Currently in BrexitLand

SumVeritas · Post by **SumVeritas** » Sat Apr 13, 2019 12:35 am

Terran · Post by **Terran** » Fri May 10, 2019 4:19 pm

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/head...-eu-in-35-years

"Two thirds of Europeans believe their country has benefited from being a member of the EU, the highest percentage since 1983 and an increase of three percentage points since the autumn."

Thank you Brexit?

peet · Post by **peet** » Sat May 11, 2019 10:49 am

It seems Nigel Farage is getting popular with his BrexIt party and he might actually be elected. Looks like the citizens have enough of Labor and Conservatives. This will be the ultimate troll. If Nigel picks up momentum he might actually get a lot of voters for the next UK election.

I do not feel connected to the EU. All the benefits go to the big companies in MyLittleCountry, they benefit from open borders and one currency.

Terran · Post by **Terran** » Sat May 11, 2019 12:31 pm

peet wrote:QUOTE (peet @ May 11 2019, 06:49 AM) It seems Nigel Farage is getting popular with his BrexIt party and he might actually be elected. Looks like the citizens have enough of Labor and Conservatives. This will be the ultimate troll. If Nigel picks up momentum he might actually get a lot of voters for the next UK election.

I do not feel connected to the EU. All the benefits go to the big companies in MyLittleCountry, they benefit from open borders and one currency.

And you don't feel like you benefit when the big companies make big profits and pay taxes? What about all the people that the company employs? And what about all the unofficial geopolitical heft your country gains when these companies base their HQ in Amsterdam? It bothers you when your country is so profitable it doesn't even have any significant national debt?

SumVeritas · Post by **SumVeritas** » Sat May 11, 2019 1:09 pm

There's also that thing about negotiating in block. Showing one united front to hostile powers the likes of Rusia and the US (kind of).
BTW Farage is a joke of a politician (or should i say a real one), just like Johnson. They campaigned for Brexit and when they got it, they dissapeared cause both knew that whomever negotiated the thing would be killing his political carreer. Now Farage can run with low risk cause "all the damage was made by that clumsy May gal".
But yeah, now the UK can negotiate all those agreements they want as "equals".

peet · Post by **peet** » Sat May 11, 2019 1:22 pm

Terran wrote:QUOTE (Terran @ May 11 2019, 02:31 PM) And you don't feel like you benefit when the big companies make big profits and pay taxes? What about all the people that the company employs? And what about all the unofficial geopolitical heft your country gains when these companies base their HQ in Amsterdam? It bothers you when your country is so profitable it doesn't even have any significant national debt?

Hrm, let's see. BigCorp with HQ in Amsterdam does everything possible to avoid paying taxes. Shell gets a legal discount for example. They could hire a ton of workers for that money. There is indeed an endless stream of trucks hauling goods, belching exhaust fumes and hiring East European truckers for pennies. Farmers spry tons of pesticides for the lovely tulips which are exported. Yes, guys from Poland work in the greenhouses, for pennies. We import luxurious lady coats from North Korea, remove the label and export them to rich women, yes also to the USA. A farmer has 17000 goats in stables and there is a higher risk of lung problems for the citizens nearby. But goat cheese and goat milk is exported. The Dutch data centers are in the top 5 of "bad images" - use your imagination. And yes, we export tons of synthetic drugs, they dump waste barrels in the forests. We are addicted to cheap China goods, buying in stores like Action and Primark. Cheap 18 year old girls work there.

So what does the EU for us? Make ridiculous rules about how straight a cucumber must be, how high the shoe heels of a female barber. They spend tons of grands for people to find work, only the accountants benefit. The Euro coin destroyed the wealth here. The EU is a great scape goat for our politicians, the EU must solve problem X Euro wide. Sure, it's cheaper to use the mobile phone in another EU country, for the week or so you are on vacation there. The EU employees and politicians makes tons of money, a lot with reduced taxes, and is plagued by scandals. The fact they move the EU parliament between 2 cities is ridiculous.

If the US Senate was hauled back and forward between Washington and Houston every month, there would be a revolution in America.

