Great Britain has declared its independence from the European Union. Shortly after the citizens voted for exiting the EU, the gloom and doom experts were at it with their predictions.
While they may be experts, no one can truly know what the outcome will be until it actually happens. Sometimes the experts are right, sometimes they are totally wrong, and there are many times when what happens is somewhere in the middle.
Britain has been handcuffed to the EU for more than four decades. In essence, Britain wants to make its own decisions and not have to follow the dictates of the EU. Fifty-two percent of Britons voted to leave the EU.
The movement is akin to the Take Back America theme in our own country.
The European Union is a politico-economic union of 28 members located primarily in Europe and has an estimated population of 508 million. The EU operates through a hybrid system of supranational and intergovernmental decision making. It has developed an internal single market through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states. Passports were abolished and policies are aimed for free movement of people, goods, services and capital. A monetary union was established in 1999 which uses the euro as legal tender.
The United Kingdom is the first member state to leave. Scotland undertook a vote on the matter a few days before and voted to remain. Because of the vote, Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron said he will step down. Withdrawing will be a lengthy process and Cameron probably doesn’t want to undertake that task, added in with his desire to remain in the EU. The withdrawal will take at least two years. The paperwork to make this happen is mind-boggling.
Those in power and in the upper establishment were of course, against withdrawing. Yes, our President Obama was in favor of Britain remaining in the EU. Some say the vote is anti-establishment.
The EU has had numerous failures which have not been dealt with completely. In 2008 it was in a financial collapse but has also faced a resurgent Russia and a huge influx of migrants. Under the EU Britain has faced slow growth, high unemployment and conflict in the Ukraine.
Last year, 2015, Britain had a influx of 330,000 people which taxed schools, healthcare and housing. Voters in favor felt immigration an issue and used the slogan “Take control”. Citizens voting to leave the EU, want the government to regulate the inflow of people.
Many say exiting the EU will make Britain a stronger ally for the United States.
It is a victory for voters who feel their voice isn’t heard. It means Britain won’t be subject to European legislation and Britain’s parliament will regain control. British judges won’t be overruled by the European Court of Justice. Businesses can come out from under the mountain of EU regulations which some feel have undermined economic liberty.
The Dow Jones did dip somewhat but not the low that was predicted. And it is rebounding. So those who spout doom and gloom can go back into their corners.
Britain’s exit from the EU (called Brexit) symbolizes the principles and ideals the “Take America Back” campaign is selling. Those include self-determination, limited government into the lives of the people, accountability and economic liberty. It will allow Britain to handle the negotiations of its own free trade deals which should be a boost to the country’s economy.
The process of economic and political integration with the EU was at a standstill anyway, so maybe there will now be some progress for Great Britain in those areas.
If you research former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, she believed Britain would be better and stronger outside of the European Union. The EU was built on liberal values and shared sovereignty. Under close scrutiny, we would probably find that unbridled immigration and the problems it caused to be the major factor in the vote.
Those in opposition, the power status quo, don’t like it because it takes away some of their perceived power. They produced so-called experts who predicted much gloom and doom should the UK leave the EU. They were in shock that the vote to exit passed by such a wide margin. This only proves they were out of touch with the average citizen. Such is the case with our Congress today. They need a good dose of reality and we should give it to them come election time.
Like Britain, we need to go back to our roots. Our founding fathers had much foresight and they knew what they were doing. We have made a mockery of and twisted our Constitution which has stood the test of time. ©2016

VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com