Forum: Economics

There’s been a steady procession of attacks on the public sector over the last couple of years. Wage cuts, levies and a deluge of propaganda. We’ve made the point elsewhere that the FF and the Greens...

It started out with Greece having a few debt issues, but has grown into a full-blown currency crisis. On this episode of Counting the Cost we put the eurozone in focus. Plus, internet paywalls and...

This is a boy to watch though there is only four views of Conor McCabe's research into Housing in Ireland since the 1970s :hmf: I gave up on Irish journalism about 18 months ago, just after...

The Stormont Executive will soon have to bring forward proposals telling us where cutbacks are going to take place. Figures released today show unemployment here is up again and there are fears that...

Short silent feature on the application of SMART technology to Ireland's 220 million acre seabed resource - including marine mapping, remotely operated vehicles, Smart Technology platforms and wave...

With the World Cup just a week away, the construction of South Africa's stadiums, airports and roads has nearly come to a close. Yet while millions of soccer fans are just gearing up for the games,...

I was on the Dart into Dublin the other morning, surrounded by students getting ready to sit the dreaded Leaving Cert this week. They were in good form, talking about big bits of the course they...

This is an expanded version of a paper delivered to the Conference of Irish Geographers at NUI Maynooth on May 1, 2010] Introduction: The importance of exports to the Irish economy Due to the...

I’m old enough to remember when scratched records were more than just metaphors, but I cannot help but think of them as such when reading about the Irish construction and mortgage debacle of the...

EU ECONOMICS commissioner Olli Rehn has warned he may seek further cutbacks from the Government this year as the European authorities take new steps to clamp down on a massive rise in public debt in...

BBC's NI website were hyping the good news stories to detract from vital health cuts and Tory rule with Kelman/ GE's green shoots: At the end of the day they then slip this in: jobs are to be...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFb26u9g8&feature=related Very interesting 5 part series showing how our modern economies sustain itself

The Australian government has proposed a "super-profits" tax for giant mining corporations in its annual budget released on Tuesday. The country escaped the global economic slump almost completely...

http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/2010/05/10/memo-to-ecb-print-money The only thing that will stop Ireland – and a number of other EU countries – from defaulting on their debts is if the European...

These are financially straitened times. We are seemingly pummelled each day with reports of our financial fragility and there seems to be a consequent need for stringent fiscal policy to assure...

At a Plenary session of the European Parliament, Joe Higgins MEP criticises the neo-liberal policies of the Europe 2020 Strategy and argues in favour of a democratic, socialist society. :sovi: ...

Al Jazeera looks at what engineers are facing in trying to stem the flow of oil. The tar sands in the province of Alberta cover a wide area centered on the town of Fort McMurray. They lie in...

Saw a TEEU picket across the road from busaras. Anyone know what the craic is with this? I see from the TEEU website that there was a binding recommendation on the employer. Has this not been...

Bernard Founou-Tchuigoua The nature of the problem In Africa, which has virtually only its agricultural commodities to export, agricultural products are increasingly insufficient to feed its...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8650516.stm A decision which could result in the premature closure of one of Northern Ireland's main power plants is not one to be taken lightly....

When their leaders recently convened in Brasilia for their second BRIC summit, they all underlined their commitment to a more democratic global governance. Will the emerging powers change the way the...

Ireland recorded the largest budget deficit in the EU last year, eclipsing even Greece. The Government's debt ratio had shown as 11.8% of GDP, but has now risen to 14.3% for 2009, with the...

Interesting article I found last week by Dave McWilliams. Over 100 years ago, JM Synge described the gombeen man as follows, “groggy patriot/publican/ge-neral shopman who is married to the...

They’re back! The creeps, the snake-oil salesmen and spoofers who condemned a generation to negative equity are cheerleading again. The advertisers are salivating too because the “property porn”...

http://forth.ie/index.php/content/article/its_not_quinn_thats_insolvent_its_ireland/ http://www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2008/oct/26/sean-quinns-business-empire-what-he-owns/ The Quinn Group’s...

Interesting vid:

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has suggested an extra tax on people living in Dublin. Mr Ahern claimed the new elected Dublin mayor should be allowed to impose a levy on the Republic's capital. ...

Who would be a politician or an estate agent this week in Northern Ireland? Both are engaged in pitching sales to an unforgiving public who have to be reminded at every step of the way that what they...

http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/2010/03/07/salvation-in-bright-ideas Anyone who has experienced unemployment – either themselves or in their family – knows how tough it is. The first few weeks are...

As has been reported in the media over the past couple of years, unemployment and Live Register recipients have been increasing rapidly as the recession deepens. To date though we have little...

On November 24, 1942, General Von Paulus of the German 6th Army, bunkered down in Stalingrad, received the order he was dreading. Instead of the retreat that he was planning, the orders from Berlin...

Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the...