Sinking Ship

It's the right thing to do.
We need to close the budget deficit and we might as well get one nasty budget out of the way. Plus we'll need a grand gesture to restore confidence in the country on the international markets.
I suspect that the government is hoping that the shock and implications of this budget will turn the general population against the deadwood in the public sector and set the scene for ripping up the CP agreement and a subsequent drastic shake up over the next three years.
There's billions to be saved by sacking unnecessary admins in the PS. I'd like to see them striking after a year of their uselessness being exposed on RTE spins.
It's gonna be a sh1t year or 2 ahead, but hard times are inevitable.

crayolastereo wrote: »

I'm the one who should be pissed off, I'm 17 and by the time I'm finished college (thats presuming I can still pay for college if the don't bring fees in) I'm not going to have a country left.:mad::mad::mad:

If the right cuts are made now and we start spending money on infrastructure and we get people back to work, things should be partially if not wholly recovered in 5 years.

Let's just take all the country's money, put it on black on a table in Vegas and roll on the hookers good times!*
























*Might not be one of my better plans, I'll admit.

OisinT wrote: »

If the right cuts are made now and we start spending money on infrastructure and we get people back to work, things should be partially if not wholly recovered in 5 years.

The cuts in themselves will be pointless, if there is no increase in growth/reduction in unemployment.

The govt has cut spending by €12 billion since 2008, and our deficit and the rate of interest on our borrowing have increased.

We need to get this economy growing while managing to reduce government spending.

Tough road ahead.

Sea Sharp wrote: »

How will spending money on infrastructure bring money into the country in the short term?

Creates jobs.

Dr. No wrote: »

Short term thinking is partially what got us into this mess in the first place. Cutting back on infrastructure in the short term means that we will have a lot of catching up to do to compete with other countries. If we don't have the infrastructure in place companies will not want to invest in Ireland.
It's easy to say cut cut cut but the running the country is not like running a business.

While you're correct, the main issue here is that the majority of unemployed are in the construction sector (which created domino effect to other sectors) - investing in infrastructure is a solid way of getting people back to work in a way that serves the people in the way described... it's a long-term investment with short-term and long-term benefits to the economy and the people.

Confab wrote: »

That's why I'm drinking. Bring on Ragnarok and Gotterdammerung.

Sköll

Dr. No wrote: »

I agree with you. Unfortunately the government does not take this view.

If we don't get them to understand this then we are genuinely fúcked

Dr. No wrote: »

The government are more concerned with what the markets think than what Irish people think :mad:

FF have only ever been concerned at being in power at any cost,but it looks like now days, we are no longer in control of our own affairs, Europe is pulling the strings and they are afraid to admit it.

Ulysses Gaze wrote: »

I think with the re-org of FAS this is something that should be looked into. Reskill Construction workers to build infrastructure type projects. We may not be able to employ ALL former construction workers but we could re-employ at least 10,000-15,000 in Infrastructural projects.

There are a lot of different types of jobs too.

Take Metro North:

Skilled workers for tunnelling
Skilled workers for station building
Skilled workers for carpentry, brickwork, etc. (that goes into the finishing of stations)
Workers in the shops/ticket sales/train driving
More traffic to areas where there are stations
More people visiting the country and going into City Centre because it's easy to get in. (they spend money)
Revitalisation of areas where there are stations (think O'Connell St. more like Grafton St.)

The list is practically never ending... and when these workers are making money again, they spend that money on food, clothes, toys, electronics, etc. Things people used to spend money on.
People will be able to buy houses and that market can get going again.

The best part is that we have something useful to show for it. Transport systems are always a great investment. Rail is good for us too, because we want to avoid more traffic issues and get people out of their cars in Dublin.

I'd also love to see high-speed rail connecting the big cities. I can dream

Stinicker wrote: »

I got my golden pages yesterday with my phone book, I have a stack of them in the garage and the 2011 has over 100 pages less than the 2010 one which is almost 66% smaller than the 2006 one, tells its own story about how two thirds of Irish Business has either been wiped out or has had to cut back so much that they are now not even listed in the yellow pages!

Ireland is phooked

Or else more companies realise advertising in the golden pages is sooooo 1980 and it's just an extra expense they can afford to get rid of.

squod wrote: »

Austrlians owe a trillion of thier funny dollars to somebody else. Yet we're still emigrating there for work.

Wake the fuhk up FF!

All that proves is the Australian Government is doing something right if the place is still moving on business as usual, granted china wanting minerals at faster rate than Australia can dig helps. But i dont think they have experienced 2 quarters of negative growth (open to correction) so have not technically slipped into a recission.

Ireland on the other hand, i dont think we will find out how bad things are until after the next election, when some people who are not pathological liars (Yes i am implying that Fine Failure could not lie straight in bed) get in. and can give a proper figure

For me the real question is how in that last poll i saw 24% of Irish voters are stupid enough to want them back in for another crack at fcuking up the country.