Irish paying for everyone’s lunch

ARE there historical parallels that might explain current economic difficulties?

I may have found one, with anomalies an economist may explain.

During and after the 1845-48 Irish Potato Famine millions starved and millions more left. There was other food in the country but it was exported to feed people who could pay. In return, some of the starving received food for work. Others lost their land in order to qualify for food as beggars or “deserving poor”.

This is called capitalism as there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Today, poverty stalks the land but there is money in the country. Euro are being exported to the deserving rich. They invested in banks feeding a domestic property bubble that collapsed, with the banks.

The worthless property and banks were taken over by the generous people, in order to recreate solvent banks for those who collapsed them, and to get the builders going again. So far so good.

However, money to pay the bank investors will run out as the cost of Irish generosity results in unemployment, cuts in services and increased taxation. Things could be worse.

The generous people are in receipt of loans (they must pay back, with interest) from the political representatives of the otherwise impoverished bank investors, in order to keep paying them.

This is still called capitalism, though now poor (but still generous and perhaps a bit foolish) Irish people are paying for everyone’s lunch.

Have I got that right?

Niall Meehan

Cabra

Dublin 7