Ireland plans to cut deficit, a peak into America's future.
Ireland released a 140 page document outlining their plan for bringing their financial house in order. I do not claim to be an expert on Irish matters what so ever, but I do fancy their most unparliamentary procedures . So why mention or write about it? Because! Ireland was one of the first countries in Europe to go down the path of austerity and as I wrote about last time, it did not work. Of course the failures of Irish austerity have much more to do with the global increase in debt than anything else, but Ireland is also suffering from a very similar malaise affecting all civilized nations: a giant federal government and the painfully flawed concept known as the welfare state. Observe the highlights of the Irish plan, courtesy of RTE : * Public expenditure down €10bn, tax up €5bn * Irish bank shares see big falls * Corporation tax will remain at 12.5% (maintain the visible tax, raise the less obvious ones) * Social Welfare to be cut by €2.8bn by 2014 (Social welfare