Ireland before America

Tuathanach

So - looking at Ireland over the last 15 years - the quality of life and people's standard of living has, in general, drastically increased. Maybe I am wrong - I am just talking from my own family's experience and the contrast of how their life was before and after the heavy investment in Ireland.

Looking back to my childhood (and i'm only 25) I remember my family struggling with day-to-day life, struggling to put food on the table and keep us clothed properly let alone being able to afford all the 'fancy things' that we have nowadays. Nowadays we're impoverished if we don't have a smartphone it seems!! My family are from rural Ireland and the reason I am interested is that we have family still living rurally on the farm just over the border in Fermanagh and looking at them - they seem to still be living and struggling in the same way as many did in Ireland previously.

I know some people are going to jump on the bandwagon here and tell me how people are still struggling, I know that but I firmly believe it's a different type of struggling than it was in the past.

And so,

I am curious as to see other people's experiences and descriptions of their lives before and after investment in Ireland by America. Although we are not all employed by American companies - i do feel it's American multi-nationals who play a major role in sustaining the quality of life here in Ireland.

Compare your lives say 20 years ago and now!

goz83

Most of those American multi nationals are owned and run by our ancestors.

Our quality of life also outstrips the USA in recent years. They rank qround 15, where we rank 9 when all is taken into account out of about 250 ranked countries.

amkin25

goz83 wrote: »

Most of those American multi nationals are owned and run by our ancestors.

Our quality of life also outstrips the USA in recent years. They rank qround 15, where we rank 9 when all is taken into account out of about 250 ranked countries.

Not sure about that to be fair,i don't think our ancestors own as much as you think.

goz83

amkin25 wrote: »

Not sure about that to be fair,i don't think our ancestors own as much as you think.

Well in truth, the banks own our ancestors, every soul since, and the next 3 generations are already sold. Freedom is no longer a right, but an illusion trapped inside a credit debt.

amkin25

goz83 wrote: »

Well in truth, the banks own our ancestors, every soul since, and the next 3 generations are already sold. Freedom is no longer a right, but an illusion trapped inside a credit debt.

Too true.

srsly78

You mean relatives not ancestors surely? Or are ghosts running these companies? Anyway the relatives thing is kinda silly when you consider how many great-great-grandparents are involved.

femur61

I agree with the OP we have much better quality of life now than 20 years ago. Even 30 years ago. People saying we are so badly off nonsense. I remember being at school in the 70 and 80's. Tea in milk bottles, kids wearing three layers of clothes to keep warm. No showers every day.

I hear people cry look at the statistics, look at our hospitals. We have to stop blaming the banks. The reason the hospitals are over crowded are there is too many chiefs and not enough Indians. My sister started working in her hospital 20 years, one sister in her area, now there are 8! Teachers with their part time jobs earn upto €50-€70k /pa. Politicians are vastly overpaid. This seems like an attack on the PS but this is where our money is going, not into the banks any more.

All said everybody has a car, water, electricity, mobile phone, TV.