Would You Vote for Present Goverment Again

Eoin · 18-09-2008 04:35PM

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Exactly, Labour or a Sinn Féin not led by Gerry Adams* should be given a chance.

*Nothing particularly against the man, but he's far too busy up north to realistically be Taoiseach.

Yeah, because that's the best reason why he shouldn't lead the country.

Tricity Bendix · 18-09-2008 04:59PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

In the last few years, I learnt some very valuable lessons, the most valuable of them being that I've learnt to just my gut feeling.

My gut feeling tells me that Brian Cowen is completely out of his depth in the job, that he simply doesn't know what to do.

Mary Coughlan is hopelessly lost in her brief, she comes acorss as smug and condasending, between the two of them there isn't a shred of vision.

Imagine if we had a leader who inspired people, who made people talk about the new business they were starting up or the positive things they are doing in their lives, instead of sharing discussion with you of everything that is wrong with the country at the moment???

If I was taoiseacht, around 3 months ago, I would have voluntarily imposed a 10% pay cut on myself and every cabinet minister, effective immediately. Anyone who wasn't happy, no cabinet position. I'd have followed that up with a pay freeze, both public and private, for 24 months, exceptions none.

I'd open up the Dublin Bus market and allow private bus operators compete with Dublin bus. This would save a fortune, no more government capital expenditure required for new Dublin Bus stock and a couple of hundred jobs created as well, which means more income tax.

I'd open up the Irish rail network, more PAYE jobs, more licence money and bettter public service. If the unions didn't like it, grand, fu*k off then.

I'd replace the County Enterprise Boards with a numerous boards of actual business people who I could go to and pitch for seed capital which would allow myself and others who are in the business of creating jobs, to do so. In all reality, what would a fu*king political apointee to a County Enterprise board know about enterprise!?!?!

We already had a party that was pro-competition and pro-enterprise. Nobody voted for them.

As someone who actually did vote for government parties last time, I probably wouldn't switch my vote. Labour wouldn't have the balls to stand up to the unions at pay talks like the current government did, and Fine Gael wouldn't make spending cuts because, after years of being in opposition, they wouldn't want to be seen to be responsible for teachers' and nurses' strikes. And Sinn Fein are murderous marxist thugs.

greatgoal · 18-09-2008 05:06PM

it wouldnt be viable to vote for another party because lets face it,who could possibly make a bigger bo**ox of it than the current gangsters who are in power:D

irish_bob · 18-09-2008 05:06PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

In the last few years, I learnt some very valuable lessons, the most valuable of them being that I've learnt to just my gut feeling.

My gut feeling tells me that Brian Cowen is completely out of his depth in the job, that he simply doesn't know what to do.

Mary Coughlan is hopelessly lost in her brief, she comes acorss as smug and condasending, between the two of them there isn't a shred of vision.

Imagine if we had a leader who inspired people, who made people talk about the new business they were starting up or the positive things they are doing in their lives, instead of sharing discussion with you of everything that is wrong with the country at the moment???

If I was taoiseacht, around 3 months ago, I would have voluntarily imposed a 10% pay cut on myself and every cabinet minister, effective immediately. Anyone who wasn't happy, no cabinet position. I'd have followed that up with a pay freeze, both public and private, for 24 months, exceptions none.

I'd open up the Dublin Bus market and allow private bus operators compete with Dublin bus. This would save a fortune, no more government capital expenditure required for new Dublin Bus stock and a couple of hundred jobs created as well, which means more income tax.

I'd open up the Irish rail network, more PAYE jobs, more licence money and bettter public service. If the unions didn't like it, grand, fu*k off then.

I'd replace the County Enterprise Boards with a numerous boards of actual business people who I could go to and pitch for seed capital which would allow myself and others who are in the business of creating jobs, to do so. In all reality, what would a fu*king political apointee to a County Enterprise board know about enterprise!?!?!

when and where are you running , il move house so as to be in your constituency

Darragh29 · 18-09-2008 05:07PM

b.ie curious wrote: »

We already had a party that was pro-competition and pro-enterprise. Nobody voted for them.

As someone who actually did vote for government parties last time, I probably wouldn't switch my vote. Labour wouldn't have the balls to stand up to the unions at pay talks like the current government did, and Fine Gael wouldn't make spending cuts because, after years of being in opposition, they wouldn't want to be seen to be responsible for teachers' and nurses' strikes. And Sinn Fein are murderous marxist thugs.

I honestly couldn't believe it when I heard a 6% pay increase was the outcome of those talks. If anything, it should have been -6% I think. When you're not prepared to lead, you can't expect anything better.

arybvtcw0eolkf · 18-09-2008 05:13PM

If I thought The Greens would be in it, not a snowballs chance in hell.

