Deficit

Would a United Ireland be affordable?

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on July 22, 2018, 1:44 pm

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Given recent polling that suggests that a border poll on the question of Northern Ireland joining a unified Irish state could be a close contest, there has been a renewed focus on the question of whether a unified Irish state would be affordable. There is a gap of roughly £10bn between tax revenues and public expenditure in Northern Ireland, an effective subsidy from Great Britain to Northern Ireland that is often referred to as the “subvention” or the “block grant”. …

Kickstarter idea for dealing with Stormont’s new (much bigger) deficit from, erm, Greece…

Mick Fealty on March 13, 2015, 12:14 pm

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Aha, whilst we’re talking no longer talking about the Irish Syriza, here’s an idea we might use to fill the fiscal hole at Stormont which has suddenly opened up on Monday morning… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Growth or deficit: “Economics is the method. The object is to change the soul”

Mick Fealty on September 13, 2010, 8:53 am

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There’s a good piece in The Guardian from Julian Glover who says, yes, the Coalition does want cuts for ideological reasons, but then what of it? Yet ministers, by and large, hesitate before admitting this. Liberal Democrats worry about scaring their voters. Conservatives aren’t sure the country will understand their big idea. It’s easier to take refuge in the alternative truth that cuts are happening because they are needed. Even Ed Miliband issued a press release last week agreeing. From …