Madam, – The French and Germans have us cornered! May I recommend to our taoiseach-designate a possible negotiating strategy that might constitute a “stroke” worthy of an apprentice statesman? First, when the squeeze comes, propose a quid pro quo to Brussels. Ireland will indeed increase its corporate tax rate but only in direct proportion to the percentage decrease in the IMF/EU loan interest rate granted by Brussels.
Second, Ireland then legislates to restructure its corporate tax rate into a two-tier mechanism. A higher rate as determined above and the original lower rate. To qualify for the lower rate, corporations would simply be required to annually part-finance designated infrastructure or social projects. Smaller corporations could commit to community-based projects. In each case, the associated cost to business would probably be clawed back through the “added value” such an initiative would adhere to the corporate brand. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – There’s something sick about any Irish government going to Europe to plead and bargain, to get a little bit of a reduction in the amount that the Irish people are being forced to pay of other people’s losses and still other people’s debts.
When the slaves of Haiti revolted in the only successful slave revolt in history, and defeated their former, European slave masters, their new country was immediately forced to pay for the loss of property incurred by those slave masters. The “property” being, of course the Haitians themselves. They were forced to pay for the removal of the yoke, which they should not have had to bear in the first place. Even before the recent earthquake, Haiti was the poorest country in its hemisphere, because of this slavery and extortion.
In forthcoming European talks, it is planned that the people of Ireland will be made to pay, yet again, for the removal of just a tiny bit of a very large yoke which is not ours to bear in the first place – the gambling debts of the banks, which are the gambling losses of the bondholders. What will this enslavement to others’ debts and others’ losses mean for our future? There is no alternative but to refuse this yoke. – Yours, etc,