Brexit, for once some facts.
- Thread starter flecc
- Start date
From BBC:
Prime Minister Theresa May has not listened to police concerns about knife crime, a former head of the Metropolitan Police has said. Lord Stevens told the BBC: "I don't think she listens, quite frankly, to what she's being told."
How much longer is this imbecile woman going to be allowed to carry on like this? The not listening theme keeps on reoccurring and it’s doing more damage every day that it’s allowed to continue.
Prime Minister Theresa May has not listened to police concerns about knife crime, a former head of the Metropolitan Police has said. Lord Stevens told the BBC: "I don't think she listens, quite frankly, to what she's being told."
How much longer is this imbecile woman going to be allowed to carry on like this? The not listening theme keeps on reoccurring and it’s doing more damage every day that it’s allowed to continue.
As I've posted before, she is Thatcher mark 2, stubbornly ignoring everyone in the certainty that only she can be right.
.
He only has to convince the idiot fringe, remember.
The wonders of free trade:
One doesn’t expect to find the Guardian extolling the virtues of capitalism, but yesterday’s long-read on Aldi may be the exception that proves the rule.
The story of the deep discounting supermarket and its near identical rival, Lidl, is a fine example of how when markets work properly, we are all better off.
The arrival of Aldi and Lidl in this country in the 1990s and their subsequent expansion has not only offered price-conscious shoppers something different, it’s made the entire British groceries sector more competitive.
The way the German firms have gone about things is also a rejoinder to the idea, popular among some leftwingers, that companies succeed primarily by exploiting their staff, screwing over suppliers or ripping off customers.
Aldi pays its staff well, it just needs fewer of them because of its hyper-efficient business model. The basics are simple enough: fewer product lines, much smaller shops than their competitors and a preference for private labels over often overpriced big brands.
There are a few other neat tricks that help keep prices down: products are displayed in the crates they arrive in, so staff don’t waste time unpacking them, and items have lots of barcodes so they can get scanned through the tills quicker.
You might spend a bit more time queueing, but for the customers voting with their feet, that seems to be a sacrifice worth making – indeed, both Aldi and Lidl outdid their Big Four rivals on customer satisfaction in a recent Which? survey. And it’s not just about ultra-low prices, both retailers have built their UK success on evolution, gradually bringing in ‘posher’ products to appeal to different demographics.
Thanks to efficiency and evolution, the two firms now have almost 13 per cent of the UK market.
But the key point is not just that they imported an innovative way of doing business, it’s the impact their presence has had on the rest of the British groceries sector. While economists and commentators often talk about new arrivals putting their competitors out of business, perhaps less remarked on is the way that new arrivals can spur the rest of the market to up their game.
Nowhere is this truer than with Britain’s supermarkets. Before the Teutonic interlopers arrived with their spartan stores and unfamiliar product lines, the likes of Sainsbury’s and Tesco enjoyed profit margins of around 7 per cent. Fast-forward a few decades and that is down to just 2 per cent.
The German firms are the archetypal disrupters, bringing in a new way of doing things that forces competitors to sit up, take notice and improve. That competitive pressure is the bedrock of a successful capitalist economy, and one of the many reasons it ends up providing living standards far beyond anything achieved in a planned economy. Conversely, when capitalist economies drift away from competition, either through nationalisation of industries or monopolisation in the hands of a few big players, it’s always the consumer who loses out.
Of course, having a truly free market economy does mean some are rewarded more handsomely than others – and that is true here too.
Like US giant WalMart, both Aldi and Lidl were founded by families who have grown stupendously wealthy from their success. The heirs of Aldi founders Karl and Theo Albrecht are near the top of Germany’s rich list, as is Lidl’s chairman Dieter Schwarz, whose father Josef founded the company in the 1930s.
But if you were going to pick a bunch of billionaires to cheer on, the supermarket scions would be good candidates. After all, both families’ fortunes rest entirely on providing real benefits to their customers. Their personal wealth pales in comparison to the amount they have saved shoppers over the years.
And part of the beauty of competition is it’s not just those who choose the discounters who are benefiting – anyone who shops in a rival store that has reduced its prices to remain competitive is also reaping the rewards of disruption.
One doesn’t expect to find the Guardian extolling the virtues of capitalism, but yesterday’s long-read on Aldi may be the exception that proves the rule.
The story of the deep discounting supermarket and its near identical rival, Lidl, is a fine example of how when markets work properly, we are all better off.
The arrival of Aldi and Lidl in this country in the 1990s and their subsequent expansion has not only offered price-conscious shoppers something different, it’s made the entire British groceries sector more competitive.
