3 ms·

Denmark Offers to Buy USA (2019)

74 points by belter 2y ago

draw_down 2y ago
[dead]
theandrewbailey 2y ago
> “Denmark would be interested in purchasing the United States in its entirety, with the exception of its government,” the spokesperson added. The government is one of the worst parts of the United States. You'd be doing them a favor.
belter 2y ago
This is Satire but a proposal worth of consideration... https://www.britannica.com/place/Denmark/Health-and-welfare https://www.britannica.com/place/Denmark/Health-and-welfare
procgen 2y ago
But can they afford it?
- amelius 2y ago
  Maybe if they sell the US some more Ozempic.
- kjeldsendk 2y ago
  Considering we would be buying a debt of $36.273.473.800.000 i would say two fifty sounds like a fair price?
  - omginternets 2y ago
    Bullish.
- aravindet 2y ago
  They can borrow and repay from the US' future revenues under Danish management :-)
jmclnx 2y ago
Funny. But as we all know, the US Government is fully up for sale and has been for sale since the Citizens United Ruling. In fact, you can even get a Tax Deduction for buying a US Politician.
- fortran77 2y ago
  Political donations have never been tax deductible. What are you talking about?
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - ceejayoz 2y ago
    Just donate to one of the many politically active churches. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/30/johnson-amendment-elections-irs/ https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/30/johnson-amendment-el...
    - EasyMark 2y ago
      that's a great counterpoint.
- jfengel 2y ago
  Not to take the blame off politicians, but there is an intermediate step. Citizens United allows unlimited spending on advertising. You still can't buy politicians directly. You still have to get voters to vote for them. This is on us. We have the responsibility to look at the advertising and make a choice. We are so, so much worse at it than I would ever have believed.
  - Workaccount2 2y ago
    This is one of the fundamental divides in politics that causes endless friction. Are people responsible for their actions or is the government responsible for people's actions?
ksec 2y ago
May be off topic question. Does Greenland hold any strategic interest to Denmark?
- newsclues 2y ago
  Likely the same strategic interests that make it interesting for American imperialism.
- TMWNN 2y ago
  Not really. Denmark does not have the resources to develop (or defend) Greenland the way the US can. Denmark's entire annual subsidy to the Greenlandic government (which the latter very much needs to keep afloat) as of 2020 was $670 million, which is less than the annual budget of El Paso. <https://web.archive.org/web/20200708202258/https://www.thelondonglobalist.org/greenland-americas-new-strategic-imperative/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200708202258/https://www.thelo...> A US-owned (or US-affiliated under a compact of free association) Greenland will in a decade see more development than it has in the past century, just as the US bases that dotted the island during the Cold War were themselves more development than Denmark built in the past century. My favorite anecdote about Greenland is that the US presence during and after WW2 brought Sears catalogs that residents used to for the first time obtain many goods. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-abandoned-mining-town-greenland-helped-win-world-war-ii-180973835/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-abandoned-mining-t...>
pavlov 2y ago
Jokes aside, the recent MAGA talk of buying Greenland and taking over the Panama Canal and annexing Canada is an example of the same kind of vindictive nationalist mindset that rose in Russia after 2000. Nobody in Russia cared about Ukraine in the late 1990s. They were the harmless neighbors who talk a bit funny, just like Americans think of Canada. Invading their country wasn’t on anyone’s agenda. Putin built it up gradually over decades. Ukrainians are actually Russians, it’s not a real country, they’re colluding with foreigners and ruled by fascists, etc. Americans should be careful with this talk. It always starts as a jokey provocation.
- mantas 2y ago
  Russia had plenty of it's own problems in late 90s. But Russia has a loooooong history of issues with what is modern Ukraine.
  - pavlov 2y ago
    The United States also has a long history of issues with what is modern Canada. They attempted an invasion in 1812. That’s the kind of ancient nonsense that nationalists love to dig up.
    - mantas 2y ago
      Moscow had issues with Kiev before Americas were found by Europeans. And invaded it multiple times, many of them successfully. Including in 20th century. With a genocide. Bucha was not something strange when you take into account last 100 years. Or 1000.
  - aguaviva 2y ago
    Not even. Russia has issues with itself. Not Ukraine. And its regime has mega issues in regard to its long-term survival. Which it attempts to redirect, by causing issues for Ukraine. That's what the last 11 years have been about, in a nutshell.
    - mantas 2y ago
axegon_ 2y ago
Given that Denmark gave Ukraine F-16s and didn't bat an eyelash, I'd be all for it. I would be pretty happy if they hand out 2-3 fully loaded B-2's and be like "hey guys, go nuts with them".
nabla9 2y ago
It's a subscription model. Saudis already bought US during the last administration. Trump administration is going to have 13 billionaires, plus there are several billionaires in the shadows. If Denmark or EU would drop to the level of making deals with them directly and paying for their companies for US policy decision, they could do that.
BadHumans 2y ago
Denmark can buy my citizenship if they would like. I like beer and football, I'm sure I can be Danish.
mrtksn 2y ago
Looks like a bad investment, isn't it better to have USA as an industrial zone where very little worker rights are provided, taxes are low and then make them work extremely long hours a better strategy? Just invest in America, have your products and tech developed there then use these products and tech to improve Denmark living standards and increase your wealth as you recoup your investment through stock and dividends.
- Eddy_Viscosity2 2y ago
  In order for that work, you'll need people to maintain the harsh conditions for the working masses. They will need to be very well compensated so as to maintain incentivized to keep the status quo. This CEO class will have be as wealthy as they are apathetic to suffering and injustice. So good luck trying to make a system like that where very few benefit from the work everyone else who struggle for basic living standards. No way that people would put up with that.
  - mrtksn 2y ago
    Well, it's already common among techies to flex about how shitty they live - like a bed, a chair, a TV and a game console and no decoration. They already like to glamorize concentration of wealth, they love how America has the largest companies and Japan&Europe is failing because they don'y have as large companies. They already obsess over things like sexuality, identity, culture wars etc. When the tension becomes too high, You can always give them a win over destroying a character you created? Let them really hate the vegans, glamorize Lamborghinis or Teslas, hook them to the online world and reduce the real world interactions so they can have wins cheap for you and keep working very hard. To curb any social movements that don't align with this model, you just make sure that have control over the communications. Ideally, CEOs stay in London, Zurich, Frankfurt and Paris as it might be dangerous if they are among the workers in New York etc.
hagbard_c 2y ago
Get the valuation of the country done by the same individual who valued Trump's Mar-a-Lago at $18 million and they should be able to close the deal without breaking a fiscal sweat. As a warning to future Danes-at-large, the language of legoland does take some getting used to. Imagine trying to speak Norwegian with a hot potato stuck in the back of your throat and you're getting close. If you don't know Norwegian or Swedish just imagine trying to cough up that potato one it has descended into your windpipe for a somewhat less accurate but still close approximation. Just keep in mind the old adage on paying Danegeld: if you pay the Danegeld you'll never get rid of the Dane.

