The United States has allies with whom we share a number of economic or other interests. Those shared interests foster trade and other mutually beneficial policies between countries, and there is nothing wrong with that so far as it goes.
But even with our closest allies, our interests are not always the same. That is why we have our own Constitution and laws — so we may set the policies that are in our best interest as a sovereign nation.
European nations, however, have unwisely surrendered some of their sovereignty to unaccountable international courts. The danger of doing that hit home recently in Britain, after British officials tried to put limits on welfare benefits going to the families of terrorism suspects. The recipients were required to account for their spending, to make sure taxpayer dollars were not providing funds that potentially violent fanatics could use to commit terrorist acts.
But then the so-called “European Court of Justice” stepped in. The court said it was unlawful for Britain to set such rules, because the benefits were low enough that surely they would not be used for terrorism rather than for a family’s legitimate needs. The court ordered Britain to remove the restrictions. Not only that, but the court’s decision applies across the entire European Union.
In effect, the court is providing a taxpayer-funded subsidy for likely terrorists.