Ireland To Tax Pensions

[Deckard]

Here is the Irish Times' take on it.

Kenny defends pensions levy to fund plan for 100,000 new jobs

I like this quote

Fianna Fáil spokesman Willie O’Dea welcomed the measures on job creation but described the pension levy as “the biggest smash-and-grab raid since Nero got rid of Rome to build a pad for himself”.

[Venger]

I don't understand it either. A friend of mine from the Republic was giving me a run-down of how much money he was down from the boom times. He could have went on all night and it was clear he was down at least 5-7 grand on an income in the 40 grand range. I know things are bad in the States, but my word, we would have open revolt if we had been subjected to what the Irish have been these last few years.

Are Irish people masochists, do they still hold a famine complex where they all secretly hope to be desperate and impovrished?

Because he's now got to cope on 33 grand ffs? Why would he revolt unless he chose to shaft himself with debt burdens when others chose not to buy at prices they were uneasy with servicing over the long term.

It's paradise on earth in the UK anyway compared to so many other countries. Even if you're unemployed with no time limit unemployment benefits, SMI, reduced council tax rates compared to high property taxes in other countries, free healthcare. The way I'm hearing it, leading officials in governments of some countries want to see the UK system kicked hard back into reality going much further than seeing a builder lose just a few grand on his boom time credit expansion earnings.