Ireland in Crisis

merlie

Hi there,
I dont like politics and never have, but since we are experiencing an escalating crisis in the Irish economy, I have been driven to look at what was, has and is going on.

We can travel back in time to the way that every government has handle our daily lives through a quick whisk of the pen on a slip of paper, to the daily rumblings in the Dail.

Somewhere it has all fallen apart, the case being usually, not planning far enough ahead and not having the foresight to see the flaws in a 'quick fix' scheme.

The take take take policy that seems to be currently in operation has led to numerous outcries from the citizens of this country. But like all else it is falling on deaf ears once again! The problem being is that over the past number of years during the celtic tiger, the government should have saved for the 'rainy day' we are now experiencing.

Bailing Banks.
The bailing out of the banks, was that a good thing or a bad thing? So they can lend money out to people who havent got the money to pay back!? Wheres the logic in that? Ok bailing out the banks was a crutch to hold the economy up but for how long? Look at one bank in the news, now there is going to be an investigation...how much will this investigation cost the economy? Look at all those tribunals...more money down the plug! So with this bank bailing, we have to foot our governments bill for this and they are coming down on us like a ton of cement.

Government spending
I remember hearing over a number of years about the government getting pay rises and thinking to myself how crazy it is. I havent seen any TD do something that deserved a pay increase. They may have a tough job, but not all do a good job. They then go along and spend our money recklessly and now we are paying for it. They seem to always underestimate the cost of borrowing and this is our loss as we always bear the brunt of the fall out.

Unemployment.
Yes the dole queues are going to get longer, far longer than the government expects it to be. My estimation on this is somewhere around the 800,000 mark. The rate of work place closures and work force reductions is really the sign how our economy is at the moment. The worse thing for these people who are unemployed is the possibility of facing cutbacks by the government. This is because when you have so many people on the dole or getting benefits, the government needs to have cash to pay all these people (fair enough) it has been mentioned of there may possibly be cutbacks in social welfare. This is totally a wrong move, if the government proceeds or draws up another blow to the people. I for one see this as being a total lack of respect for those already hit by unemployment due to this crisis.

Health.
Cutting back on health is WRONG! The fact there may cuts on the way is only going to affect those who need it most. Medical cards, prescription medicines and hospital cutbacks..again Wrong move. This is only going to make patients wait longer to be treated, pay for medication that they can not afford. There is an old saying...HEALTH BEFORE WEALTH. They should take note of that!

Paycuts/Tax levy 1% /Pension Levy.
All of the above is bad news. In the current economic climate, there should be more spending power than less. When you have no spending power the economy misses out and then slows down. The fact that people have already limited spending and if paycuts are on the way will make a bad situation worse than it all ready is. We are already taxed out to the max and those on minimum wage suffer worst with a !% levy. Things cost, life costs. The fact of the matter is the government is looking into various ways it can take from the people, (I hope they dont tax the air we breathe! Lol) back to serious again, so they can cover their mistakes. Already the Pension Levy has hit an open wound. People need pensions when they retire, after contributing many years service, to their job and country. Retiring with peace of mind is something that is lacking courtesy of the levy that is being imposed. People work hard to make just enough to cover day to day expenses but paycuts and levies are crippling an already strap cashed people.


My thoughts.
What we are experiencing now is the result of bad management by people who do not plan ahead with forethought and foresight. Instant or short term fixes isnt the way to go. The budget of 2008 was the worst mistake that could have happened. But looking at it, there are little budgets being given all over the place, pension levies, HSE cutback, paycuts..... its all happening. But you cannot chomp away at the heart of the economy, which is the citizens of this country. The fact that the Euro is strong against the English Pound still hasnt given any major decrease in prices in shops. Prices have stlll remained the same or gone up, so we are not benefiting in any way. The shops may need to weather the storm as we have must do. But why should have to suffer for the mistakes made by people in power. We have sat back long enough, saying, "yea ok", "thats fine", "that will do", "am not bothered" etc....and settled with the same o same o all the time. How much more can we take? How far will we allow ourselves to be taken before we say..enough is enough?

All of the above are my own thoughts on how I see things and not a view expressed by anyone else.

jimmmy

merlie wrote: »

Already the Pension Levy has hit an open wound. People need pensions when they retire, after contributing many years service, to their job and country. Retiring with peace of mind is something that is lacking courtesy of the levy that is being imposed. People work hard to make just enough to cover day to day expenses but paycuts and levies are crippling an already strap cashed people.

Our public service pensions make us the laughing stock of the world, they are that high. They are higher than anywhere else. We are borrowing 25 billion this year to give in handouts to those who receice money from the public purse.