Friday, Jan 27th 2012
The EU Treaty is a disaster for the Left | Owen Jones
In the New Stateman Owen Jones, author of Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class, has a take on what the EU is proposing. The EU will from now on be exactly like Ireland. We didn’t import neoliberalism. We’re exporters of oligarchical rule.
Stop your crowing about [...]
Michael Perelman | Occupy Chico State
Good interview with Michael Perleman for his local NPR station which he would have given to a Occupied Chico State teach-in broadcast if the location for the talk hadn’t been locked down due to a ‘bomb scare’. Perelman, who’s the author of the highly recommended Invisible Handcuffs talks about [...]
Justice for Magdalenes group | It’s wrong to appoint Seán Aylward to the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture
Letter from the Justice for Magdalenes group in the Irish Times about the inappropriateness of appointing former secretary general of the Department of Justice, Seán Aylward to the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of [...]
Since the European Union entails the free movement of capital, fiscal and labour sovereignty had to be ceded. This was one of the most important criticisms from the left regarding the way a perfect European Union was being built for bringing an end to the welfare state of each one of its members. If you [...]
Piketty, Saez, and Stantcheva | Taxing the 1%: Why the top tax rate could be over 80%
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At a time when most OECD countries face large deficits and debt burdens, a crucial public policy question is whether governments should tax high earners more. The potential tax revenue at stake is now very large. For example, [...]
Martin Wolf | ‘Merkozy’ Failed to Save the Eurozone
Martin Wolf in the Financial Times argues that the Merkozy solution won’t work, as it is doesn’t address the cause of the crisis or the problems within the Eurozone.
Now consider average current account deficits over 1999-2007. On this measure, the most vulnerable countries were Estonia, Portugal, Greece, [...]
Analysis indicates Government’s first Budget will fail to generate growth and jobs while disproportionately hitting low-income groups
Independent think-tank TASC today issued its response to Budget 2012. Entitled ‘Roadmap to Greater Inequality’, TASC’s analysis indicates that the measures in this week’s Budget will fail to generate growth and jobs, and will disproportionately impact on low-income groups.
Speaking this [...]
It didn’t take long. Patrick Nulty, TD voted against the budget on Tuesday night. Suddenly, on Thursday morning an op-ed appears in the Irish Times attacking the young TD. And not just ‘attacking’ - it is one of the most vicious attacks on an individual TD you’ll read on an issue of policy. After all, Nulty [...]
The Irish Times is often referred to as the quality newspaper in Ireland. It enjoys a wide readership with a reported circulation of over 120,000 for the period between July and December 2010. Even the use of the word “Times” in the title would seem to suggest a shared lineage with the Times of London. [...]
Act two of the budget: increased taxation on capital and property amounts to a quarter of the cuts in social protection alone (never mind education and health). That takes €15 million off those holding on to legacy property tax reliefs (out of a total of €435 million they gain in relief). Lone parents are going [...]
