Captain Obvious wrote: » Are the social welfare and health systems recent additions? I would say expanding the tax base to include lower incomes instead targeting more towards higher incomes is right wing. As would water charges. And if you are looking at the health system, I'd argue the reduction of benefits and increase in things like the prescription charge and drugs payment sceme cut offs are more right wing in nature, as is the big furore made around fraud in the social welfare system.
Seth Brundle wrote: » How many of those right wing governments reduced social welfare payments or expenditure on other areas of social support? How many of them increased it?
knipex wrote: » Their kids go to school and they are the ones that are expected to make the higher voluntary contribution..
knipex wrote: » Believe what you will but the more you squeeze a small group the more likely they are to push back. Someone on 75K pays over 35% of their income in tax. They have minimal entitlements, if the loose their jobs they get less than 14% of their salary in social welfare. They go to hospital in a public bed their insurance is expected to pay for it. Their kids go to school and they are the ones that are expected to make the higher voluntary contribution..
blanch152 wrote: » Ireland has a strange mix of right-wing and left-wing policies and implementation. Does anyone realise that the spend per capita on health in the South is 40% more than the spend per capita on health in the North of Ireland. Yet we still have posters on here crying about cuts to the carers allowance/respite grant. Ireland puts enough money into health to be considered to have one of the most left-wing health services in the world. The problem isn't the amount of money, it isn't even the politicians, it is a combination of the incompetency and inefficiency of frontline health service personnel (e.g. it was doctors who didn't tell patients about their cervical cancer screening, it was administrators who discovered what went wrong) together with the free at point of delivery system. France is considered to have one of the best and most equitable healthcare systems in the world, but no matter who you are, if you turn up at a doctor, you have to pay something, even if it is just five euro. Look at the moaning about respite care cuts. I would guess that if you subsidised respite care e.g. charge €10 per day, you would be able to meet the demand all over the country. Such a charge isn't prohibitive on anyone, no matter what their income, but it would ensure that people would only look for respite care appropriately. Similarly, both Denis O'Brien and a fully healthy 25-year old on the dole are entitled to a medical card. Some GP gets a payment for both, even though Denis would see the top doctors only and pay for it, while the healthy 25-year old won't see any doctor. More money completely wasted. We need to reform our health service completely, and change the way be charge for it, and change the way we deliver it. It isn't right-wing to say that, when we are imposing left-wing levels of income tax to pay for the inefficient health service. And don't get me started on the waste of money in the local authorities.
Johnny Dogs wrote: » Does cuts to the carers allowance/respite grant count here?
knipex wrote: » FG are a centrist party, at worst. FF are probably slightly more left, labor slightly more. Sinn Fein are a weird brand of revolutionary populist socialism but certainly further left and then you have the Trotskyites and nutjobs..(who while screaming for wealth taxes seem to do anything to fight them) Ireland does not have a mainstream right wing party. Renua tried and failed, and the new Ire exit party will (hopefully) go the same way..
hatrickpatrick wrote: » Most leftists have no problem with property tax provided it doesn't apply to a person's home. The whole argument that the left opposes property tax is a ridiculous over simplification.
facehugger99 wrote: » The 'left' opposes any tax that it acolytes may have to pony up for but wholeheartedly supports 'others' having to pay taxes.
Phoebas wrote: » They're fine with property tax as long as the vast majority of people don't have to pay it? Sounds like the same ol' 'let someone else pay' guff.
tayto lover wrote: » Any Government that punishes the worker with excessive taxes and then hands it over to the "won't work" shower is failing badly.
20Cent wrote: » Yeah vulture funds.
joe swanson wrote: » Just when I thought the mob in this country couldn't be any disgusting or scummy , I read the comments on this post on facebook . Shocking is not the word. Sub human filth is what a lot of them are.https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=640482769684979&id=100011697856453
tayto lover wrote: » Yeah yeah yeah. There's something wrong when someone is allowed to go through his entire life without doing even one day's work. Something seriously wrong.
20Cent wrote: » Who's tjat? We are near full employment. Were at it 10 yeas ago as well. The person who doesn't work their whole life is a myth.
Deleted User wrote: » Medical cards are means tested for everyone.
john4321 wrote: » Ill just leave this here.https://www.facebook.com/100007227857780/videos/2153182491599325/
blanch152 wrote: » No, they are not.https://www.hse.ie/eng/cards-schemes/medical-card/how-to-apply/medical-cards-national-assessment-guidelines.pdf Read Section 4.6 of the medical card guidelines.
Claw Hammer wrote: » Voluntary contribution is just that-voluntary! No need to pay it at all.
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