Although I've lost faith in politics/government I will always exercise my right to vote and just remain hopeful I guess.

irish_bob · 18-09-2008 05:13PM

as bad as the goverment led by cowen are , i believe they will win the next election , think about it , as bad as things are right now be it with issues that are or are not within the goverments control , they are still more or less ahead of the opposition in the polls , the torys are 20 points ahead of labour , fine gael and labour should be at least 10 points ahead here , just what has to happen or how badly does the goverment have to screw up for the opposition to gain some ground , if the torys were only neck and neck with labour right now , cameron would have a knife in his back , i was going to say kenny has to go but appart from the capable but not really leader quality richard bruton , who could replace him

Eoin · 18-09-2008 05:17PM

irish_bob wrote: »

i was going to say kenny has to go but appart from the capable but not really leader quality richard bruton , who could replace him

Simon Coveney could be an option in a few years.

Prof.Badass · 18-09-2008 05:17PM

BroomBurner wrote: »

Nope. Though I'm not sure who I would vote for. If there was a Social Democrat party, with policies akin to the Scandinavian countries, I'd vote for them. A Social Democrat country with <common sense> Green leanings.

Sweden is mega strict (no fun allowed ) nanny-state. They're not far off saudi arabia.:eek:
Would absolutely hate to live there.

I'm not sure about Norway,or finland (are they part of scandanavia) but Denmark seems to be ok (ok being better than here).

What Ireland is missing is a liberal party. They mightn't get voted in, but they'd provide much needed balance to the political process.

LightningBolt · 18-09-2008 05:24PM

In my area I voted FF because the candidate actually does something. I gave my second vote to Labour because she also gets things done.

To be honest, as a young person I see no leader of any of our parties having the balls and know how to step up and guide us through our current downtourn. It will get better eventually but not as quick as it should.

CiaranC · 18-09-2008 05:32PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

Honestly folks, this country deserves so so so much more than what we are getting from the current government. I've never seen a situation in this country before where so many people needed decent leadership... We could do so much more if there was decent leadership...

No it doesnt, the country has been electing and reelecting the same clowns for decades. And it will reelect them again at the next election. The country has the government it deserves.

xOxSinéadxOx · 18-09-2008 05:34PM

well seeing as i didn't vote for them in the first place...

Tricity Bendix · 18-09-2008 06:02PM

Darragh29 wrote: »

I honestly couldn't believe it when I heard a 6% pay increase was the outcome of those talks. If anything, it should have been -6% I think. When you're not prepared to lead, you can't expect anything better.

Given the relative bargaining positions, the government actually did quite well. Pay rises that would meet inflation were inevitable.

The government can 'lead' as much as it wants, but it is not like they are omnipotent overlords who can just command inflation to stay put or create jobs out of thin air. Rather, they are actors in the economy. The unions and the employers are both legitimate power centres, and neither can be bullied or browbeaten into submission.

Stephen · 18-09-2008 06:13PM

No I wouldn't vote for them, and I didn't vote for the bastards the last time round either.

HalloweenJack · 18-09-2008 06:35PM

No.

Cowen and Lenihan are terribly incompetent. Harney's Americanising our health system. Cowen has a lot to answer for considering he was Minister for Finance for the last four years and Lenihan is stubborn by refusing to borrow money when we could.

Darragh29 · 18-09-2008 06:36PM

b.ie curious wrote: »

Given the relative bargaining positions, the government actually did quite well. Pay rises that would meet inflation were inevitable.

The government can 'lead' as much as it wants, but it is not like they are omnipotent overlords who can just command inflation to stay put or create jobs out of thin air. Rather, they are actors in the economy. The unions and the employers are both legitimate power centres, and neither can be bullied or browbeaten into submission.

Yeah, nobody can make anyone do anything, I accept that. If there was some leadership demonstrated and the government showed some restraint themselves and a bit of forward thinking and demonstrated an ability to make some long overdue sacrifices, I think people would get behind them. We all pay ourselves too much, prices won't come down when we are giving ourselves these type of pay increases. What was needed here was a surgeons knife to pay and what we got was lollipops for the kids...

Answer me this, do you feel inspired when you see Mary Coughlan sneering and people and making one excuse after the other for the problems we have??? One thing I've learnt while working for myself is that I know a dopey cu*t when I see one...

irish_bob · 19-09-2008 10:49AM

Darragh29 wrote: »

Yeah, nobody can make anyone do anything, I accept that. If there was some leadership demonstrated and the government showed some restraint themselves and a bit of forward thinking and demonstrated an ability to make some long overdue sacrifices, I think people would get behind them. We all pay ourselves too much, prices won't come down when we are giving ourselves these type of pay increases. What was needed here was a surgeons knife to pay and what we got was lollipops for the kids...

Answer me this, do you feel inspired when you see Mary Coughlan sneering and people and making one excuse after the other for the problems we have??? One thing I've learnt while working for myself is that I know a dopey cu*t when I see one...

thanks for helping me find the word ive been searching for to describe mary coughlan , DOPEY

mikemac · 19-09-2008 10:55AM

Darragh29 wrote: »

We all pay ourselves too much,

Will you do your patriotic duty and take a pay cut or maybe a pay freeze for 2-3 years which will be a pay cut after inflation?
I note you're self-empoyed so it mightn't apply to you

Darragh29 wrote: »

prices won't come down when we are giving ourselves these type of pay increases..

A few years back the government cut VAT from 21% to 20% so in theory prices should come down. This is similar to your idea.

