Frustration of Brexit backers sound familiar?

For most people, the fight over whether the United Kingdom should stay in the European Union or exit is worth about 20 seconds, 30 seconds tops.

What difference could it make to us whether a bunch of people with funny accents (think John Oliver) living almost halfway around the world should alter their political affiliations? Don’t want to be associated with Germans or the French? Then find the EU offramp and make a quick “Brexit.”

But perhaps we’re dismissing this dust-up too quickly. Perhaps there are broader implications of Thursday’s vote.

First, a lot of the resentment in the U.K. is over immigration – the same issue that fuels so much anger here. In California, the immigration feud is over people arriving without documents to fill low-end jobs. In England, it’s over people fleeing war … to fill low-end jobs. Bottom line: With tens of thousands crossing Europe’s borders, too many Britons fear losing their grip on whatever economic rung to which they’re clinging. So, they lash out.

Second, many Britons feel left out of a booming recovery. The swells in London’s banking sector are doing just fine, but what about all those living in Oldham or Nottingham or Birmingham? Each city is among the “10 most deprived” in the U.K. Their streets are crowded, their factories closed, their jobs gone off to who knows where. Sound familiar?

They all love the U.K., so they insist, but they don’t like their lot or trust their current leaders to improve it.

Which brings us to point three. The people leading the rush for the Brexit are fomenting distrust of government, dislike of “others” (foreigners in particular) and disgust for civility (which counts for more in England than it does here). A guy named Boris Johnson talks like Donald Trump, singling out “others” for anger and blame. A guy named David Cameron sounds like Simon Pegg channeling Mitt Romney while making Barack Obama’s case for improved global trade agreements. It’s more boring, but economists insist that stability, trade and partnerships are what makes the new economy thrive.

Finally, whatever else the EU provides, it creates a shared destiny that makes those European blood feuds of, oh, 75 years ago, a lot less likely today.

But what happens here if Brexit passes? Expect a great deal of turmoil in the financial markets – meaning your 401(k) or IRAs will face some serious setbacks. Expect disruption in exports of products made here – wine, cheese, nuts and other goodies – as new treaties are ironed out. And if the rest of the EU slowly collapses, economies in Greece, Portugal and Spain will flounder.

Finally, if Brexit passes, the fearmongers will have won a major battle, further emboldening fearmongers in places like Germany, Austria, France ... and America.

The world is more connected than at any time in history. What happens eight time zones away will have an impact here. And we’ll feel those impacts sooner rather than later.

This story was originally published June 21, 2016 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Frustration of Brexit backers sound familiar?."