McWilliams has two radical, populist solutions: let the banks go bust, and leave the euro. Individuals’ deposits could be guaranteed while corporate bondholders would lose out, but the markets would not panic, he believes – rather, they would regard the Irish economy with renewed interest, because money once earmarked to bail out the banks could be invested in the recovery. Saving Anglo Irish Bank “is the economics of Stalingrad”, he says. “Throwing all your resources at a symbolic entity signals to the rest of the world that you are a fanatic.”
McWilliams has the first part right but shows touching faith in the “markets”. He hasn’t grasped that “the markets” i.e. Wall street and City of London financiers, aren’t about real economy fixed capital investments. His scenario for Ireland outside the euro is therefore pure fantasy. He seems to want to return to the old relationship with Britain forgetting that Britain is the mother of all basket-cases. It looks like the eurozone has won its battle with the Anglosphere and Ireland’s decision to locate itself within that zone will be vindicated and help get inward investment from the likes of China.
26th May, 2010
When Ann Moore returned to have breakfast with her family after a 12-hour night shift at a nursing home, she found riot police and bailiffs outside her home of 16 years. She and her husband, Christy, and their three children were being evicted. Despite climbing a ladder to the top of the house for six hours in a desperate attempt to thwart the bailiffs, the distressed care worker was eventually coaxed down and taken to hospital. Her home in the southern suburbs of Dublin was promptly boarded up.
In These New Times 