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[adorno]

Europe's success story- Here come the Irish

The Irish are right now the most prosperous people in Europe. What are they doing right?

"Over the past decade, unemployment has fallen from about 15 percent to 4.4 percent. Help-wanted ads fill the newspapers, and for the first time since the Potato Famine, even the Irish are returning home: 130,000 from the United States alone over the last five years.

Most of the immigrants are highly educated, and instead of fretting about a brain drain, Ireland publicly boasts of a "brain gain." Its per capita gross domestic product, $37,738, is the highest in the European Union."

[ezbnc]

Go Ireland always did love the motherland

[LiberLibri]

You would not believe the level of financial assistance the ROI get from the EU. Without the EU, the country would be a right mess.

[IH-Rameen]

Originally Posted by LiberLibri

You would not believe the level of financial assistance the ROI get from the EU. Without the EU, the country would be a right mess.

I was born in Rep. Of Ireland. Haven't visited it in 15 years. Really would like to go see what it looks like now...

The EU fund Rep. Of Ireland, literally, billions and billions of pounds - reason? Objective One funding. The average income is below the rest of Europe. Once was beautiful country, now becoming more and more industrialized.

Because of the new countries that have joined the EU, Ireland won't be getting any more Objective One funding. The newly entered countries will get the billions and billions of free funding since their average income is really low (relatively). The rest of the EU countries now have to cope with many immigrants freely entering. Once their country is fully developed, they will most likely move back.

Good or bad? That's another thing, but don't even get me started on the EU Agricultural policy

[adorno]

Originally Posted by LiberLibri

You would not believe the level of financial assistance the ROI get from the EU. Without the EU, the country would be a right mess.

There's no place in the article where the EU assistance is mentioned. It's highly doubtful that it has anything to do with the Eu assistance. If the EU aid was at all a reason for the Irish economic boom, then why aren't any other EU countries who also receive the aid as succcessful? Good old capitalism and hard work are at play in Ireland. Handouts don't make a country prosperous. Most of old Europe is in bad economic shape.

[IH-Rameen]

Originally Posted by adorno

There's no place in the article where the EU assistance is mentioned. It's highly doubtful that it has anything to do with the Eu assistance. If the EU aid was at all a reason for the Irish economic boom, then why aren't any other EU countries who also receive the aid as succcessful? Good old capitalism and hard work are at play in Ireland. Handouts don't make a country prosperous. Most of old Europe is in bad economic shape.

Other countries do, and are receiving EU funding. The boom in Ireland was directly related to the funding. The billions of pounds given to Ireland is a fact.

The city I live in - Liverpool (England), also received EU funding because it won the Europe Capital of Culture 2007. Again, billions were awarded to make the city better for 2007. Within the last two years, Liverpool has spent £30 million just on roads for the city centre. To me, it all looks the same, but they spent £30 mil+ on redoing a small number of short roads and new traffic lights...

I spent two years studying Economics, and I can tell you the EU funding has a *massive* influence...

[LiberLibri]

Without that EU investment, the ROI infrastructure - roads, railways, education, health etc - would have crumbled. The EU stopped this with massive funding and has given the ROI the infrastructure it needs to support a prosperous, capitalist economy. Without that funding, the economy would never have reached the levels it has today.

Indeed, the CAP is the most bloated and unfair policy ever thought of - 40% of the EU budget is spent supporting it. I would be all for ending the British rebate if the French give up their treasured CAP. Damn Blair or Brown if they ever give up the rebate without movement from the French and the CAP.

[adorno]

Originally Posted by stealthdevil

Other countries do, and are receiving EU funding. The boom in Ireland was directly related to the funding. The billions of pounds given to Ireland is a fact.

The city I live in - Liverpool (England), also received EU funding because it won the Europe Capital of Culture 2007. Again, billions were awarded to make the city better for 2007. Within the last two years, Liverpool has spent £30 million just on roads for the city centre. To me, it all looks the same, but they spent £30 mil+ on redoing a small number of short roads and new traffic lights...

I spent two years studying Economics, and I can tell you the EU funding has a *massive* influence...

You better go back to economics school because you didn't learn anything. As a matter of fact, go to an American school where you'll learn a better form of economics.

