| Archive for FTS |
| AllanP |
Time now for the Euro?I'm unsure to which area of this board I should start this thread, but have decided here is probably the best area to air my own veiwpoint.Never mind this current climate of uncertainty or indeed the global economy, but I must ask you all this. Should we now embrace the Euro as our new monetary system and perhaps sooner rather than later? Not much has been said about it by this Scottish or the Westminster government for almost a year now, when GB said he was "waiting for the correct conditions to join." He might as well have said "how long is a piece of string." We are no longer a driving force in the big world and the humble pound IMO should be binned for the Euro. We are fast becoming a nation of a vast influx of immigrants so why not! It would be interesting to hear your own points of view on this seemingly very touchy subject. |
||||
| Zaf |
no, no and absolutely no.
If I had my way we would get out of Europe completely and utterly |
||||
| Guest |
I'll stick with the Giro!!
|
||||
| BoB |
I'm with you on that one, and they can stick their Euro  
|
||||
| AllanP |
Bob, Woody and Zaf.
I hear your knee jerk reactions to my suggestion, but haven't heard any reasons why you would all reject this proposal out of hand. Surely you all must accept that this monetary system is the only way forward. After all we accepted decimal currency conversion in 1970, so why not the Euro now? The Euro will buy the same goods that our sad old pound will do in our country today and we will all be able to travel in Europe without paying conversion commissions to the moneybrokers. We can sometimes be such a backward nation when it comes to any change, but I do believe that it will benefit us all if we decide to do so. Forget all the british politicians who tell us NO, and then ask yourselves this :- Are these so called policy makers ever correct when telling us what we should or should not decide to do? We should not follow their lead, but make up our own minds. |
||||
| Guest |
Allan, I don't understand the mechanics, but the Euro does not have the same value in every country! Someone did a wee test a few years ago starting with €100. They visited several countries and ended up with €88 worth! | ||||
| AllanP |
You are maybe a little confused, the Euro in the Eurozone should buy very approx the same as in any EU country. That's the whole point of having a common currency. Visiting any other countries and having to convert that currency into other local money will of course reduce the overall value, simply because of the money changing charges that disappears into greedy pockets. A common currency policy must overcome that scenario, at least to some benefit to we commoners anyway. |
||||
| Guest |
Yes..but for example..Belgium €2 for a pint, Germany, €3 for a pint!...so iot is NOT a common currency! | ||||
| Jamrie |
Alan, as Woodydad says, the Euro may be the same currency, but the value differs between each member country.
Living in a country that adopted the Euro January this year, I, like most people have found that prices have shot up. Personally I don't like the Euro, and I have even less liking for the EU. |
||||
| AllanP |
So maybe as in this country as indeed in others, we find that we all have to shop around for the best prices, although I have to point out that alchohol costs might not be the best example to decide as to whether we should cold shoulder joining the Euro. We as a relatively small nation nowadays must move on and embrace what I feel is inevitable. If we do not, or decide to remain isolated moneywise within Europe, then we will be left behind when this recent downturn in economies worldwide is over. What is the alternative? Wait and see? No! |
||||
| Cailean |
Alan, I've lived in Germany since - and even before - the euro was introduced. It has certainly made it easier to travel around Europe. Varying prices in diffferent countries? Aye - but don't you find Skye more expensive than Glasgow? And the main reason for varying prices is the differing tax rates in the various countries.
One advantage that you did not mention is for business people comparing which supplier to buy from. They don't need a calculator to figure out whether buying from Italy is a better deal than buying from Portugal. And the way the euro has risen against the dollar in the past few years - holidaying in North America is (or was last year) very inexpensive (I mentioned this in a different context a few weeks ago). And the strong euro is going to survive the present financial crisis a helluva lot better than the pound. |
||||
| AllanP |
Thanks for your input Cailean, you've managed to put my reasons for us choosing to go "Euro" a little bit better than I have. As I've intimated, I think it is inevitable sometime very soon when many others will maybe have to accept this prospect, however much they might react unfavourably to the changeover. |
||||
| Zaf |
it will no doubt be foisted upon us as was decimalization and having to use effing millimeters instead of good old feet and inches - but I will definitely hate it.
My reason? A (possibly irrational) hate of being in the EU and all that comes with it. |
||||
| Cailean |
Zaf - the reason the UK went metric is because almost the whole world (with the exception of the USA but including Canada) uses the metric system. As I mentioned above - the euro makes deciding which is the better supplier much easier for businesspeople. Metric measurement does exactly the same. Some of my customers - two large ones in particualr - do a lot of trading (buying and selling) with companies in Britain. If Britain had persisted in using feet and inches there is no way that they could buy from Britain as an exact measurement would be next to impossible. If you're buying, for example, waterproof seals for ships or submarines, then an exact measurement is vital. | ||||
| Guest |
And I won't hasve a problem fitting a metric door into my imperial space?? Rubbish it was the con to beat all cons! Give the Government an inch and they'll take a Kilometre! We should have stayed Imperial and £SD...and sod the Europeans! They drive on the wrong side of the road as well! I went into a shop and said "Give me two pounds of carrots" The bloke said "It's Kilos now!" I said "OK! Give me two pounds of Kilos!" |
||||
| BoB |
No but you have a problem spelling 
|
||||
| Guest |
Nit picker! 
|
||||
| Zaf |
in actual fact we are still measuring some items in imperial, and some in a mixture of the two, certainly in the industry I work in if not others Our firm has immense problems when we take on school leavers as they have no idea what inches are, and they need to measure in them while at work on an almost daily basis!
There are still a huge amount of trade barriers put up by several of the European countries, albeit done in sneaky ways, and the 'free trade' between them isnt nearly as free as we are led to believe 
I hate the silly foreign measurements, I always have to convert back to imperial to get any idea of what I'm buying and I totally and utterly detest having to measure horses in cms instead of hands!!! I can immediately visualise what a 14.2 hand pony looks like but 148 cms - gawd! Nope, give me cwts, ft, inches, lbs and oz any day over all the other horrible metric measurements (showing my age I guess!), not too keen on the American measurements either as many vary from ours, I just like things the old fashioned British way! |
||||
| Jamrie |
Zaf, I'm sure that this article will make your blood boil.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/a...pound-stall-set-mother-Blitz.html |
||||
| Zaf |
YEP
|
||||