Its the opposite really – we and otheres should have followed icelands example .

following taken from Jeff Neilson article on Znet -” Iceland was right – we were wrong ”

”What was Iceland’s approach? To do the exact opposite of everything the bankers running our own economies told us to do. The bankers (naturally) told us that we needed to bail out the criminal Big Banks, at taxpayer expense (they were Too Big To Fail). Iceland gave the banksters nothing.

The bankers told us that no amount of suffering (for the Little People) was too great in order to make sure that the Bond Parasites got paid at 100 cents on the dollar. Iceland told the Bond Parasites they would get what was left over, after the people had been taken care of (by their own government).

The bankers told us that our governments could no longer afford the same education, health care and pension systems which our parents had taken for granted. Iceland told the bankers that what the country could no longer afford was to continue to be blood-sucked by the worst financial criminals in the history of our species. Now, after three-plus years of this absolute dichotomy in economic policymaking, a clear picture has emerged (despite the best efforts of the propaganda machine to hide the truth).

In typical fashion, the moment that the Corporate Media is forced to admit that it has been serially misinforming us for the past several years; the Revisionists are immediately deployed to rewrite history, as shown in this Bloomberg Businessweek excerpt:

…the island’s approach to its rescue led to a “surprisingly” strong recovery, the International Monetary Fund’s mission chief to the country said.”

France puts the F in F’n Piggs

How about Pfiigs? Note: The P is silent as in bath.

How do they put the Fs into the Pfiigs roles?

We wouldn’t be if we just cut welfare and public service wages. Also reduce the minimum threshold for taxes eg 10% on everything then the normal system applies after 22,000. Everyone should pay, not just the wealthy and middle class.

John. If we introduced a tax system like Germany or Holland or Finland, the people bailing us out then we would be a long way to solving the problem. That however would be called communist, better to take your approach and keep cutting bits off the bone and pretend that it will lead to growth.

John we should cut the buns.

@ John. You should be ashamed to call yourself Irish with a comment like that. You mean to want to force people into further poverty so that you can justify taking a few more crumbs off the Rich??? You don’t give a damn obviously.

@John Duggan .
If welfare was cut out – the banks – at least the banks we have today – would not exist – and we would not have the massive problem we have . We should have folowed Icelnds example . Look up Jeff Neilsons article on Znet –
” We were wrong – Iceland was right ”

John

Instead of trying to pull cash from an already severely hampered economic system, perhaps u should ask, where/who all this money has gone too?

FYI their is more Drv’s & cr swaps on the market now then in 07/08 what does this tell you?
It tells me the underpinning $ is now fooked, as it is linked to nought, and only a matter of time before failing, why QE is now constant here & US. Gold has gone through the roof (the real currency standard). % rates a zip.
If u fail to learn from history you are doomed to repeat it.

U must expand ur view stop thinking local and think globally, the pieces tend to fit the puzzle better.

Wake up

@Christopher, why should anybody be ashamed of trying to save the country? It’s people like you who have put us in this position.

but watch the french hit the streets the second they’re asked to participate in any scheme that is none of their business or responsibility

Ahh it’s all relative till someone looses an eye. Those French boyos know how to rock a boat….the Greeks haven’t a patch on them.

Ahh it’s all relative till someone looses an eye. Those French boyos know how to rock a boat….the Greeks haven’t a patch on them.

The reason Germany has low employment and remains “competitive” is that they have had austerity policies in place since reunification to cover the cost of the former East Germany having a near total economic collapse, and they’ve maintained that policy to the present day. They also have not raised wages to match the rising cost of living for many years and they continue to delay to implement a minimum wage. There is no minimum wage in Germany, people working for buttons there is not a myth. These policies will be maintained until after this autumn’s elections, but it can’t go on indefinitely. You simply can’t run a country where the real average full time wage after tax puts the worker below the poverty line.

Also a reason what we’re in the mess we are, is that ECB interest rates were set at a rate that would help Germany overcome unification.
These long term low rates were bad news for long term banking in Ireland.

I don’t for one moment blame Germany for this outcome, but surely the EU together should have allowed for such circumstances? Did they presume that ‘This time it’s different’

I’ve read that Germany is the major beneficiary of the euro. If the DM was still around German exports would be 30% more expensive?

Well they do spend a fortune on their armed forces and rarely use them.

Wouldn’t matter the French will definitely have a revolution, no doubt about it and get an amazing deal, Ireland would still lie down and take it, never getting a deal while everyone else does. We will be pushed into extreme poverty, no hope or prosperity in our lifetime but we still wouldn’t take to the streets. We’ll emigrate instead. I still can’t understand why the Irish take such a battering and remain sitting on our arses.

The French are proud of their country, and will not leave. The Irish are divided as always, and the smart ones are leaving in droves. What’s left behind?

Karolyn the boom made us all posh that’s why .

While I’m all for the idea of a balanced budget constitutional amendment. If a govt can only spend 25% of what it earns what does a govt do with the rest? Seems to leave 75% just lying around

The GDP. The exact percentage and what it’s a percentage of is up for discussion. Basically it prohibits the politicians and the government from spending more than a fixed percentage of what the entire country earns. It limits the total take in all taxes. It limits their power. Power they get from taking and spending people’s money. That’s their budget and they have to live within it.

The civil servants and public servants might do well in good years but then their salary would be limited or they might be laid off in bad years, just like those in private businesses. Also they should prohibit reckless borrowing for day to day spending. Doing that means we consume in a year what others must pay for for in future.

It could also put limits on what the can be spent on, e.g. capital spending (unless proven independently to produce a profit), social welfare, subsidised health care, RTE, sports, arts, army, Gardai, bank bailouts, grants, etc. Maybe the people could vote on what they regard as priorities. Maybe via this new Democracy Direct initiative. Would the people vote to spend €20,000,000 on doing up a museum in the middle of the worst recession since the state was founded? I doubt it.

Ok I disagree with Direct Democracy idea because its so infeasible. However we already voted on the GDP spend in the fiscal compact treaty

Pis Fig – sorry

Where’s Carol Vorderman when you need her?

France has been falling for the last 10 years. The Euro has hollowed out its economy. This is beyond left and right political thinking. When you are tied in to a currency that is totally unsuited to your economy then decline and empty bank accounts are the only end.

So the euro forced France to create an enormous welfare state so nobody had to work?