Stamping on Consumers
In traditional style, the EU has agreed to make your shoes more expensive:
European Union (EU) member states on Wednesday struck a compromise deal to introduce controversial anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Vietnamese leather shoe imports.
Now you will still buy the same shoes, but they will cost you more.
One thing caught my eye concerning the voting process:
Nine countries voted in favor of the two-year measures and 12 against, with 4 countries abstaining, European Commission trade spokesman Peter Power said. Under EU law, abstentions in such cases count as in favor of the proposal as they do not oppose it. Therefore the measures narrowly went through 13-12.
What a complete load of crap. Nine countries out of 25 are in favour, and yet the action passes.
Where else in the world does an abstention count as a vote in favour?
4 comments:
There are allways more consumers than producers in a region.
The corporatist EU has made one large group poorer to make a small group richer.
Thanks E.U.S.S.R. run to make "the little people" poorer.
The producers always have stronger lobbies though.
In every local election in every local ward in the good old Great United Kingdom.
Gary
While I happen to support some level of protectionism (Try fighting with sticks and arrows when the enemy has gatlin guns. Better yet, ask the descendants of those who tried fighting guns with arrows. We have them in America, they live in "indian reservations" and drink to forget.), the idea that not saying "NO" implies "YES" is stupid to the extreme. Not only that, but it's probably the biggest violation of rights in a democracy: the right to abstain and not be counted.
Reminds me of the old Communist regimes, with their "100% voter turnouts" and their unanimous votes for those already in power. At least the voters in the Communist countries understood their plight.
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