Mack – Page 7 – Slugger O'Toole

Book Review: “The Bankers” by Shane Ross

Mack on November 12, 2009, 3:59 pm

| Readers 23

The Bankers: How the Banks Brought Ireland to Its Knees is an important book. It is a highly readable account of the defining political and economic story of our time. How a group of elite bankers fueled a credit bubble, fought back against government pressure in the wake of it’s collapse and ensured the survival of their culture at taxpayers expense. Shane Ross, the author, is an Irish Senator and business editor of the Sunday Independent. An extract from the …

Young People’s Health in Great Britain and Ireland

Mack on November 11, 2009, 4:38 pm

| Readers 5

NUI Galway have co-authored a report, with the World Health Organisation, on childhood in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. They find that children in Ireland are healthier and happier than those in England, Scotland & Wales. Per the press release :- Irish children are more likely than their UK counterparts to report high life satisfaction, and less likely to report feeling low or having poor body image. In this country, children are more likely to engage in physical activity and …

(same) Man bites Pat Kenny

Mack on November 10, 2009, 4:10 pm

| Readers 18

http://sluggerotoole.com/index.php/weblog/comments/man-bites-union/Following on from Jack O’Connor of SIPTU last week – MackNo bio, some books worth reading – The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves – Matt Ridley . Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance -Nouriel Roubini, Stephen Mihm

Fall of the wall – Celebrating 20 years of freedom

Mack on November 9, 2009, 4:07 pm

| Readers 5

20 years ago today West German television channel ARD broadcast that – “This ninth of November is a historic day. East Germany has announced that, starting immediately, its borders are open to everyone”. On hearing the announcement East Germans began gathering at the eastern side of the 140km long Berlin Wall. Soon their numbers swelled dramatically, the sheer size of the crowd overwhelming the guards who were nervous about using force. The guards gave in, opened their check points and …

Man bites union

Mack on November 7, 2009, 10:49 pm

| Readers 1

Hat tip Damien Mulley MackNo bio, some books worth reading – The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves – Matt Ridley . Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance -Nouriel Roubini, Stephen Mihm

Cutting the welfare budget without cutting welfare rates

Mack on November 5, 2009, 11:31 pm

| Readers 3

Instead of reducing social welfare rates (such as the proposed halving of job-seekers for the under-24’s), could we use a bit of lateral thinking and modern technology to come up with solutions that may provide cost savings without reducing benefits? The (Irish) government may be able to leverage it’s buying power to get a better price for daily essentials purchased by welfare recipients. What it could attempt to do, is negotiate a price for preferred vendor status for a range …

End of the denial phase?

Mack on November 3, 2009, 5:35 pm

| Readers 4

We had a credit bubble, the Irish economy was inflated way beyond it’s natural limits by money borrowed on the European wholesale markets and multiplied internally thanks to the joys of fractional reserve banking. That bubble is gone, it is never coming back. That means that we cannot currently sustain an economy at 2006 levels. There are some who want the public (that’s us – via the government) to take on the burden of large scale borrowing, to sustain for …

The genesis of the banking guarantee

Mack on November 1, 2009, 4:37 am

| Readers 4

The Indo are carrying an excerpt from David McWilliams new book (Follow the Money) that details a late night encounter with Brian Lenihan that lead to the Irish Banking Guarantee. If something radical was not done and done quickly, it was crystal clear to me that the Irish banks would experience a traditional run, with depositors taking out their savings, and the banks would go bust. That one thing, at least, was certain. The minister walked straight through the hall …

Taxing sums for Leprechauns

Mack on October 27, 2009, 9:13 pm

| Readers 2

Fintan O’Toole reckons there is a pot of gold, waiting just over the rainbow for us to reclaim from the tax avoiding leprechauns in whose possession it currently lies. He is advocating a wealth tax on the Celtic Tiger’s super-rich in today’s Irish Times, which he reckons is as a viable alternative to spending cuts in bridging the fiscal deficit. While it may make us feel better to decimate their holdings, it’s unlikely to make much of a difference to …

Beyond reform

Mack on October 20, 2009, 9:28 pm

| Readers 1

The news that zombie bank AIB, kept afloat at huge expense to taxpayers, is to award it’s employees a 3% pay rise marks a truly shocking departure from reality. The move undermines the government, at a time when they appear to be softening up public sector workers about the need for them to take pay cuts and possibly face redundancies. How angry must they feel when banking executives, working in the sector that did most damage to the export-led Celtic …

