*** WARNING! This post contains boring information about what I'm studying & also my opinions on several political issues. If you don't care about my opinions (understandably) or the European Union, please feel free to skip to my next post ****
It has come to my attention that some people are actually interested in what I'm learning while I'm over here. I don't know why... bunch of nerds.
Essentially, I'm learning about the European Union: what it does, why it's failing, how long until Germany bitch slaps Greece in the face, etc.
I'll be honest: it's really not interesting unless you want to become involved with the EU, so I'm only going to share the most interesting bits.
1) Very few European member states actually like the EU. They linger at about 50% approval rating. (consider though, that Obama is currently chilling at about 44% approval rating. U.S. presidents rarely get above 55%)
2) The euro is dropping. They're on their way to hitting the dollar mark (SUCKAS. WELCOME TO OUR DEBT CRISIS MWAH HA HA HA).
3) Why is it dropping? Poor planning. Greece is drowning because in order to get into the EU, they lied about how much money they had. And then they spent money they didn't have. That they borrowed from richer countries (see Germany's bitch slap).
If you want to see Stephen Colbert explain the Greek debt crisis in a hilarious and 100% true way, click here
4) The European Commissioner on Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (The nice lady who counts fish) has the same salary as the President of the United States. This is INSANE. Mostly because she has a microscopic fraction of the influence & responsibilities that Obama has. So everyone needs to participate in one giant untwisting of their panties about how much money our government officials make because it could be worse.
5) Europe suffers from a lot of racism. Asylum seekers are fleeing from Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Europeans are not digging it. France & Denmark closed their borders (which is totes illegal, btw) in order to keep all immigrants out. So its not just Americans who are scared of everyone who isn't white!
6) Racism exists between member states too. Portuguese people can't get jobs in the Netherlands because they "don't handle money well." Because stereotyping an entire country has worked so well in the past.
I think I've done enough venting (sorry I'm in the middle of writing a research paper about the rise of racism) so I'll let all of you who made it to the end of this post (no one) go back to your lives!
And may I end this post with a joke?
-A man walks into a bar with a slab of concrete. He says, "One for me, and one for the road."
Actually I think this post is great--funny and concise and not boring. So righto.
ReplyDeleteI am in no way arguing against you seeing as my political science knowledge stops at the 8th grade but it must be said that I'm pretty sure the president makes decidedly less than just about everyone and certainly less than many politicians. But it doesn't really matter for HIM because he gets everything he wants while he's president anyway. When people say politicians make too much money, I don't think they mean the president. Or they wouldn't if they knew how much he makes.