61–69 of 69 posts
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Is this adjusted with the cost of living in Switzerland ?
No, they're talking in nominal terms. Your salary will be twice as high in Zurich as it would be in say Munich, but you will also pay about twice as much for most things, be it groceries or rent.
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Every time I hear the "Norway" issue I just point out one crucial fact: oil. Norway is a huge oil exporter.
> Norway is a huge oil exporter. Huge? Norway's export of crude oil and gas in 2015 ( 450 billion krone ) is equivalent to about £40 billion. Which puts them somewhere in the teens in terms of export scoreboard, behind the UAE. http://www.norskpetroleum.no/en/production-and-exports/expor... That's less than four month's worth of the UK's exports to non-EU countries alone ( £25 billion per month, about 52% to non-EU )…
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No, they're talking in nominal terms. Your salary will be twice as high in Zurich as it would be in say Munich, but you will also pay about twice as much for most things, be it groceries or rent.
My point exactly.
How does that invalidate what I wrote? Are you proposing that the Swiss would be better off with a Somali income and cost of living?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My point exactly.
Well of course the cost of living will be higher when the incomes are double or in most cases even triple the incomes of other EU member states. How does that invalidate what I wrote? Are you proposing that the Swiss would be better off with a Somali income and cost of living?
Is this still true when X=Switzerland and Z another random country in UE?
>The world is a much more connected place today than it was 50 years ago and next to a unified EU with the UK as an outsider (and, if we are to believe the latest developments with England as an outsider) it is not a very important country economically. The sad thing is that if the UK were more invested in the EU (for example, with the Schengen zone), then people might have ended up feeling more attached to it. The c…
Your read on the EU's reaction seems weird. (Probably a result of the demonization of Juncker. I mean, I don't like juncker, too, but he is no monster. He is a bog-standard terribly unexciting politician.) You seem to see aggressiveness where there is concern. If the UK indeed wants to leave (and the responsible and democratic thing to assume, given the vote, is that they do) then its best if they make that clear imm…
The EU seems to be angry that now the UK has made its decision, instead of acting swiftly, the UK are trying to remain in the EU as long as possible before Brexit. The EU would rather the UK finish negotiations & leave as soon as possible, so that everyone has certainty again.
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Well of course the cost of living will be higher when the incomes are double or in most cases even triple the incomes of other EU member states. How does that invalidate what I wrote? Are you proposing that the Swiss would be better off with a Somali income and cost of living?
Try rewriting this as "garbagemen in country X, after taxes and all expenses including rent etc, have 10% of their income left, while white collars from country Z barely manage to save 1% of their earnings over the same period". Is this still true when X=Switzerland and Z another random country in UE?
And maybe you can't see it, but stuff that the Swiss import is for them very cheap in comparison to all others. Just imagine how less it'd hurt you financially to pay for an iPhone when you have an income that is much higher than in every surrounding country.
Or how about going on vacations. That's very cheap for Swiss too, because for them basically every country they could go to is insanely cheap.
Edit: And the funny thing is, they are not in the EU, every male has a automatic assault rifle at home, they have free speech, regular referenda on important matters and the majority there is against any kind of Socialism.
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"honestly telling everybody that our financial stability and indeed prosperity since the financial crisis of 2008 is much thanks to EU membership and 'passporting' through the City of London while the EU paid for the economically weaker, rural regions." Why should the working class be happy with this? The benefits to EU membership accrued to the connected classes in the big cities. The subsidies provided to these reg…
Like I said, the government failed, not the EU. The Vote Leave campaigners used EU as a scapegoat. The likes of Boris Johnson need to be punished for lying to the electorate and for whatever financial problems are now around the corner. Brexit is a way for particular individuals to gain influence and power within their lifetimes and to duck the blows of a working-class which, when Labour was strong, would have made t…
I don't think Labour under Blair did much more to reinvigorate the rural and former industrial areas. While I very much agree with your general assessment, "blame it all on the tories" is not the right sentiment.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Like I said, the government failed, not the EU. The Vote Leave campaigners used EU as a scapegoat. The likes of Boris Johnson need to be punished for lying to the electorate and for whatever financial problems are now around the corner. Brexit is a way for particular individuals to gain influence and power within their lifetimes and to duck the blows of a working-class which, when Labour was strong, would have made t…
when Labour was strong I don't think Labour under Blair did much more to reinvigorate the rural and former industrial areas. While I very much agree with your general assessment, "blame it all on the tories" is not the right sentiment.
I actually still remember my penniless, scrounging father telling me how Blair/Labour was going to change everything in 1997. Practically crying about it while Blair celebrated on the CRT screen. How absurd that turned out to be.
I remember the miner/north-eastern side of my family practically disowning me when I praised some of Thatcher's policies and refused to back down. That was a rubbish Christmas – they still regard me as a traitor to my class, even now, especially given my line of work.
I didn't go to university. I just worked my arse off and used my own initiative. Now I find myself rather distant from everybody in my age group and income grade. Most of them cannot cook, repair their jeans, repair their smartphone chargers if the cable is snapped, etc. They've never had to think about such things, and they look at me with dismay when I suggest fixing something instead of replacing it. People worse off just deliberately treat their possessions carelessly because nothing matters to them. I cannot understand either side. Naturally I gravitate to realpolitik.
I feel no animosity or envy toward the privileged or wealthy. It does not make sense. I just want to go my way, maybe invest one day when I can afford the risk.
>The world is a much more connected place today than it was 50 years ago and next to a unified EU with the UK as an outsider (and, if we are to believe the latest developments with England as an outsider) it is not a very important country economically. The sad thing is that if the UK were more invested in the EU (for example, with the Schengen zone), then people might have ended up feeling more attached to it. The c…
Your read on the EU's reaction seems weird. (Probably a result of the demonization of Juncker. I mean, I don't like juncker, too, but he is no monster. He is a bog-standard terribly unexciting politician.) You seem to see aggressiveness where there is concern. If the UK indeed wants to leave (and the responsible and democratic thing to assume, given the vote, is that they do) then its best if they make that clear imm…
My impression is that the EU wants this to happen fast to stop the market turmoil as well but I'd bet it'll just get an extra boost once Article 50 gets invoked