Ireland's Emergency Payment & Financial Recovery

People will be relieved to hear that Green Party TDs are fighting for us. They aren't going to let the Taoiseach cut the emergency payment. Everyone has been asking me and I got this statement - 

Green Party on €350 Emergency Payment

'Simply ending the only source of income for thousands of people left with no opportunity to return to work, would be against the Green Party's vision for an Ireland of social justice and equity. We believe that we must operate within a model where the social, economic and environmental elements of our society work inharmony for the advantage and betterment of every resident. This is why the Green Party has previously proposed the introduction of a system of Universal Basic Income. We are still supportive of this position. The Party is also supportive of the introduction of a not-for-profit public banking model, along the lines of the Sparkassen banking system in Germany.'

But Green Party, do not let the Taoiseach press on with it before negotiations are finished and a government is formed. Nothing should happen until then.

What about Conserving Water

Environmentally safe companies and dangerously bad ones

Does everyone know this; when there's been no rain, make sure you're using the sort of washing up liquid on the left, not the right (another reason to ensure the masses have enough basic income to buy cleaning stuff without micro plastics in them!) and throw all your dishwater outside on the plants that are valiantly flowering!

Variegated Broom

If you've ever been in a sinking a boat, like we collectively are these days, environmentally, you'll know all about bailing. This is me bailing out water from the sink rather than let it go down the drain. Things are so symbolic these days!

Bail Out

To which EN replies:

I'm doing that as much as I can, & water from washing veg & using bath water to flush the upstairs toilet! it takes more time but feels very satisfying giving water a 2nd use, otherwise I feel so guilty allowing perfectly good water (except for the flouride & too much clorine, but that's a different post!) go down the drain! I visited a water treatment plant on a college field trip & the effort that goes into water cleaning is unreal, we all need to use it wisely all year round

But the TE points out the lunacy of the 

Individual Conservation versus Hotel Waste of Water

All hotels and catering have been closed so far, a hotel wastes so much water per business on full occupancy, the amount is literally unimaginable, and we have irish water telling us not to keep taps running whilst brushing teeth, where is all the water that has not been wasted by the hotels so far ?? apparently water treatment facilities are running dry and drought is near so they say ?? as for covid pay for us it has been a life saver and social protection is absolutely necessary but unemployment is at 26%, percentage is a lump of the entire head count including elderly, pensioners kids and sick, or doesn’t represent the 26 percent out of the work force, there is two way out of this situation in economies 1 - devaluation of the currency via printing free money in this case is euro 2 - inflation which translates in to buying less for your money, in other words rising prices in all products either way this boat is sinking and I think Britain was in the know of something big was coming and they did every trickery in the book so they could jump off of a sinking boat of europe before shit hit the fan so to speak

To Which I reply,

You're right, it is absolutely absurd with water use in hotels and food manufacturers and everywhere, just sluicing down production lines with oceans of fresh water and then chemicals and then fresh water again. If people in India and Africa and indeedmuch of Europe caught us at it, they would break down and cry. They haven't even got enough to drink let alone grow food and Ireland is so toxic and wasteful. It's actually embarassing. And that's just water. Waste as well is horrendous. Pasta Concepts a toxic shock experience in Naas I think waste a whole tonne of pasta every single lunch time. . And the new recycling plant Trifol in Laois melt down dirty plastics into a wax to coat Irish apples in. Same company, different plant, Glen-something Water let their aquifer get contaminated and run low. They started just bottling water from the mains. When the council charged them for their excessive water usage, they claimed it must be a leak, got a JCB in to create such a leak and made the council pay for mending that too! Yes, you've guessed it, the parent operators are meat processors, the Queally's. 125 of so new cases each week of Covid 19, 28 or so hospitalizations each week too. It's mortifying how disgusting and ignorant companies are. I'm planning a little EPA training, see if we can get managers reviewing their resource use! How are you doing?

Paul Murphy TD had shared the situation that Leo Varadkar was trying to cut the emergency payment asap. The Taoiseach's plan was similar in tone to when he was minister for social protection. Back then he implied the majority of people were criminals scamming the system. This time he's saying that people won't go back to any work they can get because they think 'they've won the lotto' with the emergency payment.   TD Paul Murphy asks Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to live on €350 a week before he cuts payment and his pompous response.

Then Paul Murphy TD looked at the bigger picture. What is Ireland's plan for recovery, socially and financially? Here is the apparently innocent article Programme For Government Must Include Fiscal Responsibility, Leo Varadkar Says 

but Paul Murphy points out 

Fiscal Responsibility = Austerity

"Fiscal responsibility" - the establishment's code phrase for austerity. We've had over a decade of it, and we're starting to see their agenda move into action with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's push to cut the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. 

No party should play ball with this right wing neoliberal agenda - if that means another election to kick these FG/FF out, then so be it.'

To which I respond,
Thank God you're pointing out the agenda. It's not often obvious how economics work and how an idea is waltzed in as if it's inevitable. I read about Greece who was recently celebrated for managing its debt but a real analysis showed that it's only a success if they stay in austerity until 2060. Is that what we want for the future? We need to do our own thing, get public banks (already in Green Party Policy thank God) and recognize our sovereign right for the State to make money to do the things we need to do - ie Public Banks. We also need a universal basic income (also already in Green Party Policy...thank goodness someone has thought this through!) 

Why is the Taoiseach pushing for these devastating moves for the Irish people?

 Is Leo Varadkar a fascist underneath? He was a doctor I remember and I've supported many people through our health care system and therefore in meetings with doctors and consultants and he's showing all the signs of superiority. Oh I know, everyone is lovely and all that and doing their best but we must keep our wits about us. Maybe we really shouldn't have Fine Gael in power still, in any shape or form?

To which JB responded,

They want to keep us under a fiscal cosh forever. From 2008 it was because of the failure of their economic system - the one they said wasn't ideal but it was the only one that worked - that one. Now they see another chance to immiserate and exploit us- this time almost indefinitely. You see I can understand that people borrow money and owe it to a bank. But when *everyone* borrows money who is lending it? When a country like the US borrows 2 trillion no bank can lend that. Only the World Bank. And the World Bank is our bank. It's us. So we're borrowing money from ourselves. In which case: why can't we forgive our own debt? Who would lose out if we did? None of this stuff makes any sense at all: which I think is rather the point isn't it? I don't think it's supposed to.

To which I responded,
The history of when countries gave away their right to create money to private enterprises. That was the first thing, which we can sort out no problem at all by creating public banks and actually nationalizing the existing banks, would be a justified and actionable rebellion right now. The second mistake was that lending used to be based on the ol' golden peg - how much gold a country actually had. Now banks can lend and recoup with interest any amount of trillions they like. What I'm trying to do is set up a public bank here with our water as our golden peg. It's tangible, valuable and it still rains here. It's our greatest resource and the bank's lending criteria would be for operations of food production, social services and conservation that make wise use of it. Even without charging interest, which it shouldn't, a public bank creates money. Because with a bank structure, they can lend 8 times what they have in reserve and just the repayments of that multiple the actual reserves by eight. In Germany, 70% of the market is in their public banks, free of commercial banks/World Bank and associated interest and debt. Credit is a public utility. Debt should absolutely be forgiven I agree. A country needs to be brave to do it but I am the public banking queen and command that we take back the sovereign right of states to create the money needed!!...I do a good bit of commanding but not much has happened yet as a result!! 

Public Bank Proposal I'm exploring this last couple of months and my colleague has been working on for over a two decades: Richard C Cook in Conversation with Yours Truly