I don't think this article, or many of the other articles, accurately portray the mindset of leave voters.
Firstly, I'd like to start off with saying yes: there are many problems to leaving the EU, but consequently there are also many positives. This isn't a one sided issue. There is an array of reasons to vote either side.
One of my older British friends that I used to work with consistently held the following opinion:
> Me: Do you think Britain will exit?
> Friend: I sure hope we do [...] We never wanted into the EU in the first place, back in the 80's. The whole population was up in arms about it [...]. Our politicians refused to join unless we got certain exceptions. Like keeping our own money and a few other things. Now we are financially supporting the EU. Too many idiots in government though.
> Me: Looks like you've voted to leave! Also, the currency has fallen. I'm going to buy some GBP tomorrow when it hits 1.30 USD to 1 GBP. I'll sell it to make a quick buck.
> Friend: Finally. We only joined because our then prime minister John Major forced us to join. We didn't even elect the dude, he took over after Maggie Thatcher left. The pound will recover fast, so stock up now :)
Now, I'm not saying that he is right about everything, although I do trust his judgement, but I will say that I feel he accurately represents most of the 40+ group's opinions on the EU.
His age group feels:
- EU is an amorphous blob that has no accountability to it's actions
- EU is redundant
- The VAT that is set by the EU is antithetical to good trade deals
- Sending any amount of money to an organization you do not support is out of the question
- Undemocratic (Unellected officials draft the laws, people from other countries vote on things that directly effect you)
- The EU is making a push to blur country boarders to the best of it's efforts
- The migrant crisis' effects on the UK are a byproduct of how the EU operates
As far as I can tell, all of these points are either real problems with the EU or will soon become real problems for the EU. I don't think it's outrageous to say that, and I definitely don't think it's crazy to want to leave an organization like this. This is exacerbated by the fact that, as it seems, Britain is the least-EU like country in the EU currently. Their cultural and social values are very different from the many other cultures that are in the EU. Due to this, they are often on the loosing side of agreements (almost 70% from the last figure I saw [0])
What is really worrying to me is that people are now saying "You're old, so your vote shouldn't count." This is a trend I see more and more. I feel it's crazy to say something like that, but it definitely speaks volumes for where our western societies are headed in the next few years.
In the end, this won't really change much either way. The UK has one of the worlds largest economies and now they can make trade deals to encourage buys from around the world to come to their door step. I know that I'm sure ready to buy some British-made food items in the USA (It's been a while since I was able to get someone to send me more marmite).
[0] - http://ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/uk-meps-lose-most-in-the-eur...
EU is an amorphous blob that has no accountability to [its] actions
Neither has the House Of Lords. Do your friends know of the existence of the EC Transparency Portal?
"As a European citizen, you have a right to know how the European institutions are preparing these decisions, who participates in preparing them, who receives funding from the EU budget, and what documents are held or produced to prepare and adopt the legal acts. You also have a right to access those documents, and make your views known, either directly, or indirectly, through intermediaries that represent you.
This webpage is designed to be your window on this world, giving you direct access to information that will help you to be better informed and better prepared to follow and participate in the EU decision-making process, to enjoy your rights and to play your role as a European citizen to the full."
There is no other supranational committee that has been able to harmonize so many different national laws. You can argue that its goals are undesirable, but not that there's a different entity that achieves the same goals on the same scope.
The VAT that is set by the EU is antithetical to good trade deals
VAT is not set by EU policy. The policy only sets minimum VAT percentages of 5 and 15 percent, and no maximum. The UK VAT rate is 20%, well above what the EU requires.
Sending any amount of money to an organization you do not support is out of the question
Taking that argument at face value, does that mean that citizens should not pay tax if the party they voted for does not win the election?
Undemocratic (Unelected officials draft the laws, people from other countries vote on things that directly effect you)
Most UK laws are also drafted by unelected officials, that's what ministerial departments are for. And you can't have it both ways: either it is undemocratic and people can't vote for it, or it is democratic and people do vote directly.
The EU is making a push to blur country boarders to the best of it's efforts
What push? Open borders was one of the founding principles of the union, so that is neither surprising nor a covert agenda.
The migrant crisis' effects on the UK are a byproduct of how the EU operates
The migrants themselves are a byproduct of failed (and failing) supranational intervention in the Middle East, Libya, Somalia, and other parts of the world. Why not blame the US, UK and UN for those?
I know, it's just extremely depressing that people were basing their vote on either misinformation (leave) or scaremongering (remain). There were good ideological arguments to be made on either side of the debate, I guess that's what makes the outcome for me so unsatisfying (I'm not from the UK either btw, just mainland Europe).
Firstly, I'd like to start off with saying yes: there are many problems to leaving the EU, but consequently there are also many positives. This isn't a one sided issue. There is an array of reasons to vote either side.
One of my older British friends that I used to work with consistently held the following opinion:
> Me: Do you think Britain will exit?
> Friend: I sure hope we do [...] We never wanted into the EU in the first place, back in the 80's. The whole population was up in arms about it [...]. Our politicians refused to join unless we got certain exceptions. Like keeping our own money and a few other things. Now we are financially supporting the EU. Too many idiots in government though.
> Me: Looks like you've voted to leave! Also, the currency has fallen. I'm going to buy some GBP tomorrow when it hits 1.30 USD to 1 GBP. I'll sell it to make a quick buck.
> Friend: Finally. We only joined because our then prime minister John Major forced us to join. We didn't even elect the dude, he took over after Maggie Thatcher left. The pound will recover fast, so stock up now :)
Now, I'm not saying that he is right about everything, although I do trust his judgement, but I will say that I feel he accurately represents most of the 40+ group's opinions on the EU.
His age group feels:
As far as I can tell, all of these points are either real problems with the EU or will soon become real problems for the EU. I don't think it's outrageous to say that, and I definitely don't think it's crazy to want to leave an organization like this. This is exacerbated by the fact that, as it seems, Britain is the least-EU like country in the EU currently. Their cultural and social values are very different from the many other cultures that are in the EU. Due to this, they are often on the loosing side of agreements (almost 70% from the last figure I saw [0])What is really worrying to me is that people are now saying "You're old, so your vote shouldn't count." This is a trend I see more and more. I feel it's crazy to say something like that, but it definitely speaks volumes for where our western societies are headed in the next few years.
In the end, this won't really change much either way. The UK has one of the worlds largest economies and now they can make trade deals to encourage buys from around the world to come to their door step. I know that I'm sure ready to buy some British-made food items in the USA (It's been a while since I was able to get someone to send me more marmite). [0] - http://ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/uk-meps-lose-most-in-the-eur...