Posted in Marxism, Economy on Aug 31st, 2010 No Comments »
There are many explanations for the crisis of capital that began in 2007. But the one thing missing is an understanding of “systemic risks.”
I was alerted to this when Her Majesty the Queen visited the London School of Economics and asked the prestigious economists there how come they had not seen the crisis coming. […]
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Just came across this quote from Liam Cosgrave in 1971. Dáil Debates, Vol.255, 1 July 1971, paragraphs 403-405.
I find it interesting because, well it could have said last week, couldn’t it?
I also want to direct attention to another fringe problem, the delay in completing estates.
It is an intolerable situation in which people find themselves […]
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I wrote an article on mortgages and home ownership for the latest print edition of Look Left, which is out now.
It is available in Dublin in Books Upstairs, Connolly Books and all O’Connell Street newspaper vendors
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Posted in music on Aug 27th, 2010 No Comments »
100 Borrowers. That’s it for stage one and two. Average of 35 loans per borrower.
The original value of the loans was €52 billion, which means that for each borrower, an average of €520 million.
When you think about it, the few million that these guys gave in donations to the three main political parties, it was […]
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Posted in Irish Economy on Aug 23rd, 2010 9 Comments »
Great post by Michael Taft over on Irish Left Review, about the well-known exports tax scam known as the “Double-Irish”.
Well worth checking out.
The story of the tax scam has gone around the world and some at this stage, but I’ve yet to see or hear of it on Irish TV or radio, or in the […]
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Only 13.5 per cent of NAMA loans relate to residential property developments for resale - yet listen to the newspapers, TV and radio and it’s all ghost estates this and cracked pavements that.
Anyway, the loans which NAMA has bought relate to the following:
Investment Property - 47.5 %
Land = 22.5 %
Hotels = 13.5 % - […]
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Posted in Ireland on Aug 21st, 2010 No Comments »
During the course of yesterday I was doing the traditional Celtic thing and appreciating a great Scottish poet - but only once he was safely dead. Edwin Morgan was the poet concerned - who has passed away aged 90 this week. On reading his obituary on the Guardian’s website, I was totally flabbergasted when my […]
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Posted in Economy on Aug 21st, 2010 No Comments »
I’m working this weekend on an article for Look Left, which will be about employment and unemployment in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
In March 2010 the services sector was the largest provider of jobs in Northern Ireland, accounting for 82 per cent of the total.
In terms of population, Northern Ireland’s public sector is the […]
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Posted in Ireland on Aug 20th, 2010 No Comments »
I knew I was going through another day full of dread when I had to check the day of the week on the masthead of a newspaper in the local boulangerie. I discovered it was friday but I didn’t find out by whom or by what I was being held hostage. In a blatant rip-off […]
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