Last time I was in the States, over a dozen years ago even, I was *so* disappointed not to see any of the great classic gas-guzzlers on the roads. Everyone seemed to be driving small Jap cars and it's probably even worse today with these stupid little Prius things that douchebags like Brian Griffin drives.
Exactly in the same way as we do now. Do you really believe French, Dutch and Spanish farmers etc. are not going sell us their tasteless fruit and vegetables. Do you think we will be unable to buy gas from Russia or washing machines from Turkey or TVs from Korea when we leave the EU? Do you think that all that food you currently see in every supermarket from 101 different countries outside the EU is suddenly going to rot waiting for months in a customs sheds?
I assure you that if I could afford a Morgan I'd be driving one today.
--scott
Ah - right. Of course we will be able to buy things from anywhere and with some food cheaper than the EU.
What you haven't answered is just how we pay for these imports. Which is the $64k question.
At the moment the majority of the UK's income is from financial etc services. Not selling Jaguars or whatever. Many such financial operations base themselves here because of access to the EU. And are high wage operations. With many nationalities working in them. Several very attractive places to live in Europe would just love to have them re-locate there.
Hi Scott - good to see you're still around. ;-)
Do you mean the same financial services the cost of which to bail them out will be paid for by your children's children? Do you mean the same financial services that illegally fiddled the rates so that mortgages in the UK were more expensive? Do you mean the same financial services that have been fined billions by the US, UK and European regulators? Do you mean the same financial services that are so well run that a lack of due diligence has resulted in foreign bank/investment acquisitions making massive losses? Do you mean that the same financial services that caused many viable small UK companies to go to the wall so that they could be asset stripped? Do you mean the same financial services that constructed worthless investments that no insider trader would touch with a barge pole? Do you mean that same financial services that have written off billions for mis-selling PPI? Do you mean the same financial services where loyalty to them is rewarded with high charges than for disloyal or new customers?
Again not as simple as in or out of the EU......
Many of these companies are more likely to go to new York or the far East rather than migrating to the rest of Europe.
The credibility of financial services in the Euro zone may take a big hit if a few basket case EU countries start defaulting on their loans. A lot of Euro zone financial problems have be swept under the carpet to resurface in a few year's time.
In a few years time, or perhaps even today, with modern technology it will not matter where in the world you sit to run a financial service.
I think it more or less is - they'll still be getting up to that shenanigans wherever they are.
Were it not for the fact that location is a source of inward investment and of course jobs. While the UK financial services sector doesn't do much in terms of productivity it directly employs about 10% of the workforce - at least. That 10% is linked to jobs across sectors. Whether I like the sector or not, that still has to be factored in. -- Cheers, Rob
Is it sensible to rely on a sector that next year could be run from an office building in India with an additional staffing level of perhaps less than 100 people in each country they are servicing?
Currently more and more of us don't set foot in a UK bank branch or haven't had need to contact an actual person for years for an Internet bank account or investment. The number of people the financial services employ in the UK is dwindling.
Isn't that just an up-market Reliant Robin with the third wheel fitted at the wrong end?
I wouldn't mind one of the three wheeled varieties.
And they won't even have to go very far with the Republic of Ireland staying in the EU. London or Dublin, doesn't make much difference.
They do still make the three-wheeler but I was thinking more of the
4/4, which is still made of wood but has four wheels and a real engine. It is one of the most fun-to-drive cars made today. And less scary to drive than the Ariel Atom.--scott
He probably meant a Morgan 4
[...]
That was a bit cruel, Alan. Dave is not accustomed to being so brutally confronted by facts.
Good point. Let the Irish pick up the tab for their next megafailure.
The UK government bailed out Dublin the last time to the tune of £14 billion. Any country that hosts financial institutions deemed too big to fail will have to have deep pockets.
It was the most outrageous scandal of recent times, and yet you find people like Dave Plowman cheerfully defending the indefensible. :-/
It's actually fairly new. And horrendously expensive. The originals were fun though, and still quite a few around.
Yes you can have great fun with one at speeds that aren't scary.
There you go then. We export very little in the way of manufactured goods and financial services are actually a drain on the economy. Hope you are looking forward to penury.
But isn't this the stagnated status quo that those wishing to remain are so eager to promote.
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