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Wednesday, Feb 8th 2012


About Michael Taft

Visit Michael Taft at Notes on the Front »

Articles by Michael Taft

The Recession Diaries: Revising Towards a New Economic Narrative

Mark Conroy, who kindly posted my essay ‘Towards a New Economic Narrative’ on Indymedia, noted my comment that it was growing quickly out-of-date and asked:
‘In what way is it “out of date”, and what would an updated version of it look like?’
Fair question. With new projections from Ulster Bank suggesting we are entering into a [...]

March 12th Evening: The Recession Diaries

Indymedia has kindly posted my article ‘Towards A New Economic Narrative’. But I fear it is quickly growing out of date. The speed at which the economy is melting down means we are running hard and still not able to keep up. The article was written in November. Today we are in a much different [...]

March 9th Evening: The Recession Diaries

Jim O’Leary rightfully points out our tendency to view our problems in isolation from the rest of the world - as if we were somehow unique. He suggests we look abroad, to other examples. He selects my home state California to see what lessons we can draw. His principle is sound, his selection curious.
It’s not [...]

March 5th - Helping Out the Brians: The Recession Diaries

So, the Brians are asking for advice. We should not begrudge them. It is time for all ‘good patriots’ to step forward and give our faltering government a helping hand. For we are now, effectively, looking into the third budget in five months. So where do we start?
No better place than with Sean O’Riain’s piece [...]

March 3rd Morning: The Recession Diaries

There is an almighty locomotive train of a consensus coming down the tracks at us: taxation. Many commentators are demanding that tax increases be substantial and immediate. Can this help resolve the crisis? The answer is: yes and no and, in some cases, it can make it worse. Taxation is, after all, an instrument; like [...]

February 27 Lunchtime: The Recession Diaries

The RTE Prime Time programme last night contained some of the most misleading (to put it mildly) presentation of facts and subsequent analysis to have been aired in a long time. Make no mistake about it: we are being prepared for the economic abattoir. And if you need any proof that the Left is rapidly [...]

February 20 Lunchtime: The Recession Diaries

Cathal O’Loghlin has done the readers of my Notes on the Front blog a favour by putting up his Irish Independent article in the comment section yesterday (I’m assuming the poster ‘Honest Cathal‘ is the author). Whichever Cathal it is, he is certainly in feisty form. He manages to call ICTU and CORI liars - [...]

February 19th Morning: The Recession Diaries

Can you feel it?  Brian has dinner with Sean and Co.  Was one of the Anglo-Irish 10 there breaking bread with the Taoiseach-elect?  And Senator Dan Boyle signals a wobble on the part of the junior coalition partner.  Low-paid civil servants are demonstrating; as are the Guards; Dublin Bus is facing into an all-out strike.  The National [...]

February 17 Evening: The Recession Diaries

There will be a variety of slogans on placards on the National Demonstration this Saturday:
There is a Better Way • Bail Out People, Not Banks • Punish the Corrupt, Not the Victims  • Workers Unite
All catchy in their own way.  But here’s the text for a placard that should be carried by thousands and memorised [...]

February 16th Afternoon: The Recession Diaries

‘You do not get it. You are stupid. Do not demonstrate. Do not remonstrate. You are interfering in things you do not understand and you are making matters worse. Go back home. Sit down. Shut up. And let your betters sort things out.’

End communication from your Econo-Overlords VMT (Von Mises Tendency)
I am getting increasingly [...]

Sins of the Father

Sins of the Father:

Tracing the Decisions

That Shaped the Irish Economy,

by Conor McCabe

from The History Press

Now Available as an e-Book.

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