The Word Our Elected Decline To Use

The Word Our Elected Decline To Use.
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The latest news that more I.T. companies and Argos (for example) are letting people go, is really no shock to many. In my own town this week (at least, possibly more) three shops have chosen to close.
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The reasons at first glance, for the closures, do vary. For example, during a recent covid period, the tech companies hired too much staff and now with a decline in services being used, are surplus to requirements.
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The local shops are closing because the footfall entering their locations hasn’t in many cases, not fallen but the percentage of that footfall then not buying, has indeed got higher. Some are closing as landlords up rent prices of their business locations. The small business operator then cannot squeeze even a basic living for themselves even more.
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Initially, they are different reasons but at closer examination, you discover its about people with increasingly less money to spend.
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We have been heading towards this state for some time. The very basics have increased, allowed to be increased and even at times, encouraged to increase.
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Basics such as rent, insurance, vehicle taxation and fuel costs, food prices upping while subjected to Shrinkflation, school items such as books, uniforms, ‘voluntary fees’ increase, power, gas, oil, prices have all increased… You get the picture. You’re likely part of it.
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As all these and more increase, there is less to spend. We as a nation, enter a cycle.
1. As there is less money to spend, businesses need to ‘cut back’ their overheads. Let staff go.
2. Those with jobs just more surviving, along with unemployed, have then even less then to spend. Those looking for jobs (including new teachers, nurses, specialists, etc) cannot afford to rent/buy a nearby work location home – thus also cannot work – thus have less to live on. If by some miracle they do gain a rented location, they have far less left over, to spend beyond their walls.
3. With less being able to be spent at local levels, then we are back at stage one.
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There can be a financial spiral downwards. Overall as a nation, it’s called a nation entering a “Recession”. This is now the word biased media and those they support, our government elected, are very reluctant to even mention.
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They know – and we know they know – that “Recession” doesn’t win them votes. So, best not mention it, eh?
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If any of the above vaguely or ‘slap in the face’ feels familiar to you or those you know, then it’s an indication we are in a recession or sadly, heading towards one to some degree. Personally, I think one is coming – if we are not already in it’s latest re-starting stages. Ireland has been in recessions before. Many of us have lived through them. Others have lost their very lives because of them. Truth.
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The question therefore, is what do we do? There are no perfect solutions – more truth – but there are some fundamentals that need to be addressed before we decline down a recession hole, that it will be much harder to claw our way back.
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We must better address the very basics. Lets start with homeless and home building. A national emergency plan to build far more social homes and then allocate them fairly (this is important) to those that are struggling, is vital. We are not building enough social homes. We have not being doing this for over a decade of Fine Gael management alone. In fact, as records show, they have built even less in many cases, with each increasing year of power. The stat records speak for themselves.
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*** Give a person/family a cheaper home, they have more then to spend.
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We must better address the daft insurance charges out there. Insurance companies complained that the money they have had to pay out in payments to claimants has increased – so they have had to up their prices. However, when legal changes were introduced to our courts, to reduce awarded payments, the prices still being charged by related insurance companies didn’t then drop. The insurance companies didn’t play ball and reduce what they were (still are) charging!
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Our next bunch of elected must better address this. Our current bunch in government declines to do so.
1. Because in some cases, they are lobbied (wined, dined and even donated to) by those involved,
2. Because they as TD’s are involved as directors or shareholders in such businesses or
3. They are also looking out for family and friends in such businesses.
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I could go on about this in particular at some lengh but I will get back to the main point. Insurance costs must be made decline – and let me also add that landlords insurance rates have increased too – which in turn helps to up rent prices…
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*** Give a person/family affordable insurance, they then could have more left over to spend elsewhere.
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Are you getting where I am going? Governments instead of world jaunting, dining, mega pay/perk/pension gaining at the taxpayers repeated expense, must more stay at home and get on with addressing the very basics of our nation. Vehicle taxation, fuel costs, food prices, school costs (including uniform/book rip-offs), shrinkflation, council rates (a tax on a local SME for nearly nothing in return), the tax on homes, and a lot more, MUST BE BETTER ADDRESSED.
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If people do not have the money in their pocket, to feel comfortable to be able to spend, they won’t – and that is where we as a people, are increasingly going. By then domino effect of that, later/quicker down the line by knock-on effect, comes a recession. We are heading that way. At the very least, we are in the start of another recession.
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I 100% want to be wrong in this opinion. I pray to heavens we are not heading towards into another recession. I would be delighted to be wrong. However, financial observations, seeing others spiral downward, seeing local shops close, seeing national setups reduce – and more – indicates to me that we are heading towards a recession. We are not on our own. Other countries face the same problem.
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It’s therefore clear that we must start to better slow down what’s possible coming.
* We must better start addressing the very basics that needs to be long addressed but hasn’t been.
* Our government needs to help put money back into people’s pockets more – not in their own sneaky efforts, take more themselves as a government (also increasingly for themselves individually)
* Our government needs to get out of bed with lobbyists of corporate power and into bed with the people of Ireland, in order to better address their issues.
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Again, open to be wrong, we are heading further into a recession. It’s past time for making and using loophole filled legislations for others to exploit. It’s time to get our act better together and make bigger, more serious improvements to how our state operates and how some within it operate. It’s time for bigger emergency state plans to be created and enacted. Weak efforts are not cutting it any more.
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If the current government doesn’t do this, cannot do this, shows itself to be constantly incapable of doing this – then it’s time to change the inept government. We have to start somewhere. It’s #TimeForBetter. What’s continuing to go on – and be allowed to go on – is costing us and possibly even killing us all. I’m open to be wrong! Just one ordinary persons opinion.