23% VAT, why, oh why?
As the VAT increase lumbers closer I still can't wrap my head around why the government are doing it, or perhaps why the Troika are forcing the government to do it. I find myself presuming that it's just because they are very blinkered (yes, I'm being nice here) and choosing to forget there's a land border an hour up the road from Dublin, over which people can drive to buy cheaper goods.
My opinion on doing this hasn't changed, but I understand why people do. And people will continue to. So money and jobs will flow out of the economy, causing further harm, for a few hundred million in revenue. I know we need to cut some costs and increase some taxes, but increasing taxes that will harm the economy and, more important, the poorest in that economy is morally and economically wrong.
I'm not going to shout about being betrayed by the FG/Lab coalition and, right now, it seems like they're the only game in town, but we still lack a credible left-wing alternative who has a chance of getting into power. I still believe Labour can be that, but right now, they aren't and they're moving further and further away.
My opinion on doing this hasn't changed, but I understand why people do. And people will continue to. So money and jobs will flow out of the economy, causing further harm, for a few hundred million in revenue. I know we need to cut some costs and increase some taxes, but increasing taxes that will harm the economy and, more important, the poorest in that economy is morally and economically wrong.
I'm not going to shout about being betrayed by the FG/Lab coalition and, right now, it seems like they're the only game in town, but we still lack a credible left-wing alternative who has a chance of getting into power. I still believe Labour can be that, but right now, they aren't and they're moving further and further away.