There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?
Recent Articles
- Justice for Indigenous Peoples is Long Overdueby Ryan McGreal, published June 30, 2021 in Commentary
(0 comments)
- Third-Party Election Advertising Ban About Silencing Workersby Chantal Mancini, published June 29, 2021 in Politics
(0 comments)
- Did Doug Ford Test the 'Great Barrington Declaration' on Ontarians?by Ryan McGreal, published June 29, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- An Update on Raise the Hammerby Ryan McGreal, published June 28, 2021 in Site Notes
(0 comments)
- Nestlé Selling North American Water Bottling to an Private Equity Firmby Doreen Nicoll, published February 23, 2021 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- Jolley Old Sam Lawrenceby Sean Burak, published February 19, 2021 in Special Report: Cycling
(0 comments)
- Right-Wing Extremism is a Driving Force in Modern Conservatismby Ryan McGreal, published February 18, 2021 in Special Report: Extremism
(0 comments)
- Municipalities Need to Unite against Ford's Firehose of Land Use Changesby Michelle Silverton, published February 16, 2021 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Challenging Doug Ford's Pandemic Narrativeby Ryan McGreal, published January 25, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- The Year 2020 Has Been a Wakeup Callby Michael Nabert, published December 31, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- The COVID-19 Marshmallow Experimentby Ryan McGreal, published December 22, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- All I Want for Christmas, 2020by Kevin Somers, published December 21, 2020 in Entertainment and Sports
(1 comment)
- Hamilton Shelters Remarkably COVID-19 Free Thanks to Innovative Testing Programby Jason Allen, published December 21, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- Province Rams Through Glass Factory in Stratfordby Doreen Nicoll, published December 21, 2020 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- We Can Prevent Traffic Deaths if We Make Safety a Real Priorityby Ryan McGreal, published December 08, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(5 comments)
- These Aren't 'Accidents', These Are Resultsby Tom Flood, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(1 comment)
- Conservation Conundrumby Paul Weinberg, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Defund Police Protest Threatens Fragile Ruling Classby Cameron Kroetsch, published December 03, 2020 in Special Report: Anti-Racism
(2 comments)
- Measuring the Potential of Biogas to Reduce GHG Emissionsby John Loukidelis and Thomas Cassidy, published November 23, 2020 in Special Report: Climate Change
(0 comments)
- Ontario Squanders Early Pandemic Sacrificeby Ryan McGreal, published November 18, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
Article Archives
Blog Archives
Site Tools
Feeds
By A Smith (anonymous) | Posted February 04, 2009 at 14:12:08
Ryan, >> That cheap corporate tax rate comes coupled with an industrial strategy featuring tax incentives for research and development, subsidies and grants for companies that locate high value employment in export-related industries, special financial regulations and so on.
All of this sounds good to me.
>> Also, Ireland has universal comprehensive public education (one of the best systems in Europe), free university (with very high enrollment), and public health care.
Okay, good points. However, Ireland also allows people to purchase private medical care outside of the public service. I don't have a problem with delivering care for those who can't pay, but I don't like the idea of making everyone use the same one size fits all plan.
>> On the other hand, a series of financial scandals in 2005 led to calls for stricter financial regulation, but the government failed to act. Today, a hot debate rages in Ireland now that GDP is plummeting about whether the lax regulations left Ireland especially vulnerable to the international financial crisis.
Even when the Canadian economy was growing at over 5% a year in the nineties, people were still "debating" whether or not the governments policies were productive or not. Debate is simply the extension of a free society.
>> Also, Ireland has among the worst income inequality in the industrialized world - second only to the USA.
According to the U.N. ("h"ttp://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/145.html), Ireland has a R/P 10% ratio the same as Canada's (9.4). However, Ireland's GDP(PPP) is 15.4% higher than Canada's, so the poor in Ireland are actually much better off.
The underlying theme of Ireland's successful economy is encouraging investment. They have found and others are copying (most Euro nations, including the U.K., France, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Germany), that treating businesses nicely (lower tax on corporate profits), actually benefits society as a whole. It doesn't mean it will outlaw the business cycle, or solve all the problems of income disparity, but it will guarantee a healthy level of economic growth. This should not be too surprising, because anytime people treat others nicely, there is almost always a reciprocal response. It may sound simplistic, but that should not be a barrier to its use. Sometimes the best theories/plans are the simplest.
If Hamilton started treating businesses "nicely", I know that they would respond by increasing the amount of investment in our city. Hamilton used to offer cheap electricity to businesses and it worked like a charm in attracting huge investments and jobs. Somewhere along the line we got greedy and began taking businesses for granted, in favour of the worker. However, in life you have to give to get, so if we want to help ourselves, we need to help others first. Call it the "golden rule" of economics.
Permalink | Context