Morgan Kelly on NAMA

Mack on October 13, 2009, 9:26 pm

| Readers 5

Just a short note to highlight Morgan Kelly’s excellent article on NAMA in the Irish Times today. He proffers a good solution too – All that needs to be done is for ownership of Irish banks to be transferred to their bondholders. This process of converting debt into equity occurs sufficiently often in banking to have a name: resolution. Resolution offers a way for Irish banks to be adequately recapitalised at no cost to the taxpayer, and able to manage …

Luas collides with bus – derailed on O’Connell Street

Mack on September 16, 2009, 8:06 pm

| Readers 6

A Luas tram has collided with a bus around 3pm this evening. RTE report that there are some injuries and that at least one person remains trapped on board. Live feed From the Irish Times Up to 16 people were injured this afternoon when a Luas tram collided with a bus at the junction of Abbey Street and O’Connell Street in Dublin City centre. and.. There is an unconfirmed report that the Luas driver went through the window of his …

If you inform yourself, you can trust yourself

Mack on September 16, 2009, 3:49 pm

| Readers 1

But not these guys apparently – more ad hominem attacks Lisbon Videos Coir Generation Yes MackNo bio, some books worth reading – The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves – Matt Ridley . Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance -Nouriel Roubini, Stephen Mihm

Michael O’Leary on Lisbon

Mack on September 15, 2009, 9:20 pm

| Readers 4

I’m not sure of the date on this, Ryanair communications uploaded the video to YouTube yesterday. Michael O’Leary arguing for the benefits of Europe and, always controversial, venting at ‘unemployable f**king headbangers’. I certainly remember seeing that phrase in newspapers a few weeks back (quote of the week in the Sindo) – but good to get the full view. Hat Tip – Irish Libertarian for the video MackNo bio, some books worth reading – The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves …

A primer on Irish law and the EU

Mack on September 11, 2009, 3:36 pm

| Readers 60

There are a number of sources of law in Ireland. They are in order of primacy 1. Bunreacht na hÉireann – The Irish Constitution, which has legal primacy [EU Treaties specifically incorporated into Bunreacht na hÉireann or by The European Communities Act, 1972 (an Irish Statute)] 2. Irish Statute law (and pre-Independence statutes inherited from membership of the United Kingdom) – codified laws introduced by parliament 3. Common law (judgements in areas not covered by higher law sources that set …

Great Depression II averted?

Mack on September 3, 2009, 5:29 pm

| Readers 15

Kevin H. O’Rourke of Trinity College, Dublin and Barry Eichengreen of Berkely, California have updated their running score – “A Tale of Two Depressions”. Encouragingly the global economy is showing some signs of recovery, but more importantly what we’re not seeing is a 1930-31 style collapse. MackNo bio, some books worth reading – The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves – Matt Ridley . Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance -Nouriel Roubini, Stephen Mihm

Lisbon Myths

Mack on September 3, 2009, 4:01 pm

| Readers 20

Spreading misinformation was a defining feature of the No campaign during the Lisbon I referenda. Unfortunately many of those myths seem to be deep seated, and they are beginning to appear again. British Eurosceptic Jim McConalogue produced a list of ‘100 Reasons to Vote ‘No’ to the Lisbon treaty’, unfortunately a large portion of those reasons were not grounded in reality. 1. Lisbon undermines Ireland’s corporation tax regime E.g. 150,000 Irish jobs, at least, are under threat through direct employment …

There is no alternative?

Mack on August 31, 2009, 8:42 pm

| Readers 3

Ciarán O’Hagan a bond expert at Société Générale, Paris has a guest post on Irish Economy. It’s an illuminating read, from the perspective of a bond market practitioner critical of NAMA. One of the pro-NAMA arguments he explodes is the notion that the bond market won’t tolerate a default by the banks on their obligations to their bond holders. Ciarán highlights the difference in the interests of the banks’ bondholders and investors in Irish government debt – Foreign investors *in …

Dollar doomed as resource wars loom

Mack on August 25, 2009, 4:31 pm

| Readers 2

Moneyweek quote Eric Kraus, a fund manager in Russia, as summing up the current Sino-American interdependence as a one way bet for China – The exit from this seemingly illogical trade [lending money to America to buy Chinese goods] will leave China sitting atop a pile of devalued assets, but also, possessed of a world-class industrial infrastructure and having gone a long way towards hollowing out and undermining the economy of its sole strategic competitor. They go on to note …

Common sense reigns at the Commission on Taxation

Mack on August 21, 2009, 2:55 pm

| Readers 1

The Indo have leaked some of the recommendations of the Commission on Taxation. At first glance they seem eminently sensible. It looks like income tax rises have been exhausted but other indirect taxes will be introduced. An annual property tax will replace the transaction based and unstable Stamp Duty. Private Sector Pension proposals fall well short of the swinging cuts proposed by the left, instead a new SSIA like scheme will introduced for lower paid workers with the state adding …