Thursday, May 24th 2012
If there’s one country where ‘tax’ is an even dirtier word than in Ireland, its the good ‘ol USA. To argue for higher taxes in Omaha is no more popular than in Artane. And, yet, America is about to elect a politician whose platform calls for higher taxes on wealthy individuals and businesses [...]
To kick public sector workers around the block is in danger of becoming an officially recognised sport; bloated, inefficient, over-paid - and don’t even mention pensions. Tony O’Brien is opining on the best instrument - scalpel or chainsaw - to achieve public sector savings:
‘If tackled correctly we could be aiming for efficiencies of 10 per cent, which is equivalent [...]
Eat Your Heart Out, Padre Pio!!
Si, is well-known American actor Tony Danza, who play Robert Stack, aka Iron Man in the new Hollywood blockbuster movie, also, coincidentally, called Iron Man. Once again we see the disgusting blasphemous heresy that happen when Americans get their hands on the story of Jesus and try to make it [...]
Where stands the debate on the unusustainability of ‘universalism’ now? The Government has stated that only 5% of over-70s have incomes exceeding €36,400 (€72,800 for a couple) and the cost of providing them a medical card would be €10 - €15 million. Unsustainable? It amounts to pennies. In fact, it amounts to less than pennies [...]
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I think that’s an underestimate.
The chart above is taken from an analysis by Dan O’Brien of the Economist Intelligence Unit which appeared in yesterday’s Sunday Business Post. He presented this chart to make a point:
‘The increase in public spending in Ireland over the past decade has [...]
The Leader of the Opposition would equally be of the view that he needs to see fairness and equity in the way in which scarce resources are allocated. Can he justify a change by his members’ on the basis that a Government decision to offer medical cards to well-off pensioners, to senior civil servants, High [...]
It’s raining medical cards - in the nightmares of the Fianna Fail backbench TDs. What were they thinking? Is the €100 million savings worth the political disaster the Government has brought on to itself? €100 million? It’s peanuts in the grand scheme of things - not even representing a fifth of 1 percent of all [...]
Did you see the terrible news in the laughing jackal liberal atheist press scoffing at the reports from Brazil about the police brawl in Sao Paulo? Was absolutely terrible! What happen, apparently, was that the plainclothe civil police investigative officers was on strike, and they was been supervised during their protest march by [...]
You’d think that some people would show a bit of humility. But Sean Fitzpatrick over at Anglo Irish is not one of those people. Okay, so during his tenure as chairperson his bank ran such a reckless, irresponsible and idiotic policy that it (and he, by extension) almost brought the country, never mind his own bank, to [...]
Well, at least the business sector was happy. Not that there wasn’t the odd whinge - business spokespersons are forever whinging. ISME, especially, was in ‘bemoan’ mode.
‘The decision to increase excise duties, particularly on petrol is deplorable and will further add to business costs. Taken together with the increase in VAT, inflationary pressures [...]
