Imp
Lifer
- Feb 8, 2000
- 18,829
- 184
- 106
I didn't realize that UK got any subsidies from the EU. I would have thought it would be the other way around. But then that too would be a reason for leaving.
I'm not sure the EU ever really made any sense. The cultures are too diverse to have a common government. Even comparing it to the US and say the difference between New Jersey and Oklahoma, we still have a lot more in common than there are differences. There's a shared culture and history there than counts for a lot even if we can't agree on things like Obamacare and abortion.
Plus the EU tried to create an economic union w/o any fiscal teeth. Unless you have some central control over spending and budgeting, you're always going to have the richer states paying for the poorer ones. Imagine for example that we had to subsidize the Mexican economy. Trump would be talking about building a wall to the moon.
Regarding subsidies... I don't know. According to some Remainers, the UK gets more than it gives. According to some Leavers, the UK gets less. I've also heard that the UK does get less, but Remainers don't trust the current Tory (right-wing?) government in the UK to allocate money to the same areas if they were to leave the EU.
There's also a suspicion that the ultimate goal of the EU is to make a United States of Europe with a central army. But you're right, how do you integrate so many countries with such different cultures, so many languages, and huge wealth disparity -- not to mention a couple thousand years of war in its history. 'Muricah has a lot going for it despite its disagreements.
And if I understand the open-borders thing right, it's essentially the same as the United States opening the border with Mexico for travel and jobs. In the UK, it looks like former Soviet Bloc countries take the place of Mexico.
The Remain side also has some weird arguments in my opinion. I've heard that the EU is the only thing preventing another European war. No, that's NATO, World War II that brought everyone west of the Berlin wall closer, and America. Then something about anti-immigration. Seems more about picking and choosing who immigrates versus some people in Brussels telling you who you need to take.
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