Six billion in cuts in this year are intended to pay for fast and loose spending of the Irish and European banking gamblers. The cuts, involving 15 billion over four years,which in reality will take out 10% of GDP, will tear the heart out of the country, turning recession into wholesale depression. To add insult to injury, the interest charged on the IMF package could be as high as 10 billion per annum, taking a huge tranche from money that could be put into helping those least able to deal with the economic crisis. You can’t take that sort of money out of the economy without causing a downward spiral of recession.
Make no mistake. The EU/IMF are giving this aid package to allow the Irish Government pay the Banks, to pay the Bondholders – primarily the European banks who lent to Anglo and the other banks that have brought us to this mess. The Irish taxpayer will be paying in blood to save the billionaire financiers. They lent money recklessly to the Irish banks, who lent money to reckless developers. This is nothing but a transfer of wealth from the weakest in this society to the corporations and billionaires that played fast and loose in the investment markets. They took the gambles and now they, rather than the Irish taxpayers should lose out.
Working people, who struggled to buy houses in the property boom, who fell into negative equity prices dropped are now facing tax hikes and property taxes. The blame for this crisis can not be laid at the door of the Irish working class. It cannot be put on social welfare recipients, on minimum wage workers, on students or on public sector workers. Yet the four year plan is targeting these very same people.
The Government wants to reduce the minimum wage, to cut social welfare and pensions, to increase VAT to name a few “reforms”. This means those on minimum wage will face nearly a 12% reduction in income before tax, while simultaneously facing a 2% increase in VAT. The thousands who will be newly unemployed by this disater of a plan will get reduced social welfare benefits.
The scale of the debt will stay with us for generations. Our grandchildren will be paying it off. The Government cannot be allowed to perpetrate this economic treason. We need to build the resistance to the Austerity plan. The ICTU demonstration this Saturday 27th November at 12pm at Wood quay in Dublin is the start of the fightback. We need tens of thousands on the streets to take our country back from the gombeens and shysters and gamblers that has dragged it to this. Come and join People Before Profit under the arch of Christchurch Cathedral from 11.30 on Saturday. It has never been more important to demonstrate.
Further information contact Cllr Brid Smith (People Before Profit Alliance)
087-909-0166