The Republican Socialist Youth Movement would like to put on record our total opposition to what is a savage budget agreed by the Fianna Fail and Green coalition government for 2010. Once again the average Irish citizen is being asked to foot the bill for the risk-taking and profiteering of others.
The fact that low paid public sector workers and those on social welfare payments are being attacked by the government is nothing short of a disgrace. Surely instead of attacking the most vulnerable in society, who had nothing to do with the economic crisis we now face, the government should be looking at curbing its tax breaks around the property market, which of course played an integral part in the inflation of the property bubble and ultimately economic turmoil? This government would rather take money from young people, blind people, the unemployed and the disabled as exemplified in this budget and to throw money at the banks than to take a stand and start putting the needs of people before the desire for private profit.
The recapitalisation and nationalisation of banks in Ireland has up until now cost us €11 billion, with estimates being placed as high as €15 billion for the amount that will be used to bolster the banking sector in 2010. If we take into account the €54 billion being handed over for NAMA also, this represents 20 times the public spending cuts being imposed in this budget. This gives a clear indication as to where the loyalties of the government lie, they are certainly not with the average working family but with speculators and bankers.
The truth is that these savage cuts are easily preventable. For instance, if the government was to look at applying the standard rate of relief to private pensions instead of the current level of subsidisation which directly benefits the most wealthy in society, then the amount of money that would be saved would be more than the entire amount brought in by the cuts in social welfare payments. When you also take into account the amount of money being handed over to a private corporation like Shell in the form of our natural resources, these consistent attacks on the living standards of the most vulnerable are exposed as totally unnecessary and utterly vindictive. What kind of government pumps billions into a bank in the form of Anglo-Irish that no-one can guarantee will even lend again, and then goes and takes money from the pensions of the blind? Certainly not one that is representative of the Irish people.
But all is not doom and gloom. It seems the Revenue Commissioners have granted Bertie Ahern tax-free status for earnings from his autobiography under the artists‘ exemption scheme. Nice to see some people are being looked after for 2010, some things never change.
Republican Socialist Youth Movement
Sligo
