Up & Coming Weekly

January 08, 2019

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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8 UCW JANUARY 9-15, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM World disorder makes it messy by MIKE CHANDLER My wife, Deb, and I were having a discussion this morning and she reminded me of an old cliché that I hadn't heard in years. "If you're going to make an omelet, you have to crack some eggs." I felt this saying to be ap- propriate for my article. It surprises me how isolated the American people are to what is happening globally. Here in the U.S., President Trump is considered the No. 1 egg cracker. He is tough, and his style parallels that of Andrew Jackson. Jackson's style was referred to by many as the "popu- list laissez-faire." Middle America loved him, and the urban elitists despised him. Sound familiar? e fact is, Europe has led the way in the global populist movement. is movement has been fully entrenched in the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and let's not forget Greece. e similarities for all these countries have been the issues of immigration, taxes, trade and ulti- mately, cost of living. Any of that sound familiar? British Prime Minister Teresa May's days appear to be limited as her negotiation regarding Brexit — the U.K. leaving the European Union — likely will not pass the parliament. A decision must be made very soon on the agreement because on March 29, a hard Brexit is set to take place. is could prove devastating to the U.K. economy. One of the toughest issues in her negotiations with the EU was an open border with Ireland. You see, Ireland is part of the EU. Northern Ireland is considered part of the British Isles, and this is a huge issue for the UK. In Italy, the trouble has been immigration as well as budget disagreements with the EU. e 5-Star Movement, a political party, is well organized and has teamed up with other groups to seize control of Italy's legislative body. As a result, Parliament is now controlled by the populists. ey are not likely to bow to EU demands. A few weeks back, all eyes were focused on France as Macron called up nearly 89,000 police officers to bring an end to the civil unrest. Riots broke out after Macron attempted to increase the gas tax, bringing gas prices to more than $7.90 a gal- lon — all in the name of global warming. e unrest continued after he reversed his position on the gas tax increase. Now, the "yellow vests" — the rioters — continue their unrest due to the high taxes and the high cost of living in France. Macron was elected in 2017 and his term is scheduled to end in 2022. Seventy-five percent of the population disapproves of his administration. I bet he does not serve his full term. He has taken the torch from German Chancel- lor Angela Merkel, supporting a unified EU. Merkel just announced she will not seek re-election simply because she no longer has support of the people in Germany. e issue in Germany has been immigration. One of the cornerstone policies of the EU is open borders among its members. As a result, there has been a huge influx of Muslim refugees into Germany. e borders have closed, but not before a million Muslim refugees made Germany their home. Most of these refugees are uneducated, and most Muslim women are not allowed to work. Medical centers and hospitals are being swamped to meet the medical needs of these refugees — who have no means to pay. e German citizens have had enough. Hence, the fall of the Merkel dynasty. e Netherlands appears to be a carbon copy of Italy. e populist movement is led by Geert Wilders. He was the founder of the Partij voor de Vrijheid, or PVV, party. Currently, it is the third-largest party in the Netherlands. It was instrumental in keeping Prime Minister Mark Rutte in office. Immigration was the No. 1 issue for the PVV, and now it has focused on the EU deficit reduction plan. e PVV has clearly focused its attention on Brussels, home of the EU headquarters, as well as the European Central Bank. e Belgian populist movement has gained traction under the leadership of Steve Bannon of Breitbart. Bannon was a trusted adviser for Donald Trump. e populist movement is a global phenomenon that started years before the election of Donald Trump. Concepts of secure borders and bilateral trade agreements aren't all that original. ese same issues are coming to a head in Europe and have had an eco- nomic impact over all of the continent. Furthermore, these collective happenings have the potential to slow European growth to a crawl, and in some countries, the potential for recession is alive and well. Populism is a grassroots movement that was born out of the struggles of the working class. I have written many times on the concentration of wealth, which is not just limited to the United States. As you can see, it has impacted the entire world. If you're struggling to put food on the table and a roof over your head, it's hard to be worried about global warming. e last thing you need is a carbon tax on gasoline when it's already close to $8 a gallon. President Macron, take care of your people first. Of course we want to lend a helping hand to refugees fleeing war and oppression — but only to the extent we can afford to do so. On our very own Statue of Liberty, it says, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free." A stone's throw away, we also have Ellis Island, where migrants were screened for serious medical issues. If medical issues were found, they were treated and de- ported back to their original countries. We couldn't risk the cost of spreading epidemics let alone the cost of medical treatment. e EU took none of these precautions, and it is paying the price. As of this article's writing on Jan. 3, our government has been shut down for almost two weeks, and Nancy Pelosi was just voted in as speaker of the house. e issue, of course, is the wall and immigration policy. Only time will tell who blinks first. e point is, im- migration is a global issue, and I, for one, believe our safety is the first obligation of our government. So, Mr. President, continue to crack eggs and stir them up in that omelet. If we get a few shells mixed in, so be it. Continue putting America first, and rebuild its heartbeat. Bring our industrial base home and secure our borders. And, yes, drain the swamp. MIKE CHANDLER, President of Dogwood Capital Management. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. OPINION one year special $ 15 for UP & CoMING WEEKLY rEadErs oNLY you save 89% off Tv GuIDe MaGaZINe Get A GreAt DeAL from tV GuiDe mAGAzine start Your subscription online, By Mail or Call online: tvguidemagazine.com/newsoffer mail: complete order form below call: 1-800-365-1940 WHeN CaLLING use PRoMo: K6fNsWPZZ Every issue delivers inside scoop on your favorite shows Breaking news keeps you in the know Highlights help guide you to what's worth watching Your favorite stars take you behind the scenes 28 Pages of easy-to-use primetime listings GrEaT rEasoNs To sTarT YoUr sUBsCrIPTIoN Europe has led the way in the global populist movement. Photo by Damien Checoury on Unsplash

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