The news brings word that the British public is now telling pollsters they are tilting heavily toward voting to leave the European Union. If the Brexit referendum passes, the British government will be required to paddle the island further into the North Sea in order to get beyond the reach of Brussels. Just how far they will have to go will be left to the government if and when it is necessary.
This is setting off panic on the Continent. The Brits pay roughly €13 billion per year into the Europe Union. They get out about €6 billion, give or take. This sounds terrible, but this does not account for the intangible benefits, assuming they exist, of having a say in the management of the European Union. That’s been the argument against Brexit. The indirect benefits of Remain dwarf the costs.
Like all economic arguments, the Remain argument is built on a foundation of statistical falsehoods and manipulation. They assume the worst case scenario of Brexit and the best case of Remain. In reality, most of the trade in place now will remain in place. The Germans need open access to British markets and they don’t have any desire to start a financial war with the English speaking world. They are in no position to pick that fight.
For all the talk of hidden benefits, there’s little talk of the hidden costs. Globalism is built on the concept of privatizing profits and socializing costs. Importing migrant labor, for example, allows the employer to spread the real cost of labor laws, insurance and competitive wages. At the same time, he can shovel those costs onto the public via welfare programs, crime, charity, etc. There’s nothing more expense than cheap goods made with illegal labor.
In the case of Brexit, there’s an enormous hidden security cost to the British that comes with European membership. This story about a Russian mole in NATO is a good example. During the Cold War, intelligence gathering and handling was managed by the Brits and Americans. The so-called Five Eyes did all of the electronic snooping and managed that information. The Brits have always been one of the best at spy craft and the Americans have always been great at signal intelligence.
Since the Cold War, NATO intelligence has become European intelligence. That means the active participation of all EU members. Countries like Portugal, with their poor record of keeping secrets, gets the same intel as Germany, with their excellent record of keeping secrets. The golden rule of all security systems is that they are as strong as their weakest link. In the case of Europe, their intelligence services will always be as reliable as Athens and Lisbon.
When you have separate countries, this problem is easily addressed. First, no country passes on intel to a third country without first getting permission from the source country. Countries that violate that rule are cut out of the loop. You can’t enforce that rule in a world without countries. The Portuguese and Turks get the same information as the Brits and Germans. Since that can’t possibly work, the result is going to be endless scheming, hidden agendas and deception.
The other “hidden” benefit of separate countries is the British intel services know perfectly well whose interests they are serving. The goal of their efforts is manifest to everyone in MI6. All of these motivations are transparent. Policing these relationships becomes much easier. If James Bond is living beyond his means and cavorting with a Russian mistress, you know something is amiss.
That, of course, leads to another problem. The British not only understand their interests, they can act on them unilaterally, if they think it necessary. If the US passes on intel that a mosque in London is housing mischief of Exploding Mohameds plotting to blow up a school, the Brits can act on that as they see fit. The people in charge of Britain know that their first duty is to protect their people.
All of this leads to the fundamental problem of the borderless world. It makes for a dangerous world. Government is not a precision instrument. It is a hammer. The bigger the government, the bigger and less precise the hammer. Public safety and national security are precision games. National government does them poorly which is why so much is delegated to local government. That’s not possible in a global world.
From what I have read, it seems to be a pretty well established fact that immigrants from the ME go to the EU for the free benefits and not to assimilate, work and contribute to the greater economy. They are takers while draining the coffers and growing their population in a pincer movement of overt immigration and covert, high birthrate, population boom that further weakens their hosts.
What astounds me is why no one has ever had the idea to bring America’s unemployed to Europe to work? American’s have a great work ethic (at least those who want to work), we have history with Europeans (at least those who don’t mind us saving their ass in two major wars), and speak a common language (more or less) and would assimilate a heck of a lot easier without the high birth rate and budget drain on host governments.
By most accounting, there are millions of Americans, of all stripes who would love to work but our businesses and government has gone “global” and seeks only the cheapest which simply means capitalist exploitation. Why do EU governments think the only “labor” pool resides in the ME?? Riddle me that!