74 points by belter 2y ago

[dead]

> “Denmark would be interested in purchasing the United States in its entirety, with the exception of its government,” the spokesperson added. The government is one of the worst parts of the United States. You'd be doing them a favor.

belter 2y ago

This is Satire but a proposal worth of consideration... https://www.britannica.com/place/Denmark/Health-and-welfare https://www.britannica.com/place/Denmark/Health-and-welfare

procgen 2y ago

But can they afford it?

amelius 2y ago
Maybe if they sell the US some more Ozempic.
kjeldsendk 2y ago
Considering we would be buying a debt of $36.273.473.800.000 i would say two fifty sounds like a fair price?
- omginternets 2y ago
  Bullish.
aravindet 2y ago
They can borrow and repay from the US' future revenues under Danish management :-)

jmclnx 2y ago

Funny. But as we all know, the US Government is fully up for sale and has been for sale since the Citizens United Ruling. In fact, you can even get a Tax Deduction for buying a US Politician.

fortran77 2y ago
Political donations have never been tax deductible. What are you talking about?
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- ceejayoz 2y ago
  Just donate to one of the many politically active churches. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/30/johnson-amendment-elections-irs/ https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/30/johnson-amendment-el...
  - EasyMark 2y ago
    that's a great counterpoint.
jfengel 2y ago
Not to take the blame off politicians, but there is an intermediate step. Citizens United allows unlimited spending on advertising. You still can't buy politicians directly. You still have to get voters to vote for them. This is on us. We have the responsibility to look at the advertising and make a choice. We are so, so much worse at it than I would ever have believed.
- Workaccount2 2y ago
  This is one of the fundamental divides in politics that causes endless friction. Are people responsible for their actions or is the government responsible for people's actions?

ksec 2y ago

May be off topic question. Does Greenland hold any strategic interest to Denmark?

