It has long been said that power corrupts, and we in Ireland know that more than most – given the overwhelming number of corrupt/dishonest politicians in relation to our population size.
The Greens went into coalition with Fianna Fail (which translated from the Gaelic means “Party of Corrupt Shysters”, I think) full of bluster and big ideas – including saving the planet, of course.
Much was made in the lead-up to their “Programme for Government” conference, and the vote on whether they would support the implementation of NAMA, the Government's plan to bail out the banks and keep property prices artificially high by using taxpayers’ money to overpay for the banks' bad loans. No surprise that they voted overwhelmingly both to stay in power and to implement NAMA.
Interesting that Nobel Prize winning economist Joeseph Stiglitz, when asked about the scheme, thought that “the principle of overpaying banks for loans is criminal” and that NAMA was quite simply a bad idea.
But who cares about what a Nobel Prize winning economist thinks anyway? The main thing is that the Greens get to cling on to power for a little bit longer.
Joe Stiglitz RTE interview below, courtesy of You Tube.
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5 comments:
I'm a huge fan of Stiglitz - nice post!
I NEVER voted for anyone but Labour, Greens & independents in 9 yrs in Dun L (Joe Higgins in June- I’m a huge admirer) because they did not get into politics to get rich quick( unlike FF & FG). I joined GP 2 yrs ago, as V ordinary member. Greens had a lot of talks & votes in June/July on the kind of NAMA they wanted (as a tiny coalition partner, I don’t think they could say no to NAMA).
I voted then, as all Greens greatly opposed the FF original daylight robber NAMA & it has been much modified since.
I don’t understand the economics, regretfully the country is in such a state, some kind of NAMA has to be done & ALL the parties DO have some NAMA plan …I voted against it on Sat, nonetheless, but other members think they can trust the GP to stop FF stealing our last pennies… don’t forget if FF had NOT been in coalition with the Greens, by now they would have: Rushed thu laws ensuring they get massive golden handshakes on losing their seats( as they know they will) in the next election- & pilfered more massive expenses before that happens & also rushed thru un-modified robber baron NAMA legislation to see that their buddies ( the 1500 richest people in the country who lost money on NAMA properties ) also got their share of the spoils. I don’t think anyone believes all in new programme will be implemented ( no funds) but there is a lot of Green inspired aims to cut TD pay, stop massive expenses, get proper planning laws , stop corporate donations, keep a proper eye on banks etc…all that the country needs-Anna
@ Viking. Thanks... when someone as eminent as this guy speaks, we should have a good think.
@ Anna. Fair enough. For the record, when it comes to elections, my simple rule is not to vote for anything with the letter "F" in the title (or the PDs when they were around!). It's not foolproof mind, but it's the best we can do!
"my simple rule is not to vote for anything with the Letter "F" in the title"
Epic lulz.. I'll have to remember that adage.
gday gm who is this stiglitz dude anyway telling the eyerish people the truth when they are only interested in good news about irl as in da buke by berty da bollix its just crammed with no nonsense facts of irls greatness,comical ken mcdonald has a buke in the oven i am told, order now before its too late 300$ cash only
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