Monday
(0)So Britain will indeed remain more enlightened than the Continent, allowing people from the new EU member nations in Eastern Europe to live here: the proviso being that they will not be allowed to partake of state benefits for a few years.
So in other words, they are welcome (and they certainly are welcome by me) to come here and work just so long as they leave the theft of other people's money (via the state, of course), to native English people or resident French, Germans, Italians etc... or our very own local Arab terrorist supporters, come to think of it.
On a related note, it never ceases to amuse me to hear how politicos can make dissembling use of language. Following an attack by that paragon of liberal values and freedom, Tory leader Michael Howard, in which he asked "Will the government do what other countries are doing, and what the prime minister said he was looking at, will he impose transitional controls on immigration from the accession countries or not", Tony Blair replied:
"The position as I set it out is this. There is free movement of people after May 1, free movement of workers, however, is a concession we are prepared to grant – but not in circumstances where it can be abused," said the prime minister [...] The prime minister insisted there was no contradiction in government policy. The "free movement of people is distinct from the free movement of workers" he argued.
And this is presumably because workers are not... people? Anyway, I thought it was only a problem when the people in question turn out to not to be 'workers'. In reality, most of the 'Old' EU is not allowing free movement at all but rather highly regulated and restricted movement.
Completely off topic but check this out. Tax is good for us all, says Catholic Church.
"THE Roman Catholic Church will set out today the virtues of high taxation, arguing that taxes imposed by the Government are a way of strengthening the social health and moral good of the country."
Posted by Nigel Holland at February 23, 2004 08:33 PM
Nigel: then I guess Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's does not apply, just so long as the manner in which you 'covet' is intermediated by the state.
Posted by Perry de Havilland at February 23, 2004 10:22 PM
Nigel's find needs a post of its own. Astonishing stuff.
Posted by Cydonia at February 23, 2004 11:15 PM
I was actually in the middle of cobbling together an article on that, in a somewhat desultory fashion, when Nigel mentioned it... which snapped me out of my torpor and induced me to finish writing the bloody thing.
Posted by Perry de Havilland at February 23, 2004 11:42 PM
[...] just so long as they leave the theft of other people's money (via the state, of course), to native English people or resident French, Germans, Italians [...] Not just other people's: they'll have to hand over half their own for the privilege, since they won't be excluded from paying for it.
I've not seen whether they'll get the franchise. Though by EU rules they ought to, I can't see New Labour being very keen on having a group of voters it can't lock in to the state.
Posted by Guy Herbert at February 24, 2004 02:25 AM
This is why I admire illegal immigrants (at least some in the US). They risk their lives coming here, work hard at tough jobs, risk getting deported any day, and ask nothing of the government in return (which would risk their stay here of course).
Posted by Ironchef at February 24, 2004 03:26 PM
Ironchef: except free medical services, free use of schools, the right to drive and vote, etc.
Posted by Rick C at February 26, 2004 09:28 PM
