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You know that goes both ways? You're also free to move to a different country where you get paid better. Now you might not want to do that, because you want you
by realityking 10y ago
You know that goes both ways? You're also free to move to a different country where you get paid better. Now you might not want to do that, because you want your kinds to grow up in $country or some other valid reason but it's wrong to paint this as something singularly bad for the working class.
- jules 10y agoRealistically, how does the ability to move to Poland help the person working in a local car repair shop? Is that hypothetical worth the risk of getting fired in favour of a cheaper worker? What about the job prospects of his/her kids? Free movement of labour helps the owner of the repair shop, not so much the workers.
- realityking 10y agoGo work in a car repair shop in France if they pay better, that's how you profit. Thousands of Polish people moved to the UK and took jobs there.
- jules 10y agoImagine a conversation between a pro-EU politician and this car mechanic. P: Vote for me! Free movement of labour is great. C: Why? Then I will face competition from people who are willing to work for very low wages, and so will my kids. P: Yea, but then you can move to France with your family! C: Ok but I don't want to move to France. I don't speak the language. My friends and family are here. My kids go to school here. And why would wages be better in France, anyway? I'll face the same competition there. Can you see why this may not be very convincing? On the other hand, imagine a conversation with the owner of the shop: P: Vote for me! Free movement of labour is great. O: Indeed, I'll be able to hire cheaper workers.
- realityking 10y agoAt this point your appealing to emotion, not reason. Even if individual car repair man is not leaving for France, if many leave to take better paying jobs in France supply is lowering in his home country, which should lead to higher prices (or lower unemployment) I think the better counter argument is brain drain, it's certainly not advantageous for a country if many of its most skilled citizens leave. Personally, I think it's just wrong to build berries of any sort for your citizens to leave the country.
- jules 10y agoI'm speechless.
- ThomPete 10y agoWe are talking voters here. Its appealing both to emotion and logic. There is plenty of logic of being sceptical when Danes aren't getting jobs at their normal rates because they are being underbid by eastern european workers taking work in their countries while Danes moving to eastern europe won't get the same benefit. The major problem with the EU is that the expansion towards underdeveloped countries happened too fast. It's one things when countries are fairly equal, but the difference between the north and the south and the east and the west is quite staggering. This is all part of why people are skeptical. Both because it's logical to be so and because they are being emotionally afraid about their future.
- realityking 10y agoOh I'm not disagreeing with the fact that it's a hard sell. The original comment I replied to was stating opinions as fact, not arguing it's hard to convince people of it.
- icebraining 10y agoFreedom of movement is not just about moving to Poland, but also from Poland, as literally millions of workers have done to richer countries.
- jules 10y agoThat's the point...
- ThomPete 10y agoThat depends on who you are. If you are eastern european and move to Denmark you take the jobs no one wants often way below the "minimum wage"