Agree
Couple of suggestions.
Achieve social welfare reform by ensuring as many of the essentials as possible e.g. medical card, public transport, utility bills (within reason)and accomodation are provided by the state, then slash the monetary benefits (including rent allowance).
The more services government provides the more expensive it is to the tax payer. As government does not have to use resources in a profitable way, you are guaranteed to have huge wastage, which means increased costs of production. As the costs of production come out of taxes, this means a higher tax burden. The average citizen would pay less if a service is privately provided, while at the same time lowering the tax burden, than if taxes are taken to have the state provide the service.
I wouldn't focus on cutting public sector numbers, no point in putting more people on the dole. We do need to cast a very ruthless eye on rates of pay however.
This statement is fundamentally flawed. If a public sector worker is laid off, and was earning €30000, then there is a net gain in the public finances of about €20000 (€30000 - dole). This would mean that the tax payer could be taxed less, and have €20000 more to spend or invest, either of which would result in a benefit to the economy and employment. It would also force more people into the productive part of the economy.
This country has public services that are of absolutely no benefit, and exist purely to keep bureaucrats in jobs. My pet hate is that every county has a motor tax office, and some have two!!!! And this is just one of many services that could be cut by at least half through centralized services.
With 400,000 unemployed it does not make sense to have people in the more menial jobs on very good rates of pay. Private sector companies with a jot of sense should realise this as well. Higher paid public sector jobs should be reassessed if only out of solidarity
This is correct employing people for the sake of employment, or raising wages beyond their market value has a negative effect on the economy.
Inheritance tax & Gift tax:
We need to get real on these. Unless a family business or the main family home is being passed on then tax the hell out of inheritances and gifts
While increasing taxation will plug a hole in public finances it will have a detrimental effect on the economy. Any form of taxation diverts money from private spending or investment, which will reduce the amount of production, which will lead to more unemployment and a reduction in wealth. This is the case whether it is income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax that is increased.
Apart from that, why should someone pay taxes on assets that have already been heavily taxed by the original owner?
Successful enterprise (the only way to emerge from the life support we are currently on). Look at what schemes have actually worked in the past and prioritise their continuation.
This point is partially correct, private enterprise and production will be what will bring the economy off it's knees. However, no government schemes have ever worked. A couple of bureaucrats and politicians, serving their own special interest groups, no matter how intelligent, are completely unable to take all the economic variables into account. What always happens is that the loudest or most influential interest groups benefits through some sort of stimulus, at the expense of all other tax payers. The free market is more than adequately equipped to most productively allocate investments.
The only thing that works is the profit AND loss system in deciding what industries and what enterprises most adequately increase productivity. Socialist and conservative redistributions, through taxing one group to benefit another group never cause a net gain to the economy. Quite the opposite, through the bureaucratic overhead there is an actual loss in spending and investment, resulting in more unemployment and less wealth.