The way the German firms have gone about things is also a rejoinder to the idea, popular among some leftwingers, that companies succeed primarily by exploiting their staff, screwing over suppliers or ripping off customers.
Aldi pays its staff well, it just needs fewer of them because of its hyper-efficient business model. The basics are simple enough: fewer product lines, much smaller shops than their competitors and a preference for private labels over often overpriced big brands.
There are a few other neat tricks that help keep prices down: products are displayed in the crates they arrive in, so staff don’t waste time unpacking them, and items have lots of barcodes so they can get scanned through the tills quicker.
You might spend a bit more time queueing, but for the customers voting with their feet, that seems to be a sacrifice worth making – indeed, both Aldi and Lidl outdid their Big Four rivals on customer satisfaction in a recent Which? survey. And it’s not just about ultra-low prices, both retailers have built their UK success on evolution, gradually bringing in ‘posher’ products to appeal to different demographics.
Thanks to efficiency and evolution, the two firms now have almost 13 per cent of the UK market.
But the key point is not just that they imported an innovative way of doing business, it’s the impact their presence has had on the rest of the British groceries sector. While economists and commentators often talk about new arrivals putting their competitors out of business, perhaps less remarked on is the way that new arrivals can spur the rest of the market to up their game.
Nowhere is this truer than with Britain’s supermarkets. Before the Teutonic interlopers arrived with their spartan stores and unfamiliar product lines, the likes of Sainsbury’s and Tesco enjoyed profit margins of around 7 per cent. Fast-forward a few decades and that is down to just 2 per cent.
The German firms are the archetypal disrupters, bringing in a new way of doing things that forces competitors to sit up, take notice and improve. That competitive pressure is the bedrock of a successful capitalist economy, and one of the many reasons it ends up providing living standards far beyond anything achieved in a planned economy. Conversely, when capitalist economies drift away from competition, either through nationalisation of industries or monopolisation in the hands of a few big players, it’s always the consumer who loses out.
Of course, having a truly free market economy does mean some are rewarded more handsomely than others – and that is true here too.
Like US giant WalMart, both Aldi and Lidl were founded by families who have grown stupendously wealthy from their success. The heirs of Aldi founders Karl and Theo Albrecht are near the top of Germany’s rich list, as is Lidl’s chairman Dieter Schwarz, whose father Josef founded the company in the 1930s.
But if you were going to pick a bunch of billionaires to cheer on, the supermarket scions would be good candidates. After all, both families’ fortunes rest entirely on providing real benefits to their customers. Their personal wealth pales in comparison to the amount they have saved shoppers over the years.
And part of the beauty of competition is it’s not just those who choose the discounters who are benefiting – anyone who shops in a rival store that has reduced its prices to remain competitive is also reaping the rewards of disruption.
From Sky Newshttps://news.sky.com/story/brexit-government-to-slash-up-to-90-of-trade-tariffs-if-uk-leaves-eu-with-no-deal-11656093
Brexit: Government to slash up to 90% of trade tariffs if UK leaves EU with no deal
Sky sources say that many trade tariffs for the UK could be removed entirely.
The cuts, which will be outlined in documents published if the prime minister fails to get parliamentary backing for her EU withdrawal bill next week, represent a bombshell for many manufacturers and farmers in the UK.
Since tariffs are a charge on thousands of types of goods entering the country, they protect domestic producers from overseas competitors
Clearly we are living in a dangerous age where the lunatics are running the Asylum.
They clearly have no idea of the likely consequences of their actions.
Brexit: Government to slash up to 90% of trade tariffs if UK leaves EU with no deal
Sky sources say that many trade tariffs for the UK could be removed entirely.
The cuts, which will be outlined in documents published if the prime minister fails to get parliamentary backing for her EU withdrawal bill next week, represent a bombshell for many manufacturers and farmers in the UK.
Since tariffs are a charge on thousands of types of goods entering the country, they protect domestic producers from overseas competitors
Clearly we are living in a dangerous age where the lunatics are running the Asylum.
They clearly have no idea of the likely consequences of their actions.
I don't just rely on one source and know this to be far from entirely true.
For example, Lidl have come under fierce criticism for the way they are forcing delivery drivers from supplying companies to work for them unpaid. They insist they have to use the store's fork lifts etc to unload the trucks themselves and stock the goods away correctly into their store area, not providing any staff for this purpose. The threat for non-compliance with all details is the supplier losing the Lidl business.
This is dangerous in more then one way and breaches health and safety workplace laws. Firstly a drivers stop time is legally rest time off the tachograph when the driver should not be working. Secondly a truck driver will often not be fork lift qualified, so he can be breaking the law. Thirdly, because the driver is not a Lidl employee, his activities on their premises carrying out their duties are uninsured.
