Buying Greenland: Trump haters mock the idea, but China is paying attention

[chuckiechan]

From a practical standpoint to buy Greenland would take perhaps 1 trillion dollars, along with $1 million for each resident of Greenland. Denmark would have a massive influx of cash which could provide a $50 billion dollar boost to government coffers every year if they just save it. Each resident of Greenland would have $1 million to move or to stay as new USA residents. That amount of money could be raised easily by the US.


Note I expect the main reason Trump wants to buy Greenland is to make the US the biggest nation on earth (not sure if Greenland would do that ) and have his name attached to that in the history books

Where are you getting your figures?

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

There are plenty of good reasons to buy Greenland....all good reasons for Denmark being unwilling to sell TO ANYBODY!

There are no good reasons to buy Greenland. Any economic benefits from doing so would be 40 years in the future

 

[Napoleon]

There are no good reasons to buy Greenland. Any economic benefits from doing so would be 40 years in the future

Why is long term investment a bad idea?

 

[jnug]

There are no good reasons to buy Greenland. Any economic benefits from doing so would be 40 years in the future

That comment is indicative of typical American impatience. 40 years...a drop in the bucket. I would say based on how rapidly the glaciers are melting, more like 20 years....maybe 30. No matter....Denmark is apparently not interested in selling and I would not be if I were a Dane either.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Where are you getting your figures?

Just an estimate
The $1 million is generally enough incentive for most people. The $1 trillion would be a significant amount of money to Denmark ( about 6 times the budget of the Danish Federal government)

Those numbers could be enough to get the individuals involved to accept such a move. Now as to what would be needed for Denmark to actually approve and the people of Greenland to approve is a different story. I would expect at least 75% of the population would have to accept it.

Trump made the mistake of making an unsolicited offer, which makes the bargaining position weaker

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Why is long term investment a bad idea?

It is not, but at the high costs of it, the $1 trillion by then would be the equivalent of $3 trillion interest costs, and the profit of doing so would not go to the US government but to private enterprise. Making it a losing proposition for the American people. Any mining deals can be made by private companies with the Danish and Greenland governments, without a Trillion dollar investment.

The economics of doing this deal are not there

 

[Napoleon]

It is not, but at the high costs of it, the $1 trillion by then would be the equivalent of $3 trillion interest costs, and the profit of doing so would not go to the US government but to private enterprise. Making it a losing proposition for the American people. Any mining deals can be made by private companies with the Danish and Greenland governments, without a Trillion dollar investment.

The economics of doing this deal are not there

Where are you coming up with this $1 trillion figure?

 

[Lursa]

Washington Times - Politics, Breaking News, US and World News
It’s a sad state of affairs that the Trump haters can’t even take the day off to understand the strategic implications of securing Greenland as a US territory beyond China’s soft power debt trap.

And you feel that justifies forcing Greenlanders...a free people...to become Americans against their will?

Are we sending over X-Boxes and iPads and cell phones covered in smallpox?

 

[Napoleon]

And you feel that justifies forcing Greenlanders...a free people...to become Americans against their will?

Are we sending over X-Boxes and iPads and cell phones covered in smallpox?

Who said anything about making them citizens? And they certainly aren’t a “free people” in the way you imply. Haven’t been since at least the 13th Century. The reality is, when it comes to territorial possessions, nobody gives a **** what the people who live there want. They don’t own the land.

 

[Lursa]

Who said anything about making them citizens? And they certainly aren’t a “free people” in the way you imply. Haven’t been since at least the 13th Century. The reality is, when it comes to territorial possessions, nobody gives a **** what the people who live there want. They don’t own the land.

Wow.

We'll just take their land, not provide the benefits of being citizens, and force them to live under our governance.

Nice!

 

[chuckiechan]

There are no good reasons to buy Greenland. Any economic benefits from doing so would be 40 years in the future

There were no good reasons to buy Alaska. You take what land you can get when you get it. Greenland may a tually be a big P.I.A. For Greenland. It’s not like they would admit it publicly. BTW, how many people knew Denmark owned G land?

 

[Napoleon]

Wow.

We'll just take their land, not provide the benefits of being citizens, and force them to live under our governance.

Nice!

The land belongs to Denmark not to the people who live on the island. And such an arrangement would really be no different than most of our other territorial possessions. The Somoans, for example, aren’t citizens either.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

The land belongs to Denmark not to the people who live on the island. And such an arrangement would really be no different than most of our other territorial possessions. The Somoans, for example, aren’t citizens either.

