Michelle Ramirez2 said:As you can tell from the title—this is a concrete plan based on actual reality, not just empty talk filling up space
On one hand, we're facing massive population loss and poverty (we're disappearing!), but on the other, there's this chance to LEASE part of our territory for 99 years (the Republic of Ragusa) to give us some financial breathing room and help the US jump among the most developed nations in the world.
I honestly don't see any other way to leap over this looming bankruptcy cliff, because you can't just plan some rational sacrifice to stop—let me repeat—the shrinking population and the poverty.
For now, let's just look at whether there are solid ARGUMENTS FOR or AGAINST before we dive into the specifics of theleasing
*just a note, when I say unrealistic plans, I'm not just talking about the Hammedov plan, but every single plan ever proposed in this country that never actually happened.
** hey, I even changed my signature... this matters more than half the stuff on here that's only discussed because life is getting so tough.
That’s fair—you aren't exactly required to find alternative paths.
On one hand, I guess all ideas are welcome when searching for solutions, though there might be a more reliable way to find a quality fix: looking at what has actually worked in practice.
Success is usually measured by results. In this case, the best metric is probably looking at annual GDP per capita, which sits right at the top of the charts:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...=mde&rank=1#qaIf we set aside those tiny banking hubs, the leaders at the top include Qatar, Singapore, Norway, Hong Kong, United States, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Kuwait, Austria, and Australia...
It makes me wonder, I suppose, what makes Singapore so successful despite having no oil, compared to an oil-rich nation like Norway or other petroleum-heavy countries—and what specifically makes Qatar so much more economically successful than its oil-rich peers.
A lot of key indicators can be found by analyzing business conditions:
http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankingsand through economic freedom indexes:
http://www.heritage.org/index/The advantages held by the most successful nations are reflected in tax burdens, income taxes, corporate taxes, sales taxes, and other levies, as well as legal quality, administrative efficiency, and corruption levels.
Looking at where we sit on these rankings, it seems fairly easy to spot where improvements could happen—where the gap between us and the best is small, and where it's massive. Since we're sitting at 84th on the ease of doing business index, it looks like there's quite a bit of room for progress across almost every category—tax regulation, legal framework, administration, and corruption levels...
Business conditions really dictate whether locals or foreigners decide to invest here in the US. Under current conditions, maybe not much at all. Based on the links above, it's pretty clear where things could improve—and in most areas, significant improvements seem possible. Once much better business conditions are secured, I imagine the activity from high-quality investors, both domestic and foreign, would increase significantly.