This is just thoroughly irresponsible sharp practice by Lidl and I regard such illicit business methods with contempt and will never give them my business while they behave in such ways.
.
There was a Brexit supporting journalist on that late night politics show a while back hosted by Andrew Neil. The journalist said that in the event of a no deal Brexit we could reduce all out tariffs to zero and then negotiate new trade deals with other countries.
Neil quick as a flash then asked him what incentive other countries would have to negotiate with us, if they could sell their stuff to us with zero tariff irrespective of it they were charging tariffs on our products we were trying to sell them.
I actually felt sorry for the journalist he was completely out of his depth and had to admit he couldn't answer the question. I wish there were more interviewers like Neil around. The Brexitiers had much too much of an easy time of it leading up to the referendum. How often were they ever asked about things like the Good Friday agreement and leaving on WTO rules. The interviewers just accepted what ever people like JRM, BJ or MG said.
Your new instructions from the Propaganda department have a few basic lies for instance
"There are a few other neat tricks that help keep prices down: products are displayed in the crates they arrive in, so staff don’t waste time unpacking them,"
No they are not, they are displayed on shelves as in other supermarkets, why don't you actually shop in one instead of posting propaganda?
"They have only 900 core products on offer. Every item a supermarket stocks costs them money in managing supplier relationships, accounting and so on. The small selection means small stores, which means lower rent.
And if you shop there frequently you soon realise that items you actually have just got used to buying are no longer stocked, so choice is limited.
They also tend to run out of basic lines s you end up having to shop elsewhere or do without the item.
They are in fact stripped down versions of Supermarkets, cheap and cheerful.working to a lower profit margin and employing fewer staff.
And the other supermarkets have adapted to a lower profit margin to reduce their impact.
And if you look at the labels to find the origin of the products a very large proportion are sourced from all over the world, as an example the box of Breakfast Cereal, tinned peaches, Gravy granules are labelled as manufactured in Ireland and the laundry products from Germany, how is this going to play out after Brexit?
So this shining example you are quoting relies on Membership of the EU to work.
Congratulations! you have realised the advantages of EU membership.
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Perhaps they,like you can't come up with a convincing argument in favour of Brexit and it doesn't do to embarrass friends needlessly,leave them to their delusions.
The economy - thankfully left alone for now - has been getting along with doing deals and agreeing terms and sticking to contracts. The invisible hand continues to give and take. I value something you have and offer you in exchange part of the global resource - money.
We shake hands. I get what I want (it - the thing) - you get what you want (money).
And so it turns.
There is another side to this equation, and as an outsider,it doesn't bother me. But if the UK opts to reduce and remove tariffs , where does it get the money to pay for the schools, army, unemployment assistance,MPs salaries?
Oh Dear this in the Irish Times
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/brexit-has-arrived-early-irish-hauliers-face-massive-delays-at-customs-1.3816127#.XIAKkCzlsAQ.twitter
‘Brexit has arrived early’: Irish hauliers face massive delays at customs
Queues stretch from Belgium to Calais, as French unions stage protest Brexit trial
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/brexit-has-arrived-early-irish-hauliers-face-massive-delays-at-customs-1.3816127#.XIAKkCzlsAQ.twitter
‘Brexit has arrived early’: Irish hauliers face massive delays at customs
Queues stretch from Belgium to Calais, as French unions stage protest Brexit trial
You do it every time you buy something. It's called money. It's what it represents.
"left alone for now"? I gather you don't use sterling? Aside from exchange rates mirroring levels of confidence in an economy, I get paid in euro for some of what I do. Its relative value in the UK is a quarter more than a few years ago. Fortunately its not the other way round
Whenever these stores are mentioned in my local rag it brings out the rabid Brexiteers who say the want rid of these foreign stores. I popped in a couple or three times to the stores and personally while cheap & cheerful it seemed based on copy cat packaging of branded items along with pile it high sell cheap with only one or two tills open. Appeals to some but not me personally *shrug*
And a House of Lords defeat for the government.
The government has been defeated on Labour’s amendment 13, by 207 votes to 141.
The amendment makes it an “objective” of the government during negotiations to pursue a free trade deal allowing the UK to stay “in a customs union” with the EU after Brexit.
Contents: 207
Not Contents: 141
Majority: 66
The government has been defeated on Labour’s amendment 13, by 207 votes to 141.
The amendment makes it an “objective” of the government during negotiations to pursue a free trade deal allowing the UK to stay “in a customs union” with the EU after Brexit.
Contents: 207
Not Contents: 141
Majority: 66