Mandatory cynicism

The Government is trying to buy the referendum, but we don't know what the electoral brown envelope contains, if indeed it contains anything. By Michael Taft.

It is better not to be cynical. But this Government is not only making it easy to be cynical, they are practically making it mandatory. We now read that the Government is preparing the economy for a sustained and substantial investment programme in an anticipation of a U-turn by the EU. That this has been announced only days before the referendum...what timing, what fortune.

Lost in translation

The Government may welcome talk of growth, but cuts in public investment and current expenditure along with tax increases will reduce GDP by over €6bn by 2015. By Michael Taft.

This debate – you wouldn’t know whether to laugh, cry or bang your head on the asphalt repeatedly. Following the rejection of austerity parties in Greece and France, the Taoiseach says:

The Fiscal Treaty files: Will it cost us?

The Government and their austerity supporters have co-opted the language of progressives to avoid answering a fundamental question:  what the cost of the Fiscal Treaty will be in terms of future austerity measures. By Michael Taft.

A minister speaks from fantasy island

How can we trust a government that insists on describing the economy in a way that is completely at odds with the fact? By Michael Taft.

Even when presented with cold hard reality, Government ministers refuse to acknowledge it, preferring to live in a fantasy island. Spin is one thing, denial is another.

The regressive season

Early indications suggest that water charges and residential property charges will not be progressive, and will disproportionately hit those on low and average incomes. By Michael Taft.

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