The harshness of the budgets of the last few years as we paid back the international bondholders who TOOK A GAMBLE on bankbonds, have left a mark on the country's psyche so deep that every budget day is met with extreme fear and loathing. Bitter, me?
At least this year we had a yay in terms of the free GP card being given to children of five and under and no more increase in the USC and income tax. The decrease of Social Welfare Payments to the under 25s and cuts to pensioner entitlements, plus the increase in the pension levy and the shocking rise in DIRT tax were not welcome at all on the other hand. But it's rare that any budget nowadays brings any good news. So at least this one brought a little. And Noonan did promise that this was the last of the Austerity Budgets.
If we can believe anything out of the mouth of the government who got into power on the back of the promise to burn the bondholders. Which we should have done. Listen I'm reading Debt by David Graeber at the moment and it's safe to say that I'm hating even more than usual on the IMF so forgive me.
But either way it just goes on and on - we pay more and more stealth tax (household tax, water charges), we lose more and more jobs and yet in this country we still pay for higher markups on clothes, cosmetics and groceries.
Advertised
We are on our bloody knees and yet we're STILL being ripped off.
Which brands do you wish would bring down their prices in line with their UK and/or US counterparts?
