Thursday, April 16, 2009

It does not get on your plate by magic

Rather hard to know which end is up here. Trade union members taking "direct action" in order that they actually be allowed to work:

The fishermen have blocked the ports of Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk to protest EU fishing quotas, notably of cod and sole in the English Channel and the North Sea. They say that the quotas are too low and that small-scale fishing is dying while fish stocks are robust.
Generally speaking, not asking for any special favours or quid pro quo, just the ability to do their jobs. These are individuals who can and want to work. Their paths to employment are of course blocked by governmentalism in the form of fishing quotas (read: environmentalism). So instead of allowing people to work, governments whip out the goody bag (read: your tax monies):

French agriculture and fisheries minister Michel Barnier announced Thursday (16 April) that his government is ready to release some €4 million to appease fishermen whose blockade of English Channel ports has now entered its third day.
The very same governmental types yammering on ad nauseum about "putting people back to work" actively keep people who want to, and have the ability to do so, from working. Trade unions who regularly and often call for evermore governmentalism get their pair in a wad when evermore governmentalism is carried out. Worlds collide.

How does this re-work the old proverb about giving vs. teaching someone about catching fish?

No comments: