If, hypothetically, a SkyNet like AI actually existed, how much damage to humanity would you be ok with as long as productivity and quality of life went up went up for those who were spared? Let's assume that you and your loved ones are among those who have been guaranteed safety by this AI.
I am sorry if the tone comes across as snarky. Not my intention. Genuinely curious.
Sadly, the EU has already lost that competitiveness through many other similar regulatory situations. The real risk is not competitiveness in creating products, that's a lost battle already :( The real risk is losing competitiveness in even being able to work for the American companies that are creating products.
> * Net migration was unusually high in 2022, as several factors came together at the same time, including the war in Ukraine"[1]. *
Even so, the net migration numbers were nowhere close to 1 million. From the same source as above,
> * With this caveat in mind, estimates from the Office of National Statistics suggest that total net migration was 504,000 in the year ending June 2022. *
You suggested that the UK adds 500k-1m migrants every year, but the actual number seems to be pretty much at the bottom of that range. The number of students coming to the UK has also increased significantly (it does contribute to increase in net migration stats).
The ONS still predicts (with a considerable amount of uncertainty I'll admit) that the net migration numbers will fall significantly in the next 5 or so years.
I don’t think it matters really whether it’s 500k or 1m, if you have a massive housing shortage and a failing health service.
That’s still almost 1% addition to the population every year.
Even if that means 100k families, you still need an extra 100k houses or flats ideally per year. That is impossible, even with super efficient planning laws.
I think the rise in food bank usage over the last decade and a half has been quite alarming[0]. You can find supporting statistics elsewhere too[2][3].
I know that plenty of people are doing alright and, in my opinion, this group is vastly over-represented on HN. The food bank usage stats suggest that the living conditions of people across this country have been getting worse for a while now, and while the pandemic and inflation have exacerbated this problem, they did not create it.
That is an argument for not assuming the absolute levels are accurate. It does not explain the increase unless you're arguing that people have for some unexplained reason gotten more steadily more willing to exploit it.
You are saying it cost money before? People drinking more tap water and less bottled water would be a sign of decline in purchasing power and that doesn't even include a factor of losing time for something of insufficient value.
You can use the same argument to explain away homelessness. Personally I doubt _many_ is any big, or even most. Unfortunately, like you, I do not have any data.
As others have pointed out, Liz Truss has no qualms about calling Saudi Arabia an important ally[1]. Statements against China are a way to pander to the Tory base.
While im no fan of Saudi Arabia, I wouldn’t go calling this pandering. China has long considered the West an enemy, and has been an abusive trading partner. It’s high time the UK stands up for itself.
this is projection - the hostility is pretty much one way from West to East. You can even see when the mood changed, post GFC, when China stopped buying US T-bills
Abusive trading partner in the strict sense of goods trading, not sure. But China requires or used to require (some / interesting / all?) foreign countries operating in the country to create joint ventures with Chinese companies. Probably done to transfer know-how, possibly profits, and to keep control. Volkswagen had the foresight to enter China early (as it did decades earlier in Brazil), and it had to do that.
protectionism of this sort is basically how all the East Asian tigers developed from being as impoverished as Africa in 1950's to where they all are now. It's a problem now because the unbroken period of 400 years + pf Western hegemony might finally be under challenge by a country who is big enough not routinely bend the knee
