tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2623721153002721356.post6360048974206959013..comments2024-03-28T17:49:01.125+00:00Comments on Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt". McNarry again.Owen Polleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00567787385096905811noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2623721153002721356.post-48127553381147051212011-02-23T23:33:30.846+00:002011-02-23T23:33:30.846+00:00My letter in yesterday's News Letter is also r...My letter in yesterday's News Letter is also relevant here:<br /><br />--------------------------------<br /><br />Sir/Madam:<br /><br />The UUP Finance Spokesperson's line that jobs created by a London law firm should not go to people re-locating from England because they are "jobs for Northern Ireland people" is laced with hypocrisy, prejudice and economic illiteracy.<br /> <br />Firstly, if anyone suggested a job in London should not go to people from Northern Ireland, Unionists would be the first people screaming about it and proclaiming their equality as British citizens. So why should jobs in Northern Ireland not go to fellow British citizens from London?<br /> <br />Secondly, what are "Northern Ireland people" anyway? As far as I am concerned, the Polish people running my local car wash, the Hong Kong Chinese woman who is an MLA, and the Englishman who serves as my local rector have all made Northern Ireland their home and are therefore just as "Northern Irish" as anyone else. Does the UUP disagree with this and, if so, on what basis? Why would they not want more people to come and work here and be "Northern Irish" alongside us?<br /> <br />Thirdly, we should be openly welcoming people transferring skills and salaries to Northern Ireland which otherwise wouldn't exist here and seeking more of them. Those skills will create further employment opportunities, and those salaries will add money to the local economy. Provided it is done in a controlled way, spending public money to that end strikes me as an efficient and sensible way to put our economy back on track.<br /> <br />Most ironic of all is that of the £2.5 million offered to the project, over £1 million is direct subvention to Northern Ireland from taxes on wealth created in and around London! We should not ignore that if we are serious about building a functioning and less subsidised economy we should not fear the day skilled people choose to make Northern Ireland home, but rather the day they don't...<br /> <br />Yours etc,<br /><br />--------------------------------Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com