Ireland 5 years ago was akin to a man in his early 50s who hasn’t exercised in years, drinks too much wine and beer and eats all the wrong food, but is generally regarded by his friends as being in fine fettle. Then he has a heart scare, and starts to buckle down to changing his lifestyle. After 5 years, he has shed several stone, has reduced his blood pressure and cholesterol, and is feeling much fitter. He’s still got work to do (and doesn’t yet compare to some of his gym buddies), but his doctor is pleased with his progress.
tbc
From a country run by family dynasty politicians, with no relevant skills for their portfolios, to 5 years later and eh…a country run by family dynasty politicians, with no relevant skills for their portfolios.
Additionally, Ireland has clearly shown it can beg with one hand while flipping the middle finger with the other hand, after all the US and Germany are monsters according to poplar Irish opinion and press.
And finally, the Californians who pumped a lot of the money into the boom, got their money back and are now buying the properties built up to 2008 at fire sale prices. (Oh but lets pretend the Chinese are buying everything, denial being a national pastime and all).
Punching above your weight , striding the world stage, best little country in the world..uh-huh.
fyi
Anti-austerity lobby building evidence [Ann Cahill. Examiner]
It has taken a long time but the anti-austerity voices are collecting the evidence and showing that nothing has been learned since the Lehman days.
Forty civil society groups added their voice to the demand for a more sensible response to the on-going crisis. If you hand about a third of your total GDP over to a single sector you also hand them power.
A very clear analyses comes from the Socialist Hungarian economist and Employment Commissioner, László Andor explaining why the current design of the euro condemns countries to repeated crisis. * http://www.epc.eu/pub_details.php?cat_id=3&pub_id=370
Best little country to do business in? Most corrupt little country to do business in.
I am constantly shocked at the corruption in this country – particularly in the public space – whether it’s appointing teachers or appointing judges. Nothing has changed in 5 years as various conversations over the weekend (I returned for Leinster’s first home game of the season) demonstrated to me.
Reform? You’re having a larf.
Financial system still ultra dangerous and real economy still banjaxed. A long way back to normal. John Authers in the FT has been very interesting over the 5 years. There’ll be booms and busts that occur but mostly markets will just move sideways and this will go on for the foreseeable. The banking model doesn’t work without leverage. The squid had a return on equity of 3.7% in 2011. Huge questions around pensions and the future of mortgages. Very few experts left with credibilty . Morgan Kelly’s IT articles were worth keeping
6 replies on “Five-Year Anniversaries”
Ireland 5 years ago was akin to a man in his early 50s who hasn’t exercised in years, drinks too much wine and beer and eats all the wrong food, but is generally regarded by his friends as being in fine fettle. Then he has a heart scare, and starts to buckle down to changing his lifestyle. After 5 years, he has shed several stone, has reduced his blood pressure and cholesterol, and is feeling much fitter. He’s still got work to do (and doesn’t yet compare to some of his gym buddies), but his doctor is pleased with his progress.
tbc
From a country run by family dynasty politicians, with no relevant skills for their portfolios, to 5 years later and eh…a country run by family dynasty politicians, with no relevant skills for their portfolios.
Additionally, Ireland has clearly shown it can beg with one hand while flipping the middle finger with the other hand, after all the US and Germany are monsters according to poplar Irish opinion and press.
And finally, the Californians who pumped a lot of the money into the boom, got their money back and are now buying the properties built up to 2008 at fire sale prices. (Oh but lets pretend the Chinese are buying everything, denial being a national pastime and all).
Punching above your weight , striding the world stage, best little country in the world..uh-huh.
fyi
Anti-austerity lobby building evidence [Ann Cahill. Examiner]
It has taken a long time but the anti-austerity voices are collecting the evidence and showing that nothing has been learned since the Lehman days.
Forty civil society groups added their voice to the demand for a more sensible response to the on-going crisis. If you hand about a third of your total GDP over to a single sector you also hand them power.
A very clear analyses comes from the Socialist Hungarian economist and Employment Commissioner, László Andor explaining why the current design of the euro condemns countries to repeated crisis. * http://www.epc.eu/pub_details.php?cat_id=3&pub_id=370
Best little country to do business in? Most corrupt little country to do business in.
I am constantly shocked at the corruption in this country – particularly in the public space – whether it’s appointing teachers or appointing judges. Nothing has changed in 5 years as various conversations over the weekend (I returned for Leinster’s first home game of the season) demonstrated to me.
Reform? You’re having a larf.
Financial system still ultra dangerous and real economy still banjaxed. A long way back to normal. John Authers in the FT has been very interesting over the 5 years. There’ll be booms and busts that occur but mostly markets will just move sideways and this will go on for the foreseeable. The banking model doesn’t work without leverage. The squid had a return on equity of 3.7% in 2011. Huge questions around pensions and the future of mortgages. Very few experts left with credibilty . Morgan Kelly’s IT articles were worth keeping