What happened was the business absorbed the benefits and consumers didn’t see any price drops. So the government put VAT back to 21% since all it was doing was taking tax revenue and putting in the hands of businesses. The consumer didn’t benefit at all!

LeahBaby · 19-09-2008 10:58AM

I see no "i'm too good looking to care" option..

I kid i Kid..

I voted no because I'd like there to be a lot more enviromental laws put in place..

ScumLord · 19-09-2008 12:58PM

For me it has nothing to do with inspiring the people I'd be happy if we at least got some development.

Just about every county outside Dublin has been ignored. Road works set back or dropped absolutely no sign of any kind of long term planing.

Claregalway is a perfect example of how badly the current leadership has failed the west. They've ignored a painfully obvious traffic problem and instead of fixing the problem they've just aloud it to get worse and worse. I've seen roadworks that make the road worse when their finished. House aloud to pop up in places that just don't make any sense. I've had friends that had to bribe the local TD and planning authority to put these houses up.

There's no argument that can be put in front of me in favor of this government because I've witnessed their corruption and stupidity first hand.

heyjude · 19-09-2008 01:34PM

b.ie curious wrote: »

Given the relative bargaining positions, the government actually did quite well. Pay rises that would meet inflation were inevitable.

And the job losses that will result from pay rises that meet inflation are also inevitable, as our inflation rate is considerably higher than the eurozone average. The big problem is that in the pay talks, the employers are represented by big business, while the small and medium employers that are struggling badly were not represented and almost certainly don't regard the resulting pay deal as a 'good deal'.

b.ie curious wrote: »

The government can 'lead' as much as it wants, but it is not like they are omnipotent overlords who can just command inflation to stay put or create jobs out of thin air. Rather, they are actors in the economy. The unions and the employers are both legitimate power centres, and neither can be bullied or browbeaten into submission.

Most union members work in the public sector, so they are in a pretty strong position to demand an inflation proofed pay deal as most of their jobs are secure. Its a pretty safe bet that most job losses this year will be in the non-union private sector. The government has to be strong enough to realise this and do something to help struggling businesses by helping to control wage demands, but like most other opportunities this one was missed too.

As for other posters saying that they would support the current government because the alternative is worse, well that's hardly a ringing endorsement ! I just don't see how the opposition could be worse than a government that has blown the proceeeds of a boom and then spent the whole summer sitting on their hands rather than dealing with the impending recession and deterioration in the public finances.

Crania · 20-09-2008 01:00AM

BroomBurner wrote: »

Nope. Though I'm not sure who I would vote for. If there was a Social Democrat party, with policies akin to the Scandinavian countries, I'd vote for them. A Social Democrat country with <common sense> Green leanings.

That's exactly what I'd go for. High taxes along with a welfare state-free education and health at the point of use.

I think some kind of merger between the Greens and Labour would be good. It would create a larger party that may attract broader support and this would create a strong thrid party that would actually be able to challenge Twiddle-dum and twiddle-dee. Both of those parties have quite similar policies anyway so I really think a Red-Green Alliance would work.

We need a strong political party to break the mould of the boring, Civil War politics of FF and FG.

fredzer · 20-09-2008 02:53AM

LeahBaby wrote: »

I see no "i'm too good looking to care" option..

I kid i Kid..

..

Pic's......:D

I didn't vote for FF last time and won't next time, they are making a complete hash of their term so far. I’m sick of Cowen and co. passing rubbish laws to combat alcohol abuse, when everybody that actually goes out to socialize knows they wont work. Half two closing times aren't the answer here nor is closing off licenses’ at 10, think if you opened them at ten you would have less kids drinking.

These lads are still on f**kin' holiday and the rest of the world is trying to avoid financial melt down. They are so far detached from reality that it's scary. Smug arrogant chancers should be dragged out of Leinster House and beaten.:mad:

Crann na Beatha · 20-09-2008 03:26AM

This post has been deleted.

Orange69 · 20-09-2008 06:01AM

One of the reasons that i left Ireland (that dreadful rock) was because of the utter incompetence of the government.. I am actually embarrassed to be Irish when i see these bunch of clowns in action.. To have Tolerated their moronic antics for so long really says alot about Ireland..

The sad fact is that the majority of Irish people are stupid and cant see the bigger picture..

sdanseo · 20-09-2008 06:51AM

I wouldn't vote for FF again. It was a straight choice last time between allegedly corrupt and downright incompetent. I voted for the former.

The present government though has become a sham, filled with incumbents who have been allowed to get far too comfortable in their cushy jobs. Putting a solicitor whose father was a crook [/libel] into a finance post was ludicrous and ironic on so many levels. At least the FGers would have something to prove and might well make quite a good job of it if only for a few years. A nice Labour or other coalition (not Greens, power has got them more excited than porn could ever hope to) to keep them in check wouldn't hurt either.

Anyone though, who votes for their TD just because he fixes the local drain and is nice to them for a week before polling day, should be publicly shot flogged and banned from voting until they've done a degree in politics.

Captain Slow IRL · 20-09-2008 12:03PM

I didn't vote for them in the first place. :mad:
The greens'll never get into power again!

Would You Vote for Present Goverment Again

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