Guest Editorial
Building
Peace of
by Bob Hazard
Mind
Mr. Hazard is an Associate Editor of this paper and a former president of Birnam Wood Golf Club
Brexit Offers Cool Opportunity for USA
R
esidents of the United Kingdom (UK) have been challenged to “keep a stiff upper lip” in the wake of their shocking vote to exit the European Union (EU), followed four days later by the humiliating and unimaginable tragedy of a 2-1 defeat by Iceland’s soccer team. Despite the howls of outrage from intellectuals and the political elite on both sides of the Atlantic, the UK will survive its divisive divorce from EU just as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein have succeeded as non-members of the EU. Yes, UK influence at the EU table will be weakened, but so too will be the controls imposed by regulatory watchdogs in Brussels. The UK vote was driven by a logical desire for a return of sovereignty and decision-making from Brussels to London, including greater control on who and how many immigrants can come to live and work in the island nations.
The European Union
EU was originally intended as a free-trade alliance between members. Over time, it has inevitably morphed from its role of negotiating preferential trade agreements and lower tariffs into more of a faceless Brussels bureaucracy, dictating immigration policy, creating business regulatory burdens, and dreaming of a United States of Europe. Rifts have developed between the more prosperous northern European nations and their less prosperous neighbors in Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. After the UK divorce, the remaining 27 EU countries will still have a collective KFrank_MovingSale_50:Layout 1
6/17/16
1:58 PM
Page 1
EDITORIAL Page 214
M E N
.W
O M E N
.
K I D S
.
GIFFIN & CRANE GENERAL CONTRACTORS, INC.
Visit Our Website GiffinAndCrane.com (805) 966-6401 > License 611341
Awar d Wi nni n g Bui l der s Si n ce 1 9 8 6 .
H O M E
MOVING SALE { AT OUR CURRENT LOCATION }
50% off
STORE MOVING SUMMER 2016
{ 1150 COAST VILLAGE ROAD MONTECITO }
1023 state street, santa barbara ca 93101 • 805.560.7424 • shop online at www.kfrankstyle.com
14 – 21 July 2016
If you want to win a lottery, avoid picking the number 1. It appears on only 15 percent of all tickets.
MONTECITO JOURNAL
5