I used to think that this Brexit vote was a complete charade, and that they’d just rely on election fraud to keep Britain in the EU regardless of what the voters actually want. Then I started thinking about what the true purpose of the EU might actually be. If one presumes that the real, hidden purpose of the EU is to shatter borders and overwhelm Western Europe with Muslim invaders, then it really doesn’t matter if Britain stays or goes, as the UK’s own immigration rules permit massive, unlimited muslim immigration from Islamic Commonwealth nations. This made me think that they’d be willing to let Britain go, as its destruction is already assured by its own hands.
You may be right, Buckaroo. The muslim rot set in in the UK in the early 90s, and Liebore drove it forward with glee once Bliar got power. So, this referendum, if it binds, is at least twenty years too late. The hordes in Europe (and Britain too) aren’t planning to go home, whatever Merkel does to bring Europe crashing down.
(By the way, my daughter groans loudly and rolls her eyes whenever I mention immigration, but she has yet to realise it is her generation and their children who will have to deal with the real issues of islam on her doorstep)
Listened to,a rather good extended debate sponsored by the Guardian that included Farage, while plowing through some work this morning. On the “influence” over policy topic he and one of his debate mate basically went over the 70 odd bit of legislation where Britain objected and was run over by the other EU members. Really all they have it veto power over new entrants and little else.
I have said before I will vote Out. I made the mistake in 1975 of listening to the lies that the old Common Market was simply a matter of commerce, though we made things then so it mattered more — with the exception of the dire and ugly British Leyland cars, our products tended to be things that the world wanted.
Of course, the In then was a lie, because unbeknown to us simple Brits there were well-established secret moves to turn trading into ruling. The EU was a dream of commies, socialists, bureaucrats and other ne’er-do-wells in places likes Brussels and Paris, which has always hated the British. (Incidentally as an aside, I read the other day that the pompous Charles De Gaulle wrote a history of the French army and somehow omitted mention of Waterloo. Odd that…)
I expect if we go, the EU will miss all the free money they squander on various social engineering projects, and there is a fair chance we will thus hopefully avoid the worst of Merkel’s madness along with Turkey’s rush to pour more muslims into Europe. But I am sure Germany will rally round to save eastern Europe, so maybe our absence won’t matter.
Strange to say, the Scots are furious that leaving the EU means they cannot be ruled from Brussels, and to protest they want another referendum north of the wall to demand once more they must not be ruled by London.
But when all the economic argument dust settles, most Brits are happy to consider the obvious question of who should rule the UK. People like me tend to think that we might not be great at it now (though we used to be okay at it, once) but we should try to rule ourselves once more. If we fail, it will be our fault. Many MPs are used to doing nothing in Westminster thanks to lazily rubber-stamping what the EU says but will now have to work for their money.
One person though who with a bit of luck won’t be working at all is Cameron, a man who bears the title traitor to the British people more than anyone else.
The Brexit campaign should claim that leaving Europe will allow the football team to get back to beating Russia again. ;=)
How in the world does Wales have a team? What’s next? The Mercian team?
Ah, yes Wales.. the world’s governing football body used to want the UK to have only one team, so England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would be eliminated by intellectual giants from small, non-footballing nations and we would have only Britain. As you can imagine this was fiercely resisted by the ‘home nations.’ But if we had lost that argument then at least Team Britain would have Wales superstar Gareth Bale in the line up.
As for the England game v Russia… hate to say it but I could see the Russian goal coming from a long time before it arrived. The Reds left it late but it was coming, and once more England flatters to deceive… or simply just underperforms as usual.
By the way, the EU want to set up their own spy agency.
(See http://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/verhofstadt-calls-for-creation-of-eu-intelligence-agency/)
From what I’ve read on other sites, the agency will only be accountable to Brussels, not to any individual states but the EU does plan to force every country to share whatever information it has with this new entity.
The EU is also coming up with an army. Currently, they call it ‘border and coast guards’, which they (already now, apparently) send to any country in the EU even against its will. I would have thought that constitutes an act of war.
