Jump to content

Governments Plan To Save Steel


krugerandsmith
 Share

Recommended Posts

Farming a failing Industry?

 

The payment scheme benefits all farmers. Yes of course the more land you have, the more you get but as always, Mr Monbiot picks his argument carefully. Those large farmers still grow a lot of what we need.

If the farming industry needs subsidies to stay afloat then it is by definition a failing industry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Different situation altogether which has been done to death on here already.

Different yes but similar in that struggling companies were proped up using public money, I beleive that industry like steel, energy, prisons, NHS etc should be government run as they are at the core of the UK, and if run by a private body leaves us open to many issues and problems, sometimes you get what you pay for and keeping money in the country can't be a bad thing. Edited by 12gauge82
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Different yes but similar in that struggling companies were proped up using public money, I beleive that industry like steel, energy, prisons, NHS etc should be government run as they are at the core of the UK, and if run by a private body leaves us open to many issues and problems, sometimes you get what you pay for and keeping money in the country can't be a bad thing.

I don't disagree that certain key areas should never have been privatised and despite being a huge Maggie fan, never agreed with her on that. Some areas did need a shake up.

 

Whilst they may be similar situations, a run on the banks would have been a catastrophe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those steelworkers will have many millions invested in their pensions, and lots more cash in equity in their houses.

Plus they have been getting well above average wages.. Let them invest it all in the steel works on their own behalf.

Nothing focuses the work ethic better than when your own cash is at risk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I take your point and agree but what we need to do is change what we make. As someone has already stated, we cannot compete with run of the mill ( no pun intended) that can be made anywhere, we need to specialise or spread into new areas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

has anyone thought if we do not make anything we will end up like greece in debt forever no manufacturing just imports and at the mercy of the suppliers and the country on low wages and high house costs

I know it seems like we don't make anything as our traditional heavy industries dwindle, but we really do make an awful lot of stuff.

 

Your point is very valid however, our trade deficit is too big and our house prices are far too high.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the farming industry needs subsidies to stay afloat then it is by definition a failing industry.

It didn't need any before we had the CAP from our EU friends. The CAP was invented by the French to protect the small scale French agricultural farmers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It didn't need any before we had the CAP from our EU friends. The CAP was invented by the French to protect the small scale French agricultural farmers.

That was over forty years ago. A different world altogether. Who is to say that farming would be profitable today without the subsidies? Many livestock farmers are reliant on them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was over forty years ago. A different world altogether. Who is to say that farming would be profitable today without the subsidies? Many livestock farmers are reliant on them.

 

Yes, but the CAP payments are just our own money coming back to us.

 

We pay some £20bn gross to the EU a year, of which some 40% is used to fund the EU's CAP payments. That's £8bn per annum.

 

UK farmers receive just under £3bn in CAP payments. The other £5bn of our money is used to subsidise other EU state farmers, predominantly the French. We are, in effect subsidising our competitors.

 

If we leave the EU there is absolutely no reason whatsoever we couldn't subsidise the UK's agriculture industry with the same amount, or more. Of course that would mean having a government who were prepared to do that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

If we leave the EU there is absolutely no reason whatsoever we couldn't subsidise the UK's agriculture industry with the same amount, or more. Of course that would mean having a government who were prepared to do that.

Of course we could and then pay the tariff barrier payments on top to sell to the EU. The EU subsidy limits were set by agreement so that we don't have to have tariff barriers within Europe across all industries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Er New Zealand is not and they seem to export an awful lot of agricultural produce to the UK!

And the French supermarkets are also full of New Zealand lamb that costs less then the postage costs to NZ of the equivalent weight. But their farmers aren't ham strung by EU implemented policies designed to protect the environment and they don't have the same tax burdens.............

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11117207/New-Zealand-shows-the-UK-how-tax-cuts-can-revive-our-economy.html

 

And of course with any farm product, the efficiency depends quite a lot on the natural environment, cost of wages and weather.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course we could and then pay the tariff barrier payments on top to sell to the EU. The EU subsidy limits were set by agreement so that we don't have to have tariff barriers within Europe across all industries.

So we set a tariff on eu imports, what's hard about that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Yeah, but we could offset that with the tariffs we impose on French wine and cheese, not forgetting the German sausage!

The sausage idea might cause a case of Sour Kraut, and the French would no doubt be cheesed off too, but I think putting tariffs on cars produced in those countries might net a better dividend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That was over forty years ago. A different world altogether. Who is to say that farming would be profitable today without the subsidies? Many livestock farmers are reliant on them.

They are reliant on them because the supermarkets dropped the price on what they pay as soon as they came in, keeping the margins just above what you would get by growing corn, seems everyone is desperate for the public to have cheap food they forget the people producing it should earn a living as well.

Get the supermarket in check and a lot of people would be better off plus most of the stupid rules etc are born from supermarkets wanting to outdo each other on assurance scheme regulations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They are reliant on them because the supermarkets dropped the price on what they pay as soon as they came in, keeping the margins just above what you would get by growing corn, seems everyone is desperate for the public to have cheap food they forget the people producing it should earn a living as well.

Get the supermarket in check and a lot of people would be better off plus most of the stupid rules etc are born from supermarkets wanting to outdo each other on assurance scheme regulations.

Agreed. About time the farmers got together and formed co-operatives as they have in other European countries. That way they could better stand up to supermarkets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...