Bringing Our Troops Home

The United States has approximately 800 military bases spread out across the world in 70 countries which cost somewhere between $85 and $100 Billion dollars per year to operate and even more in a war zone. Some are quite large and others are merely just outposts but the cost is substantial and in many cases, no longer necessary.

Take the recent report that President Trump plans to withdraw 9,500 U.S. troops from Germany. They're upset about it because to the German government and the businesses located near the U.S. bases there, it's not about the loss of military protection, it's the loss of their consumer dollars.

When all those men and women in foreign bases get paid, they're gonna spend it in where they're stationed. That also includes the families of the service people living with them so the economic impact is greater than just the 9,500 troops.

Ultimately, we do not need a military base in Germany any longer. We don't need military bases in Italy, France, Afghanistan or Iraq either. If they speak ill of us, or want us out, we should leave and take our dough with us. Germany does not have a right or any claim to U.S. Taxpayer money. That money comes from the sweat of the brows of the U.S. citizenry and therefore should be spent with better discretion than keeps some other country's economy afloat.

Germany disparages President Trump while they kissed Barack Obama's ass and he was a waste product who did nothing, delivered nothing and with one exception, everything he's done has been reversed. Now we have someone in office with some backbone and they don't want to deal. So we don't have to deal either. See ya later, bye!

Stagnant Leadership

It is obvious that Angela Merkel has been around too long. Her tenure in office is approaching that of many Socialist Dictators. She has overseen a systemic stagnation where the only way she sees to solve a problem is to do more of the same. Instead of solving Germany's economic woes, she opens the borders. Instead of energy solutions, she doubles-down on more of the same; import, import, import. Both roads lead to a dead end.

Nothing is going to get any better over there until she is out of office. I thought letting in one million unmixable Muslims into the country would have been enough for someone to step to the fore to oust her but nope, they all just took it. That's when you know something is wrong. Perhaps they're just too trusting. Perhaps they've all swallowed that "my brother's keeper" bullshit.

Who knows? But it's not our fault and it's not our problem. If they don't like us, let's take our money and find something better to do with it than to keep Germany's drinking establishments afloat.

Germany's Need for Energy

Germany isn't nearly as Green as they make out to be. They need more oil. Germany's demand is the highest in the EU. They need more natural gas too. Germany is the world's 7th largest consumer of natural gas. I guess the solar panels and the wind turbines ain't cutting it.

So they make a deal with Russia. You remember Russia? The big Red Menace of Europe that our troops are in Germany to protect them from? Yes, THAT Russia. So now they are doing the Libertarian thing of turning a potential combatant into an economic ally. Nothing wrong with that. That is what we like to see.

But you don't need a foreign army to protect you from an economic ally. It's just that simple.

Hard Working Americans

Two weeks vacation. That says plenty. That's what most of us get. If you stay at a company for 5 years, you could get another week. After 10 years you may get 4 weeks off. A rare few places will offer 5 weeks after 15 years on the job. but that's the top end of it. For many small businesses, time off isn't even an option. We also have Over-Time. We all have worked over-time. That's extra. We get Time and a Half for each hour of overtime. For many, that's where the money for buying all our stupid stuff to make the world go around gets made. And have I mentioned all the taxes we pay?

Ultimately, we bust our BALLS for that money. We work longer hours than any industrialized nation. That includes Japan where the average Japanese worker will cram 8 hours of work into a 12 hour day such is the state of their economic incentive these days. The U.S. is the biggest economy because the people in the U.S. put in the most productive hours. There's no shortcut.

Bring Them All Home

It's time we empty out. Bring our troops home. Leave them in the tough spots like Taiwan and Japan but if there's no inherent danger like Germany, France and Italy, empty the place out. Out of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Time to draw down our forces and stop fighting everyone's battles for them AND being their gravy train. It's more than just wasteful.

These deals we make aren't forever. We have been told that we are not the world's police and we should take that to heart. We certainly shouldn't be. Perhaps these countries would appreciate us a little bit more if we weren't there.

After all, they can't miss us if we won't go away.