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February 28th, 2009
Leviathan: Leadership in the Modern World?
The Button Factory, Dublin
Wed 18 Mar 2009 20:00
As we reel from the impact of the global economic disaster still unfolding around us, we instinctively yearn for leadership to provide reassurance, solutions and hope. Will this yearning be fulfilled by political leaders or from a new source? Is Ireland endowed with leaders of sufficient quality [...] -
February 25th, 2009
Cabinet could learn from attitude of corner shops
“Good job, we got these new trains before all this struck,” said the stationmaster as he threw his eyes up to heaven at Killarney yesterday afternoon. Good job indeed.
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February 22nd, 2009
My plan to save the country
OK, screw this! Let’s solve the problem and stop blaming others (there’s plenty of time for that); we must not let the country sink.
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February 18th, 2009
Forgive debtors, dole out the penance and move on
There’s something very comforting about the idea of confession. It’s a great idea. When I was a kid I used to love the ritual of confession on a Saturday. A half dozen of us would traipse down to the empty, echoey church after ‘Football Focus’ on BBC. I remember the anxiety of waiting for my turn and counting the seconds as the penitent in front of me mumbled unspeakable acts to the priest who went through the motions. His hushed blessings were always drowned out by the giggling — that unique and uncontrollable giggling that the combination of church and six young boys can spark.
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February 15th, 2009
Turn crisis into opportunity
It is time to think about solutions. How are we going to get out of this mess and how are we going to keep the maximum number of people in work over the course of the next three years? More importantly, how can we create jobs, not just by keeping people in work who might not be affordable, but by getting the best out of all of us?
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February 12th, 2009
Curse of Rumsfeld adds to the strife of Brian
What have Brian Lenihan and Donald Rumsfeld got in common? Why “unknown, unknowns” obviously! The security dilemma outlined infamously by Rumsfeld in February 2002 sums up our minister’s dilemma perfectly. What most people fail to realise about the recapitalisation is that it is an exercise in reassuring the rest of the investing world that it is safe again to invest in Irish banks and, by extension, Ireland.
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February 11th, 2009
Serengeti Economics point to Good Bank Solution
IF you want to visualise what is now happening in the economy, think about the great plains of Africa. Have you ever seen the wonderful image of the rains flooding into the savannah of the Serengeti? Once a year, between March and May, the arid, sun-parched plain undergoes an extraordinary transformation as the rains bring life and abundance. Flowers and vegetation bloom, animals and insects return to the lush pasture to graze, mate and generally do their thing.
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February 8th, 2009
Bank recapitalisation destined to be a failure from the start
We will only get one chance to recapitalise our banks. Our banks have insufficient capital to cover their losses on their loan books and they have a drastic funding shortage. Without the government guarantee, most of them would surely be bust, because no one would lend to them. Without a properly functioning banking system, the economy will continue to contract.
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February 4th, 2009
Uncertainty is spreading like a virus in a creche
On Monday afternoon Killiney Hill was full of delighted children, squealing at the sight of snow. Many had never seen snow before. The children screamed as they threw snowballs and rocketed down the side of the hill on makeshift sledges.
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February 1st, 2009
Fighting for our economic reputation
Last Friday, former Maoist – and head of the European Commission – Jose Manuel Barroso mentioned Iceland and Ireland in the same breath.
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