A handout, or economic assistance, is only good for as long as it lasts. Once the assistance is used up to build, as an example, roads, the country goes back to trying again to make it alone. When a country builds a business infrastructure in the good old capitalist fashion, then the wealth just keeps on coming. If handouts or economic assistance were the answer, then a lot of countries in Africa and Asia and South America would be very wealthy. Handouts only work temporarily and in many cases creates depencence. Once the assistance is gone, the poverty and problems return. The Irish were too smart to just depend upon the EU temporary assistance. The rest of Europe can take huge lessons from the Irish.

[ptn1]

The problem is that Ireland doesn't want to import drunks so I'm out...

[LiberLibri]

The EU funding gave the ROI the infrastructure it needed to support a capitalist economy. The prosperty of that economy is a direct cause of EU financial assistance.

The reason that Africa doesnt prosper from such investment is because almost all the governments are corrupt, the AU is a joke, there is a massive amount of people and developed countries will never allow Africa to become prosperous - that would mean that the governments could exert more control over their lands and charge a proportionate tax in relation to profit for western oil firms and be in a position to tell the oil companies where to poke it. Having Africa dependant on aid, and in a constant state of crumbling ruin, war and famine suits Western economies and indeed capitalism very nicely.

"A better form of economics" - would that be the same form that has lead to a record budget deficit. Bush would have had America DEFAULT on its budget if congress didnt pass an increase. I think America is a bad place to learn good economics IMHO.

[adorno]

Originally Posted by ptn1

The problem is that Ireland doesn't want to import drunks so I'm out...

And I thought drunkeness was their number one leisure activity.

[adorno]

Originally Posted by LiberLibri

The EU funding gave the ROI the infrastructure it needed to support a capitalist economy. The prosperty of that economy is a direct cause of EU financial assistance.

The reason that Africa doesnt prosper from such investment is because almost all the governments are corrupt, the AU is a joke, there is a massive amount of people and developed countries will never allow Africa to become prosperous - that would mean that the governments could exert more control over their lands and charge a proportionate tax in relation to profit for western oil firms and be in a position to tell the oil companies where to poke it. Having Africa dependant on aid, and in a constant state of crumbling ruin, war and famine suits Western economies and indeed capitalism very nicely.

"A better form of economics" - would that be the same form that has lead to a record budget deficit. Bush would have had America DEFAULT on its budget if congress didnt pass an increase. I think America is a bad place to learn good economics IMHO.

The American economy has an unemployment rate of 4.6% which is also known as 'full employment'. The American economy grew at 5.3% in the first quarter of 2006 and has been growing at about 4% in the last 3 years. For an economy which is by far the biggest in the world, that is pretty damn good. No other country in the world can even come close to the American economy. Just about any other government leader in the world would kill to have an economy as robust as the one in the U.S.

Now, if the EU funding is a great deal, how many other countries who have gotten the same deal are as prosperous as Ireland? Or even close? (Is that crickets I hear?)

[LiberLibri]

True, a robust economy - but a heavily indebted one; even more so when America is increasingly dependant on chinese imports. May i remind you that interest rates may rise very soon for the 17th time in a row.

No other country in the EU has had the same amount of funding as the ROI. The funding the EU gave to the ROI was heavily regulated and was made sure it went to infrastructure projects; not government employees. African aid is given directly to corrupt goverments and will continue to be given to governmental powers because corruption will always scar Africa until it becomes one nation under regulated, democratic governance and control. The corruption allows the west an open door to the countries resources as they know the governments will never spend it on the people, let alone infrastructure, economy and wealth creation.

[Shock Hosts]

I'm slightly Irish, not much. I know nothing about them

All I know is a lot of people hate them

[Slidey]

i dont visit the ROI very often (once-twice a year), but its pretty obvious that the investment is going towards improving the cities. Its actually pretty well documented the amount of 'aid' (funding, whatever) the Irish have received, and to be honest the roads infrastructure is still pretty rubbish (although im hoping the ringroad/bypass dual carriageway north of dublin has opened by the time i next go)

on the flip side, the Irish are making things very lucrative for businesses to move/invest in their economy - i know of several companies (including Amazon) that have relocated from the supposedly prosperous Thames Valley/M4 corridor region of the UK, to Ireland due to tax breaks and better skills (in Amazons case the language skills was very important, but it was their own fault for opening in Slough!)