SumVeritas · Post by **SumVeritas** » Sat May 11, 2019 1:54 pm

Sorry, but, was it any different before the EU.
Big corps try to evade taxes since forever (See BP in Iran).
I'm guessing here, but environmental laws are fairly new to the world, so the dumping of toxic waste in the forest (any forest) has been going on since the first industrial revolution. So here you're blaming the EU for a problem that has been going on since b4 it's stablishement. If anything, local governments everywhere in the world have shown their incompetence in handling the global influence that Big corps have. And the solution that brexiters and you seem to be pushing for is more local government to tackle ever growing global power, yeah!! doing nothing has always been the ethical thing to do.

peet · Post by **peet** » Sat May 11, 2019 2:04 pm

Any shipbuilder knows you must compartmentalize a ship, if there is a fire or leak it can not spread through the whole ship. The EU removed a lot of bulkheads. The ship owners benefits, but the poor sailors on the ship suffer if it goes wrong. Oh, sure, they invest in pumps and fire detectors, and damage procedures and procedure inspectors. But there is no life boat to escape.

I am sure someone makes tons of money from our open borders and a steady flow of goods and persons. I am not sure if most people here benefit from it.

Terran · Post by **Terran** » Sun May 12, 2019 6:10 pm

peet wrote:QUOTE (peet @ May 11 2019, 09:22 AM) Hrm, let's see. BigCorp with HQ in Amsterdam does everything possible to avoid paying taxes. Shell gets a legal discount for example. They could hire a ton of workers for that money. There is indeed an endless stream of trucks hauling goods, belching exhaust fumes and hiring East European truckers for pennies. Farmers spry tons of pesticides for the lovely tulips which are exported. Yes, guys from Poland work in the greenhouses, for pennies. We import luxurious lady coats from North Korea, remove the label and export them to rich women, yes also to the USA. A farmer has 17000 goats in stables and there is a higher risk of lung problems for the citizens nearby. But goat cheese and goat milk is exported. The Dutch data centers are in the top 5 of "bad images" - use your imagination. And yes, we export tons of synthetic drugs, they dump waste barrels in the forests. We are addicted to cheap China goods, buying in stores like Action and Primark. Cheap 18 year old girls work there.

So what does the EU for us? Make ridiculous rules about how straight a cucumber must be, how high the shoe heels of a female barber. They spend tons of grands for people to find work, only the accountants benefit. The Euro coin destroyed the wealth here. The EU is a great scape goat for our politicians, the EU must solve problem X Euro wide. Sure, it's cheaper to use the mobile phone in another EU country, for the week or so you are on vacation there. The EU employees and politicians makes tons of money, a lot with reduced taxes, and is plagued by scandals. The fact they move the EU parliament between 2 cities is ridiculous.

If the US Senate was hauled back and forward between Washington and Houston every month, there would be a revolution in America.

Dutch GDP has grown 2.2% annualized in the last quarter (Euro area overall is 1.2%)
Dutch unemployment rate is at 4.2% (Euro area is at 7.7%)
Dutch fiscal balance is up 0.8% (again beating the vast majority of EU states)
Dutch current account balance is +9.9% (lmfao)

You think the Netherlands gets a 9.9% net trade surplus from the "cheap 18 year old girls" working in Primark? "The Euro coin destroyed the wealth"? Please put as much research into your economic opinions as you put into cyber threats.

What exactly is your complaint? The Netherlands is by far one of the most competitive economies in the world, and the more markets it can be a part of, the more it will benefit as a result. Of course being part of the EU market means being part of its rules, which don't just stipulate the shape of your cucumber, but also the environmental impact of industries. Your complaints are almost entirely about environmental impact, but did you consider that the EU has probably the best environmental controls in the whole world? If you expand the EU into a world-wide market enforcing its rules, the environment will win, not lose. Or do you think that the Netherlands, entirely alone, finally free to set its own environmental policy, will be a net improvement for the environment? With all of its 17 million people?

Edit: source: The Economist, 9 May 2019 (https://www.economist.com/economic-and- ... nd-markets)

Terran · Post by **Terran** » Sun May 12, 2019 6:12 pm

The ship analogy I will completely ignore because it sounds like populist propaganda because it doesn't include a single piece of evidence as to how being part of the EU makes you more vulnerable. As if you think that a crashing German economy will not affect you if you're not in the EU?

Edit: maybe the engineering room can separate from the living quarters and go sail on its merry way without that pesky weak-hulled brat? To minimize the risk of sinking.