Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Preparations companies are making for Brexit

threader.app

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 165 posts

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#141

Post by sgt101 »

user5994461 wrote: post #129
sgt101 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the planning laws were changed and a couple of thousand were built then the market prices would come down. Developers would still turn a profit because the cost of building is ultra dependent on the cost of land in London, which if the planning laws were changed would change.

Buy prices are already slighly down compared to 2 years ago, something to do with Brexit. There are literally properties being built everywhere. Just take the overground to any direction and look around you. It doesn't make prices go down. There are too many people and too much money.

The issue is that these are properties that suit single young professionals /couples and speculators. This creates scarcity in the middle of the market and drives onward pressure for family dwelling units. In turn the pressure for family dwelling units drives cash-in-and-commute out to the home counties. All of which hollows out communities and the city - schools and infrastructure suffer much.

Prices are also down because of tax - sharp tax; which is a good thing in terms of dealing with speculation.

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#142

Post by coldtea »

smcl wrote: post #72
coldtea wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because they a) voted based on their rivalry with the English, b) think they'll do better as a tiny independent country within an EU where the big dogs do whatever they please (or, rather, a single big dog with its satellites, even France plays by their agenda).

It's clear that you're trying to call Scots primitive, prejudiced and motivated purely by spite. Really you're just revealing your own prejudices.

A people voting while considering historical relationships with England, modern power relations, etc, is not "spite". Nor is it primitive.

If someone believes relationship with England didn't factor out in the Scottish remain vote they are probably deluded.

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#143

Post by coldtea »

nmeofthestate wrote: post #102
coldtea wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or alternatively, people in Scotland voted to stay in the EU because they want to stay in the EU, and it wasn't just to spite the English (around whom the world revolves, apparently). Sure, whether they want to "stay in the EU" or not is also based on their relation to their English neighbors, not to some magical enlightened political culture that Scotts have and the lowly English masses lack.

Dear me. I will quietly bow out of this discussion, as it seems to be turning into somebody giving voice to their own strong feelings about the "Scotts". Too much heat, not much light.

That's a condescending non-response.

I don't seem to be the only "somebody" with an opinion about the cultural and historical differences and power plays between the Scotts and the English playing a role:

https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/adam-ramsay/eight-reasons-s...

The alternative is what? One or the other ethnicity having the unique capacity of rational thinking to vote Brexit/Bremain? Or one side for some reason having some very different actual benefit or harm from the EU?

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#144

Post by coldtea »

nmeofthestate wrote: post #107
coldtea wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why bother countering a baseless (and bitter and resentful) assertion with an argument? What exactly is "baseless"? That Scotland has a long-term rivalry with England? Last time I checked, 45% voted in favor to break up with England in the Scottish referendum -- does the 55/45 result point to some friendly buddies? Or that Germany has disproportionate control of EU policy to its population/economy? That's a lively…

You're making a mistake in your analysis of the independence referendum result that's colouring your views on Scotland. People can want independence without it being a personal slight against you. In fact, the vast majority of people in the world are in favour of their country existing. Don't take it so personally.

>People can want independence without it being a personal slight against you

I'm not sure what that means. I'm pro Scottish independence, and I would even be pro Brexit (given the state of democracy in EU).

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#145

Post by grey-area »

BjoernKW wrote: post #131
grey-area wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This shouldn't be a surprise though - Ever closer union has been the slogan since 1983. The EU has always been more than an economic entity, and is better for it IMO - economic union without political union is unstable and untenable in the longer term (just as one example, people in states like Greece have no effective political power over a brutal fiscal policy which impacts them deeply). I suspect the intention was…

I absolutely agree on the matter of nation states. Because they have been the reality for longer than any living human being can remember we usually consider them to be the natural order of things. However, on a historical scale nation states are a fairly recent concept. Before the 19th century allegiances for the most part were much more local on one hand and centred around religion (rather than concepts such as nat…

That doesn't mean, however, that a supranational entity such as the EU necessarily is the right solution to each and every problem in the future.

Sure, perhaps a federal superstate isn't the answer - I certainly don't think it's a great answer for local gov, taxes or accountability, though given the world we live in surrounded by hostile autocracies I think having armed forces and trade at that level is advantageous, so that's why I'm for it, but further devolution of powers would be ideal in my view, if coupled with free movement of people and goods at a federal level. Given that I see no reason for Nations to exist.

