Simon Johnson and Peter Boone are writing in the New York Times‘ Econmix blog about Ireland again.
Johnson is, of course, a former Chief Economist of the IMF, an institution that has largely endorsed Ireland’s austerity measures and suggests more may be needed.
However, Johnson and Boone’s comments are that current government policy isn’t working, and this [...]

Irish society remains deeply unequal despite massive wealth creation during the Celtic tiger years.   It is estimated that a mere 5% of the population hold 40% of the wealth in Ireland.
Discrimination as experienced by women, Black and minority ethnic people  including Travellers, older people, young people, lesbian, gay and transgendered people, lone parents, carers, people [...]

One can only chuckle. Last year the pronouncements of rating agencies were treated as though they were written on Mount Sinai. Downgrades, or the threat of such, were interpreted by our high priests of deflation as demands to cut public spending. That’s what we did - big time; slashing public spending by nearly €9 billion [...]

There have been some outrageous and hilarious things said in this economic debate. I don’t know how economic historians will come to rank them. But surely at the top must be the claim that the rich have paid a ‘far higher price’ than other groups in society as a result of the economic downturn. You [...]

A small follow on from Michael Taft’s post, about the well-known exports tax scam known as the “Double-Irish”.
The story of the tax scam has gone around the world and some at this stage, but I’ve yet to see or hear of it on Irish TV or radio, or in the print media.
Following on from my [...]

The Central Bank Governor, Patrick Honohan, is outraged. In particular, he is outraged that Irish bond spreads are so high, ridiculously high. Don’t the ‘international markets‘ realise the dynamism of our export sectors, the budgetary and tax reforms, the pain we have suffered to get our public finances under control? Why are they still doing [...]

6 per cent of the those who took part in the 2010 Solidarity Factor, incorporating the results of TASC’s 2010 Equality Survey favour raising minimum wage, 29 per cent favour establishing maximum wage and 49 per cent favour combination of both approaches.
Commenting on the findings the equality think-tank’s Director, Paula Clancy, said today:
“There is now [...]

This article originally appeared in the August edition of Socialist Voice published by the Communist Party of Ireland. The first part appeared on ILR here. Click here to access the current edition of Socialist Voice.
Neo-liberalism with Irish characteristics
INDEED this is pointed in other ways. As we have outlined, the shift from labour to capital in [...]

The vulnerability of weaker sections of society becomes obvious in times of recession. Already it is clear that those who can least afford further income reductions will be asked once again to ‘share the pain’ in December. It is clear however, that sharing - in the eyes of the Government - is a fundamentally unequal [...]

I return again, like a dog to a buried bone, to the subject of the Grey Party (sorry Green Party). I took the opportunity, recently, of republishing their 2007 manifesto lest it be forgotten, and among its declarations was the Grey Party’s determination to:
‘Ensure the delivery of 10,000 social and affordable housing units a year [...]