Lenihan balancing between the electorate and the ‘bullying’ markets?

I see Mack’s picked up Gerard’s pertinent comment on the Laffer curve argument that more taxes mean less incentive to work, and then a commensurate drop in the numbers working follwed by a drop in the actual tax take. Retailers on the southern side of the border need no introduction to either the theory or the practice since the differential in VAT, which opened up last Autumn… The phrase that stuck with me from the Dail exchanges yesterday was the charge from Bruton that it was ‘a book-keeper’s budget’; ie, close the gap, regardless of the economic outcome of the method chosen… The trouble is, as one Twitterer noted, Bruton sounded way more scary than the Minister of Finance, since he wanted cuts, cuts, cuts… Some cuts are desirable, of course… finishing off the restructuring of the HSE requires a whole tranche of middle management to go, for instance… But the sums being asked for to fill the structural deficit require deeper cuts than Enda Kenny was hinting at the weekend…

The deeper truth here is that we are seeing the requirements of a representative democracy jarring up against the economic needs of a small nation whose borders are as sublimely open (to bullying markets) as they were unremittingly shut under Eamonn De Valera’s prolonged economic ruck with the UK. But it is hard not to think, as I argue over at the Daily Telegraph, that the local elections in June had more to do with the decision not to cut the pay of jumpy public servants, and instead put the loading on levies/taxes…

Ultimately, the country will thrive on its capacity to be flexible and re-invent itself and its industries. For all the handwringing now, the truth is that the Republic is and will remain a changed place. As the Guardian perceptively notes:

For all the cliches of Celtic tigers returning to their cages, Ireland’s new economy will remain, along with its highly trained workforce. A global economy in downturn means there is nowhere else to go. It is a thought that Yeats would have cheered.

And on that theme, Damien Mulley puts a word for the regenerative capacity of business to re-invent new and prosperous models at moments like this:

2009 has seen plummeting property prices and plenty of highly skilled people looking for jobs which are serious advantages in terms of starting a tech company. Most of a tech company can be run from anywhere with a broadband connection anyway when it first starts out. A tax or grant boost from the Government to invest in technology startups now will get most bang from a buck. Planning for the future is not all about slashing present costs. We should remember that Google started in a downturn too and the Government should be thinking in those terms.

It would be foolish for any democratically elected government to commit so completely to just one part of Ireland’s economic game. Markets may self organise, but as this crisis ably demonstrates, they are effectively underwritten by governments whose efforts are in turn underwritten by a lot of human activity based on money generated the old fashioned way: ie through taxes. We’ll see if the electorate’s (taxpayer’s) patience (wallet) stretches far enough to get the country and its banks off the hook…

Most ordinary tax paying citizens of the Irish state will just be hoping his gamble works, particularly Union members… That’s something the opposition parties, in their haste to land a killer blow, might do well to remember…

More analysis on the Republic’s budget from Dan and Mack

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated.