America's foreign policy is hurting tourism and we need to find a way to make some more money.
The US share of international travel has been falling since 1992, but the decline has accelerated since September 11, 2001. Since then America has lost an estimated $286 billion (£152 billion) in revenue from foreign tourists.While global travel has grown by a fifth, the the US travel industry’s share of the world tourism market has shrunk by a third, from 9% to 6%.
Wait wait, nevermind that the drop in tourism started during the Clinton administration, let's skip forward...
Tough security measures are only part of the problem, however. Surveys show that America is becoming unpopular with the rest of the world, partly because of the Bush administration’s foreign policy.Since 2000 the percentage of people holding favourable opinions of the country has fallen from 83% to 56% in Britain, from 78% to 37% in Germany and from 77% to 63% in Japan.
It's obvious that doing good by freeing gazillions of people from tyranny hasn't won us any points with the world, so I say it's time to stop making friends and start making money, Roman style. Rather than freeing all these people, protecting Europe from commies and Nazis, policing the oceans, and saving Tsunami victims, all gratis, it's time to start extracting tribute from every country that has benefitted from American foreign policy. Here's the tribute menu:
- Saved you from Nazis: 10% GDP
- Saved you from Communists: 10% GDP
- Special Commie and Nazi combo: 15% GDP
- Freed you from insane Muslim dictator: 20% oil discount in perpetuity, plus free airbases
- Every time one of your citizens bombs American property: $1 billion cash or 10 times the damage cost, whichever is higher
- Each one of your ships that transports goods without being attacked by pirates, Nazis, or Commies: 10% of the value of the goods
- Rescued your country from a major natural disaster: 10% GDP for the first disaster, 5% each additional disaster
Do you really want an American Empire?
Caethan
We are being accused of it from abroad and from the Kerry, Dean, Reid, Pelosi camp. Why not make it offical and send an invoice?
Sigh. Yes, it does have a certain logic to it. Why would you expect people to be grateful, anyway?
I'd just rather be a citizen of a Republic than a subject of an Empire.
Well, let's be clear about why we really do the lion's share of what we do in the rest of the world: to protect and advance our interests. Why should other countries pay for our efforts to protect and advance our interests? Certainly those countries benefit from our pursuit of our interests, but you can't tell me we saved anyone from Nazis, Communists, Islamofascists, or even most natural disasters without any consideration for our interests.
Our interests that are, by the way, primarily economic and, to a somewhat lesser extent, interests of national security.
Mark: Sure, but if we weren't so sky about it, we'd make others share the cost of our largesse.
MW: That doesn't seem like a very conservative idea.
We know that.
It's basically our answer to the UN Global Tax.
So your answer to a stupid idea is another stupid idea? The whole thing seems stupid.
I don't think we're being serious. It's as serious as Swift's Modest Proposal.
Mark: Takes one to know one! Oooo!
reagan80: I'm serious. Vote for me in 2012!
How about a $5 million fine for every fugitive from American justice harbored? France would owe us for Roman Polanski. They can always hock a Louvre exhibit if they can't come up with the cash.
There should also be a $250 million fine for seizing one of our embassies, plus $10 million for each hostage if hostages are taken.taken.
Whoa... hold on... people outsource resource management all the time, and that ain't free either... what about charges for countries too stoopid to keep their affairs in order. There should be some compensation involved for us there too.
But, let's not stop there... let's get a little buy in from other like minded countries. We can put a price tag on occupation/peace keeping forces and then split the proceeds based on a percentage of deployed troops.
If the world paid us what they owed us we WOULD be an American Empire because so many nations would be indentured to our selfish generosity.
Finally, we should put a price tag on the eventuality that we have to nuke somebody. Oh yeah, it’ll happen. When people are too stoopid to realize that their “God” didn’t give them the nukes, and insist on perpetual war with countries that do have nukes… I vote that any country we have to nuke is total possession, including all resources… after they cool down, of course. And while this last bit may discredit me as a raving lunatic, from a purely pragmatic perspective I am serious.
Honestly… if we were NOT in the Middle East because they hold all the oil… I would be MORE pissed at Bush. Our government is there to look out for us.
To the victor go the spoils. Long live the Republic!