If we do the right thing rather than the easy thing we will beat this crisis

NO MATTER what the experts might tell you, the country isn’t in bad health.

I took a couple of days off last week and travelled the west – playing very bad golf in some of the most wonderful places on the face of the earth.

Places like Enniscrone in Co Sligo and Belmullet in north Mayo. Even in wind and rain (and we got our share) it’s hard to imagine that you’re anywhere else but in God’s country.

People were smiling, the pubs were buzzing, there was a good smattering of foreign visitors all over the place. Yes, there were some negatives – a couple of shops boarded up, plenty of room available at short notice in some of the hotels. But you really would wonder, as you wander around, if we’re determined to talk ourselves into a sense of despair.

I know jobs have been lost in their thousands and that families are facing an anxious time over things like property prices and mortgage rates.

But is this the worst crisis we’ve ever faced? Is it worse than the ’50s, when every family in Ireland had an emigrant son or daughter, and often more than one – and many of those emigrants lived in poverty abroad? In the ’50s it seemed as if Ireland would never be capable of any kind of development.

Is it worse than the ’70s, when the oil shocks caused by international events caused enormous panic – long queues at petrol stations, deficit budgeting on a scale never seen before, satirical programmes about the unforgettable “Minister for Hardship”?

Is it worse than the ’80s, when our national debt exceeded our national wealth by a comfortable margin, and tax rates had to go through the roof just to keep basic services going? When unemployment and inflation both ran in double digits all the time?

You know what all those crises had in common? They’re history, that’s what. We came through them, and in fact we emerged from each better than we went in. Everyone of those crisis involved political leaders battling with events that seemed to spiral out of control, and yet with decisive moments of leadership paving the way, not just to recovery but to growth.

The publication of the First Programme foe Economic Expansion in 1956; the decision to introduce free second-level education in the late 1960s; the determination to keep debt under reasonable control in the ’70s and ’80s – all of these decisions, made in the white heat of economic and political turbulence, laid the foundations for the Celtic Tiger years. Now we need more of that. Not An Bord Snip – at least, not just An Bord Snip, because we all know some cuts are necessary.

But real, decisive leadership, that is capable of building on the basic strength of Ireland as well as encouraging those of us who are anxious about the future. Not just cuts, but a real sense of direction and purpose.

And what do we get instead? We get newspaper headlines that would drive you to distraction.

If the headlines I read over the weekend reflect the true state of our political system, especially at government level, then there really are grounds for despair.

In one newspaper the main story is “Fianna Fáil TDs back welfare cuts”. The story says that TDs are prepared to countenance a 5% cut across the board.

In another newspaper however, the second lead story is “Property tax not worth the hassle, say fearful ministers”.

This story says that ministers have more or less abandoned the idea of a tax on residential property for fear of the political repercussions.

Now, I know they are separate news stories, in two different newspapers. But suppose, instead of being hounded by different newspapers, each pursuing their own agenda, our government TDs were all lined up against the wall and asked one question.

And the question was: “In order to deal with the crisis in public spending, we’re going to have to do one of two things – cut social welfare, or raise some money through property taxation. Which will it be?”

What do you think would be the answer? On the basis of those two newspaper stories, it does seem as if the Government, and the people who make it up, would have far less difficulty with the idea of cutting the incomes of poor families than they would with the idea of asking home-owners to make a contribution towards the resolution of our difficulties.

That may be an unfair conclusion to reach. I certainly hope it is, because if that’s really the way the people who govern us think, none of the solutions now being developed will be fair.

I don’t like the sound of a property tax – which would have to be a tax on residential homes if it is to raise any real money – any more than anyone else. An awful lot of us in Ireland own homes that are worth a lot more than when we bought them.

In effect, we’ve had an accidental windfall – a bit like winning the lotto – because our houses have appreciated in value. But if our incomes haven’t gone up in the same way, or if we’ve had to take a pay cut in recent times, it probably isn’t going to make any of us happy if we’re told that we have to pay €500 or so for the privilege of living in our own homes.

But actually, provided it’s administered consistently and properly, a tax on homes, no matter how painful it will feel, can only be fairer than cutting the income of people who depend on state support.

OF COURSE people who can establish that they’re in negative equity, or whose incomes are below a certain reasonable threshold, shouldn’t have to pay. But surely no one would argue that it is acceptable to take money from pensioners, disabled people, or lone parents, and leave us owners of property alone?

There is no economic rationale for that – and there’s certainly no social rationale. Economists, of course, might well argue that we should be doing both – cutting welfare and raising property taxes – but I cannot imagine anyone justifying the case that you should go after welfare and leave property alone.

There is only one reason for doing that. The reason is votes. People who depend on the state don’t always vote. People who own property do. And they cast angry, passionate votes, what’s more.

That’s why, if the choice is posed that way – property taxation or welfare cuts? – and especially if you can give your answer anonymously – some of our TDs are going to opt for the radically unfair solution. Because it’s the least risky for them.

And if that’s the basis on which policy is being developed then God help us all. If it’s really the case that the Government is looking for easy, more populist answers, rather than try to develop a strong sense of direction where we can share a bit of the pain, then I think we’re in serious trouble.

If we have to choose between doing it right or doing it easy, then we have to choose to do it right.

Anything else, we’ll regret for generations to come.