Give Up Your Simplistic Notions

This economic debate is getting beyond the beyond.  RTE reported:

‘Speaking at the Bloomberg economic summit in Dublin Mr Noonan said the Irish economy is in a much better position than it was this time last year.’

It now seems that in this debate you can say anything you want without any reference whatsoever to fact, truth, reality, veracity, accuracy.  Just make it up, if it feels good run with it, say anything to fill some column inches and get on the Six-One News.  The Irish economy is in a much better position than it was this time last year?  Why not?  Don’t let the following deter you.  It’s only been taken from the Government projections last April and the Government projections this April.

Wow.  Last April the Government was projecting higher growth rates, higher GDP, higher job creation, lower unemployment, higher real wage growth and lower public debt.

But according to the Minister, we are in a better position this year.

I mean, there’s gloss, and then there’s gloss; and then there’s downright making-it-up.  Of course, we’ve come to expect this from this Government (after all, they refuse to acknowledge that we are back in recession).

However, where is our vaunted corps of economic journalists and commentators who stand ready to challenge Ministers when they come out with this type of manipulation?  Where are the defenders of the public right to know the facts, those who should be holding the Government to account?  Somewhere, I suppose – but not here and not now.

But we are getting used to the Finance Minister’s odd take on all things economic.  He did, after all, assure us that VAT wouldn’t hit ‘the poor’ because they don’t have much money to spend.  Now, courtesy of Dublin Opinion and Paddy Joe, we find a deeper insight into the Minister’s worldview:

‘He [the Minister] also told a Dublin event that no other European country but Ireland would be able to pass a referendum on the fiscal treaty. “In all other countries people are concerned about growing inequality. In Ireland we need to keep focus on more important issues of corporate profitability and tax protection we offer international organisations. This is not the time for drastic moves to the left simply to suit populist demands for simplistic idealism of “social justice”.’

There you have it.  Give up your simplistic notions of ‘social justice’.  Get real.  And don’t mind what we said last year.  Things are better.  And when we revise everything down again next year, it will be better still.

TGIF.

Comments

[Hugh Sheehy]

Goodness, I find myself agreeing with something Michael Taft wrote! Astonishing.

Mind you, his last section on "social justice" is one worth mentioning. I always get the impression that Mr. Taft's idea of "social justice" consists of high taxes and a socially dominant state run by people he likes.

[Eoin O'Mahony (@eoinomahony)]

Michael, thanks for putting this in perspective this morning. Waking and hearing about 'jobs being created at IBM' reminded me that we are just two weeks from a referendum and not living in some new economic miracle.

[Michael Taft]

Thanks for that Eoin.

And Hugh - let's not spoil it with talk of high taxes and a socially dominant state. Let's just dwell on this rare moment of agreement. It will be beautiful while it lasts.

[Jerry Melinn]

Government spin in the run-up to the referendum on the Fiscal Compact? Same pressure here in Greece coming from Europe and local pro-bailout parties before the second election on June 17th.

[Colum McCaffery]

If you think that nonsense in public debate is confined to either economics or to government speakers, you have no idea of the extent of of the problem. Here's my latest swipe at the problem of incompetent journalism: http://colummccaffery.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/anti-catholicism-is-an-attention-grabbing-minor-part-of-a-very-serious-problem-with-public-controversy/

[skibeagle]

Question for Eamon Gilmore - does he share the view of his colleague Michael Noonan that corportate profits and 'tax protection' are more important than the 'simplistic idealism of social justice'? It seems to me that this is a much more significant slipping of the mask than Richard Bruton's reference to a second referendum.

[Kieran Sullivan]

It's worrying that Noonan & Co. feel so buffeted in power by the media (and buffered by the Labour party), that they are comfortable enough to reveal their true beliefs in public.

Given the Irish Times has his back and edited out his give-up-yer-oul-social-justice comment, he's probably feeling even more comfortable now.

[Donagh]

Just to update on the 'social justice' quote. It appears that Noonan never said that. While there is a chance it appeared in the article, it didn't come from Colm Keena's report of the Bloomberg event.

We should realise it was fake though, as it was factually accurate. What we can be 100% sure Noonan did actually say was complete nonsense - that the economy is doing better this year than last year and that off-the-wall comment about feta cheese.
See Peter Geoghegan for details on the 'social justice' quote here:

http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2012/05/18/peter-geoghegan/a-moment-of-clarity/