Lone Candle
Champion of Truth
Europe used to trust the United States to store their gold. Due to Trump’s erratic and aggressive behavior and comments, some of them are moving their gold back to Europe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDbYJnELskI
When we talk about parts of Germany being “left behind”, we are talking about first-world problems. These areas are still wealthy by world and historical standards. But, their wealth and economic growth is smaller than the big cities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQgoV-T8wM
The AfD wants Germany to distance relations with Europe and the United States while getting closer to Russia and China. This is weird for a party that claims to want Germany first and to focus on distinct German culture and values. Shouldn’t authoritarian Asiatic empires be the opposite of German values and culture? And don’t other European countries and the US have much closer values and culture? Long-term, and worst case scenarios, China and Russia are empires that would force the world under their authoritarian heel if they could. Despite America’s many flaws and self-interests, its goals are freedom, trade, and defense. True imperialism is antithetical to its ethos. When the AfD says German values, it seems to mean no immigrants and: imperial, anti-enlightenment, anti-Western, and fundamentally unChristian values.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFmpxuNxycM
The AfD has completely polarized a German town where disputes used to be easily resolved over a beer. They take over German villages as a strategy, first just establishing a base in a pub or something, then spreading their message, then polarizing the town by: ending trust, lying about anyone who speaks out, and suing and criminally reporting people who are against them. They also threaten opponents, especially AfD apostates. When dealing with external and internal opponents, the party focuses on threats and insults over discussion of the issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gedOEGjyMHA
The AfD is heavily supported by Russian propaganda. The AfD is against stopping Russia from conquering Ukraine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwgFeOJH6tk
Many American military vets went to Ukraine to fight out of a sense of needing to put their skills to use defending freedom. 1/2
BREAKING: Trump Misreads Jobs Report, Threatens To Cut Off Trade
Europeans talk about, and are decoupling from, the US like how the US does China due to Trump’s erratic and threatening behavior.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL_JZmdVzfg
Has TURKEY Turned Away from the West?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6hJQVzo5wU
Wildberries in Russia actively sold military equipment to Russian soldiers and they did it openly, making it a legitimate military target. Although, economic warfare is probably the main purpose of Ukrainian strikes on Wildberries, which is the Amazon of Russia.
Sanctions and attacking Russia’s shadow fleet have hurt Russia’s economy, but Russia isn’t spending less on its military, it’s just making its citizens worse off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7P0jr4Gvl8
The CATO Institute’s index that people use to say how capitalist Norse countries are includes mostly things that have nothing to do with distinguishing capitalism from modern democratic socialism.
Even looking at the economic freedom indicator, only four percent of it is looking at the state’s ownership of assets, which is core to what socialism is.
Yet, this is used again and again to say how capitalist these countries are.
In the US, the state owns around 4% of total national wealth, for Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, this is: 11.2%; 24.1%; 31.7%; and 57%.
There are many different types of Socialism. Just determining that a country isn’t a fully topped down planned economy, doesn’t mean it’s not Socialist.
Low-wage workers in the US pay HIGHER taxes than the Nordic countries if you count healthcare premiums as taxes. Healthcare premiums come right from your paycheck and go a bureaucracy that pays for healthcare. It’s the same in the US as Nordic countries, except in the US it goes to a private company and in Nordic countries, it goes to the government. In both cases. health insurance is provided…except out of pocket costs are also lower in the Nordic countries.
If you need a family plan, then the US average wage worker also pays more!
The focus on taxes is silly. What matters is what are the cost burdens on Americans. Whether it is a tax from government or a healthcare premium from an insurance company, it’s a burden! Only looking at taxes is highly misleading, especially when taxes are instead of a premium, so when you look at the US, you ignore the cost of that premium.
That the US is a larger country, means we have more economies of scale, meaning it should be easier for us to provide healthcare for its people. We don’t do it based on ideology.
The problem with childcare fraud in Minneapolis wasn’t simply a problem with Somalis, but with private companies providing government services while being paid by the taxpayer. That wouldn’t have happened if the government did it itself.
The Nordic countries have universal welfare states and high levels of state ownership. They are examples of more successful “socialist” policies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4He0ceUFvI