David McWilliams on RTE this morning saying exactly this. They played a clip of him on the Marian Finunace show from Jan 2009 and what he predicted then is what has panned out. He made this suggestion back then. Pity no one took notice.
He reckons we were in a much stronger position then to look for help and the government have basically been bluffing for the past 2 years.
The warnings were given, as far back as 2000. From http://www.independent.ie/opinion/l...ell-on-deaf-ears-1567890.html?ref=patrick.netI agree, the problem was not some obscure, hidden item in the balance sheets, that required hundreds of people to try and figure out. This is such a typical move by government: something is not working so lets through money at it.
the article in the Irish Independent on December 20 2000 by Geraldine Collins and Brendan Keenan: "The Central Bank yesterday issued a warning that house prices could fall 'quite dramatically'. It cited the example of other countries which had experienced house price inflation on the same scale as Ireland. There has not been a single episode of such inflation which did not end in prices 'falling, in some cases quite dramatically', said the bank in its winter quarterly bulletin.
But no-one wanted to hear it, right?
I wish people would stop lionising McWilliams. In his book Follow the Money, he boasts that the banking guarantee was his idea, cooked up in his kitchen one night with Brian Lenihan. The guarantee is what is killing us. McWilliams is a skilled self-publicist, nothing more.
I agree that there were plety of warning signs that were completely ignored. But do you think that 400 more employees at the regulator and or central bank would have made a difference? That they would have come up with some magic legislation?
It is not failure of regulation that led us here but failure to allow free markets to impose the full force of the profit and loss system.
You quoted complainer there not me... I'm sure he'll love that!
BTW, I agree with your post above.
Yet again, you seem to be a bit confused about how things work. Regulator staff don't write legislation. Government Ministers set policy, and the relevant departmental staff write legislation, along with the AGs office.I agree that there were plety of warning signs that were completely ignored. But do you think that 400 more employees at the regulator and or central bank would have made a difference? That they would have come up with some magic legislation?
.
Yet again, you seem to be a bit confused about how things work. Regulator staff don't write legislation. Government Ministers set policy, and the relevant departmental staff write legislation, along with the AGs office.
I'm very serious about what I said - that the regulator's office don't write legislation. Please stop twisting my words into something else.So the regulator's office provides no recommendations or feedback (however bad or good) on financial regulations? You're not serious are you?
Yes - absolutely, more/better resources in the regulator's office and the ODCE would certainly make a difference, as the current regulator is proving.You are also not answering my question. Do you think that 400+ more employees would have made one bit of a difference 10 years ago, or will make a difference in the future?
Your post made it sound like the regulator's office merely execute orders.I'm very serious about what I said - that the regulator's office don't write legislation. Please stop twisting my words into something else.
This is the typical government answer, when something fails, throw more money and resources at it. In a previous post you correctly identified that there were very telling early warning signs that were ignored or deemed to be exagerated. It does not take 400 more people to correctly identify and assess now very obsvious warning signs. The financial mess is not a result of lacking regulation, it is a result of crony capitalism and an implicit guarantee that banks would not be allowed to fail.Yes - absolutely, more/better resources in the regulator's office and the ODCE would certainly make a difference, as the current regulator is proving.
Probably because neither Labour nor FG would want him. We've had enough of celeb economists flitting into the Dáil on a whim.Why does he not stand for election to the DAIL for either Fine Gael or Labour and put his talents to use for the country instead of pointing out all the mistakes made by others over the last few years.
No, it didn't. You have exaggerated and twisted my words again. My post just said that they don't write the legislation - no more, and no less.Your post made it sound like the regulator's office merely execute orders.
And this is the typical libertarian response of criticising and undermining everything done by Govt. We clearly need more and better regulators, and we're seeing the benefits now of having the right people in these positions, e.g. Honahan has the cojones to tell people what's going on when FF are running scared.This is the typical government answer, when something fails, throw more money and resources at it. In a previous post you correctly identified that there were very telling early warning signs that were ignored or deemed to be exagerated. It does not take 400 more people to correctly identify and assess now very obsvious warning signs. The financial mess is not a result of lacking regulation, it is a result of crony capitalism and an implicit guarantee that banks would not be allowed to fail.
And what exactly has the new regulator done that could fill anybody with confidence that such a crisis will not repeat again? This was a typical political move, just bring in new faces and claim that everything is fixed now.
we're seeing the benefits now of having the right people in these positions, e.g. Honahan has the cojones to tell people what's going on when FF are running scared.
Honahan has the cojones to tell people what's going on when FF are running scared.
And this is the typical libertarian response of criticising and undermining everything done by Govt. We clearly need more and better regulators, and we're seeing the benefits now of having the right people in these positions, e.g. Honahan has the cojones to tell people what's going on when FF are running scared.
Of course they would. Paul Rellis, MD of Microsoft Ireland was a speaker at Labour's pre-budget economics seminar last year.Do you think a US MNC would meet Eamon Gilmore ?
Of course they would. Paul Rellis, MD of Microsoft Ireland was a speaker at Labour's pre-budget economics seminar last year.
He wasn't a great speaker, as it happens!
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?