Stay or go? EU poll - Oh the irony.

kabayiri

Suppose we made illegal drugs free (through the NHS).

Would this not reduce our effective GDP and hence EU contribution?

We have legions of accountants who work wonders with corporate accounts, I am sure they could get a bit creative on the national accounts.

TickersPlaysPop

So this is either Barosso throwing Cameron a bone, or it was Cameron getting in quick on media to steal the wind on this issue from UKIP?

I find it hard to believe the EU would help Cameron out by giving him the chance to beat them down publically with a late payment or smaller payment to weaken UKIP, maybe once UKIP prove themselves at the general election the EU will start to play tactical games.... but that might be too late.

So it basically this is Conservatives managing the media and playing it in their favour to disadvantage UKIP.

System

The usual ill-informed tosh from SE England.
UKIP fruitcakes are nothing like the Scottish parties.

BobQ wrote: »

Maybe the rise in EU popularity is what happens when people see what the consequences of narrow nationalism north of the border nearly did to the UK.

Bantex_2

So we hand over a pile of cash to the EU each year and they sometimes give us some of it back. How is that a good deal?

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Bantex wrote: »

So we hand over a pile of cash to the EU each year and they sometimes give us some of it back. How is that a good deal?

Because we have access to the single market and a seat at the table that makes the rules.

Countries like Norway also get access to the single market, but they have no influence on all the EU trade rules and legislation that they also have to follow, and pay as much per person for the privilege as we do....

Bantex_2

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Because we have access to the single market and a seat at the table that makes the rules.

Countries like Norway also get access to the single market, but they have no influence on all the EU trade rules and legislation that they also have to follow, and pay as much per person for the privilege as we do....

I can see the argument for a free trade "club",with an admin fee. But why is it assumed that the EU knows what to do with our money better than our own elected government?

N1AK

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Following that logic Companies should pay Corporation Tax on revenue not profit earnt.

I would be in favour of replacing a consider portion of profit based taxation on businesses with revenue based taxation. As we have seen it is too easy for a company to 'hide' profits, or shift them overseas, which is not nearly as viable with revenues.

I am also taxed based on revenue (what I earn) not profit (what I earn minus costs like housing etc required for me to operate).

There's nothing here to get angry about with the EU that we didn't already know. Those getting angry were either ignorant of how the funding of the EU works or are so politcally blinkered that they'll turn anything about the EU into a reason to dislike it.

N1AK

Bantex wrote: »

I can see the argument for a free trade "club",with an admin fee. But why is it assumed that the EU knows what to do with our money better than our own elected government?

Why is it assumed that our government knows better than we do... Why is it assumed that we know better than our employers... Is this line of obvious argument by logical fallacy really the best EUphobes have?

Our elected government chose to join the EU. Our elected government agreed to this payment mechanism. Vote for someone who will act to stop it if you have an issue with it (and try not to be too shocked if the rest of the country doesn't do the same).

jjlandlord

The UK alone has a rebate, so whatever we're paying it is less than everyone else is.
The mechanism of payments is transparent: This time we have to pay extra, but perhaps next time we'll get a refund. Perhaps we got refunds in the past.

This is a complete non-story that is being spinned for populist political gains.

Bantex wrote: »

So we hand over a pile of cash to the EU each year and they sometimes give us some of it back. How is that a good deal?

Do you, year on year, keep track of how much money you give to the government and how much the government gives you back in one form or another?
If you do, is it a good deal?
If it is not a good deal, why are you still living here?

Interestingly when wealthy people actually do that exercise and decide that it is not a 'good deal' and leave they are attacked for 'not paying their fair share'.
I guess that it is not unreasonable to think that everyone on the EU think exactly that of the UK.

There's the bigoted, narrow-minded view, and there's the big picture.

The big picture is what matters.
The narrow-minded view is what politicians can easily play on to gain votes.

CLAPTON

jjlandlord wrote: »

There's the bigoted, narrow-minded view, and there's the big picture.

The big picture is what matters.
The narrow-minded view is what politicians can easily play on to gain votes.

which 'big' picture is that


years of unsigned off accounts
years of m_afia corruption
years of wasteful 'prestige ' projects
train lines with no passengers
empty roads to nowhere
................