About 80 to 100 thousand people are demonstrating in Dublin against the austerity measures. Many are saying that the government has no mandate for the cuts. One man, who works in finance interviewed by the BBC said, while holding his young child, that Ireland should default and that the consequences would not be catastrophic, and that government bond holders should take some of the loss. Argentina defaulted in 2001.
Read about it and a comparison with Greece Argentina: Life after Default by Richard Lim at http://www.soundsandcolours.com/articles/argentina/argentina-lessons-learnt-from-the-aftermath-of-default/
The coalition is prepared to lend over £7bn to Ireland, which has upset some of the euro sceptic wing of Osbourne's party. Hold on, where does this money come from? Its borrowed of course. We are told that because Britain pays much less than Ireland to borrow...by the way Ireland's bonds are now officially classified as "junk".... Britain, by charging a higher rate of interest, will make a profit. However, we are continually told that the deficit is costing an arm and a leg each day, surely borrowing more for Ireland doesn't make sense. The trouble is Ireland is not only our most important trading partner, but our banks have lent so much to Ireland's banks, who are the main cause of Ireland's misery, that we can't afford to let them fail. Labour agrees, but it just shows you how far removed international finance is from that of the electorate.
But away from Ireland, commuters in London and the South East have been promised £8bn to reduce commuter crush by buying more carriages and electrification schemes. At the same time Cameron is keeping plans for a £17bn high speed rail link between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. More borrowing, more interest payments, more deficit?
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