Free movement of people at least within large federal states and later globally is a worthy ideal to strive towards - why should the place of your birth dictate the rights and opportunities accorded to you? Why should nation states claim the right to bestow and strip citizenship?

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#146

Post by bkor »

peteri wrote: post #106
bkor wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Moving countries is not that easy though. Leaving the EU means loads of additional paperwork vs now. You need someone who understands and is legally responsible for VAT. You didn't need that before. You need to know how to fill out all kinds of custom forms. There used to be a large amount of custom agents for that, you don't have them in the amount you need because they weren't needed for decades. Loads of companies…

It's not that hard though, in the past when working for folks importing from China it wasn't too hard to do. Most of the work was picking a commodity code for your imports/exports but you would have been doing that anyway for Intrastat reporting. For direct to consumer sellers above the VAT thresholds (€35,000 or €100,000) the new regime will arguably be simpler as they no longer need to register in each market but c…

You only took one bit and responded with a "it's not that hard". Please explain in detail to all the things I mentioned, not just one.

Regarding your experience: it's unrelated. I mentioned loads of businesses didn't have to deal with this for decades. They're not known, didn't apply to be registered, don't know what to do, etc.

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#147

Post by Jaruzel »

_Understated_ wrote: post #110
Jaruzel wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scotland voted remain due to several major factors, the main ones being: 1) SNP have their own agenda to get Scotland independent... 2) ...and the SNP believe that keeping the UK in the EU will make it easier for Scotland to become independent AND remain an EU member at a later date (not true btw, they would have to re-apply regardless). 3) Rural Scotland depends on EU subsidies for farming, and losing them would mea…

I thought I'd reply (being a Scot and living in Scotland I see th propaganda first-hand). 1 - They seem to be playing their cards close to their chest rignt now as I believe people are being turned off by the independence thing. I'm sure there were figures earlier in the year from polls saying two thirds don't want it now. Anyway, we voted already 2 - I agree. The EU have been quite clear on this. Also, I believe a f…

Thanks for your direct viewpoint. I married into a large Orcadian family, and now have relatives scattered all over Scotland, and what I know is from them.

Personally, I'd like to see an Independent Scotland, but only if it is truly viable and the right thing for the country.

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#148

Post by nmeofthestate »

coldtea wrote: post #143
nmeofthestate wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dear me. I will quietly bow out of this discussion, as it seems to be turning into somebody giving voice to their own strong feelings about the "Scotts". Too much heat, not much light.

That's a condescending non-response. I don't seem to be the only "somebody" with an opinion about the cultural and historical differences and power plays between the Scotts and the English playing a role: https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/adam-ramsay/eight-reasons-s... The alternative is what? One or the other ethnicity having the unique capacity of rational thinking to vote Brexit/Bremain? Or one side for some reason…

The Scotts are a family of people with the surname Scott. The Scots are the people of the country Scotland.

Since you know why the Scots voted Remain, I'm surprised you keep making that mistake.

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#149

Post by bkor »

nmeofthestate wrote: post #98
s_dev wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I predict a hard border in Ireland, drop in value of pound and an effective end to the CTA. Ireland is going to ultimately have to adopt Schengen which means an end to CTA if the UK leaves the EU fully. We currently don't have to join Schengen because of an opt-out the UK got in one of the treaties.

"Ireland is going to ultimately have to adopt Schengen" - I don't see this happening, although with the debacle of how brexit is being handled by the UK government, who really knows. To a certain extent geography dictates policy, and Ireland being in Schengen is a bit silly given the lack of land borders with Schengenland.

> To a certain extent geography dictates policy, and Ireland being in Schengen is a bit silly given the lack of land borders with Schengenland.

Counterexample: Iceland is part of Schengen. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area#Current_members.

Re: Preparations companies are making for Brexit

#150

Post by andrepd »

pjc50 wrote: post #69
chongli wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with the EU is that it's a half measure which turns out to be worse than all or nothing. The original idea of creating a "United States of Europe" is a laudable one but it may now be further away than it was before the EU was formed. The gap between wealthy Northern countries such as Germany and less-well-off southern countries such as Greece, Portugal, or Spain has grown substantially. And now it's all a…

> The gap between wealthy Northern countries such as Germany and less-well-off southern countries such as Greece, Portugal, or Spain has grown substantially. Has it? Over what time period and by what measure? At the time when the UK joined the EU in 1973, all three of those countries were military dictatorships!

Portugal was a dictatorship but not a military one. It was in fact the military that overthrew it.
Post reply on HN