The people of Greenland are semi autonomous. They have the full right to decide what happens in Greenland, on issues of security and national defense Denmark has the say. So any sale would have to be approved by Denmark, likely through a vote, and the people of Greenland, likely needing 100% acceptance

 

[Napoleon]

The people of Greenland are semi autonomous. They have the full right to decide what happens in Greenland, on issues of security and national defense Denmark has the say. So any sale would have to be approved by Denmark, likely through a vote, and the people of Greenland, likely needing 100% acceptance

That would be optional. At the end of the day, Greenland is still a territory of Denmark regardless of the degree of autonomy they allow Greenlanders to govern themselves on the land it owns.

 

[Lursa]

The land belongs to Denmark not to the people who live on the island. And such an arrangement would really be no different than most of our other territorial possessions. The Somoans, for example, aren’t citizens either.

Keep trying to justify it.

Wow.

We'll just take their land, not provide the benefits of being citizens, and force them to live under our governance.

Nice!

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

That would be optional. At the end of the day, Greenland is still a territory of Denmark regardless of the degree of autonomy they allow Greenlanders to govern themselves on the land it owns.

It is a democracy, with civil rights. Denmark and most of the world has moved on from being able to trade people and land on whims and for the profit of the leaders. It could go back to that type of world, but it would not be a pretty world, and civil rights (the god given rights ) would no longer apply

 

[Napoleon]

It is a democracy, with civil rights. Denmark and most of the world has moved on from being able to trade people and land on whims and for the profit of the leaders. It could go back to that type of world, but it would not be a pretty world, and civil rights (the god given rights ) would no longer apply

It never stopped being that type of world.

 

[Gaius46]

Who said anything about making them citizens? And they certainly aren’t a “free people” in the way you imply. Haven’t been since at least the 13th Century. The reality is, when it comes to territorial possessions, nobody gives a **** what the people who live there want. They don’t own the land.

Greenland is an autonomous nation. Legally as of 1979 it can take control of everything a nation state normally controls - policing, tax, law etc - with the exception of self defense and foreign policy.

As I understand it under the relevant Danish law Greenland can become completely independent of its citizens want. It would take only approval of a referendum by the Greenlandic people. It seems Greenland hasn’t pursued it since the locals believe it would decrease their standard of living.

Sounds like they’re pretty free to me.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

It never stopped being that type of world.

For much of the last 70 years it pretty much has.

The Iraq invasion was in my opinion the start of the collapse of that world

 

[poweRob]

I'm looking forward to what Franklin Graham and Jerry Jr have to say about this. It otta be fun.:mrgreen:

They will all the sudden go from literalists to philosophers and explain it all away as being metaphorical.

 

[Casper]

Washington Times - Politics, Breaking News, US and World News



It’s a sad state of affairs that the Trump haters can’t even take the day off to understand the strategic implications of securing Greenland as a US territory beyond China’s soft power debt trap.

Greenland is not for sale, not sure what idiot gave him the idea it was but they should be fired.

 

[Napoleon]

For much of the last 70 years it pretty much has.

The Iraq invasion was in my opinion the start of the collapse of that world

It was fairly common up to 1958. Less so since then but it never actually stopped. It’s still considered all the time and there’s certainly no grand moral opposition to it as you seem to be suggesting. Quite the contrary. Greece, for example, had to be open to putting its islands up for auction as a bailout condition at the insistence of Germany. It had to be accountable for its debts even if that meant liquidating Greece itself.

 

[bearpoker]

Who said anything about making them citizens? And they certainly aren’t a “free people” in the way you imply. Haven’t been since at least the 13th Century. The reality is, when it comes to territorial possessions, nobody gives a **** what the people who live there want. They don’t own the land.

Oh, this just gets better and better. :roll:

 

[bearpoker]

There were no good reasons to buy Alaska. You take what land you can get when you get it. Greenland may a tually be a big P.I.A. For Greenland. It’s not like they would admit it publicly. BTW, how many people knew Denmark owned G land?

This is all moot since Trump can't get Greenland.

 

[bearpoker]

Greenland is not for sale, not sure what idiot gave him the idea it was but they should be fired.

I think the idiot was Trump. He should be fired. He thinks this would be a really cool real estate deal.