Fr Sean Healy claims Irish poor people now pay gambling debt of German & French banks

[hiding behind a poster]

I would add that the bailout is primarily for the Irish elite and to allow the government to attempt a "soft landing" for public services and beyond.

And for those on welfare, and those who consume public services at a cost to the taxpayer. No bailout=40% cuts in all that.

[Toland]

What relevance has that got to Sean Healy's statement which is factually correct (even if the use of the term 'gambling debts' is a little dramatic).

The use of the term "gambling debts" is one of the few areas where Healy's statement is not nonsense.

It's his allocation of the blame that's the problem. The blame can be laid almost exclusively on the last three governments. It was entirely the desperate decision of the last government (left in a terrible position by their failure to regulate either the banks, their own spending and their pro-bubble policies) to guarantee gambling debts that has us bankrolling what would otherwise be the speculative losses of Deutsche Bank, BnP and the rest.

[Analyzer]

What has the bank guarantee cost us so far ?

€70,000 million ?

Does anyone have the exact breakdown.

Constantin Gurdgiev has given a very serious analysis of the total liabilities of the "cheapest bank bailout in history" (to use a term first used by the previous government...).

[ibis]

The use of the term "gambling debts" is one of the few areas where Healy's statement is not nonsense.

It's his allocation of the blame that's the problem. The blame can be laid almost exclusively on the last three governments. It was entirely the desperate decision of the last government (left in a terrible position by their failure to regulate either the banks, their own spending and their pro-bubble policies) to guarantee gambling debts that has us bankrolling what would otherwise be the speculative losses of Deutsche Bank, BnP and the rest.

I wouldn't consider investment in bank debt the same as gambling - one can lose on both, yes, but there's never any expectation that you'll get your stake back from a bookie. You expect to lose in gambling, unless you're lucky (or stupid), and that whole system is based on that expectation - you expect to get your capital back investing in bank debt, and that whole system is based on that expectation. Do people think of their pensions as 'gambling'? As houses as 'gambling'?

On the other hand, the promissory notes were a gamble - a gamble that the liquidity problems of the Irish banks were temporary and could be crossed on a bridge of IOUs, based on inadequate knowledge of the banks' real situation.

[hammer]

I see today that Quinner is to ask the religious orders for a bigger contribution.

Come back to us on that Sean Healy.