Hopefully, we are in to our last week on the reform of the rules that govern Europe’s fishing industry.
Trawling for Soviet Era Subsidies
Trundling behind them is the reform of how Europe gives subsidies to this industry. The amount of taxpayers money being given out to a very few boats is staggering. Conservative guestimates are that the government spends more money in control, enforcement, and subsidies than the industry brings in.
But, the bizzaire justifications for taxpayers to be forced to spend their hard earned money on others continues to this day.
Give Me Your Money
The strangest one is that old large vessels should be paid by taxpayers to modernise their boats. I’ve got no problem that a private individual should spend his own hard earned income to modernise his aging vessel. I think it is wrong that any boat owner get his political friends to pass laws that force taxpayers to pay for boats to be modernised at taxpayers expense.
Europe’s Conservatives – Corporate Sugar Daddies
Now, the irony is that French conservatives, like Alain Cadec, are behind these corporate welfare schemes. That he comes from Brittany, an area dominated by large and old fishing vessels is just a co-inidence.
Now, the strange thing is that many old vessels (large and small) are modernised at the owners expense. Yes, there really is industry happening in europe that works at a profit and is not bankrolled by Government.
A Free Market Model
Here is just one example of a boat operating today that has been upgraded without subsidies. It escaped the East German Soviet model and we should not allow that to come back.
