Euro - Experts

[barrym 10]

When I vote for a government , I am delegating responsibilities to those elected to take decisions on my behalf , not because I dont have an opinion on a subject but because I'm not an expert in all areas , and particularly where international finance is concerned .

Being an design engineer , I dont expect my boss to know how to work out the structural integrity of a steelwork section , that's what he delegates to me . All he needs to know is that I have the expertese .

It makes me cringe , when the media , and some of the people they ask , give their reason for not joining the Euro as " we want to keep the pound " , what a fantastically well thought through argument that realy is , such a sound basis for the finacial stability of this country for the forthcomming years in the face of a growing European Trading Block .

As I alluded to at the begining , I know I dont have all the answers , and thats why I would rather leave it to the experts , without a referendum , which in my opinion the result of which would be based on VERY LITTLE knowledge of the implications , one way or the other .

The only drawback to this is that even the experts dissagree , but I wonder whether this is from , actual reasoning , or inbred preducices , based on Party political Dogma ?

[DaBouncer 13]

I like that explaination.

Although I don't feel it's finacially the right time to join the Euro, I look forward to the day we do.

 

It doesn't make me any less patriotic to the UK, but I just see it as the correct way forward in life!

[t020 11]

If we join the Euro, we will not be delegating our economy to our government, but a panel of 12 from different countries, who will make decisions that benefit most of the 12, which will not always be to the benefit of the UK. For example, at the moment we have complete control of our interest rates, albeit via the Bank of England. This can be tinkered in this country only to help control spending, borrowing, etc, which in turn affects house prices and inflation. If a government is handling the economy badly resulting in high inflation and unemployment, we can vote in another government who can try to manage the economy more effectively. If we join the Euro, we will have to grin and bear it, as our government will be representing only 1 in a 12 country panel. Furthermore, as more of the poorer countries in Eastern Europe sign up to the Euro over time, our economy will be dragged down by having to prop up poorer countries. Without the Euro, we have a strong economy, currently the 4th biggest in the world, and unemployment is low. If its not broke, don't fix it!

[Lickszz 10]

I am totally against the Euro and am pleased it's been put off for at least a little longer. However, that prat Blair seems hell-bent on dragging us into Europe regardless of the consequences.

 

Mr Brown - Please do you think it is possible that we can now leave behind all this Euro debate and start to anticipate that you turn all your attention to where it should have been in the first place - that is of course any of the very many domestic issues facing us - Health, Education, Transport, Law and Order, Defense, Environment, Corruption in Loal Government, Pensions, Asylum and Immigration. Is this too much to ask?

[alchresearch 214]

If we are to be a part of Europe, why should we be a bit-player and have to accept the decisions that are made?

 

We are supposedly a world leading nation, perhaps it should be US running Europe and not Europe running us.

 

Arguments about us losing the pound and losing our identity is pure rubbish. The French lost their Franc but they are still frogs, Germans lose the mark and they are still the same humourless krau... people. I don't wish to offend, but nothing has changed. I go to Dublin, buy a guiness with euros and I know I'm in Dublin and not in a faceless Euro-zone. Same as when I was in France last month. I bought a pint of Hoegaarden with Euros from the same place I bought one a couple of years ago but with Francs.

 

If a piece of paper is the only thing to show for this country, then we are in a sorry state and have nothing to lose.

[t020 11]

Germans may still be that but at least before they had the ability to change their own interest rate. Now if they want the interest rate of the Euro changing they must be in agreement with plenty of other countries too. The result? Recession.

[Lickszz 10]

The Euro currently is worth about 58 pence and in Britain this would make a litre of milk £2.32, it would be cheaper to get a cow!

 

 

How can giving up Political and Economic control of your country work?

[max 13]

Originally posted by "Lickszz"

 

The Euro currently is worth about 58 pence and in Britain this would make a litre of milk £2.32, it would be cheaper to get a cow!

 

 

How can giving up Political and Economic control of your country work?

 

Umm, how exactly did you work out the price of a pint of milk?

 

We don't have economic control over our country anyway. As far as t'north is concerned the decision making will just be going a little bit further south.

