How bankers brought Ireland to its knees

Flamed Diving

Just read this rather long article on a fair predictable subject. However, it is one of the better articles that I have read as it attempts to talk to all sides, including the ginger fella.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/67ae51e2-5e35-11df-8153-00144feab49a.html

I can't copy and paste it but it takes literally five seconds to register.

Nate--IRL--

FT wrote:

Encouraged by venal politicians who actively discouraged regulation and provided a phenomenal array of tax breaks to builders, and in an environment of cheap money and easy credit (partly created by the lower borrowing costs brought by membership of the eurozone, partly because risk disappeared from the international financial radar), Irish banks went on a reckless lending spree. They lent, above all, to property developers. When that bubble burst – and with devaluing the currency no longer an option – it all but bankrupted the country and triggered a painful sequence of tax rises and pay, pension and public spending cuts.

When the banks started to wobble, the government, led by the populist Fianna Fáil, insisted Ireland’s economic “fundamentals” were sound and such problems as there were had blown in across the Atlantic. But when the banks inevitably crashed and the state stepped in to rescue them, every Irish citizen got saddled with many thousands of euros in debts that will weigh the country down for years to come. The current generation – the first in Ireland’s history to know real wealth and success and, with it, international admiration – is very, very angry.

A Good Read, thanks.

Nate

northwest100

It is completely the responsibility of the customer to pay the debts of a bankrupt business.

At least that's what some ideological clowns believe..

In other words, if Joe the local shop keeper goes bust, it's obviously my fault.

Liam Byrne

northwest100 wrote: »

It is completely the responsibility of the customer to pay the debts of a bankrupt business.

At least that's what some ideological clowns believe.

Only if the business is a bank.......other than that, it's tough titty.

SlabMurphy

About half way down - " Even after the nationalisation of Anglo Irish and the state’s rescue of its rivals through the establishment of a “bad bank”, the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), to manage nearly €80bn in toxic property assets, some bankers’ purchase on reality was negligible. FitzPatrick, less than a week after Anglo was bailed out by the taxpayer, called for cuts in child and pensioner benefits. " :mad:

sinnerboy

SlabMurphy wrote: »

About half way down - " Even after the nationalisation of Anglo Irish and the state’s rescue of its rivals through the establishment of a “bad bank”, the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), to manage nearly €80bn in toxic property assets, some bankers’ purchase on reality was negligible. FitzPatrick, less than a week after Anglo was bailed out by the taxpayer, called for cuts in child and pensioner benefits. " :mad:

Utterly vile . A special corner of hell awaits him




.

oppenheimer1

sinnerboy wrote: »

Utterly vile . A special corner of hell awaits him

Maybe it shouldn't have been him to say it but is he wrong? The deficit needs to be brought under control.

northwest100

oppenheimer1 wrote:

The deficit needs to be brought under control.

Yes, absolutely.

NAMA will help reduce the deficit of course.

The only people who object to the bank bailout are extreme-leftie socialist communist, castro-loving, cuban cigar smokin marxists who do not understand anything about economics.

We cannot continue to borrow money and live beyond our means.
That's why I propose we keep borrowing and spending beyond our means with the same politicians and fraudulent banks in charge.

Before no time at all, we will be back to happy days...in fact, I heard the latest OECD report said we will see growth in the 3rd quarter of this year.

cson

northwest100 wrote: »

Before no time at all, we will be back to happy days...in fact, I heard the latest OECD report said we will see growth in the 3rd quarter of this year.

I admire your optimism but it'll be quite some time before we're back to happy days.

Inhousejoke

northwest100 wrote: »

Yes, absolutely.

NAMA will help reduce the deficit of course.

The only people who object to the bank bailout are extreme-leftie socialist communist, castro-loving, cuban cigar smokin marxists who do not understand anything about economics.

We cannot continue to borrow money and live beyond our means.
That's why I propose we keep borrowing and spending beyond our means with the same politicians and fraudulent banks in charge.

Before no time at all, we will be back to happy days...in fact, I heard the latest OECD report said we will see growth in the 3rd quarter of this year.

I was gonna say something about this, but then I saw the sarcasm

Liam Byrne

Inhousejoke wrote: »

I was gonna say something about this, but then I saw the sarcasm

+1.....at least I hope it was sarcasm......

northwest100

That's the logic we're up against. *waits for warning*

Madd Finn

Good FT article. I particularly like the way it pricked the pomposity of the Smart Economy or Knowledge Economy as some sort of panacea for all our ills.

Turns out the smart way to be Smart is to JFDI.

(Just do it)

Quite right too.