Jeremy Corbyn

[Kursk]

The old running a household analogy for running a government, favoured by the tabloids.

The analogy breaks down because governments can increase income at will whereas my income is more or less fixed for the time being.

I really hope he manages to introduce the idea that an economy is not a household into the conversation. If that's all he manages, his election will be a worthwhile exercise.

Indeed. As a man who divorced his wife because of a dogmatic approach to children's schooling, it may be better that his government is not like his household.

Indeed for all the sneering at a simple comparison, there hasn't been any further analysis of dealing with a deficit, other than the suggestion that a Government can increase taxes at will and somehow this guarantees increased revenue without any consequences.

Someone asked about Labour's values.

It was supposed to be about workers. Fair wages for workers, housing for workers, shorter working hours for workers and safer working environments for workers. All noble and sensible stuff.

Now it is about high taxes for those who don't vote for Labour. That article on Corbyn has it as his Number One policy. We see it with the Left in Ireland too. They insist they will tax the rich and give the money to 'the most vulnerable in society', who invariably are their own voters. Most people have an image of 'the rich' as those ones in the magazines, with their yachts in Monaco, who don't work and who wouldn't miss the money.

The reality is that 'the rich' is anyone who earns more than the average industrial wage. (This was confirmed by an Irish Minister to a colleague of mine in the last 2 years - and Irish Labour aren't as left-wing as others). Thus they are intent on punishing up to 50% of earners.

Labour and the left used to be about workers, but now they are about screwing half of them. Whether in the UK or here, unless they return to their founding values of representing workers, instead of dividing them and setting out to screw half of them, I don't see them holding electoral sway in the modern world.

That's not a fair assessment at all. It's about having a society where those who can afford to make a greater contribution to the costs of running services for everyone do so. I think in a post financial collapse era - where certainly the lower earners in society had absolutely nothing to do with the mess or the additional debt created - a greater share of the additional burden should be carried by the more well off. I don't think this can be argued. The cruelty of imposing measures like USC on guiltless people who were struggling anyway is beyond belief.

"Giving money to poor people"....."punishing 50% of workers".....it's sweeping inaccurate mantras like this that falsely label any policies not part of the capitalist groupthink cartel. I believe in a society that is fair for all - not one that barely exists and even then it's only for when things go wrong for the top dogs.

Seanie you are guilty of similar sweeping inaccurate mantras. 'those who can afford to make a greater contribution' - [this is measured ONLY on income - what about his debts, size of family, money inherited etc] ... 'the lower earners in society had absolutely nothing to do with the mess or the additional debt created' [neither did most of us - why should I have to pay and the fella next door doesn't?]...

The spin is that there is hidden bunch of rich people out there that can be tapped to pay our way without any consequences. The reality is that they will have to tax everyone.

but there IS a hidden bunch of rich people out there that can be tapped. Think about it, Ireland has just gone through the worst economic crisis in her history (possibly the worst of any country in the EU) . A crisis precipitated by banks and developers yet now all the headlines are about housing shortages. ffs ..how f**king dumb can we be.They still have their money and  they are trying to start the whole cycle off again. Johnny Ronan marches out of bankruptcy thumbing his nose at everyone (although one cannot but admire his chutzpah with that "controversial" statement  )

[muppet]

but there IS a hidden bunch of rich people out there that can be tapped. Think about it, Ireland has just gone through the worst economic crisis in her history (possibly the worst of any country in the EU) . A crisis precipitated by banks and developers yet now all the headlines are about housing shortages. ffs ..how f**king dumb can we be.They still have their money and  they are trying to start the whole cycle off again. Johnny Ronan marches out of bankruptcy thumbing his nose at everyone (although one cannot but admire his chutzpah with that "controversial" statement  )

Ok.

How many Johnny Ronan's are there and how are you going to take €64 Billion off them?

[ashman]

The UK should have borrowed more and spent more. Growth of 1.5%-2% was puny considering the amount by which output fell during the recession. And here's the thing. The oh-so-ruthless markets never once wavered in their demand for British government debt. No matter how low the interest charged and how much they supposedly debased sterling with quantitative easing, the red braces snapped up British bonds. Future economists will look back on this period when the British government, given the low rates and the likely prospects for inflation, at times turned their nose up at free money and wonder what the hell went on.

QE was the real borrowing tbh .