US propping up NATO

US = NATO Sugar Daddy

Posted on by Helena

It is odd how the media portrays the NATO issue that is at the forefront of the Merkel and Trump hostility. While few countries within NATO ante up according to the rules, the US has somehow become the Entitlement Program, the Welfare supporter for Europe’s military.

Germany does have their own military, of sorts. There are roughly 60,000 troops and a budget of roughly $48 billion which has remained relatively unchanged since 2001 and represents just 1.2% to 1.5% of their GDP. Merkel has been under fire for not meeting NATO criteria and simply shifting the burden on the US. Her response? She will work on it – and maybe by 2024, Germany will be able to meet the legal requirement.  Not exactly a spiffy response…

Of the twenty eight members of NATO, only five made or exceeded the 2% rule. Why?

There are some who believe it is too steep and interferes in the 3% deficit rule imposed by the EU on its member states. It then becomes something of a juggling of funds from one basket to the other – like Kiting checks.

Unfortunately, this argument opens up the Pandora Box of the EU concept as a whole. The migrant crisis as a whole. And the welfare system as a whole.

The five countries meeting the 2% rule include: US, UK, Greece, Poland and Estonia. Oddly poignant is the fact that Greece meets the military requirement but is sanctioned for not meeting the EU 3% deficit requirement.

Germany is pitiably at the bottom of the chart currently hanging out with The Netherlands (1.2%), Canada (1%), Denmark (1.2%), Belgium (.9%)and the rest of the deadbeats who feel no compunction to meet the criteria.  Perhaps, imposing sanctions and fines and penalties would wake everyone up.  A consequence – what a novel idea…

What good is a rule if no one respects it enough to meet it?

Given the US is shouldering anywhere from 3.6% to 4% of GDP, it is understandable that We The People might have a problem with that discrepancy. Located in Brussels, NATO primarily spends all it’s funding on the EU. And while the EU is our ally, propping up their entire military is not in The Constitution…  it is more of a Sugar Daddy effect.

NATO defense spending has specifically targeted Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Poland and Portugal. It becomes rather impertinent of Merkel to take a holier-than-thou attitude about Trump’s position on NATO spending when Germany hangs out with the 1.2% crowd and refuses to come to the plate. And in fact, after the 2% ratification agreement in 2014, Merkel ‘reduced’ military spending by 1.3% which would coincide with the influx of 2 million immigrants into Germany in 2015.  Kiting checks.

In addition, this immigrant crisis diverted NATO funds to ‘helping the refugees’. By default, that means that the US is the largest financial supporter of refugees…in Europe.

But Merkel’s reaction to the US not continuing it’s propping up of NATO for the EU is like getting persnickety at your bank when they bounce a check because you refuse to cover the dollars. And then turning up your nose at the NSF fee, and demanding the bank front you the money. How dare the bad bad bank do such a thing!

The fact that the US and UK virtually support NATO actually creates a hierarchal Commonwealth with the EU as a ‘subject’ of the Kingdom overseen by the US and UK. I doubt that the Europeans would think highly of such a societal pecking order, and yet their Socialist agenda still demands the US act as Sugar Daddy.

Why? Entitlement. But it’s also a lack of explanation and argument of what is and has happened.   The Europeans truly believe they are more informed and educated than the Americans. The Canadians truly believe they are more informed and educated than the Americans. And yet, they fail to see that we ‘uninformed Americans’ support them financially.  We would be more than happy to stop that funding…  thus dismantling the global Socialist, Communist Kingdom hierarchy…  Which is why Merkel – is running scared.  She is entrenched in that agenda with the Rothschild and Soros agents fervently working the helm.

But that’s the power of Socialism – it creates a false reality in which everything is – what you are told to believe.   A child told he/she is stupid, will ultimately believe ‘they are stupid’, it has nothing to do with reality and everything to do with the power of persuasion and manipulation.

And so we have a persnickety Merkel, angry and offended by Trump, because he is considering pulling the rug from beneath the global round table and in so doing will reveal the reality of all the dust-bunnies that lie beneath.

EU Commission, Claude Junker – Running out of gas

Posted on by Helena

EU Commission president, Juncker, is showing fear. He wants to know what a Trump presidency will do with respect to the failed NATO and EU Commission? He is making demands before Trump even takes office. He is making defamatory statements about Trump and even ridiculing his knowledge of Europe. Not a good start in making ‘friends’.

His most recent rant was to tell students that it will take him two years to explain to Trump what Europe is and how it is run… WOW – how to ingratiate yourself without really trying!

What’s his beef? Fear. He is attempting to create an offensive attack thinking that somehow this will make Trump cave. Stupidity. He obviously has not studied either psychology or military tactics, and has not read The Art of War. I imagine Trump will not take his remarks lightly.

What is he afraid of?

  1. If the US were to pull out of NATO, they would lose 23% of their income. A fair cause for concern given NATO is the primary military agency for many EU countries. Including Junker’s own Luxembourg which is a Socialist Monarchy.
  1. Junker is an EU stayer, Trump supported BREXIT. The EU Commission is funded by EU members, when they leave, they take their money with them.
  1. With a population of just about ½ a million, Luxembourg has over 40,000 registered conglomerates using their tax haven status to pay sometimes less than 1% in taxes. With over $1 trillion under management, banking is their only real asset supporting the economy. If that rug were pulled – they’d go under fast.
  1. Despite Luxembourg boasting one of the world’s highest standard of living and the second highest income to gdp, their net contribution to the EU is rather small…they need the EU to help prop them up and anything or anyone who proposes to untangle their structure is – the enemy.

Recently, those havens have come under scrutiny as not being in compliance with EU Rules, and questionable clients such as North Korea.   These irregularities make Junker look bad given this all came to be under his tutorial. And a cornered critter is likely to bite!

Disrespecting Trump isn’t exactly the best game plan. Perhaps Trump could give him a lesson in ‘diplomacy’…

Quickly attempting to hedge his bets, Juncker is calling for Europe to form their own military. Luxembourgs own military is comprised of 800. That would require quite a bit of fresh new taxes on the people who otherwise have a relatively $-0- defense budget.

The NATO numbers are a bit convoluted given they have three distinct budgets; defense, civil and investment. While the US ante’s just over 22% of the defense budget, that would be in addition to our own military. Most of the NATO countries have NATO because like Luxembourg they have no military. So basically the US is paying for ‘two’ separate and distinct militaries.

While the NATO budget is significantly less, the US has been propping up the budget for decades as other countries simply refuse to ante their share. Many countries in the EU feel NATO has over-extended it’s main function, and is a political swamp of overinflated budgets. The US – is not alone.

The only way Europe will approve an EU military would be if it were a combined effort instead of an added military for say France, Germany, and Italy who ante the bulk on behalf of EU countries as well as maintain their individual militaries.

So Junker has a rather rocky uphill battle in his attempt to keep failed agencies from falling away – including his own EU Commission. Alienating the US via Trump was a stupid move. Biting the hand that feeds you – is a stupid move.

Not recognizing what The People want and what The People are sick of – will earn him the same fate as Hillary/Soros. He would be wise to be humble and to learn.