CNN report does the U.S. still care about the UK

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/23/us.uk.relations/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

Interesting article.

IMO Britain has done well for its self.

From what I see on the television I envy them. Although television maybe not a good source of information I see people over there doing quite well financially and materialistically.

What I see on TV. English people looking to buy a home in Cyprus. Their budget for a home $1,000,000. Another item a young family with 3 young children returning from a holiday in the Caribbean and they are delayed from returning and have paid out something like $3500* extra for accommodations. Where do they get the money from?

These may be exceptions from the rest of the population but I do see in the homes how people have been able to fix up their homes (remodel), buy new cars and travel the world. Almost none of the people in US can be so lucky. Things have changed in the world  and the quality and quality of life in the US is continuing to decline whereas the UK seems to go up, up and up.

Now I realise this is my perception and some of you will say I'm dead wrong but even some of our loggers seem to have a grand life. Example, spending £40 for hair treatment, going out to dinner or the pub or what ever. Where do you get the money? I do realise that most of you have two income households so that will explain part of it. I envy you and good on ya.

What I am saying is the US should follow the UK and it should quit playing world policeman at the expense of their own people. Someone, in the US, once said "We should not worry about the enemy without but the enemy within" So true.

Off my soap box. I need my breakfast

Last night I was watching a family looking at a UK family looking to buy a home in the Dominican Republic. It would be a vacation home? Nice.

OH I also wanted to say we should not forget how the US helped out during the Falkland War.

*maybe exaggerated.

Some of the comments in the article are quite interesting (after you weed through all the idiotic ones).

Some of the comments in the article are quite interesting (after you weed through all the idiotic ones).

As always they find the people with the worst opinions to get in front of the camera or on paper.  The media just have a knack for finding the morons.

Hi Peacemaker

Fundamentally, in answer to your question - UK consumers borrow(ed) way more than their means to fund a lifestyle which was bound to come crashing down. And it did. People in the UK owe more on their credit cards than the whole of the European (EU) countries COMBINED! in short, they were spending money that they didn't have. The programs you see on TV and the re-model shows etc are just TV shows, they dont portray reality in terms of money and what people are doing to their homes. Usually, the big fancy TV show families wanting a pad in europe and have £750,000 budgets are the very top level of UK families etc, they most certainly are NOT 'average UK consumer'

I'd also say that per capita terms, there's vastly more US people driving new cars, buying new furniture and furnishing and remodelling their homes to an extent than the UK. I think you are also deluded if you think the UK's quality of life is going up and up and up, when the various independant research groups show the opposite in the world rankings year to year.

There are plenty of financially savvy UK people, couples and familes, when you plan and are good with your income and expenses, of course you can go out and visit the pub and take mini breaks etc, it's just a vast majority of those who were doing that, were simply putting on the credit card and then not bothering to pay it back.

I'd suggest you shift your focus away from the TV shows and look on financial based sites like moneysavingexpert in order to get more of a realistic picture of UK finances from the personal viewpoint. You'll be shocked!

As for the special relationship, it 'could' be a viewpoint that it'll always be special, even if current issues and priorities mean attention and focus is elsewhere. Economically, I'd say currently thats true, the US needs to be fixing it's economy and it's own issues to then be seen to recover from the economic meltdown to prove it can survive. The UK will of course follow, eventually and then there'll be an article saying the special relationship is alive and warm etc, as some of the big hurdles will have been woeked out at least and US & UK can cosy up again a little more.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!