[Andy 10]

Originally posted by "Lickszz"

 

The Euro currently is worth about 58 pence and in Britain this would make a litre of milk £2.32, it would be cheaper to get a cow!

 

Could you explain what you mean please?

 

A litre of milk is about 60p in the shops, right? So if we get the Euro, a litre of milk will be about 1 Euro.

 

Prices will be converted into Euros, but they shouldn't actually change. It won't be cheaper to get a cow, because the price of the cow will change too.

[halevan 11]

A friend of mine who is dutch and lives in rotterdam,says that since they have had the euro currency,the cost of living has soared,so, why should we join the common market euro if it is going to increase OUR cost of living.

 

That is the last thing that people in this country want,this can be likened to a war of attrition where we are being worn down all the time to suit the majority of the EEC who incidently are mostly poor countries and desperately need financial assistance.

 

It all started off innocently enough, as we originaly were told it was just a market to sell our goods to (about 300 million people.) Now,we find we are going to lose our sovereignty,our pound,the right to make our own decisions,be at the mercy of unelected bureaucrats in brussels who will dictate and domineer and not I may say for OUR good.

[t020 11]

Originally posted by "Andy"

 

The Euro currently is worth about 58 pence and in Britain this would make a litre of milk £2.32, it would be cheaper to get a cow!

 

Could you explain what you mean please?

 

A litre of milk is about 60p in the shops, right? So if we get the Euro, a litre of milk will be about 1 Euro.

 

Prices will be converted into Euros, but they shouldn't actually change. It won't be cheaper to get a cow, because the price of the cow will change too.

 

I don't quite understand Lickszz's conversion but prices will increase i we converted to Euros. If for example that 60p litre of milk converted to 0.95 Euros, the price will always be rounded up. So in general, all prices will increase slightly as a result of rounding up converted prices. On top of losing control of our own economy, losing our currency, and sharing decisions about OUR country with representatives from foreign countries, it puts the icing on the cake. Its time to say no.

[Phanerothyme 12]

Originally posted by "t020"

 

The Euro currently is worth about 58 pence and in Britain this would make a litre of milk £2.32, it would be cheaper to get a cow!

 

Could you explain what you mean please?

 

A litre of milk is about 60p in the shops, right? So if we get the Euro, a litre of milk will be about 1 Euro.

 

Prices will be converted into Euros, but they shouldn't actually change. It won't be cheaper to get a cow, because the price of the cow will change too.

 

I don't quite understand Lickszz's conversion but prices will increase i we converted to Euros. If for example that 60p litre of milk converted to 0.95 Euros, the price will always be rounded up. So in general, all prices will increase slightly as a result of rounding up converted prices. On top of losing control of our own economy, losing our currency, and sharing decisions about OUR country with representatives from foreign countries, it puts the icing on the cake. Its time to say no.

 

You're absolutely right, retailers can be relied up on to round up not down every time.

 

There are clear disadvantages to the Euro, but I believe they are far outweighed by the clear benefits. Why the tories are so against it (apart from Ken Clarke) is beyond me, since you think they'd favour anything that enabled goods and capital to move more freely than ever before, creating the ideal conditions for a booming market.

 

As for controlling our interest rates, well that is all done by the Bank of England, and in my experience bankers all over Europe are just that, entirely the same breed of Bankers. Our national finances ar so inextricably linked to those of our european and us friends that what happens to them happens to us and vice versa. The Euro will make those fluctuation far more manageable and transparent once a bedding in period (10-15 years) has passed.

 

Of course this must come with root and branch reform of the Commission, the Parliament and EU bureaucracy, a complete rethink of the CAP and Fisheries to take into account global climate change and the requirements of an enlarged EU.

 

The Euro will enable British firms who excel in engineering, construction, IT, infrastructure etc to competetively bid for work in the less economically developed former soviet republics, which are desperate to part exchange their resources for hard cash to build up their countries to 'western' standards.

 

All bureaux de changes will go out of business, putting thousands of greedy and exorbitant money changers out of business.

 

Political Union will manifest itself with less national and supra national government, and more provincial and local government for less of a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, so endorsed by the then-EEC in the 70s.

 

And if the UK is outside of the Euro, she cannot actively participate in the processes that are going to govern European Trade and Relations for the forseeable future.