newsclues 2y ago
Likely the same strategic interests that make it interesting for American imperialism.
TMWNN 2y ago
Not really. Denmark does not have the resources to develop (or defend) Greenland the way the US can. Denmark's entire annual subsidy to the Greenlandic government (which the latter very much needs to keep afloat) as of 2020 was $670 million, which is less than the annual budget of El Paso. <https://web.archive.org/web/20200708202258/https://www.thelondonglobalist.org/greenland-americas-new-strategic-imperative/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200708202258/https://www.thelo...> A US-owned (or US-affiliated under a compact of free association) Greenland will in a decade see more development than it has in the past century, just as the US bases that dotted the island during the Cold War were themselves more development than Denmark built in the past century. My favorite anecdote about Greenland is that the US presence during and after WW2 brought Sears catalogs that residents used to for the first time obtain many goods. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-abandoned-mining-town-greenland-helped-win-world-war-ii-180973835/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-abandoned-mining-t...>

pavlov 2y ago

Jokes aside, the recent MAGA talk of buying Greenland and taking over the Panama Canal and annexing Canada is an example of the same kind of vindictive nationalist mindset that rose in Russia after 2000. Nobody in Russia cared about Ukraine in the late 1990s. They were the harmless neighbors who talk a bit funny, just like Americans think of Canada. Invading their country wasn’t on anyone’s agenda. Putin built it up gradually over decades. Ukrainians are actually Russians, it’s not a real country, they’re colluding with foreigners and ruled by fascists, etc. Americans should be careful with this talk. It always starts as a jokey provocation.

mantas 2y ago
Russia had plenty of it's own problems in late 90s. But Russia has a loooooong history of issues with what is modern Ukraine.
- pavlov 2y ago
  The United States also has a long history of issues with what is modern Canada. They attempted an invasion in 1812. That’s the kind of ancient nonsense that nationalists love to dig up.
  - mantas 2y ago
    Moscow had issues with Kiev before Americas were found by Europeans. And invaded it multiple times, many of them successfully. Including in 20th century. With a genocide. Bucha was not something strange when you take into account last 100 years. Or 1000.
- aguaviva 2y ago
  Not even. Russia has issues with itself. Not Ukraine. And its regime has mega issues in regard to its long-term survival. Which it attempts to redirect, by causing issues for Ukraine. That's what the last 11 years have been about, in a nutshell.
  - mantas 2y ago

axegon_ 2y ago

Given that Denmark gave Ukraine F-16s and didn't bat an eyelash, I'd be all for it. I would be pretty happy if they hand out 2-3 fully loaded B-2's and be like "hey guys, go nuts with them".

nabla9 2y ago

It's a subscription model. Saudis already bought US during the last administration. Trump administration is going to have 13 billionaires, plus there are several billionaires in the shadows. If Denmark or EU would drop to the level of making deals with them directly and paying for their companies for US policy decision, they could do that.

BadHumans 2y ago

Denmark can buy my citizenship if they would like. I like beer and football, I'm sure I can be Danish.

mrtksn 2y ago

Looks like a bad investment, isn't it better to have USA as an industrial zone where very little worker rights are provided, taxes are low and then make them work extremely long hours a better strategy? Just invest in America, have your products and tech developed there then use these products and tech to improve Denmark living standards and increase your wealth as you recoup your investment through stock and dividends.

Eddy_Viscosity2 2y ago
In order for that work, you'll need people to maintain the harsh conditions for the working masses. They will need to be very well compensated so as to maintain incentivized to keep the status quo. This CEO class will have be as wealthy as they are apathetic to suffering and injustice. So good luck trying to make a system like that where very few benefit from the work everyone else who struggle for basic living standards. No way that people would put up with that.
- mrtksn 2y ago
  Well, it's already common among techies to flex about how shitty they live - like a bed, a chair, a TV and a game console and no decoration. They already like to glamorize concentration of wealth, they love how America has the largest companies and Japan&Europe is failing because they don'y have as large companies. They already obsess over things like sexuality, identity, culture wars etc. When the tension becomes too high, You can always give them a win over destroying a character you created? Let them really hate the vegans, glamorize Lamborghinis or Teslas, hook them to the online world and reduce the real world interactions so they can have wins cheap for you and keep working very hard. To curb any social movements that don't align with this model, you just make sure that have control over the communications. Ideally, CEOs stay in London, Zurich, Frankfurt and Paris as it might be dangerous if they are among the workers in New York etc.

hagbard_c 2y ago

Get the valuation of the country done by the same individual who valued Trump's Mar-a-Lago at $18 million and they should be able to close the deal without breaking a fiscal sweat. As a warning to future Danes-at-large, the language of legoland does take some getting used to. Imagine trying to speak Norwegian with a hot potato stuck in the back of your throat and you're getting close. If you don't know Norwegian or Swedish just imagine trying to cough up that potato one it has descended into your windpipe for a somewhat less accurate but still close approximation. Just keep in mind the old adage on paying Danegeld: if you pay the Danegeld you'll never get rid of the Dane.