomberg doesn't care about and/or has entirely missed......

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Bloomberg doesn't understand, OK the UK and the USA run at a loss but the financial markets think that is OK. The £ crashes although it has been lower before the Brexit announcement but that's OK.

Why did the £ crash Mr Bloomberg, was it the media and money speculators? How did that yet to be explained 6% vanish, a computer blip?

 

Want to impress, how about positive moves for the lead up to and post Brexit period instead of calling voters stupid.

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57 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Big business and Mr Bloomberg might have been doing "so well" but Joe Soap, the average UK citizen, hasn't been; hence the vote to leave.

And as you keep being told, that's down to the government NOT the EU. Look at the GINI coefficients! Inequality in the UK is obscene.

 

EU countries typically have much better social care and pensions

 

ALL smart people (except the Komodo subset) know Brexit is f******* stupid!

 

We should dump the Con Party get in PR and sort out the undoubted problems of the EU from within. Conditions have changed ?

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10 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

Exactly.  The opening sentence of the article says it all :-

 

"Billionaire media mogul says it is ‘hard to understand why a country doing so well wanted to ruin it’"

 

I think most recognise that whilst the wealthy were doing very well, the poor and average were not doing "so well".  Something Mr Bloomberg doesn't care about and/or has entirely missed......

5th biggest economy in Europe and 2nd biggest in the EU

 

And you blame the EU!

 

Most EU countries have far better social security, pensions, infrastructure, hospitals and schools

 

And you blame the EU

 

Time to wake up, get off the fence and do the right thing. Drop Brexit, Drop the Con Party and fix EU problems as a strong member.

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14 minutes ago, alant said:

Bloomberg doesn't understand, OK the UK and the USA run at a loss but the financial markets think that is OK. The £ crashes although it has been lower before the Brexit announcement but that's OK.

Why did the £ crash Mr Bloomberg, was it the media and money speculators? How did that yet to be explained 6% vanish, a computer blip?

 

Want to impress, how about positive moves for the lead up to and post Brexit period instead of calling voters stupid.

Not all voters are stupid

 

But stupid people voted for Brexit

 

Seen the latest polls?

 

I don't think Brexit will happen, thankfully

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17 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

Exactly.  The opening sentence of the article says it all :-

 

"Billionaire media mogul says it is ‘hard to understand why a country doing so well wanted to ruin it’"

 

I think most recognise that whilst the wealthy were doing very well, the poor and average were not doing "so well".  Something Mr Bloomberg doesn't care about and/or has entirely missed......

Maybe Mr Bloomberg hasn't got the foggiest idea why people voted for Brexit, why so many people in Europe would like to see their country do the same, and why so many in the USA spurned the democrats after 8 years of Obama.

He definitely is, like most politicians, not interested in anything else but his own money.

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4 minutes ago, Grouse said:

Not all voters are stupid

 

But stupid people voted for Brexit

 

Seen the latest polls?

 

I don't think Brexit will happen, thankfully

That would be the definite green light for the EU autocratics to kill off any vestige of democracy.

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5 minutes ago, MrPatrickThai said:

This has turned into a Trump subforum.

 

Everyone has to get their little dig in to the US president.

 

Keep it about Brexit. And we Brits don't actually give a toss what Bloomberg thinks.

Brexiters don't give a toss what anybody thinks....:

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2 minutes ago, hansnl said:

That would be the definite green light for the EU autocratics to kill off any vestige of democracy.

Do you really, really understand how the EU works?

 

Do you really, really understand representative democracy?

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Ok Trumps got some issues like his tweets and Facebook posts. But you’ve only got to look at the results if you can get by the “fake news” such as falling unemployment, massive gains in the stock markets, America first strategy. IMHO I believe he’s done more for Americans than Obama did in 8 years. That’s why billionaires don’t like him because he’s trying to make a leveller playing field for the ordinary person and it cuts into their fortunes.

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1 hour ago, Samui Bodoh said:

This is a fascinating question that I haven't answered to my own satisfaction yet.

 

On the face of it, electing Trump ought to be ahead by several miles. 

 

However, Trump is short term and there are various ways to remove him; he could be impeached, the Russia probe might (will) get him, the 25th amendment, etc. Or, he could simply have a heart attack tomorrow; he is 72, doesn't exercise much and does not seem to be in good shape.

 

The UK had free access to a market of a couple of hundred million people in a stable, peaceful area with countries of generally similar values (democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc.), and gave that up for... sovereignty? The right to be small? Sorry, I still don't quite understand why the UK left.

 

Hmm...

 

More thought required...

 

"The UK had free access to a market of a couple of hundred million people in a stable, peaceful area with countries of generally similar values (democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc.), and gave that up for... sovereignty? The right to be small? Sorry, I still don't quite understand why the UK left."

 

The UK voted brexit for many different reasons, including the following:-

 

1) The 'open doors' policy made it even easier for people from far poorer countries to go to the UK, and thereby keep wages v low for the poorest paid.  Keeping wages as low as possible, crept up 'the chain' as companies took full advantage of the supply of cheap labour/maintaining the same differentials etc.

 

2) People were tired of the over-paid EU bureaucracy and obvious profligate waste of money.  e.g. the cost of moving numerous people between two cities etc. etc. etc.

 

Sorry, I bored myself at this point - and couldn't be bothered to go on about largely un-elected by the populace/sovereignty etc.

 

Of course not only the EU is to blame for all these things, but hopefully it will give you a few 'starters' as to why the UK voted to leave.

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2 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I have to agree with that statement. The Pound nosedived straight after taking 20% of my monthly cash with it. I know many UK people were unhappy about the amount of immigrants from other EU countries coming in, but most of them failed to appreciate that they had exactly the same opportunity to go work in France, Spain, wherever.

Now the future, which was looking OK, is far more uncertain. as in will we get a Brexit deal or not and the Pound is still seriously weak.

Not sure it is up there with the stupidity of electing Trump, but IMO, definitely wasn't a smart move.

I'm not surprised you agree considering you think the whole Brexit decision was premised on immigration. That was only one aspect. For me that was an important one as having worked all over Europe actually did understand the opportunities that lie elsewhere. However I never went anywhere that I didn't have a job and my skills were not needed. Consider that for a moment when you realise a city the size of Coventry is coming to the UK (net) each year, many from poorer counties and a huge percentage of those being uneducated and often criminally minded. There are areas of my home city now pretty much no go areas and housing value has plummeted. You complain (understandable) about the fall in Sterling, but that was already on the way down. Imagine being a property owner and not being able to sell your house even 75% below what was market value. Because the government has been told the UK MUST take a certain number of these "immigrants" and they chose to put them there. Even though they are in many cases from Romania and Slovakia, of no worth and just came over to milk the system. Which they do very well, as well as cause many robberies, unsociable behavior and violence. But leaving immigration, and I am aware it has benefits too, an important one for me was sovereignty. Why are you happy being ruled by a European elite, that never had an election, never had accounts signed off since 1994, with a back up bureaucracy of over 24,000 working to do their every whim?  In Brussels alone never mind Strasbourg. Then there's the cost, about which we can argue, but it runs in to the many billions. The decimation of our fishing industry, the control over every law that comes down from Brussels leaving our judiciary powerless and many other instances.

But I'm bored now as I'm sure you are. Enough. The weakness of the pound (while seeing record highs in the stock market) is a temporary problem I am more than happy to deal with for the long term future of an independent UK.

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