Irish referendum
- 6 October 2009 07:4029896Thank you Roger. The 'little Englander' tag just is not accurate for exactly the reasons you mention.
- Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
6 October 2009 07:5829902little is the opertive word here,england being little sums us up rightly.if we think little we will be little,if we think big we would have more clout. - 6 October 2009 08:1129907No one is talking or thinking "little" Brian.
We're talking about trading with the whole World, there's nothing bigger than that is there ?
Roger - Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
6 October 2009 08:2129910roger,may be so but as i see it being a full member of the eu gives us bigger bargining power against the bigger super powers ie,america,china,russia and india.with russia,china,india and another country i cant remember are thinking of dithing the us doller when buying oil it makes you wonder dosent it.are yes the country was france. - 6 October 2009 12:2529914we are in the top 5 economies of the world, we have more than enough bargaining power.
tiger economies come and go, we had the pacific rim, the celtic tiger et al.
now we have china and india, they will be good for a few years, then their citizens will expect a higher standard of living. - 6 October 2009 15:1729918Exactly. Roger summed it up well when he pointed out that what we don't like is being RUN by the EU. It just isn't right.
- 7 October 2009 07:2529947Thanks Bern.
I'm not sure if we are in the top 5 Howard, we may be so I won't argue, but certainly in the top 10 I'm sure, so as you say, plenty of bargaining power - for a little island.
Roger - 7 October 2009 14:2629959We used to trade with the rest of the world and at one time, a long time ago, were the world's workshop.
We turned our back on all that when we elected to join the EEC, whereupon we ditched the worldwide tapestry of nations for whom we were the focal point as a legacy of Empire. Countries such as Australia and New Zealand had perforce to turn to Japan as their major economic partner.
It was crystal clear before we joined the EEC that we were on a hiding to nothing economically. We were making the same stuff as the French and Germans, and the latter in particular had always been our principal competitor in the global markets. This was recognised but regarded as a price worth paying to achieve political integration and an end to the prospect of yet another war.
The great majority of our trade is now with Europe. Needless to say, it is mainly one way with a high percentage of the trucks on the ferries from Dover going back empty to load up with more imports. - 7 October 2009 16:5629960QUOTE: "What Ed does not mention are the businesses the British own in other European countries and in America (not to mention the rest of the world) as that does not fit his argument."
Although we are all now the best of friends, for some mysterious reason the European countries have chosen to retain control of all their own infrastructure. In the looming energy crisis, it may well be that they choose to look after their own interests first. The French seem to be best placed for this. Their electricity supply is almost entirely nuclear and they are already the powerhouse of Europe.
Our nuclear power stations need replacement but we no longer have the expertise or manufacturing capability to do so. When we come to ask EDF if they would be so kind as to start building new ones for us, they may decide that their own replacement programme comes first.
Having a portfolio of investment in other countries may not cut much ice in this respect. This investment is through our city institutions which have now come a spectacular cropper. Turning up on EDF's doorstep and asking them if we could interest them in a substantial tranche of sub prime mortgages in Alabama is not quite the same as owning and renewing our own power stations.
I suspect that the general reaction in Europe will be "You chose to sell off your family silver, we chose to save ours for a rainy day. Tough."
That rainy day is now here. As the lettering on an umbrella I saw on sale in Montreal at the weekend said: "Merde. Il pleut."
http://www.iamagreedygirl.com/2008/02/merde-il-pleut-umbrella.html - 8 October 2009 07:5329975Loved the translation Ed. great.
Roger