If someone had told me that it would be the Labour party that would finally put the seal on my political cynicism, I would have disagreed strongly. Take political reform. No one believes Fianna Fail’s commitment to radical political change because in their last 14 years in power they actively blocked every single attempt at major political reform. Fine Gael are Fianna Fail with an inferiority complex. But Labour? I thought Labour actually believed in things. In their last term in office, Labour implemented nearly every single social reform (divorce, homosexuality, contraception) of significance.

But look at them now, conspiring with Fine Gael to ensure that nothing of significance happens as a result of the Constitutional Convention, that power remains exactly where it is now, behind closed doors in the cabinet. Exactly where Fianna Fail left it.

How does that make someone who thinks real reform might be a good idea feel? Well, consider this: We have tried FF, FG and Labour and this is what we have ended up with. Sinn Fein have too many risks attached. The Greens, who I think were genuine about reform, were completely out-played when in coalition. The People’s Front of Judea are mad.

In short, there is no actual real point to voting anymore. Oh, sure, you can vote to keep the Shinners out, which is fair enough, but there is now nothing to actually vote for.  Instead, best thing to do is to make sure that you legally deny this crowd as much of your money as possible, by shielding as much of your income from tax as possible. Get a good accountant, and remember this little fact: given the amount of money wasted (PPARS, E-Voting) or just plain helped to (ministerial pensions), the chances are that every single cent paid in tax by you as an individual reader is less than the amount that has been squandered. In other words, if you had not paid it, it would not have made a difference.

Fact is, you can almost certainly squander your own money far better.