Sunday Independent Stupid Statement of the Week

Before starting, good to see that the Sindo uses its front page to allow for an appeal on behalf of the needy.

Some of the talent can’t afford to pay their bills or mortgages with what they earn and with work not being renewed.

“We have people struggling like everyone else, trying to get an interest-only mortgage, having to sell their car. This idea of them living in this ivory tower on huge wages is simply not true”

The people in question? RTÉ presenters, according to the state’s top talent agent.

On the other hand, Brendan O’Connor is back beating the it’s-all-the-public-sector’s-fault drum.

Maybe, quite simply, because people in the public sector, like Government ministers with guaranteed fat pensions even if they do lose their jobs, don’t understand, in their gut, the pain and uncertainty out there among the unemployed and among those who worry for their jobs in the private sector. They don’t know what it feels like to have no safety net, to not even know anymore what your pension will be worth, if anything.

The lack of that visceral understanding of fear and hunger perhaps explains why this Government, like the last, can so easily sacrifice a job or growth agenda to balance the books of austerity and to make sure that the boxes are ticked so that Europe doesn’t upset the public sector applecart.

Maybe someone can explain to him how NAMA and the current crisis came about. Very slowly, using lots of pretty pictures. He seems to have failed to grasp it so far. Perhaps one of his colleagues will direct him towards Gene Kerrigan’s column. More likely, though, he’ll get a wrap on the knuckles for forgetting to add the trade unions as well.

Marc Coleman continues his campaign to reverse the widely-held view that he is a fool. But fails to do even that in a coherent manner.

At the very least his [Brian Lenihan’s] sacrifice has ensured that if the euro does shed members, Ireland will not be one of them. Two books of mine Back from the Brink and The Best is Yet to Come predicted how Ireland could attain economic balance by 2016 and new heights of prosperity by 2020, provided the right decisions are taken by Government.

At a book launch in Dublin last Tuesday, Pat Rabbitte took the opportunity to scoff at one of the book’s titles. But in a research note published last week George Magnus noted how “Ireland’s stunning turnaround stands out” and how — referring to our current account surplus — “no other country has been able to achieve an external balance shift of this nature”.

A year ago the Government believed in our ability to turn the corner, but outsiders scoffed. Now — if Pat Rabbitte is anything to go by — it may be the other way around But given the Government’s propensity to tax the economy back into recession — and its total failure to tackle overspending — and given the threat of double-dip recession — a relapse in our public finances cannot be ruled out. In that eventuality our ability to convince markets about our future will be crucial to re-entering the bond market next year. If government ministers don’t believe that message, no one else will either.

Perhaps he can send them a copy of The Best is Yet to Come, and that’ll convince them.

But this is topped by this week’s winner, Little Englander Jody Corcoran

Germany will soon have the Europe it has always wanted.

Given the day that’s in it, I couldn’t disagree more with the thinking behind Colum Kenny’s article on wearing the poppy. This obsession with the poppy as some sort of healing symbol in Ireland ignores the big picture of imperialist slaughter.