tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post6408242817301240147..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: Exporting a problem isn't the same as 'solving' itJohn Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-62757699208602498072020-01-31T09:46:57.907+00:002020-01-31T09:46:57.907+00:00Failure to address the fundemental skills weakness...Failure to address the fundemental skills weaknesses in the British economy/society is a political "crime". Much money has been spent on "training" over the years but the outcomes have been poor to non-existent in many cases. Just a bunch of training "providers" getting rich off the public purse via grants, initiatives etc. Hence the willingness to import skills, especially when their costs were usually lower than the native alternative(where those existed). <br />Yet another example of the public purse being drained into private coffers with little or nothing to show for the transaction. dafishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04216920242825385976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-46798031219087070102020-01-30T17:29:39.106+00:002020-01-30T17:29:39.106+00:00A genuine Brexit bonus perhaps!A genuine Brexit bonus perhaps!CapMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-55541539716837361832020-01-30T16:13:45.098+00:002020-01-30T16:13:45.098+00:00I broadly agree with both your comments, but there...I broadly agree with both your comments, but there are some open questions still. Would people believe that they would be the ones paying the higher taxes and prices? A characteristic we've seen recently is that people tend to believe that the pain will fall on someone else. And many people probably assume, by now, that anything Johnson says will be a lie anyway. I tend to agree with what you say, but I suppose there's part of me which believes (or maybe merely wants to believe?) that people might eventually stop believing the lies.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-67128475690958463212020-01-30T15:47:48.498+00:002020-01-30T15:47:48.498+00:00I agree that "their" opposition to immig...I agree that "their" opposition to immigration is electoral not ideological.<br />However for much of the electorate it is ideological.<br />We have seen how "their" electoral opposition to EU membership served the electorate's Leave ideology. I imagine that an electoral opposition to immigration could be exploited in the same way. Especially if "their" alternative suggests higher taxes and prices. CapMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-15490484688944878212020-01-30T14:40:57.954+00:002020-01-30T14:40:57.954+00:00I tend to agree that a way of continuing levels of...I tend to agree that a way of continuing levels of immigration to meet economic needs is the likeliest outcome. In spite of what the electorate might or might not believe, many of the leading Brexiteers are entirely relaxed about the fact of immigration; their opposition to it is electoral rather than ideological. Whether the route adopted is the one you suggest (i.e. fixed contracts) or whether it will enjoy the <i>"support of the electorate"</i> are, I suspect much more open questions.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-36738933659567018362020-01-30T13:07:37.496+00:002020-01-30T13:07:37.496+00:00I think immigration did play a significant part in...I think immigration did play a significant part in the Referendum. Also that most who voted Leave do expect immigration to be reduced and that probably quite a few who voted Remain think controlling immigration might be one thing in Brexit's favour. <br /><br />Given this expectation I can only see immigration issue ultimately being addressed in one of two ways.<br /><br />Either we pay ourselves more in those low paid unattractive jobs resulting in us paying higher costs for goods and services and in tax and we pay more tax to train people in the skills we need. <br /><br />Or we import low paid workers on fixed contracts who must return to their countries of origin once their contract expires. The Saudi model.<br /><br />I fear that the second course is more likely to happen than the first and with the support of the electorate. CapMnoreply@blogger.com