Remember the way he gutted the bankers during the non resident account investigation. And took great pleasure in it. Don't like him at all.
I'm not sure I would go as far as assigning blame to them, but I firmly believe that we would be in exactly the same position had we had a Labour or FG government for the last 13 years. Whenever the current government intervened in the market over the last 10+ years, all the opposition did was to say that it wasn't enough or came too late.Anyone see this last night?
Can't imagine it will win him too many friends.
I'd imagine he should be playing it cool and biding his time rather than losing his patience. Also, 13 years in opposition is not something I'd be highlighting on my CV if I was looking to get into power.
He also seemed to imply that as an opposition TD for thosse 13 years there's nothing he could have done to help avoid the current crisis.
I don't think he can get off the hook that easily. A strong opposition and a well focussed media could have highlighted the inevitable problems (loose credit, inept bankers and lax regulation) we largely failed to foresee.
FG, Labour and the Media are not outsiders, they are part of the establishment.
FF are more culpable than anyone else for the crisis we find ourselves in, but I'd feel better about our options for a change of government if the others had had strong convictions on the issues that have brought us to our knees.
This is a problem of democracy, i.e. majority rule. Giving governments too much power over our lives exacerbates this. When the majority of voters decide who will govern, and those politicians are then not legally restricted from interfering with the freedoms of citizens, then you will always end up with situations where large groups of people feel they are being let down or not represented. Nothing opposition can do about this, except point out the wrongs.Our political system is such that the opposition have zero say or influence in anything. Government just presses ahead with its plans regardless of the views of others. Rabbitte is correct. The opposition cannot blamed for the mess.
Hear hear. If anything this whole mess should teach us that we need less government. They are, in general, well meaning muppets most of them. Would you put any of them, from any party, in charge of your business? Or your school or hospital for that matter? And if you would, tell us which ones, and what business.This is a problem of democracy, i.e. majority rule. Giving governments too much power over our lives exacerbates this. When the majority of voters decide who will govern, and those politicians are then not legally restricted from interfering with the freedoms of citizens, then you will always end up with situations where large groups of people feel they are being let down or not represented. Nothing opposition can do about this, except point out the wrongs.
And in Ireland's case I never heard an opposition politician raise the issue that government was overstepping its roles and responsibilities.
Hear hear. If anything this whole mess should teach us that we need less government. They are, in general, well meaning muppets most of them. Would you put any of them, from any party, in charge of your business? Or your school or hospital for that matter? And if you would, tell us which ones, and what business.
I'm starting to come to the conclusion that you get muppets at the top of most large organisations, public and private.
Would you put any of them, from any party, in charge of your business? Or your school or hospital for that matter? And if you would, tell us which ones, and what business.
That is true, but in the case of the majority of private ones, it is not the taxpayer who is coughing up the bill.
The government have made the greater screwup. Their regulators failed (central bank, office of the regulator, department of finance) and all those people are still in their jobs, apart from the regulator himself who retired with a massive golden handshake. These were supposed to be our people on the ground. You can't blame the banks for trying to make money -that's what they do. What our people should have done was make sure that they didn't do so recklessly - a task they failed in so majestically that they should all be sacked.Yes, but the extent of the screw-up caused by the minority (e.g. the banks) are placing a significant draw on the taxpayers that makes the quality of the government almost a side issue.
All they wanted was more spending.
The main blame for the financial crisis lies with governments and their central banks, not the commercial banks. They merely did what they have always done, i.e. make money out of lending money. But the amount of money they lent and the interest rate charged are both dictated by central banks. Now the commercial banks messed up with their business practices, but the fact that they are still operational and the taxpayer is liable is also a fault of government. Bailing out banks was the biggest mistake of all.Yes, but the extent of the screw-up caused by the minority (e.g. the banks) are placing a significant draw on the taxpayers that makes the quality of the government almost a side issue.
On the face of it it sounds like a good idea, but this assumes that the right person is put at the head of department. This person would also have hos/her own biases and agendas. I think that restricting what governments are allowed to interfere with is the best approach. Given the amount of responsibilities and departments created over the years, not one voter actually knows what they are voting for.I'd agree that the backgrounds of the various politicians don't make them fit for ministerial office. Here, ministeries are seen as the culmination of a career in politics, almost as a reward for time served. I'd prefer a system, such as exists in various scandinavian countries, whereby a department is led by an unelected expert in the relevant field. It seeks to ensure that the person in charge understands the policies they're seeking to implement. The current notion that any TD is a skilled generalist who can easily navigate between ministries is seriously flawed.
Oppositions are always populist. They say what they think people want to hear in order to get into power.
Some people think they're martyrs because they're bothering to set up a business. They also think the government should hand them everything on a plate.
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