A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
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Re: A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
#2When will this myth stop? Until the UK has left, the EU is the biggest economy in the world, not the US.
Edit: damn, hit a painful nerve here apparently.
For the tired old '28 countries vs 1 country', America its states and the EU its countries are very comparable in economic size.
Re: A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
#3When will this myth stop? Until the UK has left, the EU is the biggest economy in the world, not the US. Edit: damn, hit a painful nerve here apparently. For the tired old '28 countries vs 1 country', America its states and the EU its countries are very comparable in economic size.
> the EU is the biggest economy in the world
Yes, the EU, or otherwise known as that giant land mass consisting of 28 different countries with unique economies.
Ironically, trying to treat each member state as some homogeneous member is what is leading to the fracturing and growing nationalism. UK won't be the last to try and break off.
Re: A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
#4[deleted]
Re: A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
#5When will this myth stop? Until the UK has left, the EU is the biggest economy in the world, not the US. Edit: damn, hit a painful nerve here apparently. For the tired old '28 countries vs 1 country', America its states and the EU its countries are very comparable in economic size.
Well why stop there? How about we combine the Anglosphere and call that an economy? What about NATO?
Furthermore 320mm people in the US versus 600mm in Europe? I mean, if you want to do that comparison I’d take the US economy all day.
Re: A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
#6When will this myth stop? Until the UK has left, the EU is the biggest economy in the world, not the US. Edit: damn, hit a painful nerve here apparently. For the tired old '28 countries vs 1 country', America its states and the EU its countries are very comparable in economic size.
The US has the biggest national economy in the world. It has a central government than can wield that economic power for its own purposes.
The EU as a singular entity can do relatively little with its members' wealth, which is why measures of that wealth aren't very meaningful.
It's like saying that Asia has the biggest economy in the world. Well yeah, but large chunks of that economy are segregated from one another along national boundaries.
Re: A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
#7When will this myth stop? Until the UK has left, the EU is the biggest economy in the world, not the US. Edit: damn, hit a painful nerve here apparently. For the tired old '28 countries vs 1 country', America its states and the EU its countries are very comparable in economic size.
I guess the distinction is that the US is a single country?
Also, it seems there is a notable body of work out detailing the shortcomings of the US economy. At least in the US, it is thoroughly documented.
Maybe, because the general consensus is that the US is doing so poorly, this piece meant as a simple reminder to Americans that we are not completely doomed.
Re: A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
#8The plantation economy developed in the southern states, and the initial political dominance of Virginia (which provided four of America’s first five presidents) ensured the continued survival of slavery in the newly independent country. By 1860 auction prices suggested that the collective value of American slaves was $4bn at a time when the federal government’s annual budget was around $69m. That explains both why southern slaveowners, many of whom had borrowed against their slaves as collateral, would never give up the practice, and why a financial settlement of the issue was out of the question.
I guess this too would be an example of the 'banality of evil'.
(btw to get around the paywall just clink on 'web' to find it through google; it'll let you read it if google is the referrer)
Re: A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
#9When will this myth stop? Until the UK has left, the EU is the biggest economy in the world, not the US. Edit: damn, hit a painful nerve here apparently. For the tired old '28 countries vs 1 country', America its states and the EU its countries are very comparable in economic size.
> the EU is the biggest economy in the world Yes, the EU, or otherwise known as that giant land mass consisting of 28 different countries with unique economies. Ironically, trying to treat each member state as some homogeneous member is what is leading to the fracturing and growing nationalism. UK won't be the last to try and break off.
The EU in many ways acts like one big economy due to its customs union, freedom of movement of workers, capital, goods and services, extensive harmonised regulations, partially harmonised taxation, wealth transfers between members, a common currency to a substantial part of it, etc. It is a lot more tightly integrated than some mere 28 member free trade area would be, although still not as tightly integrated as say the 50 states of the US are. (And the 50 US states all have distinct economies from each other, with sectors that are big in one state being small or even non-existent in another.)
Re: A 400-year story of progress – How America became the world’s biggest economy
#10No mention of an incredibly wealthy continent, both in mineral and agricultural terms (and a temperate climate), that was largely seized by killing the people who owned it and taking their stuff. No mention of the Louisiana Purchase. without which 'Manifest Destiny' would never have occurred, nor the Mexican-American war which added Texas and California, two of the engine-rooms of American wealth today. No mention of the point that once 'manifest destiny' was complete, the US was safe on all sides - much weaker countries to the north and south, and giant ocean-sized moats to the east and west; rather than deploy military in defense, it could be used to project power in support of the economy.
All of these things are pretty major additions to why the US is such an economic powerhouse today.
Edit: wow, I've really touched a nerve with this one. Enough to get some revenge downmodding on past comments of mine. Wow.