The poor complain; they always do,
But that's just idle chatter.
Our system brings rewards to all,
At least to all who matter.
The quotation above is from Gerald Helleiner the distinguished professor of economic development and former research director for the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development (G-24) that represents the developing nations. It accurately reflects the view of the poor from the perspective of the rich or the wealthy G20 nations and by extension, Irish mainstream political parties, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour by measure of their free-market economic policies.
The neoliberal (economically liberal) or free-market system of government not only leads to deepening inequalities but ensures unsustainable economic growth, boom-and bust, coupled with the erosion of society. This is very evident in Ireland, the US and in Europe where, low tax/ low public spend, economies implode leaving a trail of human misery in their aftermath.
Fine Gael may flog the Fianna Fáil dead horse but in reality - other than waving the big stick at society - they have never, nor offer any alternative to the same policies that lead to our present economic and social problems. As can be seen from their website, a PR stunt by all appearances, they don't even offer policies for public discussion. As for Labour, they're in a permanent state of identity crisis. Lurching to the right to ditch their working class associations, they attack those to their left at each and every opportunity. They leap to the defence of our ridiculously low corporate tax rate to prove their business credentials, while still promoting themselves as a socialist party - they are in fact nothing more than "Fine Gael lite".
Neoliberal policies fly in the face of democracy by promoting the privatisation of public assets, including state services as an ideology thereby removing them from public influence. Were a fully privatised healthcare system to emerge for example, there would no longer be a requirement for a minister for health. Some may argue that could be a good thing, given our outgoing minister. What it would mean in effect, is that public health would now be in the hands of unaccountable private entities who would maximise profit from vulnerable individuals.
By ignoring the overarching issues of economic inequality, by refusing to act rationally and move to an alternative mixed (socialist/capitalist) socio-economic system - beginning with the introduction of a progressive taxation regime that redistributes wealth - all these parties are doomed to failure. At the moment Ireland is doing the economic equivalent of spinning plates, our current system is unsustainable.
So what of the alternative, a Scandinavian style mixed capitalist/socialist system - is this either viable or attractive ?
The attached research report, was published in 2006 by Neil Brooks and Thaddeus Hwong, two Canadian tax law professors for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Having conducted a detailed examination of social indices across a range of taxation systems in 19 OECD countries, they were unequivocal in their assessment:
Tax cuts are disastrous for the well-being of a nation's citizens
Among the economies studied the four Nordic countries scored more favourably than the low-tax Anglo-American countries including Ireland, on most of the 50 social indicators measured, including:
- Rate of poverty, equality of income distribution, and economic security for workers.
- GDP per capita.
- Rate of household saving and net national saving.
- Innovation, including percentage of GDP spent on research and development.
- Growth competitiveness as ranked by the World Economic Forum.
- Rates of secondary school and university completion.
- Rate of drug use.
- Leisure time.
Any party that chooses to ignore the evidence, from these unsustainable bubble economies to mounting academic opinion and continues to pursue free-market policies, placing the interests of private capital over society, can only be described as economically and morally reckless; unless that is, they are willing to support their case for a low-cost Ryanair Republic.
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