Lisa writes - on the referendum vote today
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2016-06-23 10:34:45 - Graham EllisPosting on my blog for Lisa, and in her words and in my full support of them
I cast my vote this morning. I was so nervous that I read the choices twice. Answered, then double-checked my decision twice to make sure I put my "X" in the correct box. Not because I was undecided. It was because my vote, my opinion mattered so much to me that I dare not make a mistake.
It's because I'm afraid. Afraid that all the political promises and feverish newspaper headlines might overshadow what this decision is going to mean for Britain.
No crystal ball here; just common sense. And I hope the British voters choose their common sense as well. Too often we have seen elections won by candidates who triggered emotions. Instead, we need to vote wisely and not as a "protest vote".
I voted to remain in the EU.
How you vote is up to you. I just want you to think deep and hard, and look beyond the rhetoric. My decisions about important matters start with a question, "Who is to gain from the outcome?"
When I look to the politicians, I see a group gathering behind David Cameron's back led by Boris Johnson. If we are no longer part of the EU, I envision him taking over the reigns of the office of Prime Minister, and Michael Gove becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer. Chris Grayling, who'd fallen from grace a few years back and lost his ministerial position, to then take a prominent role for his "devotion" --Home Secretary perhaps. This is not a government I'd like to see in place. (Nothing wrong with Boris Johnson, but London voters didn't want him back as Mayor which sent me a red flag, and I've met Chris Grayling who is a very charismatic and likeable man [very tall], but I lost faith in him over time. Michael Gove, well, look at his former duty for Education; enough said.)
Nigel Farage, very down-to-earth and I can see how he can connect with people. What concerns me about his waving of the European Passport and demanding it say "British" -- has he even thought about how complicated and expensive it's going to be to reissue 42.5 million passports* (and using Biometric)? I just renewed mine! How long will this take? Will it stop us from travelling until it's sorted? I just booked a November flight! * 2011 figures from Lightwater (from a very quick Internet search for an answer)
Immigration.
I can talk about this through personal experience. I am an Immigrant. I'm not a terrorist, and I did not take your job away from you. In fact, I helped to create jobs by a company started as independent consultation by my husband in 1995 and expanded to a full-blown company when I joined. You could say the addition of one Immigrant created an additional five pay cheques; which means an additional five sets of taxes (NI and PAYE) going to the government pot. Not to mention the business paying corporate taxes and next month starting to participate in the national Employee Pension Scheme.
But our business has also profited the town. We actually bring business in to town, whereas it had been lost before. We have a hotel, and have been told by several of our guests that even though they needed to be in Melksham, they usually stayed outside the town because the accommodation offerings were limited. And because they stay here, they eat in local restaurants and use local shops. Some, after coming on business, liked Melksham so much, they brought their family for holiday; they'd not really known how much Wiltshire had to offer leisure guests.
Employment.
People argue that Europeans coming over will take their jobs. Of those out of work -- would you happen to be the ones who email our company (using "info@") and ask "Hey, ya got any jobs going?" because if you are, I have no intention of hiring anyone who shows a lack of interest in what we do or who we are. Jobs ARE there, but you have to actually work. And not looking for a job is not excused by the headlines saying that Europeans are taking our jobs. If it's far too easy for you to say you get more by not working, then you cannot complain that "foreigners" are taking your job. There are jobs for everyone. They may not pay what you demand and they may lower your personal dignity. But if you take a lower-than-wanted position, and you do it well, you won't be in that position for long. You will either get an advancement, or you will meet people who know other people who can get you a better position. It's not rocket science. You want a dream job? Do your homework, knock on the door and offer to do *anything* there for free if necessary. It's better than sitting at home and reading the trash the newspapers will have you believe. I promise you, Immigrants are NOT taking your jobs. They are only taking the necessary jobs you don't want. And they are paying the taxes that support your stay-at-home lifestyle. Because they know that if you want a foot in the door to a better job/life, you have to start at the bottom.
You want a system like the Australians have? Fine -- they allowed more people in last year than Great Britain did. Great! The more people we have working here, the more they will pay in taxes.
Get it out of your head that Muslims are terrorists. Muslims are followers of Islam. Islam is a religion. The word translates to the word "surrender" with the same root word being "peace". When we greet each other in English, we say "Hello". When someone greets someone else in Arabic, they say "Salaam" -- which means "peace". Islam, being the second most followed religion of the world, has over a billion followers. Trust me, there are nowhere near a billion terrorists. Let's look at this in a logical way. If a store is robbed in Melksham, would you then say the entire town was filled with robbers? Would you let no one in your shop because they all could potentially rob from you? You'd lose a lot of business, right?
Yes, and that's my point exactly about Immigration in general. If you keep out people who are willing to do the work, you are losing tax revenue that could go toward funding schools, transportation, emergency services, healthcare...
We don't know if the EU will "punish" Britain for a "Leave" decision. We don't know if businesses will now take what remains of manufacturing out of our towns because of renegotiated trading deals. We don't even know if Boris, Michael, Chris, and many others, will take over the Ministerialships.
As for the current government; shame on you for letting it get this far. People are angry. Cameron was so confident the British voters would back him that his little arrogant game of chess with Belgium may have backfired. If people are upset about Immigration, fix what's wrong. It's NOT that people are coming here, but rather that they are automatically getting benefits. I say the system is opposite of what it needs to be. Allow people to work and therefore gain from the taxes they have to pay. Don't allow for publicly funded benefits, or restrict them in some way. (Before I became a naturalised British citizen, I was not allowed to work for two years upon arrival to this country, yet my NHS was free because they didn't have a system in place to cover Immigrants in the NHS system. How backwards is that?)
To my way of thinking, in a worst-case scenario if we leave the EU, there are 101 things that could spell disaster economically. If we stayed, the worst thing that could happen is that we stay as we are, steady ship.