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Constitutional amendment for a balanced budget?

2»

Comments

  • #52
    Lockstep
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,026 ✭✭✭Lockstep


    donegalfella wrote: »
    This post has been deleted.

    They've been given teeth by the Lisbon Treaty and are making use of it. It's hardly fair to blame them for an inability to act before this. Their powers were took weak.


  • #53
    Einhard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,920 ✭✭✭Einhard


    The idea is appealing on a certain level, right until one remembers that debt can actually be a very good thing.


  • #54
    Justin Collery
    Closed Accounts Posts: 192 ✭✭Justin Collery


    How about this to finesse your idea.

    Rather than outlawing outright borrowing, which as people have said here, from time to time is needed, can be good for infrastructure etc. ban overseas borrowing.

    The government can borrow as much as it wants, but only from Irish people or companies. This would still have all the advantages of the OP's idea but would give the government wiggle room to borrow when the need arose. It would make borrowing cheaper for the government, check out Japan, 189% debt:GDP and they pay 1% on their borrowings and would avoid us being owned by external debtors.

    I particularly like the point made earlier that it makes things more democratic. The government wants to borrow €20bn. Very easy to get this from overseas and not really explain it at home. If however, you had to borrow the money at home you would have to be much clearer about the plans for the cash, and if the people don't like it, they just won't give it.


  • #55
    ei.sdraob
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,376 ✭✭✭ei.sdraob


    jcollery wrote: »
    How about this to finesse your idea.

    Rather than outlawing outright borrowing, which as people have said here, from time to time is needed, can be good for infrastructure etc. ban overseas borrowing.

    The government can borrow as much as it wants, but only from Irish people or companies. This would still have all the advantages of the OP's idea but would give the government wiggle room to borrow when the need arose. It would make borrowing cheaper for the government, check out Japan, 189% debt:GDP and they pay 1% on their borrowings and would avoid us being owned by external debtors.

    I particularly like the point made earlier that it makes things more democratic. The government wants to borrow €20bn. Very easy to get this from overseas and not really explain it at home. If however, you had to borrow the money at home you would have to be much clearer about the plans for the cash, and if the people don't like it, they just won't give it.

    I hope they dont start "borrowing" by:

    * appropriating savings
    * raiding the pensions reserve
    * printing money (if we leave euro) creating inflation in process

    :(


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