[article] David MacWilliams Chinese Connection

Sgt. Sensible

Article here.

The problem is that we are not innovating.

Patents are an interesting way of assessing whether we are inventing new technology here Ireland ranks a lowly 11th out of 13 OECD countries.

We all know that the economy is now driven by gluttonous consumption financed by other people’s credit. All this is validated by the warm feeling coming from housing market wealth. The question is whether we are fit enough to protect ourselves from Asia? This fitness must come in the mind. Irish workers now have to be smarter than ever before. This means more education.

The one country that has taken this new reality seriously and galvanised the nation is Finland. In the early 1990s, following a property slump which saw unemployment rising to 18 per cent, the Finns said ‘‘never again’’. They changed their entire education system from primary to secondary and invested heavily in maths and sciences. Today, Finland has the best education system in the world. The children stay in the same school and class from 6 to 16. They actually spend the fewest hours in the classroom, yet get the best results.

I usually hate MacWilliams and his annoying made up terms but he's spot on here. It's how I felt since college when lecturers made it clear that our function was to get our qualifications then get out and make money for other people asap. Any kind of enthusiasm for innovation or entrepreneurship was sneered at. Unfortunately I think Ireland is too politically immature, parochial and xenophobic to make the hard decisions MacWilliams refers to.

mountainyman

The most serious problem is the hyperbolic property market which soaks up capital and diverts entrepreneurial energy into a nontradable sector.

MM

Sleepy

This kind of thinking is why I don't think anyone should be allowed into government without some kind of background in economics/business. When will the Irish people wake up and learn that you don't put secondary school teachers or third generation publicans from rural towns in charge of a multi-billion euro enterprise?

lostexpectation

did anyone see raging bulls the other night about baltimore, and the one about hogan publishing, I think it should be called scam artists, its hard to tell the difference with these people hyping there products to the hilt and seemingly 'innovating' then bringing it all crashing down upon themselves and there slave driven employees who may never signed up to be at the whim of these people, ye ha entrepeneurs

sovtek

Sleepy wrote:

This kind of thinking is why I don't think anyone should be allowed into government without some kind of background in economics/business.

...and 50 years later you'll get the Irish version of GWB.
I think the government needs to put more money behind Irish small business instead of tax breaks to multinationals.

Sgt. Sensible

lostexpectation wrote:

did anyone see raging bulls the other night about baltimore, and the one about hogan publishing, I think it should be called scam artists, its hard to tell the difference with these people hyping there products to the hilt and seemingly 'innovating' then bringing it all crashing down upon themselves and there slave driven employees who may never signed up to be at the whim of these people, ye ha entrepeneurs

I wouldn't class the likes of Hogan as being an innovator or entrepreneur. He created nothing. He was a peasant and glorified pimp who had a talent for exploiting people.

MontgomeryClift

sovtek wrote:

I think the government needs to put more money behind Irish small business instead of tax breaks to multinationals.

By making it one of the most expensive countries in the world they've killed any chance small businesses had.

lostexpectation

Sgt. Sensible wrote:

I wouldn't class the likes of Hogan as being an innovator or entrepreneur. He created nothing. He was a peasant and glorified pimp who had a talent for exploiting people.

exactly this is the class of person that the YPD-ist fete.