The Irish Suffer For The Greed Of The Bankers: Eat The Poor
FORGET all those acres of print filled by experts telling you how they knew Ireland was heading for disaster and spare a thought for the people who had the greed of bankers foisted upon them by a compliant political elite. Jonathan Swift – where are you now? Paul Krugman sums up neatly:
Then the bubble burst, and those banks faced huge losses. You might have expected those who lent money to the banks to share in the losses. After all, they were consenting adults, and if they failed to understand the risks they were taking that was nobody’s fault but their own. But, no, the Irish government stepped in to guarantee the banks’ debt, turning private losses into public obligations.
Before the bank bust, Ireland had little public debt. But with taxpayers suddenly on the hook for gigantic bank losses, even as revenues plunged, the nation’s creditworthiness was put in doubt. So Ireland tried to reassure the markets with a harsh program of spending cuts.
Step back for a minute and think about that. These debts were incurred, not to pay for public programs, but by private wheeler-dealers seeking nothing but their own profit. Yet ordinary Irish citizens are now bearing the burden of those debts.
As Swift said in A Modest Proposal:
I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.
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Posted: 29th, November 2010 | In: Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
