Stop whinging if you vote as before

Is it expecting too much for the people to grasp that, even if all the banking debt disappeared, the hard reality is that it costs more to run Ireland than it generates in taxes.

That is the constant around which policy decisions about spending are made, even if there could be many improvements in how that money is spent.

As the political parties line up to out-lie each other, is it also too much to hope that a politician would challenge the whinging about water and property charges? Voters should be asked how they propose that the infrastructure be built and maintained.