Sunday, Oct 14, 2007
What future for the middle class?
Independent.ie: 'I am a good mother, worker and citizen, but I have no future here'
Are you one of Ireland's new poor middle class, living month to month with no reserves for emergencies? Are you penalised for earning 'too much'? Kerry Gordon feels that she is
Posted by ash4781 @ 11:17 AM (419 views) Add Comment
3 Comments
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1. Papabear said...
"In the UK, the authorities have embarked on a drive to provide housing for all. The belief is that everybody should have the opportunity to have a decent home, whether through renting or ownership. Affordable homes are provided at sub-market prices for those families earning up to stg£60,000 (€87,000). "
Eh? Did I miss something?
2. shipbuilder said...
This article is a perfect example of the 'establishment line' in the media. No questioning of why wages are not keeping up with the cost of living, but plenty of talk of how those on benefits are supposedly raking it in and more of the tired 'build more houses' nonsense. This is an article purely for the sake of a whinge - no real questions are asked here about where all the money in what is now one of the richest countries in Europe is going.
3. European-bear said...
There is something seriously wrong in Ireland, more so than in the UK. The last census indiacted that 15% of houses in Ireland are unoccupied...yes empty (but with no property tax of any sort (other than stamp duty on purchase), there is no incentive to get these houses occupied), yet there is the claim that rents can be increased and house prices spiralling upwards....perhaps well controlled monopolistic practices or possibly this article is backward looking as the party might already be over.....the number of houses on the market in Ireland has quadrupled in the last year and developers are slashing the cost of new builds as the market has collapsed this year (even before the credit crunch). Banks have 28% of their loan books to "investors and develpers" in Ireland (higher than in Japan in 1990) and an astonishing 18% of Irish GDP is in building houses. I think the "Tiger" economy could really meltdown and Ireland become somewhat less wealthy as much of the wealth is an illusion.
I lived in Greystones (where this lady is from) and it is one of the most expensive places in Ireland, so lower middle class really cannot afford to live there (now)...but maybe in 2 years or so even Greystones might become cheaper.