next »

[Glamdring]

Whilst I'm quite keen to stick one to the Irish at most opportunities - especially sporting (and I wish they'd take all their tinkers and gypsies back) I don't for one moment wish this on them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2011/03/the_unbelievable_truth_about_i.html

Such a little country, so few people and yet so much trouble.

[Wooster]

Whilst I'm quite keen to stick it to the Tories at most opportunities:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article733821.ece

"Ireland stands as a shining example of the art of the possible in long-term economic policymaking, and that is why I am in Dublin: to listen and to learn."

It's a hell of a mess they've landed in though. 

[Glamdring]

^
Somebody should play that back to Osborn every time he stands up in Parliament.

[Wooster]

When you see some of those Ghost Estates you can help but think that quite a lot of the elderly could use them.

Buy them cheap, do them up, turn one into a shop, two pensioners to a house (sharing a kitchen and lounge) et voila: a Retirement Village you can live on a UK pension in.  

[keasy]

But that would be kind and not cruel.


We can't have those blasted smelly  oiks living in anything near quality.

[corroded]

I'd personally be quite happy to buy one if they weren't priced insanely.

[Splinter]

This bloke got it right on the nail!

NSFW  swearing
An Irishman abroad tells it like it is !! :-)

[keasy]

Well according to a recent opinion I heard from an economist Osborne is still basing himself on the Irish model.

Ireland tried to rescue itself by...yup, cutting all its public services, raising VAT, freezing wages, decreasing corporation taxes and letting the bankers off Scot free !

And what is wee Georgie Porgie doing ?
What happened to Ireland ?


We're f*cked.


Apparently the Dutch had a massive public power campaign where millions of citizens threatened to pull their savings unless the government capped bankers bonuses and diverted the huge profit of banks back into the mass economy (as opposed to the moving of and lack of moving monies in the private banks economies).
It worked.

[Wooster]

That's a great plan...and a great video.

[Hijpo]

Hopefully they new lads in charge will give us a break. So far they have cut all the ministers pay (not by much but there still doing more than the last shower), taken the cars and drivers off ex taoiseach, only 8 or so ministers went as representatives on paddys day instead of the 28 in previous years. So far they seem to be doing away with all the piss taking and running the place a bit more like sensible adults instead of rowdy teenagers looking for a laugh and session.

[Kryten]

A waaaayyyy over simplistic view from me but what the heck. Here goes.

What the respective governments (including Ireland's) should have done when the banking bubble burst is pay off everyone's credit cards, pay off everyone's mortgages, pay off every individual's debt. That way, not only do the banks et al get all those billions, albeit via a different route, but also individuals now find themselves in a stronger financial position to go out and spend.

Wipe out all our debts and start over again. Wheee! Spending spree! Within a year we'll all be right back in the same level of debt, but the economy will be roaring. Especially if they also pay for putting multiple kids through university, too.

Problem solved. Next please! Does that actually make too much sense to ever have a chance?

[Wooster]

That would have the same effect as printing money I think, so you'd run the risk of hyper inflation.

[keasy]

Yup, to much sense indeed.

And waaaay, to simplistic    Not that I'm some sort of expert or anything by the way.

But, to pay off mortgages would mean the government buying, outright, the collective debt that all mortgages in the country amount to, I very much doubt as a country that is not based on a   surplus economy that we could cover it without actually doubling the debt. AFAIK it would double because to buy off a debt and prolong its pay off period, that debt has to be viable to the end lender/group. Hence they would want compensated for waiting longer for their money they loaned (even if that is not hard physical cash) and want more in return, so raising the countries debt.
In effect, the debt you just bought become even more expensive to actually pay off.

[Hijpo]

Kind of like ireland going to the IMF. They borrow money to bail out the banks and end up paying big interest costing way more than what they need.

[Kryten]

Hehe.... well, at the time I was in satirical mode; no doubt assisted by my third glass of Scotland's finest single malt Glen something or other.