Will we mend our ways or give in once more to the destructive power of greed?

SO we owe €50bn and we all now cry victim.

The problem is not enough people did so when the snake oil-sellers were enchanting us. And have we learned anything?

In the good times, did we question the inequality that was developing? Did we see anything wrong with some having the wealth to get anything they wished while others barely got by? From the most basic example of the privatisation of refuse services, which sees pensioners and those on welfare paying up to €10 to have a bin lifted, while a millionaire can claim back tax on his charge – a situation where the needy subsidise the wealthy.