A great country despite the negatives

While 66% of people feel we’re in for five years of recession, there is some optimism, reports Paul Moran

WITH anticipation towards next week’s budget similar to reaction over the weather, frozen and almost paralysed at what lies ahead, it was perhaps appropriate to capture what the nation feel about their own personal circumstances and what they believe should be done to remedy the crisis we find ourselves in.

This Irish Examiner/Millward Brown Lansdowne Opinion Poll, conducted between Tuesday and Friday of last week, directly after the intervention of the IMF and the announcement of a New Year general election, sought not so much to discuss politics, but rather to find out what the implications of these events are to the general public.

Over six in 10 feel they are worse off than they were a year ago, and even more (66%) feel that they will be even worse off this time next year. This is reflected in half feeling that this recession will last at least five years.

A lot has been written about levels of personal indebtedness (both current and future) during this recession. This poll quantifies that over one in five have contacted a financial institution to restructure or renegotiate a loan.

Not surprisingly, a significant majority (72%) feels the country is going in the wrong direction. However, looking back at trends in Millward Brown Lansdowne’s 2020 Consumer Sentiment study, the number of people feeling the country is going in the right direction (22%) is at a two-year high. For some, the IMF might not be the bogeyman it’s made out to be, but rather a white knight to protect us from our current policy makers.

Looking at future prospects, over one in 10 intends to emigrate in the next 12 months (driven by an ominous nearly one in three among the young).

So what should the budget hold? Spending cuts as opposed to higher taxes hold the majority view.

Yet the old age pension remains sacrosanct — a mere 10% believe cutting it a fair option. Parents on higher incomes are seen as an easy touch. Seven in 10 feel that reducing child benefits to them is the fairest way to achieve savings.

Perhaps the most interesting statistic is the deep felt belief that the 12.5% corporation tax rate should not be changed in any circumstance. Our pragmatism wins out.

There is a deep malaise towards what were some of the former institutions of power — the vast majority believe there are too many TDs in the Dail, the Seanad is a luxury we can’t afford, and one in nearly three feels their money isn’t safe in Irish banks. The presidency is held in high regard by half the population.

We feel our ties to Europe should be maintained and any suggestion that we leave the euro is rebuffed emphatically.

Notwithstanding all the doom and gloom, a healthy majority (60%) believes this country is still a good place to live in. We may have been beaten over the past few years, but we are still not down.