BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit

Subject: RE: BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 27 Nov 10 - 11:57 AM

You must be worried Jim.
The views I expressed about parades in the "12th" thread, that you were so contemptuous and angry about, were the same views as expressed by Sinn Fein.

Subject: RE: BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 28 Nov 10 - 03:07 AM

I had thought that British people had matured and were no longer the bigots that shamed their country in the face of the world. In some cases, it appears, I was very wrong.

This cluster... is nothing to do with Ireland or with Britain. It's about wealthy, greedy people making more money at the expense of anyone they can cheat and rob.

Europe is trying to plug the hole in the European economy deliberately engineered by (I would suspect an orchestrated group of) people who gamble on the bond markets. The Irish people will be enslaved for generations to pay back the money that is being funneled through our economy.

Unfortunately, Ireland is Britain's largest trading partner - we buy more British goods than any other country.

If Britain succeeds in having Ireland's 12.5% corporate tax rate ended, the multinationals that are sited here will leave. That tax rate compensates for the fact that we're an island, and so would be more expensive as a site for these multinationals than other European countries, because of transport costs.

If the 12.5% goes, and the multinationals go, so will the ability of Irish people to buy British goods, with a disastrous effect on the British economy.

Be careful what you wish for.

Subject: RE: BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 28 Nov 10 - 11:38 AM

""In case anybody is still interested in the topic of this thread, it was reported on BBC Breakfast News today that Mainland Britain has a trade surplus situation, vis-a-vis Eire, of approximately £7 billion per annum, so, far from taking money from our poor to subsidise the Irish economy, it would appear that we are returning this year's profits as a loan, in order to protect the profits of future years, in the full expectation that this will also enable the repayment of the loan in due course.

Seems a reasonable bargain to me.

Don T.""

As I pointed out some time ago, while others were busty slagging each other off in the wrong thread for that activity.

This morning Alan Johnson (New Labour) declared, in a TV interview, that the coalition government were right in making the loan to the Irish (our fourth largest trading partner), and had all party backing for that action.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 29 Nov 10 - 01:58 AM

Before that post of yours Don, I said something like, "Our leaders tell us the loan is in our interest. We must hope they are right."
We do have a trade surplus with Ireland.(Not the same as profit BTW)
It would be a disaster for us if Ireland went down.
If we lend the money and they still go down, or default, it would be catastrophic for us.

Subject: RE: BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit
From: Chris B (Born Again Scouser)
Date: 29 Nov 10 - 03:34 AM

Many of the companies that have their corporate headquarters in Ireland employ very few people in the country. They just use the country as a tax shelter and then funnel their remaining profits through other tax shelters like Bermuda or the Cayman Islands (both British overseas territories, by the way). So the effect of the corporation tax rate on Irish employment is overstated.

One of the main reasons why companies that are serious about doing business and producing things have set up in Ireland is because there is a young, well-educated, English-speaking workforce who work hard and play hard. That's not going to change overnight if corporations are compelled to pay more tax.

One of the reasons why such a workforce exists in Ireland is that before the bankers and developers and their accomplices in the government bankrupted the country, the EU supported huge investment in Irish education. That won't happen again as long as the State is 85 billion euro in debt, unless the tax structure is reformed to ensure that those who have profited most from the boom pay their share.

Subject: RE: BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 29 Nov 10 - 06:58 AM

""We do have a trade surplus with Ireland.(Not the same as profit BTW)""

I know that Keith, but it does equate to our government getting a whole lot of extra taxes on the money our companies earn from selling in Ireland in excess of what it costs buying from Ireland.

And, BTW, yesterday I saw a breakdown of what we are actually spending.

Our total spend of £7 billion comes from two sources.

1. A European Union fund which we pay into as a matter of course, regardless of who gets help from it. That fund is supplying £4 billion.

2. A loan which our government has taken out, and is re-lending to Ireland. This £3 billion loan, is made at an interest rate of 5.8%, a rate consierably higher than we are paying to borrow it in the first place.

This is sounding less of a risk with each revelation, and although the loan is long term, the rate is probably better than we would get from leaving the money in the treasury.

I think it makes good business sense, but of course some people don't want this government to make good, or reasonable, decisions. It's too embarrassing after the complete dog's breakfast made by the last bunch.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 29 Nov 10 - 11:07 AM

Missed the last couple of days due to broadband failure here.
There were a reported 50,000 demonstraters on the streets of Dublin on Saturday (as the figure was a police estimate it was probably nearer 100,000).
It appears that the Irish are not prepared to bend over and be screwed by politicians and bankers.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 30 Nov 10 - 10:42 AM

And a reasonably peaceful one, just enough to make their feelings known. Good on them for that.

Subject: RE: BS: Subsidy to Ireland to increase UK deficit
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 01 Dec 10 - 02:43 AM

This arrived this morning

http://fintanotoole.ie/petition/

Jim Carroll