A bird's eye view of the vineyard
Alternative Copy of thesaker.is site is available Thu May 25, 2023 14:38 | Ice-Saker-V6bKu3nz
Alternative site: https://thesaker.si/saker-a... Site was created using the downloads provided Regards Herb
The Saker blog is now frozen Tue Feb 28, 2023 23:55 | The Saker
Dear friends As I have previously announced, we are now “freezing” the blog. We are also making archives of the blog available for free download in various formats (see below).
What do you make of the Russia and China Partnership? Tue Feb 28, 2023 16:26 | The Saker
by Mr. Allen for the Saker blog Over the last few years, we hear leaders from both Russia and China pronouncing that they have formed a relationship where there are
Moveable Feast Cafe 2023/02/27 ? Open Thread Mon Feb 27, 2023 19:00 | cafe-uploader
2023/02/27 19:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of
The stage is set for Hybrid World War III Mon Feb 27, 2023 15:50 | The Saker
Pepe Escobar for the Saker blog A powerful feeling rhythms your skin and drums up your soul as you?re immersed in a long walk under persistent snow flurries, pinpointed by
The Saker >>
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony
Public Inquiry >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Julian Assange is finally free ! Tue Jun 25, 2024 21:11 | indy
Stand With Palestine: Workplace Day of Action on Naksa Day Thu May 30, 2024 21:55 | indy
It is Chemtrails Month and Time to Visit this Topic Thu May 30, 2024 00:01 | indy
Hamburg 14.05. "Rote" Flora Reoccupied By Internationalists Wed May 15, 2024 15:49 | Internationalist left
Eddie Hobbs Breaks the Silence Exposing the Hidden Agenda Behind the WHO Treaty Sat May 11, 2024 22:41 | indy
Human Rights in Ireland >>
The Extreme Weather We?re Experiencing Is Not Man Made, According to the IPCC Sun Jul 28, 2024 07:00 | Mark Ellse
Day-to-day weather, with all its extremes, is "just weather", according to the IPCC. With their authority onside, we can shrug off the BBC's melodramatic climate reports and misinformation, says Mark Ellse.
The post The Extreme Weather We?re Experiencing Is Not Man Made, According to the IPCC appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
News Round-Up Sun Jul 28, 2024 01:17 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Green MP Proposes Sweeping Reforms to House of Commons in Maiden Speech Sat Jul 27, 2024 19:00 | Sean Walsh
The sweeping House of Commons reforms proposed by Green MP Ellie Chowns are evidence that the Mrs Dutt-Pauker types have moved from Peter Simple's columns into public life. We're in for a bumpy ride, says Sean Walsh.
The post Green MP Proposes Sweeping Reforms to House of Commons in Maiden Speech appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Heat Pump Refuseniks Risk £2,000 Surge in Gas Bills Sat Jul 27, 2024 17:00 | Richard Eldred
With heat pump numbers forecast to rise, the energy watchdog Ofgem has predicted that bills for those who continue using gas boilers will surge.
The post Heat Pump Refuseniks Risk £2,000 Surge in Gas Bills appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Debt-Funded GB Energy to Bet on the Costliest Electricity Generation Technologies Sat Jul 27, 2024 15:00 | David Turver
So much for Labour's pledge to cut energy bills by £300, says David Turver. Under GB Energy, our bills can only go one way, and that is up.
The post Debt-Funded GB Energy to Bet on the Costliest Electricity Generation Technologies appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Lockdown Skeptics >>
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (6 of 6)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6Private sector workers have already had their taxes raised and their pay cut because the businesses they are employed by will simply go to the wall otherwise in a shrinking market.
The public sector exists soldely because it is funded by taxpayers, the majority of whom are also working people who do not have secure employment because of the recession.
The government simply does not have income from taxes to continue its current spending and its ability to borrow is restricted.
If it does not cut taxes it must borrow to make up the shortfall or else the IMF will step in and make the decisions for them.
At the moment when the cost of living is falling it is simply unrealistic to expect the government to be able to maintain its current spending the majority of which is public sector pay and social welfare.
No amount of rhetoric about class struggle so going to alter the cruel of facts of life that government spending in all areas must be cut one way or another , sacrificing many services, laying off workers and cutting social welfare and other payments.
Realist, the governmnet has many other options to make up the shortfall. Most of the richest people in Ireland don't even pay a penny tax. That could be changed. And they could take back control of the huge oil and gas reserves off our coast that have been just given away. No public service pay or social welfare cuts are neccesary.
All workers have had the rate of tax they pay raised.
Beyond that
A 90% tax on earnings over 100k would raise 2.1 billion
A cap on public sector wages at 100k would raise 450 million
A 5% wealth tax which excludes farming land would raise 8 billion
In the longer term there is the equivalent of 10 billion barrels of oil off the Irish coasts. This is almost been given away to Shell and other companies at the present. If the government took 70% of this, the rate Russia, Angola and Nigeria among other countries do, this would see 294 billion coming in as these fields are developed.
''If it does not cut taxes it must borrow to make up the shortfall or else the IMF will step in and make the decisions for them.''
These are classic scare tactics. As a previous commentator pointed out, there is plenty of revenue in Ireland, its just not FOR Ireland. There is over €500billion worth of oil&gas here. Why cut, when we can raise taxes for the wealthy and tax Shell to good heavens.
'We are going to use your money to help out our friends in the banks who helped facilitate this economic crisis. While we do that, we're going to attack the people who had nothing to do with the crisis, and/or actually got nothing from the Celtic tiger era. If you don't bow down and take it... we're going to call the IMF (we wont really)'. - Brian Lenihan's Diary
"These are classic scare tactics. As a previous commentator pointed out, there is plenty of revenue in Ireland, its just not FOR Ireland. There is over €500billion worth of oil&gas here. Why cut, when we can raise taxes for the wealthy and tax Shell to good heavens."
Are you an economic illiterate?
Government revenue is gathered from business profits and from the wages of workers.
Do you think that you can raise endlessly raise taxes to "good heavens" without any impact whatsoever on businesses and without any knock on effects on government tax revenue?
Money is invested in businesses including Shell for profit. No other reason. That is why economic activity exists. People are investing in enterprises which will increase the amount of money they invested. When enterprises cease to be profitable or lose money they collapse and are broken up to retrieve what money the investors can still get back from their failed investments.
If investors find that too much tax is taken from their profits with the result they do not make the profits they wanted, they do not make any profit or they end up with less money than they initially invested, they will be less likely to invest in Irish business enterprises and they will invest their money elsewhere.
Raising taxes and borrowing to cover public spending is the road to ruin.
Banks borrow money because they know that the debtor will pay them back plus interest. That is why it is profitable to lend money.
If the government does not have the ability to raise the revenue to finance its debts then the borrowers will no longer lend the money.
When profits dry up and businesses go to the wall then tax revenues will plummet and there will be less money for public spending.
Do you think the deal oil companies like Shell get in this country is good for the people?
The only chance the state has to get revenue from the resources is through the very low 20% tax rate. And the corporations can write all their expenses off against it, so the exchequer will probably get nothing.