Taxed to the hilt

funnily enough, it actually does, partly anyway

ah thats all largely bullsh1t, we ve conned ourselves into thinking these things truly benefits all, when theres clear evidence, they dont. we re currently experiencing the fastest level of growth of wealth inequality humanity has ever experienced, if your statement was truly true, this wouldnt be the case. this is largely due to the rapidly rising inefficiencies in both the public and private sectors, particularly in the private sector, as we re currently experiencing the rapid growth of rent seeking or wealth extraction from the private sector, this is very evident with our failing property markets

In relation to the Original Post. The fact is, we are taxed very low in comparison to the rest of Europe.

See above. We don't pay as much as other countries.

That's not to say I disagree with the OP. The system is fced. But last place we should be looking is moaning about tax.

Lads and ladies, the people with the real money are only too happy to let us moan at taxes, and let us bicker among each other re public V private sector.

When all we are collectively is a bunch of minnows in a small pond. I know it sounds a very crack pot theory.

But arguing among ourselves about the things at the tip of the surface, is exactly what works for those in power. I've seen it time and time and again. And no, I've no solution to it. It is what it is.

Idealism?

come off the stage.

The childrens hospital. Waste waste and more waste.

Is a solution in so far as that the less money people have, the less they consume. And consumption is helping kill the planet.

Give it time...hitting people in the pocket has changed behaviours before......smoking, plastic bag charges......although I do take the point there aren't many viable alternatives when it comes to what carbon taxes are trying to achieve so all that carbon tax money should be pumped back into schemes to provide alternatives..................

If WhatsApp is social media then so is SMS.

It depends what you mean by "we". Lower earners are taxed very little in comparison to other countries. If you compare to Germany (Hesse as this is where the financial sector in Germany is), the cross over is around 150k. You will start paying more in Ireland past that level. It is important to also mention that at that level in Germany you can reduce your tax bill by getting private insurance instead of the public one. Also, you get a lot more for the tax you pay and won't have to pay for dental/medical. There also isn't the same state pension for everyone, it is related to how much you were being paid.

If you look at low earners, say 20k, it is certainly the case that they are very lightly taxed here in comparison. In Ireland you will pay €1378 per year, in Germany/Hesse it would be €5257.

Jesus christ, Im an environmentalist and while I agree some measures are essential, talking nonsense wont help, what is the alternative to your near fascist extremist green plan? is there a comprehensive public transport network? when is that going to materialise? what is the Green party solution? 2 wheels bad, 4 wheels baaaaad, We are better when Eamon Ryan is asleep, at least we hope he can do less harm that way, or does he wake up and realise how much he is paid and then foist some green knee jerk agenda on us. The world is screwed, we are way past how much CO2 has been introduced to the atmosphere and environment, but unless there is a viable alternative, crazy policies wont work.

So when we get rid of all the cars, will we actually be allowed on buses or trains, because the buses I see going about belch diesel smoke, maybe we should go back to an agrarian society like those nice chaps in the Taliban or ISIS want, extremist lunatics (I mean the greens).

we actually must embrace the perpetual deficit, as by not doing so, we become largely depended on credit to run our economies, which tends to lead to....(graph supplied!)

once again, governments are nothing like a household, period! by balancing the public books, it generally leads to, same situation as graph!

when a government runs a deficit, this money finds its way into private sector bank accounts, as this money is spent into the economy, pup payments etc. in an American context, this is what has happened when they ran deficits, its a similar situation here, again pup payments etc, again graph supplied

central banks are in a tricky position, if they raise rates soon, it will very likely induce downturns, maybe even recessions in many countries, i.e. rates may not raise too much in the very near future, i.e. borrowing makes far more sense than not borrowing right now, even though this can be problematic, as you explained austerity has been well proven since the dawn of time to be a completely reckless policy, doing astonishing damage to economies.

best of luck with taxing wealth, we re dead set on maintaining this status quo!