@Paul O’Mahoney: yes to a certain extent bug manh working are struggling. People paying heavy rent for example in there 50s/60s face serious problems also. How will they sustain increasing rents when there no longer able to work. Most can’t afford to pay into a pension,I’m one of them with a mortgage going week to week. Haven’t had a holiday in 12 years with increasing costs and little increase to match realistically in the real world. Most are in far worse boats and those are the ones being hung out to dry altogether.

@Paddy C: if you’re so anti migration you should be sticking to your guns and telling those lads they shouldn’t be leaving. The patriots like you in Australia and Canada etc. don’t want them there. It’s gas how people blame their frustrated failures of lives on foreigners.

@Paul O’Mahoney: Where did he attack high earners in that post, I didn’t see it. There are people in Ireland who have more than they could ever need and they don’t care about and don’t believe the hardship being experienced in bottom half of society. They are elitist and they assume that they have material success because they work harder. They can’[t get their heads around the fact that their are huge amount of people in this country who work extremely hard in jobs with very high burn out rates, they are educated and they can’t afford to live without government subsidies. Took me a decades of hard a work and paying for my education to get into the “middle bracket” and now I can see for fact that the “squeezed middle” is an absolute myth. The complaining that people in my wage bracket do is disgusting to me. Most people on my wages are just profligate, physically lazy wouldn’t last two days in some of the jobs I’ve done and they could solve any of their economic woes by consuming less. The bottom half of workers are slowly going under.

@eoin fitzpatrick: it’s not being blamed on foreigners,maybe you haven’t noticed but housing is completely unaffordable and very scarce. So if you can’t house who is here at present quite clearly,how can you house people who aren’t? Wake up man you must have you’re head up in the clouds. They’re are people earning good incomes unable to afford rent or mortgages what do you expect them to do when it’s clearly getting worse and what’s in power is useless to deal with it.

@Sill Scoundrel: spot on

@Sill Scoundrel: The ” I’m alright Jack” reference.
I was hoping to get some wisdom from your post but it’s the same we need to take care of those who haven’t as I do. Why?
It’s simply rubbish.
Those who are paid higher will pay more tax than those who aren’t and that is then divvied out through a host of social welfare channels and payments to help those who need it.

If you are such a great advocate for those ” less well off” give up your job and let one of those below you take it…..and have a better life and you could work with the others and help them.

@Paul O’Mahoney: norhing wrong except they’d gladly keep their foot on the head of a drowning man so long as it saves their lifestyle.

@Paul O’Mahoney: “the I’m alright jack”, that’s what set you off? That’s not an attack on high earners, it’s having a go at high earners who look down their noses at the low waged, couldn’t care less about them and you took offense to it. I worked very hard for a long time to get where I am and the reason I get paid well now is because of my research on the socio-economic circumstances of Irish families. “Below me”, they aren’t below me, the low waged in this country are some of the most productive workers in the world, they are my equals and they deserve to be paid accordingly. You think I should give up my job so some middle class kid who has just had Mammy and Daddy pay for their masters can take my job? Get over yourself. Wages have to rise, their is massive imbalance between profit and wages and it gets bigger every year. People with full-time jobs shouldn’t have to go crawling to the government for handouts to survive. Our welfare system has turned into a subsidy for employers and that wasn’t what the welfare state was supposed to be about. It is a fools course we are on, we have created a system of subsidising wages that will create absolute havoc in the next economic downturn.

@Paul O’Mahoney: @Paul O’Mahoney: Greed. That’s what’s wrong. We are seeing a massive transfer of wealth from the young to the old. If you were around 20 years ago and could buy properties great. But young people now have no chance. Instead they get caught up in a rent trap paying extortionate rents to parasitic landlords backed by a government more concerned with the needs of investors rather than the need for housing and homes. Free market is a nice idea on paper, but no economic model factors in greed. Limit supply and you in increase demand. Those who have assets make a killing on the backs of those who have not.

