People get the politicians they deserve...
In the good times, anyone who dared to suggest that living on borrowed money was a bad thing was howled down and politicians who suggested prudent spending were not listened to..
Politicians only reflect the mood of the voters..
IF the Irish Government falls - their majority is down to 2 following a huge loss at the most recent by election - the Opposition have promised that they would not cut spending. Result: no-one will lend to Ireland and the country will effectively go bust..
And then the new Government will make the current one look highly competent and popular.
(and by bust I mean bust. Properly. Unable to pay anything. Ireland has an annual surplus of expenditure over income of 32% of its Gross Domestic Product. If they could not borrow except at ruinous rates of say 20% pa, the Irish could forget Pensions, and unemployment benefits)
Oh and the Irish banks would go bust and with them the UK Government would have to help the UK banks
"Which British banks are at risk? Well according to new research by Morgan Stanley, total lending to Ireland’s private and public sectors is equivalent to 92.3% of the net assets of Denmark’s Danske Bank, 89.5% of Royal Bank of Scotland’s net assets, 60.2% of Lloyds’ net assets and 15.9% of Barclays’ net assets. Those figures exclude bank-to-bank lending, but they indicate how exposed Britain’s banks are to Ireland’s woes (RBS is most exposed, as the owner of a substantial Irish bank, Ulster Bank)."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters ... nt_fo.htmlSo we'd have to pay for it... Anyone fancy a base rate of income tax of 35% an a cut in benefits of 25%..?
Nope.. Thought not.
Chickens roost and banks go bust in recessions. This could be like 1929 all over again but for longer and much worse...
I hope not.
EDIT: mine's a quadruple gin and tonic...:
