Great, we can on?
I would disagree with this as I think we are heading into an extremely dangerous time over the next 2-3 years.
Ive been in the workforce for 25yrs and outside 5 or 6 of those years dangerous headwinds in one form or another has always been the mantra. During recession, wages should be subdued to build recovery. During economic expansion wages should be restraint to aid recovery and growth. Always the same, restrain wages but allow unlimited profits.
The nearest cloud is Brexit
I have my views on why I believe Brexit wont happen here, certainly not as Farage, Johnson have painted it anyway
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/good-time-to-buy-sterling.199676/
But assuming I am wrong, it is still not a cause to impede fiscal stimulus that will generate wage increases. Brexit is the by-product of the same wage restraint/credit expansion policy experienced here, across Europe and the US.
In other words, we are looking at a global transfer of wealth from capital to labour in the developed world. That is why I post commentary and articles from US investors and billionaires. They are effectively saying the same thing. Economies need more wages and less capital reward.
That is why we have a fragmented Irish parliament, a divided US, Brexit, Le Pen, etc
That is why this site has topics such as the squeezed middle, cut the dole etc.
How we go about transferring wealth to the worjing population at large is another matter.
We can do QE, which is ok as a way to stop meltdown, but no good for sustainable development (think property, stock market , credit expansion bubbles).
Our current 0% rates could easily jump back to 6%, meaning that any bonds expiring after next year will cost much more to finance
They will jump back to 6% and higher if we turn off QE and curb government spending.
If we reversed the budget in Oct we would have balanced our books.
Our deficit is 1 to 2%. Our growth is 4% +. This is living within our means. If you borrow €2,000 + €100 interest and the value of what you produce increases by €3,000 then you are growing the economy.
Next up is Mr. Trump and his proposals to reduce corp tax in the US.
All remains to be seen. I am sceptical about this (or the dreaded consequences if it does occur)but assuming I am wrong, then trump will be a one-term president, and the US (and everywhere) will be in worse state than now. No rain jacket will protect us from the economic calamity.
This will at best halt in-ward investment into Ireland and at worst result in a flight of operations back to the US
Im sceptical about this, it may slow somewhat, but with TTIP in the bin for now, I dont expect much interference in FDI as a consequence of Trump policy.
Lastly, we have the rise of the far-right nutjobs in Europe.
A consequence of a wage restraint/ credit expansion policy.
I believe now is the time to buckle down and put on the rain gear rather than booking that foreign holiday.
If consumers dont spend, if governments dont spend, then corporations have no markets.
We constantly hear how public sector workers are over-burdened, so I don't think reducing numbers further would be sustainable.
Im not advocating it, just used to show how wages could rise in public sector as you requested. But lets not try go there.
We had increases in public sector numbers & pay
And reductions in numbers and pay cuts.
The government gets exceptionally bad value from the money it spends in some areas
Yes, but the private sector can also provide very bad value too. Take a look at the landscape and the empty apartment blocks etc. Aside from the financial disaster, it bordered on an environmental calamity.
There is no doubt when the private sector does something good, it is generally better at it than the public sector. The problem is, the private sector cannot provide essential services without profit. Take law & order for example. If it were privatised, the biggest growth industry would probably be prisons.
In all, as stated earlier, we live in one of the richest countries in the world. It is relatively safe and politically stable.
For sure, train lines with empty carriages are a problem, but so are empty houses.