Monday 24 February 2020

Breathless Wine for Foreigners


Overheard in the kitchen:

Chairman: "I think I'll try this cheeky Chilean Malbec tonight."

Hay: "Are you going to give it chance to breathe?"

Chairman: "Certainly - 30 seconds should be enough."


Immigration control. Not entirely a bad idea, now that we've decided to leave the EU - but why the arbitrary barriers? That smacks of ideology, rather than pragmatism. With the salary minimum specified by Priti Patel, the people we actually need wouldn't qualify. Do we need more Polish plumbers? Probably not, but given how much plumbers can earn, they'd probably qualify. Healthcare workers? We definitely need more of them, but they earn such a pitiful salary that they wouldn't pass muster.

Why can't the authorities merely say we need more so-and-sos, and given them a free pass, based on a quota, which itself is based on the actual numbers we need? Probably a bit difficult, but if you want proper control and meet the demands, then that's what you'll have to do.

As for a mandatory requirement to speak English - I've yet to meet an EU migrant who can't speak English. In fact, they can probably speak several other European languages, unlike the indigenous population who are curiously limited to just one. Please don't wax lyrical about Bangladeshi curry shop workers who can't speak English, like one chap I was arguing with yesterday. Bangladeshis are from the Commonwealth, not the EU, and we've always been able to control non-EU immigration but, curiously, chose not to.

I was told that EU migrants come here solely for benefits. When I pointed out the fact that EU migrants contributed £20bn more to the economy than they took out, my opponent cherry picked Eastern Europeans. The truth is that Eastern Europeans fill low-paid jobs that can't be filled by British people (such as fruit picking), which automatically qualify them for benefits because they're low-paid. Chicken and egg.

Don't tie yourself up in ideology, and everything becomes more lucid and simple. Bow to ideology and you end up in all manner of logical contortions that end up making you look a total idiot.


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