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> That presumes that other countries want to be part of America. I feel like if there was a referendum, the UK's population would happily dump their monarchy i

> That presumes that other countries want to be part of America. I feel like if there was a referendum, the UK's population would happily dump their monarchy in exchange for US statehood. There's a lot of commonality with their democracy, language, skepticism of foreign immigration, embrace of capitalism, etc. It would also be a pretty solid strategic move to bring the US closer to Europe as a hedge against the Russian ambitions laid out in their Foundations of Geopolitics playbook.

makapuf 5y ago
UK dumped EU, which didn't asked for country dissolution, not sure it would agree to join USA...
- mullingitover 5y ago
  UK voters (imho) were still stinging from the economic decline and austerity measures post-2008, and were led to believe that a divorce from the EU would restore their greatness. Now that that's been demonstrated to be a delusion, and with covid-related economic collapse piling on top of Brexit consequences, UK voters might be open to a dice roll. This is obviously my idle speculation, and I think the UK voters would never be allowed to vote on such an opportunity anyway. Still, I think if it happened it'd be great for everyone.
phist_mcgee 5y ago
I think you misjudge how much the Anglophone world looks down on America, and Americans in general. We take great pride in Australia of our differences from that place. We're much more similar to the British (and them to us) than to the Americans.
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  ... And yet there's a net brain drain to the US.
  - sangnoir 5y ago
    1 in 3 people resident in Australia is an immigrant. I don't think Australia is losing the immigration game, all things considered.
    - 908B64B197 5y ago
      The problem is, it's not a numbers game: quality matters a lot. Importing massive amounts of unskilled labor only depresses wages and, combined with NIMBY, creates a massive housing bubble thanks to artificial shortages. In Australia's case, it also suffers from a disproportionate brain drain of highly educated professionals since local firms simply won't compete for talent.
      - arcticbull 5y ago
        When you're discussing merging nations, it is in fact a numbers game.
      - sangnoir 5y ago
        I hope you're not suggesting that Australia is getting low-quality immigrants. Unlike the US, Australia has a points-based immigration system where you have to meet specific, standardized criteria, which IMO is more objective than the US process. I don't know what guidance State Department staffers follow when determining who gets a visa, but the process is more opaque, and I suspect more subjective. edit: I think the "quality" argument is overrated. Not all immigrants do ground-breaking research or start billion-dollar companies. When it comes to economic activity, quantity has a quality of its own (apologies to J. Stalin). A city/state/country with the economic activity of an extra 20% population of mediocre, healthy, tax-paying, car-buying, mortgage-paying, burger-eating blue and white-collar immigrants is better off than one without.
        908B64B197 5y ago
        > I don't know what guidance State Department staffers follow when determining who gets a visa, but the process is more opaque, and I suspect more subjective. Except for categories where there's an extremely high burden of proof for extraordinary abilities, it's simply someone's ability to get a job no American is qualified to take (and be so in demand that it commands a salary in the top percentiles for the profession). So the market takes care of the selection.

makapuf 5y ago

UK dumped EU, which didn't asked for country dissolution, not sure it would agree to join USA...

mullingitover 5y ago
UK voters (imho) were still stinging from the economic decline and austerity measures post-2008, and were led to believe that a divorce from the EU would restore their greatness. Now that that's been demonstrated to be a delusion, and with covid-related economic collapse piling on top of Brexit consequences, UK voters might be open to a dice roll. This is obviously my idle speculation, and I think the UK voters would never be allowed to vote on such an opportunity anyway. Still, I think if it happened it'd be great for everyone.

phist_mcgee 5y ago

I think you misjudge how much the Anglophone world looks down on America, and Americans in general. We take great pride in Australia of our differences from that place. We're much more similar to the British (and them to us) than to the Americans.

908B64B197 5y ago
... And yet there's a net brain drain to the US.
- sangnoir 5y ago
  1 in 3 people resident in Australia is an immigrant. I don't think Australia is losing the immigration game, all things considered.
  - 908B64B197 5y ago
    The problem is, it's not a numbers game: quality matters a lot. Importing massive amounts of unskilled labor only depresses wages and, combined with NIMBY, creates a massive housing bubble thanks to artificial shortages. In Australia's case, it also suffers from a disproportionate brain drain of highly educated professionals since local firms simply won't compete for talent.
    - arcticbull 5y ago
      When you're discussing merging nations, it is in fact a numbers game.
    - sangnoir 5y ago
      I hope you're not suggesting that Australia is getting low-quality immigrants. Unlike the US, Australia has a points-based immigration system where you have to meet specific, standardized criteria, which IMO is more objective than the US process. I don't know what guidance State Department staffers follow when determining who gets a visa, but the process is more opaque, and I suspect more subjective. edit: I think the "quality" argument is overrated. Not all immigrants do ground-breaking research or start billion-dollar companies. When it comes to economic activity, quantity has a quality of its own (apologies to J. Stalin). A city/state/country with the economic activity of an extra 20% population of mediocre, healthy, tax-paying, car-buying, mortgage-paying, burger-eating blue and white-collar immigrants is better off than one without.
      - 908B64B197 5y ago
        > I don't know what guidance State Department staffers follow when determining who gets a visa, but the process is more opaque, and I suspect more subjective. Except for categories where there's an extremely high burden of proof for extraordinary abilities, it's simply someone's ability to get a job no American is qualified to take (and be so in demand that it commands a salary in the top percentiles for the profession). So the market takes care of the selection.