...the simple fact that the 'Markozy brothers' did not put Cameron's proposals to the rest of the EU members shows how undemocratic the EU is. Since Brussels have not even presented a set of accounts for the last 6 years, how on Earth can they formulate a rescu eplan for the EU. Don't get me wrong, I am in favour of an EU trade pact (which was how the EU started), and i have concerns where all this will lead given we are shortly retiring to Italy, but I don't get all the doom and gloom over being on the 'outside' looking in. As someone has already said, better be in the lifeboat than on the bridge as the tanker steams towards the rocks with the controls jammed on 'Full Ahead' and a stuck rudder. Can anyone explain how Markozy trying to seize control of the Eurozone actually fixes the immediate short term problem? Globalisation in its current form is like 2 corner shops at the opposite end of a street. One ( China/India) makes and sells goods a 5 times cheaper than the other( UK/America/Europe. They also have equivalent lower wages/raw material costs. Who does the customer buy from. The only long term resolution is to either: Reduce European costs (including wages/taxation etc. to the same as say, China. or.... Increase China/Tiger economies costs/wages etc to those of Europe...or..... Reduce one whilst increasing the other until there is some sort of parity. Cant see how that could happen though. Far to complex a process
Since he did not complete his Euro2004 Panini sticker book i think this had a major effect on whats happening in Greece.
Today has seen us take up a disastrous postion Cameron has succumbed to the eurosceptics and put us firmly on the sidelines (possibly the only one on the outside of a possible treaty and therefore with no influence whatsoever). We aren't in the Euro so any changes made to the way those in it operate fiscally would not have applied to us. So exactly what has he saved us from? Tax on his banker chums? In the past even Thatcher and Major managed to sign treaties with opt-outs. Cameron has failed dismally to keep us in the discussions. As for Clegg.......??? The man can stoop no lower to abandon any principles.
The third option looks the only way forward but I think the Chinese Government won't play ball until we've been ground into the dust and on our last legs. There's a lot of historical baggage between the West and China, with China getting a rough time from the West in times past.
Re: Today has seen us take up a disastrous postion What "influence" is that then? We are NOT in the Eurozone anyway and since we have never used our veto we have rarely had any real control over rules and regulations being imposed on us from Brussels. Again I say, how can we condone any organisation who have never presented audited accounts and whose unelected members can claim huge expenses without presenting receipts? Do you seriously thing Europe will stop trading with the UK. Its companies that trade NOT governments and politicians. If we produce goods they want at prices they will pay trade will continue in spite of Brussels.
Agreed. What's needed is a unified world economy, with unified living standards and unified living costs, which would result in unified salaries and so on. Not happen in our lifetime. Too much politics and too many faceless powerbrokers whose money is made by exploiting the differences in standards across the world.
We do a lot of work with India - colleagues there doing the same work much cheaper... except that they are getting ~10% pay rises every year and we are getting 0% every year. It'll not be long before its cheaper to pay someone here than Mumbai!
That is why the headlong rush to put Call centres in Mumbai and Bangalore is now reversing with many UK companies bringing the call Centres back to places like the North East. Similarly with car manufacturers from the Far East using British labour. As countries become more prosperous inflation kicks in and pay rises mirror that (the wonder of unregulated economies!) long term it balances out - but not without boom bust. The other option is War/Pestilence or plague reducing the world population as happened in WW1 Spanish Flu Epidemic and WW2. There has to be a better way but until the 'Second Coming' I doubt there is anyone out there who knows how to bring it about. We live in 'Interesting times'
I thnk thats called Utopia WHAT A LOVELY PLACE IT SOUNDS. unfortunately the people that are in charge of our countries will never let this happen. greed is a very addictive drug.
