I don't often agree with Cristina Odone, but...

[mos]

Yet most business leaders seem to want the latter.

Odd that it seems to be the preference of the left as well, you might have thought protection for local workers would be higher on their agenda. I suppose as you say allowing workers to move with the jobs is a better bet, as.long as one is in favour of internationalisation.

Many millions of good jobs shifted to Asia - if they did not care about those jobs, why would they care about minute fraction which went to fellow EU citizens. Or people have very short memory.

[darmstadt]

Restricting migration used to be a primarily left wing issue, with unions campaigning for it. Of course, unions have often favoured closed shops in the past, another restriction on labour market mobility, and the right railed against that practise for being uncompetitive and illiberal. The worm appears to have turned.

I don't think its so much that the worm has turned as that the political parties have unknowingly merged into one where there are no longer any differences.

[MicrosoftBob]

Restricting migration used to be a primarily left wing issue, with unions campaigning for it. Of course, unions have often favoured closed shops in the past, another restriction on labour market mobility, and the right railed against that practise for being uncompetitive and illiberal. The worm appears to have turned.

The problem is that the Labour party has a corporatist agenda, because they believe that the best way to keep Labour voters is to ensure a big pool of poor people to vote for them

And also because they're racist and assume foreigners are more likely to vote Labour

The don't really like big business, but it suits them to pursue the same policies

[mos]

Personally I think that in general the Indians we get are third rate, compared with the ones the US creams off.
But each and every one of them is far better than you.
I mean who needs a whining, paranoid immigrant like you?

Yeah, I bet in US you would complain that Europe gets all the "best and brightest".
Btw - just because they are better than you, it does not mean that they are good.

[Mich the Tester]

I don't think its so much that the worm has turned as that the political parties have unknowingly merged into one where there are no longer any differences.

Do you mean the worm has started eating its own tail and is slowly excreting itself as a slimey putrid blob with a suspicious smell?

[mos]

I don't think its so much that the worm has turned as that the political parties have unknowingly merged into one where there are no longer any differences.

Purple, Purple! Populist Purple!

[doodab]

Many millions of good jobs shifted to Asia - if they did not care about those jobs, why would they care about minute fraction which went to fellow EU citizens. Or people have very short memory.

Most of the jobs that went to Asia were tulipty ones in call centres and manufacturing sweatshops. They went because it was cheap. Arguably some of those will come back to southern europe now, or should, particularly clothing manufacture but also bicycles, white goods etc.

I expect they wont because none of those countries can devalue their currency to become more competitive.

[doodab]

The problem is that the Labour party has a corporatist agenda, because they believe that the best way to keep Labour voters is to ensure a big pool of poor people to vote for them

And also because they're racist and assume foreigners are more likely to vote Labour

The don't really like big business, but it suits them to pursue the same policies

Modern labour has a corporatist agenda because they were forced to adopt one to become electable. Such was the effectiveness of pro business, pro globalization, pro free market propoganda in the early 90s.

Worked out well.

[mos]

Most of the jobs that went to Asia were tulipty ones in call centres and manufacturing sweatshops. They went because it was cheap. Arguably some of those will come back to southern europe now, or should, particularly clothing manufacture but also bicycles, white goods etc.

I expect they wont because none of those countries can devalue their currency to become more competitive.

Tell unemployed youth that steady call centre jobs are tuliptier than workfare @ Poundland!
And fyi - my client co sent several good jobs from Southern Europe straight to India only last month!

[doodab]

Tell unemployed youth that steady call centre jobs are tuliptier than workfare @ Poundland!

I didn't say they were the tulipest jobs going, I said they were tulip. Speaking from personal experience I'd say they are marginally better than being a bin man or sorting mail bags for those who can take the constant stream of verbal abuse that many of them entail, but not nearly as good as semi skilled work in a factory assembling stuff with power tools.

And fyi - my client co sent several good jobs from Southern Europe straight to India only last month!

Perhaps they are having trouble finding good people at the right price in Europe? My previous client is expanding their offshore dev & hosting centre in Bulgaria as we speak so it's not all one way traffic.