No. They have okay wages and the old ones decent pensions. Most probably live in Dublin.
Outside of Dublin there is a cohort of elderly people and others budgeting from week to week. They probably only deal with cash, some probably only deal with the teller in the bank.
Life moves on but what about society? Itâs like saying pensioners should start paying for the bus or the tv licence. AIB at the moment is owned by the state and as long as that remains then they need to think of society as a whole.
Thatcher devalued teachers, nurses, police so much they ended up with no one entering the profession. Is that the Society you want to live in?
We need to sort out housing or else there will be no teachers or nurses in Dublin in 10 years!!!
Nah, the number 1 reason that SF want power is to try and whitewash their murder campaign.
Number 2 is for more jobs and pensions (similar to most politicians) for themselves. For the failed soldiers up North, they already have jobs and pensions courtesy of the British tax payer though through their administration of British rule there. The key goal of a SF southern administration is getting the boys from Belfast to be seen like the War of Independence types.
Thereâll be pretend moves on the Border but only the truly gullible in the party actually believe they will deliver a United Ireland. If Provisional SF were serious about a UI they would have left the pitch in 1998. They had no reason to exist beyond then beyond points 1 and 2 above.
In terms of the âseriousâ operators they are with internationally, I know a few âFriends of Sinn FĂŠinâ heads. There are some wealthy ones, but itâs mostly your townie type who operated a few bars and did okay for themselves, not captains of industry.
I do agree with you that they wonât nationalise shit etc. All they are politically is FF Nua, in it for 1 and 2 above and that needs time.
My biggest issue with them isnât that theyâll âruin the economyâ, itâs that they are complete scumbags. Itâs been inevitable since 2011 that theyâd get in eventually though, so itâs been a gradual point of acceptance up until 2020. Iâm just looking forward to all the mugs who used to support FF and Labour crying about broken promises and the gullible types who think they will deliver a UI getting pissy with them as well.
Thatâs not at all what Iâm interested in. I donât care what he says beyond the government acted like they were surprised by the aib decision when they knew about it. Makes no arse to me if they shut down all their branches . Dishonesty is dishonesty no matter how many look over there deflections are employed to distract
So yes then. As I said, the DoF officials didnât give a fuck. They arenât politicians.
This is not a serious reputational risk to the State. This is an operational decision that rational third parties would make but poses a problem politically.
I would be more concerned about the tracker scandal not reaching the ears of the State earlier.
The state owned 98% of aib not too long ago. They are obliged to let minister of finance know decisions of this magnitude. As I said I donât think itâs a big deal closing banks , pretending to be surprised by it because the voter base was up in arms is my issue. Itâs a lie.
A question for you, at what point did the civil war parties break from their past (in FGâs their fascist last) and become legitimate political parties? At what point does SF become a legitimate political party?
I think SF will probably do equally as bad a job as FF or FG in most areas but I expect theyâll improve the housing crisis and possibly health, even if itâs just by shifting policy a bit.
I know one of them. He used to be in PbP, relatively smart. Not smart enough to see the type of party heâs joined. He is going to be claiming betrayal in a few years.
Of course those types want jobs.
But the strategy drivers of the party have been sorted out for the last 25 years. No doubt the front bench all want jobs. Itâs clearly a motivation, but it isnât number 1 for SF.
Number 1 will be to try to normalise their campaign.
Globally people are very complacent about democracy because they look back at last 50 years of 20th century and see it all worked out. It did but it was not a foregone conclusion. It may not this time.
I donât think democracy is at threat in Ireland. But thereâs a complacency about Irelandâs economic success from people
who donât remember the 1980s in Ireland.
Weâve seen an economic miracle and that continuing is equally not a foregone conclusion.