valor rorghulis wrote: » Didn't vote for them last time but I think they have been extremely brave in backing Fine Gael on decisions which needed to be made. Will transfer to them in the next election so long as they don't promise anything too mental
Steppenwolfe wrote: » I was fooled once in the 90's by that shower of self serving liars. Never again.
BoJack Horseman wrote: » http://www.thejournal.ie/opinion-poll-politics-sunday-business-post-1952546-Feb2015/
Steppenwolfe wrote: » Why would you worry about what they promise? They are liars and bare faced about it too. Trying to rationalise it by saying "Sure isn't that what you do in an election" isn't going to cut it. They wooed certain sections of the electorate with their lies.
Jep Gambardella wrote: » I don't think Labour, or many of the other parties, lied as such. The main thing I thought Labour were guilty of last time out is over-egging the pudding, giving a misleading impression of how much better a deal they could achieve. It takes two to tango though and voters are often equally as responsible. People tend to seize on soundbites without paying any attention to the nuances or qualifications that come with them. And there's a sizeable constituency of people who seem to vote on the basis of what they think a party's policy is rather than what it actually is. There's an amount of people who seemed to genuinely believe FG policy was to give a Syriza-style two fingers to the troika.
happy_knome wrote: » a study not so long ago revealed that 30% of voters believed SF were a low tax party
Icepick wrote: » Regarding pre-election promises, they refer to a programme a party can follow if it's able to form the government alone. Blaming a minority partner for not fulfilling all their pre-election promises is rather silly. Having said that, they promised more that they were ever going to be able to achieve. But what else does anyone expect from a socialist party?
BoJack Horseman wrote: » If a left-wing voter wants to find a home where no one lies, they will never vote. One has to look to them self if they are naive enough to think the budgetary crisis of the last 5 years could have disappeared without pain.
Steppenwolfe wrote: » It's more about who pays the price or suffers the most pain. Labour profess to be protecting the average worker and less well off. In reality they are no better than FG.
View wrote: » The depends on whether you take a short or medium term view. Bankrupting a financially-troubled state may appease voters in the short term but when the state can no longer provide basic services such as education, health etc, the "average worker" will be much worse off. Conversely, sorting the state's finances out so it can continue over the medium term to provide such services for the "average worker" is "protecting the average worker" even if Labour gets little credit for doing so from the voters.
Steppenwolfe wrote: » We're far from bankrupt if the government is flagging up tax cuts for the better off in the next budget. It's always about who pays. Always.
BoJack Horseman wrote: » So what makes the likes of the SP's promise to make working people pay far more tax superior to the LP?
Steppenwolfe wrote: » Not sure what you mean by that, but it loooks like a loaded question. From what I've heard they favour a more progressive income tax policy where the more you earn the more you pay.
Steppenwolfe wrote: » From what I've heard they favour a more progressive income tax policy where the more you earn the more you pay.
It's the same people saying services and pay has to be cut for the sake of the economy. They favour more indiscriminate direct taxes as it doesn't affect them as much. The same ones who will cry blue murder if asked to pay more tax on their higeher incomes. There's a party for that class of electorate. It's called FG. They will survive after the election as they are looking after their own. Labour will be destroyed as they are doing the opposite.
Not sure what you mean by that, but it loooks like a loaded question. From what I've heard they favour a more progressive income tax policy where the more you earn the more you pay. So of course some working people would pay more than they do now. Seems a fairer system and reasonable enough to me. Not sure why anybody would object to that. Well, actually I do. It's the same people saying services and pay has to be cut for the sake of the economy. They favour more indiscriminate direct taxes as it doesn't affect them as much. The same ones who will cry blue murder if asked to pay more tax on their higeher incomes. There's a party for that class of electorate. It's called FG. They will survive after the election as they are looking after their own. Labour will be destroyed as they are doing the opposite.
Icepick wrote: » What a novelty idea. Oh wait our income tax system is already one of thee most progressive ones in the world.
Steppenwolfe wrote: » I've no idea about the rest of the world. I do know there is room for improvement here. The USC and water taxes are certainly not progressive.
FreudianSlippers wrote: » Commodity consumptions should not be progressive. Should people pay different rates for clothing, fuel, electricity, food, etc. based on their income?
Steppenwolfe wrote: » The USC and water taxes are certainly not progressive.
Steppenwolfe wrote: » I wouldn't object if electricity/gas was subsidized to some extent. I think they already are for some people.
Now it's totally unfair to everyone (thanks protesters!) in that you pay the same regardless of income and usage. The proposed system that the protesters overturned was more progressive.
Last October, when Dubliners thought they were being charged for water on the basis of how much they used it appears to have given them pause for thought. Water usage dropped to its lowest for the year. The previous month, which was to be the last month of “free” water, consumption was at its highest.
BoJack Horseman wrote: » No, they have said 'higher' tax. Luckily, the income tax system is already exactly as you described....
BoJack Horseman wrote: » Yeah......that's just a rant. You didn't answer the question. What is it about the SP's much much higher taxation demands (no just income tax) that makes them a better choice than labour?
FreudianSlippers wrote: » Water was also going to be heavily subsidised for everyone in the state, plus extra for the poor and elderly. Now it's totally unfair to everyone (thanks protesters!) in that you pay the same regardless of income and usage. The proposed system that the protesters overturned was more progressive.
Idbatterim wrote: » what do you make of this Steppenwolfe?http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/squeezed-workers-here-hit-top-tax-rate-earlier-than-in-other-countries-29611581.html