Arise, the new Baltic state of East Anglia

[TGAOTU]

Sounds a bit like the Monty Python Architects' sketch... with all those whirling knives...

Yeah, they never would let him join, the blackballing bastards!

[vetran]

Total and utter crap. Does anyone have a link for this report? If true it would imply that the average adult income in that fairly affluent area is the minimum wage less any money repatriated. Yet we know average income in the uk is over £25k a year. How do these people get away with peddling such drivel?

Or are they comparing it with population as a whole, the sick, the aged, children etc? Long term, assuming many of these are permanent migrants, that is an irrelevant comparison becase they too will get ill/get old/have kids.

We will have a standard of living that is no better, a more crowded country and reduced quality of life.

Don't forget they are only measuring the ones that pay tax.

[xoggoth]

“We want to ensure that the contribution of migrant workers is valued and understood. Even though they send money home they actually contribute more money per head to the region’s economy than local people.”

Total and utter crap. Does anyone have a link for this report? If true it would imply that the average adult income in that fairly affluent area is the minimum wage less any money repatriated. Yet we know average income in the uk is over £25k a year. How do these people get away with peddling such drivel?

Or are they comparing it with population as a whole, the sick, the aged, children etc? Long term, assuming many of these are permanent migrants, that is an irrelevant comparison becase they too will get ill/get old/have kids.

We will have a standard of living that is no better, a more crowded country and reduced quality of life.

[Fungus]

This is all down to enlargement of the EU, which is another one of Blair's hobby horses, isn't it. I wonder why.

1. To gain more allies against the French and Germans?

2. To increase the potential market for UK goods?

3. To increase the size of the European empire when he becomes president of it?

4. Any other ideas?

5. To create one giant centrally controlled socialist utopian superstate where the non-standard banana fears to tread.

6. To create more bureacracy so that whenever someone does Il Presidente a favour, they can be made "Our man in Europe", with a nice fat expense account, and salary, for doing diddly squat. What did happen to the Kinnocks and Mandy?

R.e. 3, the biggest emerging market is China, and we are exporting ~zilch to them, unlike Germany, Japan etc.

I happen to think 5. is the case. These politicians seem to think that all you need to do is create 1 million laws, rules and regulations, and the world will be perfect. Except that Europe will no longer be able to compete in the world, and what industry is has left will die.

Fungus

[OwlHoot]

This is all down to enlargement of the EU, which is another one of Blair's hobby horses, isn't it. I wonder why.

1. To gain more allies against the French and Germans?

2. To increase the potential market for UK goods?

3. To increase the size of the European empire when he becomes president of it?

4. Any other ideas?

I thought at one point the underlying goal of British foreign policy was to encourage the EU to expand so much that it would become diluted to the point of meaningless and hopefully fizzle away, in other words to sabotage it from the inside.

But it's simplistic to think everyone could be unanimous in wanting any particular outcome, especially one like that, as some of the thicker politicians, labour and otherwise, genuinely seem to want the EU to prosper.

[DodgyAgent]

No, your right. I forgot we all have to develop our own personal morality and it was wrong of me to project mine upon these boards. It was also wrong of me to assume that parts of others personal morality overlaps with mine. I apologise for impinging upon your personal indiviual mindspace.

You didnt even bother to explain your morality so no need to sulk

[NoddY]

what on earth has morality got to do with this?

No, your right. I forgot we all have to develop our own personal morality and it was wrong of me to project mine upon these boards. It was also wrong of me to assume that parts of others personal morality overlaps with mine. I apologise for impinging upon your personal indiviual mindspace.

[SupremeSpod]

You'd be amazed how much of the frozen chicken stuff is automated. Do you know they used to have people to round the chickens up, tie the feet, hang them up? This can now be done by one machine built into the chicken house. It looks like a big big hoover.

One of your designs eh, Threaded? From "on the hoof" to pie in the shortest time possible...

[threaded]

You'd be amazed how much of the frozen chicken stuff is automated. Do you know they used to have people to round the chickens up, tie the feet, hang them up? This can now be done by one machine built into the chicken house. It looks like a big big hoover.

[stackpole]

This is all down to enlargement of the EU, which is another one of Blair's hobby horses, isn't it. I wonder why.

1. To gain more allies against the French and Germans?

2. To increase the potential market for UK goods?

3. To increase the size of the European empire when he becomes president of it?

4. Any other ideas?

[DodgyAgent]

Didn't modernism promise us that one day machines would do such things [packing frozen chickens etc]?

Moral arguments aside (for now) - I would like to pose this question: is this really a constructive use of human resources? What are the flaws in our economic system that allow this?

what on earth has morality got to do with this? Surely if these processes can be done by machines then they would be.

[milanbenes]

well it pays the bills dunnit

Milan.

[NoddY]

Didn't modernism promise us that one day machines would do such things [packing frozen chickens etc]?

Moral arguments aside (for now) - I would like to pose this question: is this really a constructive use of human resources? What are the flaws in our economic system that allow this?

[milanbenes]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...938254,00.html

some nice quotes from the article...


They work eight hours a day on the production line packaging frozen chickens and earning the minimum wage of £5.05 an hour. Even after paying the rent for their flat in Great Yarmouth 35 miles away they earn £100 a week each, equivalent to the monthly wage in Lithuania.

Clive Beecham, managing director of Kinnerton, said: “I think they are a fantastic workforce and that is largely because they are over here for one reason and that is to work.”

Sheila Childerhouse, a board member of the East of England Development Agency, which commissioned the report into the economic impact of the migrant workers, said: “We want to ensure that the contribution of migrant workers is valued and understood. Even though they send money home they actually contribute more money per head to the region’s economy than local people.”


Future's bright,

Milan.