Other than the stamp duty announcement at this weekend's Fine Gael Ard Fheis, there really wasn't any give-aways this weekend.
Tom Parlon (or namely, one of his press-minions) issued a press release yesterday querying if Fine Gael had surrendered their economic policies to Labour.
Originally Posted by Tom Parlon
The unspecified date, being of course mentioned this morning as happening this week (I thought everyone assumed it was this week?)
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This government has a right brass neck to be accusing other people of a "reckless high-spending agenda" after all the countless billions they've wasted for no benefit at all; or accusing other people of having "contempt for enterprise" after a decade of rising costs, rampant inflation, ever-increasing stealth taxes, soaring energy costs, benchmarking, a complete failure to develop and support indiginous Irish business, a total failure to reform the public sector, a refusal to tackle vested interests and restrictive practices, complacency in the face of declining exports and the balance of payments slipping into the red, a hugely unbalanced economy over-reliant on property, and generally in every way they could spending the last 10 years making life just that little bit harder and little bit more unpleasant for small Irish entrepreneurs.
"Pro enterprise"? Don't make me barf. Corporate Welfare for the uber-rich, that's all this crowd are interested in.
Je suis un loo-lah
And isn't it great that FF & the PDs agree on everything. Imagine the deadlock that could have resulted had they disagreed on café bars, the new terminal at Dublin Airport, extra buses for Dublin Bus, etc. Sure none of those things would be in place now if it weren't for FF and the PDs agreeing on everything. Oh, hang on.
[quote=David Cochrane]Other than the stamp duty announcement at this weekend's Fine Gael Ard Fheis, there really wasn't any give-aways this weekend.
Tom Parlon (or namely, one of his press-minions) issued a press release yesterday querying if Fine Gael had surrendered their economic policies to Labour.
The unspecified date, being of course mentioned this morning as happening this week (I thought everyone assumed it was this week?)
[/quote:h6hj4o52]
Come on Dave, what did you expect from the man who claimed key differences on tax policy between the potential coalition partners would be “all right on the night” when interviewed on TV3 in November 2005.
Fine Gael claim they aren't interested in raising taxes, but with Labour hinting at a new wealth tax, a hike in capital gains tax and more environmental taxation, who knows what's going to happen if they get in, but sure it'll be "all right on the night" or maybe not....
Sorry but I think the premise of the thread is quite pertinent.
Irrespective of your views of the current government and their handling/mishandling (delete as appropriate) of our economic affairs - it seems more and more clear from the weekend that Páid Uasal an Choinnín will be holding the purse-strings. You don't need David McWilliams to tell you what a nightmare that will be for the economy.
Sure he won't raise taxes for the moment and will cut the lower rate - but as he said himself "economic conditions allowing" :wink: .
Fly National Debt, fly free
Those who think they know it all upset those of us that do.........
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I seem to recall exactly the same brainless scaremongering going on when Ruairí Quinn was appointed to Finance. The result? The first budget surplus in a generation, the first large falls in unemployment, and the slashing of Corporation Tax.
Painting the modern Labour Party as some bunch of unreconstructed Communists who'll nationalise everything in sight and raise taxes to 80% overnight is just silly. It's cheap bogeymonstering. It's politics for 3-year-olds.
This government have done an appalling job of managing our economy. The chickens have started to flock home to roost in recent weeks, and you ain't seen nothing yet. Sorry, but at this stage there is really nothing any FF/PD supporter can say that would convince me that the opposition could possibly be any worse than the current shower of gombeen clowns, liars, crooks and chancers. It would take a really special effort to be worse than this awful, awful government.
You've had yer 10 years and you blew it, leaving the country in a much more precarious state than in 1997. Youse have no ideas, no vision, no purpose. Youse don't even recognise the massive problems staring the country in the face, just keep on chanting the Three Monkey Mantras.
If all youse have is a bunch of hysterical yelpings about "Socialists wrecking the economy OMG!!1!" then it's time for a nice wee holiday. For about 10 years. Do you seriously expect to deserve another 5 years in power if you just scare people into voting for you? FF and the PDs are intellectually, politically and morally bankrupt.
