A few weeks ago I was watching a drama documentary about the sinking of the Lusitania, and in particular noted that Charles Voegele, Quarter master of the German U Boat U20 would not issue the order to sink her, and also other incidents where he had been unhappy about sinking non fighting vessels. In fact on her mission the U20 only sank merchant vessels. One of his comrades scolded him in an earlier incident pointing out that his family in Hamburg could not get enough to eat because of the naval blockade of the Royal Navy.
In both World wars we tried to strangle each other in terms of both food and supplies. The Germans with U Boats and us with a surface fleet. This has led to what is the real devastating legacy of the wars. The devastation to both African and South American agricultural business that the European Common Agricultural Policy is immense.
Argentina used to be a wealthy country, exporting lots of agricultural produce, but post war, Europe started to feed it self with food produced on subsidised farms. Africa can't progress because it can't compete with American and European dumping.
This is of course all nuts. I am paying tax to keep black people poor. People I have never met, are not my enemies, and to whom I have no ill will. I would rather not pay the tax. We then get taxed even more to provide aid to people who for no particularly well explained reason we keep poor with MY money but make such a bad fist of that, that most of us then have to give yet more money to charity to try and make up for it.
Frankly I would rather not pay the tax to keep Africans poor. I can then spend the money on better things, and not only that, but a rich African is a little more likely to buy goods our country makes than one who can't even feed his own family.
I think it is an affront to tax me to keep someone else poor. It is disgusting, there is no other word for it. I do hope all those farmers across Europe who riot when they think they may lose the CAP can sleep at night. Disgusting small minded b*rstards the lot of them.
So why bring this up now, well there is a person called Erik who keeps raising subjects he thinks I should be discussing, (well Erik, it is my blog, and I will blog about what I feel like) but I was going to write something along these lines. Then Erik drew my attention to this article in the Telegraph about how much more this is going to cost us in the next few years.
In short our payments to the EU are going to double, and the money we get back is going to go down, and whilst a bit of it will go to getting Eastern Europe on its feet which is a good thing (provided the money is well spent) we are still paying to keep Africa poor. Well done Tony, giving away our rebate whilst still screwing Africa and getting us to pay for it!
It is nuts it really is!
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19 comments:
It's double-nuts when Tony is trying to save africa: the power was in his hands. Now it is not. Too late Tony. (Say, like two Jags Prescott!)
PS I'm from kiwiland and your CAP makes me poor, too. Relatively speaking. Esp as me grandad "fought and died for you" in 2 world wars.
Still we're better off than those Gurkha chaps!
Flash,
Yeah but, at least your country had the good sense to throw of the shackles of gov't box tickers in relation to agriculture.
You'd be a lot poorer if you still had to support, and follow the diktats, of those parasites.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a system of European Union agricultural subsidies and programmes. It represents about 44% of the EU's budget (€55 billion scheduled spending for 2007 [1]). These subsidies work by guaranteeing a minimum price to producers and by direct payment of a subsidy for crops planted. Reforms of the system are currently underway, including a phased transfer of subsidy to land stewardship rather than specific crop production from 2005 to 2012. Detailed implementation of the scheme varies in different member countries of the EU, but currently a new Single Payment Scheme for direct farm payments is being introduced in the UK.
here is the gubbins of CAP
By the way, this gov't has made a total bollocks of administering the payments scheme to farmers. Bankruptcy rates, and suicide rates of farmers are soaring. You may think this is strange with CAP. The fact is that supermarkets have paired prices to the bone. Farmers should form their own cartels to balance the power of the cartels---er, ----I mean supermarkets buying power.
You know, I'm beginning to have a little faith in this guy
Maybe, just maybe, this may be the turning point.
flashgordonnz, Yes it is nuts when you consider that Tony is trying to save Africa, and yes it does not help New Zealand either! (though we still get to import stuff from there don't we?)
Erik, yes the UK farm payments are a mess and are causing massive problems in the industry.
Which guy are you begining to have faith in?
OOPS, I cocked up the link. I mean Sarkozy is showing some evidence of understanding the realities of the World, rather than the current European practice of both filtering reality to protect joey beer-can, and super-imposing a false perception of reality prior to dissemination.
It is only by reading widely that the truth comes out, and that pisses me!
What also pisses me is flagrent lying by the media, politicians, etc. Lying by commision, or ommision.
Tony is not "trying to help Africa". Tony is trying to secure his "legacy" (hearty laugh) as a world statesman. I doubt very much whether Tony Blair could find any African country on a map.
I don't have a lot of time for Africans - in fact, by and large, I have contempt for them - but I have long said they deserve a fair shake in the British and European markets. It will never happen, but every single tariff involving food and food production should be trashedwith immediate effect. The only way that wealth is created anywhere on earth is via capitalism and giving everyone a chance to get wealthy themselves while adding to the wealth of their countries.
Benedict, having corrected the link cock-up, - to return to the original blog, (there, there, don't fall over, )my point in raising the article on the Telegraph was
1)Ted Heath took us in
2)Successive gov'ts have been lied too, including Maggies.
3)Yes, she got a rebate.
4)2 nations have voted NO on a referendum which was unanimous or it failed, therefor all moves subsequent to that vote are illegal under the EU's own laws.
5)The constitution is coming, (written by that prick d'Estaing) by the back door, by bureaucratic encroachment. NO VOTE, NO DISCUSSION, NO FUC-ING ANYTHING.
