Around two weeks ago, the revenue guys at the EU came up with their final bill for countries to pay.....to be 'standing' members of the EU. It was a bill kept close to the vest and supposed to be secret for several weeks. It got out late last week.....several countries owe money in excess of what they already gave, and several will get a rebate.
The winners? Well....Germany will get around 800 million Euro back. France? Almost a billion Euro. Even Poland will get back somewhere around 400 million Euro.
The losers? Well....the British need to pay another two billion Euro (roughly twenty-percent of what they already paid down over the year).
Frankly, the Brits are terrible unhappy over this sudden bill appearing, and said they just weren't going to deliver the two billion Euro check in December, as the rules require.
All of this brings me.....just another American on the landscape of the EU.....to a odd subject. Roughly 140 billion Euro is carved out of all European countries over a normal year, and spent by the EU.
Where does the EU spend this money? They basically take in all this money, then make "wise" decisions to dispense the money back out.....to the same people. Yeah, I know.....it's redistribution of a redistribution pot.....but the EU representatives have to act like they 'gift' people.
The bulk of the pot? It goes to agricultural requirements in various countries, and infrastructure improvements, along with emergency funding for floods or storms.
The British argument here? Well, here is the odd thing. There's a floating method where the EU figures up your legit budget, your legit earnings, then your underground or mystery money that floats through a EU member state. In essence, they are saying that they know everyone has black money being earned, and spent.....so they've devised a way to ID this. If you work to forbid this, or to counter the black money.....then you get bonus points (like Germany and France did this time).
The problem for the UK? It's a terrible pain for them to suddenly find two billion Euro. It'll challenge the public and force cuts upon every single British agency. Even health care would have to endear cuts. Finding such money in thirty days? Almost impossible.
Forced out of the EU if you don't pay? Yes, that's the general rule. A bad thing? Well....you won't have the simple open door for trade, which now exists for all EU members. In essence.....you will be forced to play, participate, and suffer.
What the British might do? I'm guessing they will ensure maximum efforts to counter black money and secretive income deals around the nation....so in October of 2015.....they will get the two billion back.
An American would look at this and ask this stupid question.....why would I need to push my state's revenue over to some other group, which will reprioritize the spending game, in a totally different fashion? The agriculture projects and infrastructure game? Well.....they act as though it's a gift from them when they send your community two million Euro to fix up an art museum in terrible condition in your local town. Same way when they send forty million Euro to a local airport for renovation, in the name of the EU. It was my money to start with, and there's no reason for it to leave the country, then come back as some "gift".
So, when you hear about this hostile British reaction to the EU bill.....it's mostly shock on their faces of a two billion Euro bill......and roughly thirty days to find loose change in the budget to pay for it.
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