Je suis un loo-lah
Totally untrue. Pat Rabbitte has specifically ruled this out on several occasions, including in Clonmel at the 2006 Labour Parliamentary Party think-in. It was reported in all the national newspapers at the time.
Brainless scaremongering???? Whatever about the scaremongering bit, I admit there was a tinge of it in what I said. Brainless? Me? touched a wee nerve have I?
I never mentioned the words unreconstructed, communist, nationalise, or bogey.
In all the comments I have made in the last 24 hours on FG in government with Labour I have been quite specific. I have said in the speech thread that it isn't Ruairí or Brendan that Enda is doing business with, it's Pat Rabbitte and his political credentials are obvious.
I don't deserve anything - I haven't been a member of a political party for 9 years. Labour in government holding the purse strings with Pat Rabbitte is dangerous. Labour in government with Ruairí or Brenda Howlin isn't.
That's why I think if the numbers don't stack up for FG and Labour there will be a push against Rabbitte and Howlin will do a deal with Ahern.
Rabbitte's arrogance dictating to the Irish electorate that they can only have either FF with PD's presumably or FG/Lab/Greens etc is monumental.
What if the electorate want an FF Labour government?
What if they want a government including Sinn Féin?
Whatever else FF are, they don't presume to dictate to the electorate which brings me back to my point.
Enda Kenny needs to be more FG, stronger, more independent, behaving like a Taoiseach in waiting, not appearing to be looking over his shoulder in case he upsets Rabbitte.
Those who think they know it all upset those of us that do.........
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Get a hold of yourself! Our economy is stronger than at any time in our country’s history! More people are at work. More is being invested in our education and health services. More opportunities are available to more citizens. And all this is being achieved with lower taxes on work and on enterprise, budget surpluses and falling National Debt.I seem to recall exactly the same brainless scaremongering going on when Ruairí Quinn was appointed to Finance. The result? The first budget surplus in a generation, the first large falls in unemployment, and the slashing of Corporation Tax.
Painting the modern Labour Party as some bunch of unreconstructed Communists who'll nationalise everything in sight and raise taxes to 80% overnight is just silly. It's cheap bogeymonstering. It's politics for 3-year-olds.
This government have done an appalling job of managing our economy. The chickens have started to flock home to roost in recent weeks, and you ain't seen nothing yet. Sorry, but at this stage there is really nothing any FF/PD supporter can say that would convince me that the opposition could possibly be any worse than the current shower of gombeen clowns, liars, crooks and chancers. It would take a really special effort to be worse than this awful, awful government.
You've had yer 10 years and you blew it, leaving the country in a much more precarious state than in 1997. Youse have no ideas, no vision, no purpose. Youse don't even recognise the massive problems staring the country in the face, just keep on chanting the Three Monkey Mantras.
If all youse have is a bunch of hysterical yelpings about "Socialists wrecking the economy OMG!!1!" then it's time for a nice wee holiday. For about 10 years. Do you seriously expect to deserve another 5 years in power if you just scare people into voting for you? FF and the PDs are intellectually, politically and morally bankrupt.
When Fianna Fáil and the PDs took office in 1997 there were 1,380,000 jobs, today there are over 2,000,000 people at work - that's almost 1,500 jobs created on average every week for 10 years....
The only 'hysterical yelpings' around here are from opposition idiots like you!
Really, I only included the remark because Rabbitte was reported on the front page of the Irish Times on 24th February 2003 as saying: He favoured a wealth tax in certain circumstances as an alternative to increasing income taxes to pay for improvements to health, education and transport services.Totally untrue. Pat Rabbitte has specifically ruled this out on several occasions, including in Clonmel at the 2006 Labour Parliamentary Party think-in. It was reported in all the national newspapers at the time.
He was directly quoted as saying "you can't rule it out in a country that now has significant wealth. You can't rule out some modest rating that deals with wealth in some sense or another. You can't simply say we will impose what are still pretty hefty taxes on work and no taxes on wealth." He declined to go into detail or outline the circumstances in which he would introduce such a tax.
Have you a link to the alleged flip-flop?
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