In 20 years time, if I ever have kids, I'll probably tell them how good those glory days of free movement around the EU were. That, if it weren't for freedom of movement, I'd never have met your mother. But a few weeks ago, me and my EU wife were sat in the IVF clinic with other hopeful couples, couples from the UK, but also couples from the EU living in the UK and couples from other parts of the world, living in the UK. This is to be admired, that as long as you're working in and contributing to a country, you can share the social services it has to offer.
Sadly, when I lived in Portugal, I was never given a social security identity card which would entitle me to the social services I had paid into. I had a number, but no card. The number alone was not sufficient to claim the discounts on medication or doctor visits I was entitled to, I had to queue up each year at the social security office to request a letter which verified my entitlement. This letter would need to be accompanied by my passport when going to the doctor or the pharmacy and even then, I had to go to pharmacies I knew would not refuse my documents, which would humiliatingly happen. It was, quite simply, shit.
Why, when the EU and freedom of movement and trade were first rolled out, was the emphasis on having a common currency rather than a common social welfare system? Surely this should have been the first point to address before fishing laws or other weird things the right wing love to latch onto?
I can only speak for Portugal, but the large-scale absence of taxed at source income, unemployment benefit paid at 80% of your last salary for 1 year, huge pensions paid out on your 10 best years of work and a bloated government and local government gave sufficient signals towards an economy that was destined to be fucked. Then the lack of investment in health care or any public service (education especially), leading to a population largely readily reliant on private care and schooling, if they have a grandparent wealthy enough to pay for it.
Brexit is a major fuck up and remaining would always be my choice. But I'm beginning to believe the EU cocked it all up decades ago with its desire to expand rapidly without ensuring social welfare within its members met a minimum standard that would allow total freedom of movement within its member countries. The focus was primarily on trade, wasn't it? Let's get rich, rather than let's get equal.
Please let me know if my ramblings are falling dangerously into Daily Mail reader territory. If they are, I'll give myself a massive slap.
Sadly, when I lived in Portugal, I was never given a social security identity card which would entitle me to the social services I had paid into. I had a number, but no card. The number alone was not sufficient to claim the discounts on medication or doctor visits I was entitled to, I had to queue up each year at the social security office to request a letter which verified my entitlement. This letter would need to be accompanied by my passport when going to the doctor or the pharmacy and even then, I had to go to pharmacies I knew would not refuse my documents, which would humiliatingly happen. It was, quite simply, shit.
Why, when the EU and freedom of movement and trade were first rolled out, was the emphasis on having a common currency rather than a common social welfare system? Surely this should have been the first point to address before fishing laws or other weird things the right wing love to latch onto?
I can only speak for Portugal, but the large-scale absence of taxed at source income, unemployment benefit paid at 80% of your last salary for 1 year, huge pensions paid out on your 10 best years of work and a bloated government and local government gave sufficient signals towards an economy that was destined to be fucked. Then the lack of investment in health care or any public service (education especially), leading to a population largely readily reliant on private care and schooling, if they have a grandparent wealthy enough to pay for it.
Brexit is a major fuck up and remaining would always be my choice. But I'm beginning to believe the EU cocked it all up decades ago with its desire to expand rapidly without ensuring social welfare within its members met a minimum standard that would allow total freedom of movement within its member countries. The focus was primarily on trade, wasn't it? Let's get rich, rather than let's get equal.
Please let me know if my ramblings are falling dangerously into Daily Mail reader territory. If they are, I'll give myself a massive slap.
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