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Honest question: wasn't this whole debacle considered as a possible outcome prior to Brexit? Surely someone in the government must have said "hey this whole thi

by junon 5y ago

Honest question: wasn't this whole debacle considered as a possible outcome prior to Brexit? Surely someone in the government must have said "hey this whole thing could end up like this, maybe we should talk about that." What am I missing? Did something unexpected happen with Brexit? Or is this fueled by the pandemic?

StevenWaterman 5y ago
Basically every report said this would happen, the government dismissed it as 'project fear' and still refuses to admin that it has anything to do with brexit. I'm sure it was brought up internally in the government, but they won the election by promising to deliver sunshine and rainbows brexit even though they had no way of doing so. Addressing it before it became a problem would've looked bad, so they didn't, and the pandemic provided a convenient excuse.
dTal 5y ago
It's a great question. Of course it was widely considered. This should come as a surprise to nobody. And yet, here we are. You might ask the same question about Trump. Surely someone in charge - someone with authority - should have seen the trainwreck a mile off, and done something about it? The shocking truth is that there's no one with both common sense and overriding authority that prevents catastrophic wrong turns. This was absolutely an expected outcome of Brexit, by anyone with a clue. The trouble is that half the general population doesn't have a clue. Why did the government ask them? Because the party in charge at the time had a splinter faction led by some very radical, very loud voices, and it was beginning to cost them votes. They hoped to put the issue to bed by calling a referendum. Having done so, it was political suicide not to follow through even though it wasn't technically "binding". Largely it's a matter of various people acting in their own selfish best interest at the expense of the interests of the country, and convincing a bunch of useful idiots to follow along.
- mmmeff 5y ago
  Your example citing Trump’s trainwreck makes zero sense in this context. His record on the economy was impressively effective even if his social policies floundered.
  - dTal 5y ago
    I wasn't talking about the economy. Trump's presidency was a trainwreck, not only causing violence, social unrest, and loss of international standing, but also coming perilously close to governmental overthrow and civil war. All of this was foreseen well before he took office. But the system is beholden to the electorate, and the electorate is easily influenced by the powerful and unscrupulous.
    - UncleEntity 5y ago
      You know, the only way someone could have “done something about it” would have been through overthrowing a duly elected president which we just don’t do here.
      - agrobrabo 5y ago
        Not voting for one candidate that openly declares he'll try to overthrow the other if he loses is also something
      - dTal 5y ago
        Which was my point. There is not always a mechanism to stop the runaway train. Of course, it's worth noting that Trump's mob very nearly did overthrow a duly elected president on January 6th. The paradox of tolerance rears its ugly head once more.
    - Impressed 5y ago
      Biden doesn't seem to be doing much better. The antifa actors that were paid by Leftists to burn cities down did their part - they forced the electorate to keep their heads down during the Big Steal.
  - manderley 5y ago
    Wait, running a huge deficit spending program in a booming economy boosts that economy even more? Is that really considered "impressively effective" these days? I don't think so. It's bad governance.

by junon 5y ago

StevenWaterman 5y ago

Basically every report said this would happen, the government dismissed it as 'project fear' and still refuses to admin that it has anything to do with brexit. I'm sure it was brought up internally in the government, but they won the election by promising to deliver sunshine and rainbows brexit even though they had no way of doing so. Addressing it before it became a problem would've looked bad, so they didn't, and the pandemic provided a convenient excuse.

dTal 5y ago

It's a great question. Of course it was widely considered. This should come as a surprise to nobody. And yet, here we are. You might ask the same question about Trump. Surely someone in charge - someone with authority - should have seen the trainwreck a mile off, and done something about it? The shocking truth is that there's no one with both common sense and overriding authority that prevents catastrophic wrong turns. This was absolutely an expected outcome of Brexit, by anyone with a clue. The trouble is that half the general population doesn't have a clue. Why did the government ask them? Because the party in charge at the time had a splinter faction led by some very radical, very loud voices, and it was beginning to cost them votes. They hoped to put the issue to bed by calling a referendum. Having done so, it was political suicide not to follow through even though it wasn't technically "binding". Largely it's a matter of various people acting in their own selfish best interest at the expense of the interests of the country, and convincing a bunch of useful idiots to follow along.

mmmeff 5y ago
Your example citing Trump’s trainwreck makes zero sense in this context. His record on the economy was impressively effective even if his social policies floundered.
- dTal 5y ago
  I wasn't talking about the economy. Trump's presidency was a trainwreck, not only causing violence, social unrest, and loss of international standing, but also coming perilously close to governmental overthrow and civil war. All of this was foreseen well before he took office. But the system is beholden to the electorate, and the electorate is easily influenced by the powerful and unscrupulous.
  - UncleEntity 5y ago
    You know, the only way someone could have “done something about it” would have been through overthrowing a duly elected president which we just don’t do here.
    - agrobrabo 5y ago
      Not voting for one candidate that openly declares he'll try to overthrow the other if he loses is also something
    - dTal 5y ago
      Which was my point. There is not always a mechanism to stop the runaway train. Of course, it's worth noting that Trump's mob very nearly did overthrow a duly elected president on January 6th. The paradox of tolerance rears its ugly head once more.
  - Impressed 5y ago
    Biden doesn't seem to be doing much better. The antifa actors that were paid by Leftists to burn cities down did their part - they forced the electorate to keep their heads down during the Big Steal.
- manderley 5y ago
  Wait, running a huge deficit spending program in a booming economy boosts that economy even more? Is that really considered "impressively effective" these days? I don't think so. It's bad governance.