We do not want an economic future like our past

Everybody would like to pay less tax, but at what cost? That is the question, writes Michael Clifford

THERE are small mercies for which to be grateful. The fate of this country could have mirrored that of Greece. However bad things were here — and continue to be for some people — at least we avoided the panic and desperation notable in dispatches from the ancient civilisation.

Back here, the worst of the night has passed. The biggest threat to recovery is external, factors over which this country has no control. Internally, a new day is dawning, although the light has not touched many yet.