[_DeadFred_]

It's sad. We begged Europe to contribute more for years, they chose to laugh and make fun of our healthcare compared to theirs instead. Didn't have to go this way. Euro's being euros they'll blame us for it all instead of being introspective. They love to gripe at us about how bad we are/they don't share values with us/etc so they'll just say todays poor US behavior proves their point (ignoring their previous behavior that contributed to things/lead here).

They'll say we are corrupt/capitalist/evil yet they are the ones that refused to pay their share because they thought they didn't have to worry about the damage from their actions/choices. They undercut American businesses and legally tolerated practices like tax deductions for overseas bribes while the supposedly "evil capitalist" U.S. imposed criminal penalties for similar conduct. They negotiated reciprocal agreements, such as mutual recognition of aviation certifications, then failed to uphold them disadvantaging American companies.

Europe legally tolerated/profited from corruption for decades. Europe refused to uphold parts of its own agreements. Europe laughed when the U.S. raised these complaints. I'm not sure why Europe chose this path. My best guess is that it did so because America tolerated that behavior for so long they assumed there would never be consequences. Maybe they thought the US was stuck with whatever Europe chose to do.

It's like my British ex-friends that were surprised when I ended the relationship because all they wanted to do was gripe at me. I'm not spending money/hours cooking only to be treated miserably. If every interaction is just complaints and contempt while I'm expected to keep investing my time and effort eventually I gonna stop showing up.

--reactionary thoughts from an unthoughtful American. They are more reactionary than productive, and I wish I had different ones.