6)The constitution brings napoleonic law. Guilty until proven innocent; detained at magistrates pleasure (leisure)ie months or years.
(Makes nonsense of 90 days don't you think?) No habeus corpus, the legislature becomes the judiciary too. No more independant judicial review of executive decisions
7)The article was written by a fellow conservative MP.
My own attitude is why the fu-k are we still a member of this rotten, corrupt (no signed ofF. accounts for ELEVEN YEARS, DIRECTORS OF A COMPANY WOULD BE SERVING TIME)illegal/economic/gravy-train fuck-up.
The author shares my opinion.
What is the party-line on EU membership?
Put like that, I agree with everything you say. The situation is mad. A very well written post, btw.
The only way that wealth is created anywhere on earth is via capitalism and giving everyone a chance to get wealthy themselves while adding to the wealth of their countries.
Verity, I know it's nit picking, but the Saudi recipients of fighter-jet back-handers are seriously wealthy.
As far as my understanding goes, the only thing those thousands of Princes do is subtract from the real wealth of their own country by their corruption, recycling the proceeds in more stable regimes, and exporting the "social" problems around the globe.
Erik - I believe we are discussing larger issues than a few dozen Saudi crappy "princes" and their backhanders. It is absurd to consider a few million dollars in backhanders to the ongoing economy of whole countries.
Once the oil's gone, the backhanders have gone. There was never any wealth creation there. I cannot imagine what provoked you to write such a pretentious non sequitur.
Verity.
I wrote the pretentious non sequitur to illustrate the wealth "subtraction" effect of the corruption of saud and the wealth subtraction effect of the corruption (ie economic nonsense) of the EU bureucracy and the cap subsidies, and the way its effects spread around the globe, impoverishing nations.
Surely you could see that?
Back handers, tribalism, lack of property rights, cronyism, and corruption in general have all served, amongst other things, like corrupt colonialism to impoverish Africa in one way or another.
We both agree on the role capitalism has to play, and probably both agree that it has largely failed in Africa for the above reasons.
China, on the other hand, is enjoying a limited success in Africa.
Whether you would consider their methods as corruption, hard-headed business, taking the bull by the horns,or whatever, I would be most interested to hear your views
Benedict, what is the party view on
1)the EU referendum
2)uk continued membership
Welshcakes, many thanks!
Erik to answer some of your questions and points, corruption is corruption and is not related to capitalism though it does go on in both capitalist and non capitalist systems. In all cases corruption bleeds a working economy and makes it work less well.
On the EU constitution rather than a referendum, we are against it. No ifs no buts.
As for leaving the EU, no we are in favour of staying in, but changing the way the EU works. We think that over a period of time we could change the way the EU works.
Verity, I have no idea why you seem to despise Africans, though I could appreciate that you don't care for most of their governments, after all what have Africans done to make you despise them?
I am however pleased that you agree they should be given a fair crack of the whip.
Erik to answer some of your questions and points, corruption is corruption and is not related to capitalism though it does go on in both capitalist and non capitalist systems. In all cases corruption bleeds a working economy and makes it work less well.
Benedict.
I am sorry that you misunderstood my point about corruption. Rather than dwell on the point at this location, I will pursue the point later with you when the opportunity arises.
We think that over a period of time we could change the way the EU works.
Benedict.
Your party is as guilty of delusional thinking as the EU morass,
Absent wholesale personnel changes, (probably in the order of 90%) both in the EU parliament, and in the "bureaucracy", you could work 'till hell freezes over and achieve precisely zero.
So many initiatives, so many announcements, so many $billions!, no accountability, positive efforts to negate accountability systems. Expenses gravy trains. Translation costs nonsense.
They are collectively humping at the trough of greed. They will not allow change!
Erik: "Yeah but, at least your country had the good sense to throw of the shackles of gov't box tickers in relation to agriculture."
Unfortunately they all got remployed in other areas of government. Our nanny state is almost as "well developed" as the UK's.
Benedict White said...
"though we still get to import stuff from [NZ] don't we?)"
Yes, we are allowed to sell you x tonnes of lamb and x tonnes of diary products, plus fruit (different seasons of course). But i'm sure your consumers would buy as much as we could supply if it were a free market! STill, we're not bitter: we can still come and live, work and pay taxes in the UK for up to 4 years.
:^)
Erik, So what would you rather we do? Let the French run the EU?
flashgordonnz, Yes I forgot it was limited imports. I would prefer it was not.
Erik, So what would you rather we do? Let the French run the EU?
Pull out, become a free trader. Bi-lateral agreements with everyone. Operate own laws/case law/immigration/foreign policies.
Pull-out of EU "army", alter structure/articles of NATO.
Temporary farming chaos but manageable.
Get rid of many thousands of box tickers/quango squatters/uncivil servants. De-politicize everything, - Stats office, treasury, etc leave education to professionals, cream will rise to the top. Strive once again for excellence.
Flat rate tax, with high threshold, bring back married couples allowances, structure taxes to reinforce the family unit. Capital gains tax to 20%, IHT threshold to 1m pounds, indexed to RPI. Corporation tax to 15%, and after 1 year, 12%. Qualifications for all MPs/lawmakers to include 15 years at management level in Industry.
Industry to have vote proportional to manpower employed, in local and national elections.
Most important, be honest.
And do it all in the first 100 days
How much more would you like, benedict?
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