[Skunk]

Originally posted by johnny: quote: Originally posted by Dreamer128: Regardless of how many people are willing to move here, we won't allow more then 22 000 in. Of course, I've been told there are about 40 000 people already in The Netherlands.

22.000 is 22.000 too many. Why would we wanna import Polish workers, when there's hundreds of thousands of people already living on welfare ? And where will they live ? Isn't there a huge waitinglist for people who seek a house ? I know there is, because i'm on it myself. [/QUOTE]The public housing system works the same here as in (almost) every other EU country - those with the greatest needs are allocated housing first, no matter how long they have been on the waiting list.

Thus, if I arrive in NL with my family in tow and claim 'homelessness', then I have a right to go to the TOP OF THE LIST - meaning that people who have waited for a long time are shoved that much further back in the queue:
My wife waited for 15 years without getting a home! before meeting me and then having enough money to buy.

Right now Den Haag, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, gain an additional 30,000 immigrant residents per year between them from Morroco and Turkey alone - that's why the waiting lists are so long. Imagine the extra pressure from new EU-states and it won't be worth being on the list (is it worth bothering with now?)

And whether we want east-block workers is irrelevant, as they now have a RIGHT to come, regardless of whether that is desirable.

Originally posted by Donut: They won't be doing the decent jobs, they'll be doing the jobs we won't do.

Correction - they'll be doing the decent jobs without the decent wage, resulting in a downward wage spiral as market forces kick in.

Business leaders are rubbing their hands at the chances to reduce their payroll overheads, ex-east block workers are rubbing their hands at the thought of doubling their incomes and the existing workers in established EU countries are going to have to accept pay cuts and wage-rise freezes if they want to keep their jobs after the immigration restriction periods end.

You don't really think that a Polish business grad, software engineer or college educated kid is going to clean toilets in waterloo station, do you? You not really suggesting that a carpenter, bricklayer, mechanic is going to settle for cleaning pots and pans in a restaurant?


[ 05-04-2004, 07:43 AM: Message edited by: Skunk ]