@Paul O’Mahoney: Just to be clear, I have nothing against high earners, I am frustrated by the attitude I am encountering from many high earners. And I would ask people to recognise, if you attack high earners, you will put downward pressure on wages as a whole. Wealth and income are two different things and people earning 150,000 a year isn’t a problem. My comment about a middle class kid taking my job was made in anger and I shouldn’t have said it. Workers are being pitted against each other and I shouldn’t be playing into it. I would like everyone to come to terms with the fact that the system we have now as regards things like wages, social transfers, pensions and housing is completely unsustainable. I don’t care what sector of the ideological spectrum a policy comes from as long as it’s evidence based and appropriate for the long-term challenges we face as a society.

@Sill Scoundrel: if the wages increase everything else will increase at least twice much, so low earners won’t feel better.
All the time we’re saying there’s not enough properties for people to live in, which makes rent way above the limits, where you have to pay for 2 bed apartment around €2.1-2.5k around Dublin, the “war” when you’re trying to buy a 2nd hand house is also a massive joke as the houses are sold by 50-75k more than they were listed. And all the taxes which are going on working people which are struggling on a daily basis.

@Ciarán Ryan: Oh, for heavens sake, this is the socialist claptrap in its totality and I heard it in the 80s, 90s and so forth.

Massive transfer from young to old? In what way? Because nearly all the wealth is held by the ” old” who BTW have worked hard for it and shouldn’t be vilified for having it .

I started work in 1987 and by 1990 myself and my now wife’s gross Salary together was 22,000 punts we bought our first house in 1990 for £39000 at interest rate of 14.25% fixed for 5 years.

We hadn’t a bob, but we kept going moved to a bigger house as children came along and so on ……..now we have wealth both physical and financial our children are educated and starting their careers and they will be left a considerable inheritance.

We’ll never feel bad about this.

@Sill Scoundrel: You only have a masters. You need to get a PHD they are great.

So let’s be clear you have an issue with people who are higher paid than others but you are in exactly that position and are unwilling to change it. Hypocritical?

To further your argument rather than look at yourself, you look to deride others who you don’t know and level unsubstantiated claims against them.

Whatever you’re masters is in ,it certainly wasn’t politeness or something useful.

@Sill Scoundrel: Breath, dude.

Anger is a very destructive emotion both for yourself and others.

It’s perfectly fine to hold a point of view or even an ideology with passion, but to achieve movement in that one shouldn’t be looking to blame anyone or use anyone else’s lives to justify their position is frankly what those in power want.

I respect your views, I don’t think they are correct. Well, thought out or feasible as the economic consequences wouldn’t be favourable, get busy volunteering with like minded people/organisations, you never know your idea might be the one that solves the problems we have.

@Paul O’Mahoney: And just for the record I view everyone as a professional, I treat people with dignity and , if they don’t reciprocate I unleash my wrath, and yes wealthy people have wraths.

Stay Stoic

@Paul O’Mahoney: Do you think the current tax bands and thresholds have been at their current points throughout history?!? No, they’ve increased over time with inflation. There has been massive inflation recently it needs an overhaul to reflect this. As is, the govt are taking it all in and spending it which can be seen with their budget increases. We are all much worse off with the higher cost of things and the out of date taxation is compounding it.

@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: I’ll attempt to give my views on both posts.

Firstly you’re trying to make figures from information that you aren’t privy to and are using what’s called guessing, people get pay increases too, which will be taxed. I simply cannot follow or understand what you’re saying.

Historically, bands were increased, but by inflation? It’s kind of moot anyway as inflation prior to this spike has been 2% on average and bands never really move by even that amount.

To increase bands by 20% would be a leap and would fuel further inflation, and the cycle would continue.

My idea is simple introduction of a 30% rate from 35k to 70k or thereabouts that would be a more balanced approach.

@Paul O’Mahoney: Read first comment again……!

@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: I have multiple times and no better understanding has come to me.

Allow me to put it this way ” if someone is explaining something to you and you are of reasonable intelligence, and are still not understanding the issue it’s not your problem”.

If you’re willing to try again and perhaps make the points readable and simple to follow I’m willing to give it another try.

@Paul O’Mahoney: Nah I’m good!