[QUOTE=xilman;543183]Indeed. The situation wrt to non-EU citizens before and after Brexit remains discriminatory which is exactly as I stated for the pre-Brexit situation.[/QUOTE]

So how does Brexit improve matters?

And the UK also chooses to discriminate even though it could grant non-EU citizens the same rights as EU citizens and end discrimination within its borders. But it didn't and it won't.

[QUOTE=garo;543185]So how does Brexit improve matters?[/QUOTE]It doesn't. The EU will remain discriminatory in all likelihood.

Discrimination towards the in- group is a feature of all groupings. The UK and Ireland discriminate against everyone not from those countries. So EU being discriminatory towards non-EU is not remarkable. And not a good reason for supporting Brexit.

I understand that there could be problems for UK farmers that are very similar to a US problem: shortages of migrant workers. In both cases xenophobia has high costs.

[QUOTE=kladner;543211]I understand that there could be problems for UK farmers that are very similar to a US problem: shortages of migrant workers. In both cases xenophobia has high costs.[/QUOTE]

However, note that the same markets-uber-alles shills who are constantly nattering on about subjecting everything to the supposed "discipline of the markets", are invariably oddly silent when it comes to the numerous "shortages of workers" examples where one might fairly reply: "You keep telling us that the 'genius of the markets' lies in the self-correcting balance of supply and demand. So if a given task seems to have fewer doers-of-same at the current price point than is needed, is the not the obvious market-based remedy to simply offer to pay the workers more? Do not 'the markets' teach us that businesses which cannot make a profit without engaging in some form of fraud or workplace abuse should not be in business?" The treatment of migrant workers being a textbook case of workplace abuses.

[QUOTE=kladner;543211]I understand that there could be problems for UK farmers that are very similar to a US problem: shortages of migrant workers. In both cases xenophobia has high costs.[/QUOTE]That reminds me...
[quote]Should Americans pick crops? George says "No",
'Cause no one but a Mexican would stoop so low.
And after all, even in Egypt, the pharaohs
Had to import Hebrew braceros.[/quote]
-- [i]George Murphy[/i] by Tom Lehrer

I also remember something in [b][i][size=4]MAD[/size][/i][/b] Magazine -- two consecutive panels showing interviews about farming costs, set decades apart. In both panels, somebody is saying, "It's the migrant workers! They're getting 50 cents an hour!"

Back in the real world, there are also problems with the US meat supply. Packing plants have closed due to coronavirus among their workers. That could be disastrous for the folks who raise livestock for meat and suddenly have no buyers.

We might see problems with fruit and vegetable canning or freezing, even assuming the crops get harvested.

There are so many situations that beg for a Lehrer quote. That one is a favorite, and right on the mark.

[QUOTE=kladner;543243]There are so many situations that beg for a Lehrer quote. That one is a favorite, and right on the mark.[/QUOTE][I]Whopping slaves and picking cotton[/I]?

So did anyone see Trump's latest campaign spot? It's brutal and funny (to anyone not in the #VoteBlueNoMatterWhat camp) and demonstrates why Biden is not a safe bet.
[URL]https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-obama-parody-video-biden-2020-election-a9474521.html[/URL]

[QUOTE=xilman;543157]Come 2021-01-01 we could, for instance, remove VAT from tampons and sanitary towels.[/QUOTE]We recently learned about this charity: [URL]https://www.dignityperiod.org/[/URL]

[QUOTE=garo;543313]So did anyone see Trump's latest campaign spot? It's brutal and funny (to anyone not in the #VoteBlueNoMatterWhat camp) and demonstrates why Biden is not a safe bet.
[URL]https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-obama-parody-video-biden-2020-election-a9474521.html[/URL][/QUOTE]
Strictly speaking, it's not a "campaign ad," in that it wasn't produced by the campaign. It's a video some supporter tweeted, and [i]Il Duce[/i] retweeted it using the official campaign account.

That "What?" is a nice touch.

Too bad they couldn't have had the quote read [i]à la[/i] Hannibal Lector.

In real life, the fact that Obama didn't endorse his former VP until he was "last man standing" is perhaps notable.

Also in real life, [i]Il Duce[/i]'s campaign is suing TV stations airing a Biden campaign ad that use [i]Il Duce[/i]'s statements on the coronavirus pandemic. They're whining that it is "false" to claim he said it was a "hoax."

It may not be strictly accurate, but it's not far from the truth. The lawsuits are an intimidation tactic. Now that a Dem Superpac has weighed in, relieving the TV stations of financial concerns in litigating the case, my guess is Plaintiffs will [i]not[/i] want this headed to court. Defendants could probably depose any number of [i]Il Duce[/i]'s supporters who believe he [i]did[/i] say the coronavirus was a hoax.