Same-Sex Marriage: A Victory for Common Sense.

Well done Iowa here. I have yet to understand why American small government conservatives have such an obsession with gays marrying. The idea that the government should have a veto over two consenting competent adults marrying just strikes me as simply unamerican.

Indeed, government deciding who marries whom smacks to me of communism.  

Time for some Keynes Consumerism?

Time to shop our way out of recession!

Time to shop our way out of recession!

Here’s the problem. We’ve a massive gap between the money the state is taking in, and what it is spending. The classical response is to increase the former (Through tax rises) whilst reducing the latter (Through spending cuts). Makes sense, right?

In theory, yes. Except that it does not take account of the psychological effect of the policy. We all know people who have relatively stable jobs, a few quid in the bank, and even they are terrified to spend. That’s what is causing the recession’s severity, a complete lack of confidence to spend. Now add in a reduction in household income caused by paycuts in the wealth-producing private sector and tax rises effecting all sectors, and people are afraid to get out of bed, never mind spend.

The US Republicans are saying that tax cuts are the answer. Give everyone a rebate to help prime spending. Not the worst idea, except for the fact that in the current climate, the Irish people might actually think rationally (Something they rarely do in the polling booth) and save the money for the proverbial rainy day, thus stopping in getting into the economy.

No, the country needs vouchers. A couple of billion euro in vouchers for shops, bought up by the government and distributed to taxpayers to spend directly, with the hope that they might throw a few of their own euro in on top of it, and get us all going again. Yes, there are pitfalls. How do we stop consumers saving the vouchers or just using them to substitute spending they would have done anyway? We can figure that out.

A bit mad? Possibly. But no more mad than the state squandering it on  “schemes” and “initatives”. And at least it confronts the deflationary tornado spiralling towards us.  

 

 

An Occasional Guide to Irish Politics: The Politics.ie guy

Try talking to an actual voter, you know, for the novelty?

Try talking to an actual voter, you know, for the novelty?

There are certain types on Politics.ie, one of the more popular of the online politicial discussion boards. Some are actual candidates, or dedicated activists, who go online to let off a bit of steam and trade a bit of gossip.

Then there is him. He doesn’t do “Parish Pump”, he’s above all that, he is interested in “the issues”. He posts long diatribes on this party or that, on why their position in the 1973 Sunningdale accord contradicts their later stand in the 1985 Anglo Irish Agreement. He spends hours, and thousands of posts, forensically picking apart other posts for semantic weaknesses, and he makes you conclude one thing:

Will you ever put down those f**king Pringles and go out and deliver a few leaflets or knock on a few doors, and try that shit with real voters and see where it gets you.

Anyone doing any work on a real campaign, and that means actually using up shoe leather as opposed to writing  “Campaign Brand Positioning Strategies” for candidates for Bray Urban District Council doesn’t have time to be posting every two minutes. So feck off and stop annoying us. Why doesn’t he just use the web instead for what other teenagers use it for, alternately downloading pictures of girls with big boobs and footage of guys getting kicked in the nuts. And finally, he should be nice to his mam when she calls him down for his tea.

Israel in mourning as soldier grazes knee.

A nation kisses knee better.

A nation kisses knee better.

President of Israel Shimon Peres has announced a national day of remembrance in memory of Trooper Joshua Goldberg, who hurt his knee getting out of a gunship yesterday morning.

The Knesset held a one minute silence for the 22 year old Haifa resident after he slipped carrying his kit, and tore a trouser leg, requiring a dab of antiseptic and a bandaid.

The trooper has been nominated for the medal of valor, the Israeli Defence Force’s highest military decoration.

In other news, 100 ragheads got blown up for living in an apartment block that might or might not have held some nut from Hamas. 

The Seanad says do as we say, not as we do.

Will someone not stand up and state the obvious?

Will someone not stand up and state the obvious?

Our democratically elected representatives do us proud once again here, from the Irish Times, on the issue of giving Oireachtas envelopes to local election candidates. It’s not a huge issue to be honest, but what’s telling is the general finding. They say that it is wrong to do it, but vote against any way of stopping it.

In other words, do as we say, not as we do.

I’m not as cynical as some about our political system, or the people in it. I was involved in politics long enough to know that there are good people in all parties, and that our politicians actually work hard. Almost completely ineffectually, true, but hard nevertheless.

But this is just taking the piss. If we wanted to stop this, we could make misuse of Oireachtas envelopes a criminal offence, and let the public report it to the Guards when they get one from a councillor. It’ll police itself. But the Oireachtas will not do that. Why? Because the reason they don’t want to barcode the envelopes is because senators give them to councillors, who elect senators. Simple as that. Is there not one senator who has the balls to just stand up and say that? At least don’t take us for fools.

Time for a useful distraction?

Quotas for women? Shure, we wouldn't be able to move for all the knittin'!

Quotas for women? Shure, we wouldn't be able to move for all the knittin'!

There’s a funny mood in the country. Fianna Fail are doing badly in the polls, people are taking pay cuts, and we are generally willing to consider things we would never have considered before. Property tax, water charges, income tax rises, all things that during the Tiger Years we’d never have dreamed of. From Brian Cowen’s persepective, there is almost nothing popular he can now do. It’s all going to be bad news.

So here’s a thought. Why not pick one of those social issues that doesn’t actually cost us anything to implement, but will cause such an uproar in the country so as to divide the opposition, indeed the country, along lines different from current Government Vs. Everybody Else situation we have at present.

What issue? Gay marriage and legalised prostitution are not mainstream enough, and will cause a backlash. But what about, say, the issue of euthanasia and living wills? Sure, the Catholic Church will go bananas, but it is one of those issues that even conservative older people have surprising views on. Start with a commission to examine the whole issue, to report back in a year with a recommendation for a referendum.

If euthanasia is too “spicy”, there’s always the simple issue of quotas for women. A referendum to change the voting system to ensure that every constituency elects at least one person from each sex.

Be a fun day out, surely?