Saturday, December 24, 2011

Ireland State of the Nation Politics and Poverty

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"it was the best of times -
it was the worst of times"




Strange year 2011 - and I wonder what sort of a black hole are we looking down into in 2012?  My tag line for 2011 and my wish for 2012 are the following:


Not Until!

Not until the hard-pressed and poorer half of the (Irish) population see the well-off paying their fair share. Not until the government have the gonads to take on a bloated and inefficient public service sector. Not until the Irish Parliament take a moral lead by reducing their own huge salaries and pensions by a substantial amount, like 50%, and not until they additionally limit their obscene and obese expenses to say €10,000 of ticketed items a year, will there be any appetite in the population for the hair-shirt taxation now being placed on rich and poor alike.

(The current political situation)
It is a déja vu situation echoing  past times when Charlie Haughy, addressing the nation, told the Irish people to tighten their belts, while, at the very same time, he was buying a bunch of Charvet shirts in Paris for £16,000 or what amounted to more than two years income for most.

The Spirit of Christmas

I wish my readers the true spirit of Christmas the Holy season, and a fresh hope for the New Year.




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