I am planning to blog on why the Irish economic crisis of recent years was caused exclusively by government, and in particular, government responses that made an ordinary recession into a depression
This is a graph courtesy of the Institute of Public Affairs in Melbourne, an impressive Australian thinktank.
It comes from the Irish government’s own 140 page ‘National Recovery Plan‘ published last week.
It is amazing reading.
- From 2000 to 2009 average public sector salaries increased 59%
- In 2004, 34% of income earners were exempt from tax. In 2010, 45% were exempt
- In 2007 property taxes generated 6.7 billion euros. In 2010 that figure will be 1.6 billion
- In 2009 interest on government debt was 8% of tax revenues. In 2014 it will be 20%.
Naysayers try to tell you that the Celtic Tiger was a myth and that free-market policies brought the Irish economy down.
The truth is exactly the opposite. Liberalisation caused the Irish economy to surge until a return to big government crushed it. Membership of the eurozone, poor banking regulation and the government guarantee of…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Oct 31, 2014 @ 11:29:40
what a load of old cobblers. The major reason they are still in dire straits is that they bailed out the banks. Why taxpayers had to help shareholders was never really explained
Add completely stupid austerity policies which gave them a depression and wella
your article is a mere side issue.
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Oct 31, 2014 @ 11:35:31
There is some merit in what you say. My planned blog will focus on the bailout of the bondholders to the bank in Ireland, not the depositors.
These bondholders got a 100 cents in the dollar when they previously offered to settle 50 cents on the dollar a few weeks previous as their first offer to the management of those banks.
One of the banks that was bailed out had one branch and six ATMs in Ireland. Hardly a systemic threat to the payments system that will lead to run at other banks’ deposits.
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Oct 31, 2014 @ 11:53:04
see also https://utopiayouarestandinginit.com/2014/10/19/a-perspective-on-irelands-economy-2/
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Oct 31, 2014 @ 13:32:41
Yes I should have included bond holders as well.
I am not saying your article is without merit merely it is a side issue not a major issue
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Oct 31, 2014 @ 13:35:22
the large increase in spending was the result of the GFC . Ireland did not institute any stimulus at all quite the opposite in fact. An economy which is in depression will have much more spending and less revenue.
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