Joining a Club

[chopper]

If you leave the golf club you can't expect to have access to green on your own terms, as good as permanent members or at all.

Seems reasonable to me

That golf club analogy is quite poor. Britain isn't a person who is a member of a golf club, with nothing to offer back; Britain is a golf club as part of a consortium of 28 golf clubs, where if you join - say - Greece Golf Club, you can come and play golf at Britain golf club free of charge, and Britain Golf Club's members can go and play golf at any of the other 27 golf clubs, free of charge.

This is a great thing.

But then someone says "Here is a maximum grass length, and all golf clubs must comply". And then "Here is a mandatory shape of bunker", and "This is what you must offer in your golf club bar menu". Suddenly it feels like we aren't an individual golf club, but rather just part of a chain of harmonised golf clubs.

So we think "What about if we also let America Golf Club and Australia Golf Club members come and play here?" - suddenly, the Euro Golf Club Union says "nope, WE will decide who can play here, not you. You have no say in the matter. All decisions made here, not with the local Golf Club committee that the members elected".

And not only that, we have to pay out to be members of said union, and the money is distributed to some of the other golf clubs.


Sounds like we'd be better off saying "Sod you, we're off out of this, We'd still like a reciprocal arrangement where your golfists can come and play here and our golfists can play there, but shove your political bollocks up your chuff". The gravy train riders at Euro Golf Club Union try to punish Britain Golf Club for daring to go it alone, lest anyone else decides that being able to play golf anywhere is good, but would prefer to be individual clubs rather than a chain of clubs.


The one problem we have is that the 4th Hole has its own committee who has a minority of people who would like to leave Britain Golf Club, and stay in the Euro Golf Club Union, even though to it is better being part of Britain Golf Club rather than being a one hole club in EGCU, being told what to do, including its members not being allowed to socialise with their friends in what is left of Britain Golf Club.

[shaunbhoy]

The one problem we have is that the 4th Hole has its own committee

And a bunker mentality to boot.

[sasguru]

FFS Probably the most pointless thread in the forum, where a bunch of snowflake Brexiters whine about the EU.
You stupid morons chose to leave the club, the rules of which were and are crystal clear.
We're leaving the Single market and Customs Union. End of story.
There are going to be some negotiations.
Lets see what we get in terms of tariff free access, however the the EU has made it clear the 4 freedoms are indivisible. Since we don't want freedom of movement, the other freedoms are no longer free and have to be paid for in some way.
Nothing could be more clear.

Those of us with resources are planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
The one simple thing I would advise everyone to do right now is get private health insurance because one way or another (and not only due to Brexit) public spending is going to fall BIGLY.

[GB9]

In such a scenario other members of the club will ask themselves, why are we members? Lets getta out here.

Of course there'll be tariffs, just as there is for Norway and Switzerland. Remember much of the UK's trade to the EU is services based. Services are easily moved, unlike manufacturing.

If there was little need for either side to introduce tariffs Mayhem would not concerning herself with running over to misogynist Trump for a deal. Any deal. A great deal.

It's embarrassing.

But would they ask themselves that?

I'm sure there are many members that want closer union, open borders, a single court, a single government etc. They would be free to stay and push on with the project.

If your club requires you to bully members into staying it must be pretty poor.

[shaunbhoy]

FFS I've had a chance to sleep on it and I STILL cannot stay on task long enough to answer the original question without sloping off on a tangent and trying to turn it into a question that I DO want to answer

ftfy

Keep trying....it is comedy gold watching you attempt to alter the original premise to suit your tedious predictability.

[scooterscot]

Exactly. And that would cause either the complete break-up of the EU as it currently exists, or at the very least, a significant redrawing of the Modus Operandi.

That would not be bad news for anyone really other than the megalomaniac EU Leadership, who wish for nothing more than to extend the tentacles of their influence.

Is the penny starting to drop yet?

I know the breakup of the EU is your wet dream but that's not going to happen. For a number of reasons. One above all is cost. Why exchange paying a fee to paying more for market access, thereby increasing your costs? Do you know why stuff is more expensive in Switzerland and Norway? (soon to be the UK).

Has the penny dropped yet?

Costs in the UK will certainly increase, which will mean we'll have to become more self sufficient (unlikely considering we lack the skills base and available time) or the pound will need to devaluate by an obscene amount, thereby hurting EU exports to the UK.

It'll hurt the EU for sure but I'm guessing the UK will feel the pain a lot more.

[scooterscot]

But would they ask themselves that?

I'm sure there are many members that want closer union, open borders, a single court, a single government etc. They would be free to stay and push on with the project.

If your club requires you to bully members into staying it must be pretty poor.

Yes that explains even why bankrupt Greece even wanted to stay.

If the EU was that awful why din't the take the easy card, pull out go bankrupt start fresh? Because they know the value of the EU.

[NotAllThere]

It's a club we joined early in its life, not right at the start but early in its life. We have shaped the design of it and helped it grow. We want to leave the club. There is no retired member status or honouree member Status. We are told that if we leave our years of contributions mean nothing. We will be treated like a non member, and no favours will be extended..

This was my experience with the PCG. Seemed fair enough.

How about we want to leave the club but we will still remain friends with many of the members

Huh? But we hate everyone in the club. We don't even want their people to come here to help out during harvest.

[Bee]

Yes that explains even why bankrupt Greece even wanted to stay.

If the EU was that awful why din't the take the easy card, pull out go bankrupt start fresh? Because they know the value of the EU.

Or why the EU did everything to maintain Greece.

[Bee]

Agreed, and that all worked very well for a considerable period of time when all of the members were capable of contributing appropriately.

Fast forward to the present however, and we discover a lopsided melting pot of cash-strapped lame-duck economies feeding off the diminishing number of net contributors.
There is only one way that scenario is likely to end, and the first cracks are appearing.


Unless the "exception" becomes the rule.

Ah, that's another story, now you blame the PIGS.
Do you have anything more to blame to feel yourself better?