Post Brexit Britain

It's impossible to be in Great Britain and not hear about the Brexit negotiations. It's all over the BBC, it's on people's clothing, and people are adopting the film Dunkirk as a symbol to support their world view whether its for remaining or brexiting. 

The British trade negations in Brussels have been going poorly, but the BBC doesn't report it as such. Instead they say: "Well now we have a much clearer picture what the EU wants from us.. they really did their homework well, didn't they?." The British negotiators did not know how to answer the EUs questions such as "what happens to EU members who live in the UK" and "what happens to the British people abroad" in addition to several travel issues related to British businesses and especially the conflicts in Northern Ireland. They also have not agreed on how much Britain must pay to leave the EU - and they are keeping any numbers quiet due to the expected public uproar. As one guy put it on the BBC, "the most pragmatic members of parliament are thinking about how leaving affects all the moving pieces of our country and are pushing for a 2 year phase out to create the most optimal outcomes for our country." However, the most urgent people for Brexit are demanding that it happens now.
I really empathize for the youngest members of the UK society who are much more global than the baby boomers who did this to them. Its hard to say exactly how this will impact them, but I do think there's a general sense of lose among many people, especially the younger generation. It's so hard to watch older people create a world that you do not want that will actively affect you for much of your early adult life. You know, right at the time when you maybe are starting a family or buying a house. Meanwhile, the value of the pound continues to drop while rent and inflation increases and the future trade policies that will shape your society are in jeopardy. That's a lot of uncertainty to swallow.

But not all is lost, I saw a 60 year old woman riding her bike through a London neighborhood wearing an EU sweatshirt. I thought that was pretty powerful. 

Brexit

What do you get when your New York City goodbye dinner at Bacaro in the Lower East Side includes two of your closest British Friends shortly after the Brexit vote?

A lot of talk about European soccer.

I could have talked about the Brexit politics all night, but recognizing it's a touchy subject for my British friends, it's best for them to take the lead. Both my friends work in America and have been here long enough where they didn't get to vote in the referendum. One of my friends was very pro-stay and the other neutral. The rest of the 2 minutes that they talked about it was mostly making jokes at each other. Example: "I'm having the spaghetti with mussels and I'm NOT sharing. I'm British, not European." To give context, almost all meals we have out as a group we order family style, unless of course, you have the Brit who doesn't want to share. (I tease. I tease.)

********

Forgive me, but I find the Brexit politics so interesting!! The first week after the vote I spent an admittedly absurd amount of time thinking, talking, listening, and reading about it. Border line obsession really. I found myself at the end of year staff party being like, ugh... All I want to do is sit in the corner with my closest friends and talk about the implications of the vote or read more articles about it. IS THIS WHAT MY LIFE HAS COME TOO??? Yes, yes it has.

I'm going to put it all out there.. There's so much to be thinking about:

- from the generational divide where millennials will have to live with the consequences of the older generation's vote, 
-the idea that immigration is deeply rooted in how people voted, 
-to the split of the conservative party and resignation of their Prime Minister and how there's no clear leadership to pick up the pieces, 
-to political chaos echoing throughout the UK, 
-to the idea of Scotland becoming independent so they can remain in the EU, 
-to the economics and financial implications across the world, 
-to the idea that $3 trillion vanished from the worlds economy over night, 
-to the downgrading of the UK's S&P rating to AA, 
-to the diplomatic suicide and how countries including our own will respond in their future interactions with the UK, 
-to the idea that Russia could rise as a power in Europe's future (and how scary that could be), 
-to the lack of listening and understanding of the working class by the wealthy elite (and how they were flat out ignored), 
-to the idea that the 2nd most googled word in the UK AFTER the vote was "what is the EU?", 
-to the idea of voters regret, 
-to the the interesting way different media sources take, 
-to the idea that Europe will never be the same again. 


Its all so interesting to me!!! It's like the kind of reality TV I can get into.. except its real. If you have any comments or ideas to add I'm all about it! Please do comment! I'm so eager to talk about this its almost embarrassing- I had to make Facebook down a notch to bring the annoying factor down.

If you want to know more about Brexit, this podcast covers the basics largely from an economics point of view. Take a listen!!
http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/06/22/483142244/episode-707-brexit