That should read “can send”, rather than “send”.
I think the Brits are mistaken if they think an Exit vote will free them. Germany has occupied them without a shot being fired and will not let them go without a very nasty fight.
The government is also force. It is all it has ever had. Without consent all it has is threat of and use of violence. Legitimacy is a fig leaf, and a rather skimpy one at that. Are the Fabian’s and Banksters loosing control? Secession is an existential movement to them once it gets a head of steam. Or do they have the voting rigged before hand and are letting the dirt people have a taste of hope even the milque toast abolition of Brexit is possible, only to yank it away and dash those hopes as a form of social engineering? After all, the Tory’s know only too well what secession from tyranny is about ala 1776.
> Importing migrant labor, for example, allows the employer to avoid the cost of labor laws, insurance
Not when it comes to importing third world Muslims. There’s a minimum wage so that unskilled labor remains the same and the people who come are uniformly unskilled and very few of them actually work.
Importing Islam into Europe has nothing to do with economics. Though when it comes to importing skilled labor from Poland to Britain, this does lead to cheaper labor (which is good for some and bad for others, good for people who need an electrician, bad for British electricians).
In America, employers use day labor they pay cash, thus avoiding taxes, insurance, minimum wage, etc. I can name a dozen places where you will find migrants waiting for work. Contractors, landscapers and others swing by and pick up the number of people they need.
I believe you (though those are probably illegal immigrants). In Britain, it’s different. No lower costs when it comes to Muslims and unskilled labor (and less than half the Muslim population works).
There are lower costs for skilled labor (which is unaffected by the minimum wage) from poorer European countries. British plumbers, electricians, complain about depressed wages.
It’s easier (within the confines of political correctness) to complain about Poles than to complain primarily about third world immigration. The absence of sovereignty is responsible for both, so leaving the EU will always be part of the solution.
Anon, you have it exactly,regardless of the scare stories, leaving the EU may stop Poles etc doing some pretty decent work here but it will not stop the mass import of uneducated third world shit…people are confusing the two at some cost.
Go to any Home Depot or Lowe’s and you can find dozens of illegal aliens milling around the exits (especially in the morning).
In Escondido, CA there’s even a Carl’s JR with an outsized parking lot near a commercial area where 20-30 congregate each morning. The ones who don’t get picked up early are there until 5-6 P.M.
La Migra (ICE) nowhere to ne found.
Ever.
Welcome to Mexifornia.
If I need labor for work around my house in Palm Springs, I just talk to my Mexican gardener. He has an endless supply of brothers, cousins, etc., who all work for cash at low rates.
TOYNBEE
The last stage but one of every civilization is characterized by the forced political unification of its constituent parts, into a single greater whole–Arnold Toynbee
Here’s Farage in today’s Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/10/dont-let-david-cameron-and-george-osborne-fool-you-heres-what-my/
Yeah, right on….British Exceptionalism, like American Exceptionalism ….what a concept…?!
If you happen to watch that video link I posted, Farage is one of voices…he and Kelvin MacKenzie add a bit of great reserved British humor as well.
I left this comment at Small Dead Animals a few hours ago:
Top story on Druge today: Leave = 55%, Remain = 45%
*****
EU Bridge is Falling Down
Falling Down
Falling Down
EU Bridge is Fallimg Down
My Fair Lady
*****
Also, there is another link at Drudge on Farage (God bless him) saying Britain and Italy will lead the inevitable disintegration of the EU with Brexit and Italy’s election of a “Five Star” candidate later this month.
Cannot come too soon. The Brits must take back their country.
Ooops…”falling”…sorry for the typo. iPad autocorrect doesn’t always work.
Good one.
FWIW all of my British friends are Go’s…..and are also all, over 55. Here’s a link to a good documentary sent to me early on by one of them……
https://vimeo.com/166378572
and curiously my friends in Germany, Spain, France and Italy were also incredulous that this concept (the EU), so against their individual national (tribal) hardwired bonds would ever get off the ground….no less, fly…..but somehow, here we are…..