02-06-2024, 04:59 PM in response to #50509
02-06-2024, 04:59 PM in response to #50509 02-06-2024, 05:17 PM in response to #50515 Uptheshots Wrote: I’m slightly exaggerating, but yeah I do believe this. Far too much about immigration levels, massively too much fuss about it. It’s finally been accepted by both mainstream parties that immigration is the biggest problem facing this country. Or at least they pay lip service to it. The issue for governments is that they like to show GDP with and the only way to do that is through immigration. So we end up pumping the Ponzi once again as everything gets more and more crowded, productivity goes through the floor and infrastructure crumbles. Immigration is a Jedi mind trick played on gullible citizens. 02-06-2024, 06:09 PM in response to #50499 02-06-2024, 06:36 PM (This post was last modified: 02-06-2024, 06:36 PM by Barnet Ben.) in response to #50523 Baldman Wrote: It’s finally been accepted by both mainstream parties that immigration is the biggest problem facing this country. Or at least they pay lip service to it. It isn't the biggest issue though, is it? But let's just pretend the challenges of working age population decline with an ever ageing demographic don't exist and magically everyone will have better services and housing. It's a fantasy. 02-06-2024, 06:50 PM in response to #50541 Barnet Ben Wrote: It isn't the biggest issue though, is it? Ok yes. It’s the biggest issue over which we have control. The biggest issue is the continued relative decline of the ‘the west’ and Europe in particular. But that has a sad inevitability about it now. But we can’t keep complaining about a housing shortage and keep increasing the population to juice the numbers. We can’t complain about packed schools and class sizes while keep increasing the population. Etc etc. it’s nonsensical. 02-06-2024, 08:30 PM in response to #50544 Baldman Wrote: Ok yes. It’s the biggest issue over which we have control. The biggest issue is the continued relative decline of the ‘the west’ and Europe in particular. But that has a sad inevitability about it now. You can't only complain about immigrants causing the problem. Stopping them isn't going to solve those issues. 02-06-2024, 08:38 PM in response to #50560 02-06-2024, 08:58 PM in response to #50560 Barnet Ben Wrote: You can't only complain about immigrants causing the problem. Stopping them isn't going to solve those issues. I complain about many things causing the problems. Buy to let, inappropriately low interest rates for 16 years, crap banking regulation PFI, short termism, nimbyism, Cameron and Osborne yadda yadda. But if your house is flooded you might want to turn off the taps as well as call a plumber. Immigration, once a great positive, has now become a significant negative. We should stop. 02-06-2024, 09:07 PM (This post was last modified: 02-06-2024, 09:08 PM by Fola Onibuje.) in response to #50515
We have managed to achieve a worst of both worlds scenraio where immigration is at levels unfathomable only five years ago adding to pressures stated above, whilst simultaneously having record job vacancies and gaping holes in the labour market. How you can import 600k people every year and still have social care and hospitality crying out for more, it is maddening.
This would suggest that our method of immigration is not working - advocates of mass immigration argue it solves labour shortages but it's not doing. One problem is too many are arriving through student visas, spousal/family visas where the numbers are being inflated but there's no requirement or expectation to help solve labour shortages. Another structural problem in my opinion, is that visa eligibility when recruiting overseas workers is primarily determined on salary. The floor has recently increased substantially. But it isn't the £35k+ per year jobs that we struggle to fill, we've got more than enough middle managers and skilled workers. Somehow the immigration system needs to reflect the needs of the labour market; i.e. as an oversimplified example if we are short of 100k carers but have no shortage of teachers, you would grant access to those with an offer of employment in social care but not education. It's a crude example but somehow immigration needs to reflect labour or we're getting the disadvantages of an increasing population but not the boons. |
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