William, i specifically mentioned on last pod about young people in Ireland being amongst the least happy in Europe. Housing, nanny state, pensions, inheritance etc. Not sure what more i can say. I have two sons in their 20s and i know exactly what their issues are. But i can assure you they are not stupid enough to fall for populist nonsense and silver bullet solutions and money trees. Thanks for feedback, much appreciated.
Hi Guys, Still find your podcast very interesting and easy to follow along on subjects that sometimes are a bit complex.
However, I think Jim brought up the new Norwegian wealth tax on higher earners and how that doesn't work, resulting in the high net worth individuals fleeing and taking their jobs with them.
Ordinarily I take that news as presented. However I listen to your podcast to try and get more than one point of view - so I was surprised that you went straight down the line that this was simply bad and there was a wealth flight.
It seems you may have committed an error of omission. Yes some have fled - but there was more nuance information behind that.
The increase was just an increase above other tax payers by 1.1% - so can the super rich really not afford just 1.1 more? The group of rich Norwegians who left for Switzerland had a combined fortune of NKr29bn and paid NKr550mn in tax, so an extra NKr5.5mn from that pool.
Also - you failed to mention the other super rich who said they were happy to pay the tax as they felt they got good services in return. A hedge fund manager said: “I pay my tax with pleasure. I personally think I get a lot back for my tax money,”.
People benefit from free education, national infrastructure, free healthcare, subsidised pre-school childcare, robust furlough rules and corporation tax in line with other countries. It means those who enjoy success with this social model must contribute more than others'.
Also - the article pointed out that it was generally 'newly formed businesses' - i.e. startups the owners of which found the tax a challenge because revenues were not yet flowing - so they were cash strapped.
My point (perhaps poorly made) is that taxing the rich may or may not work for Ireland - but just throwing out the comment that it is a bad tax is not good enough - you gave the detraction's but none of the benefits.
Personally I am of the opinion that the worlds super rich all try to pay the least tax possible, that also never seem to have enough wealth, always looking to accumulate more. It is my belief that Musk et-al will eventually have a tax free heaven on Mars to which only those super rick will have access - tax free.
I can't wait to see them go to be honest - the rest of us might actually be better off with a little more levelling of wealth distribution.
All the best with '23, looking forward to more podcasts.
Hi guys like the podcast - but I do think you are perhaps too optimistic about the state of the nation, and are not really sympathising about what is driving young people towards populist rheoteric.
I really think the pod would be benefit from a guest who could articulate the frustrations of the under 40 population in Ireland and what might drive them to leave. I think Sinead O' Sullivan of The Currency is a very good and fair minded columnist, and I think an interview with Chris could be an excellent discussion ( she actually recently named checked him in an Irish Times op ed)
Thanks William - I hadn’t seen that piece by O’Sullivan. Just read it, and that’s 4 minutes of my life I won’t get back. I thought it was end-to-end nonsense. The stuff about data only ever being ‘historical’ was actually hysterical. I would love to have some data about the future. I could make a lot of money out of that.
She accuses me of making light of the housing issue. Every time we talk about the good data we mention, emphatically, housing and health. We always suggest the government should do much, much more. Jim, for example, suggested housing policy should be move to the office of the Taoiseach to get some much needed energy injected into the issue.
We always talk about the global context: all successful (and some not so successful) economies have housing crises. While there might be some unique domestic drivers of part of the problem, there are clearly global drivers. Low interest rates, for example, driving all asset prices up, including house prices. Until recently anyway.
For me the issue is this: people say Ireland is a kip because of its housing crisis. That’s simply a point of view that I disagree with. Ireland is not a kip, far from it, but it does have a major housing problem. And if you think the Shinners are the answer to that problem, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. Anyone who says ‘I am going to vote for a bunch of populist ideologues because they have promised me cheap housing’ deserves what will happen next. It will not be pretty.
William, i specifically mentioned on last pod about young people in Ireland being amongst the least happy in Europe. Housing, nanny state, pensions, inheritance etc. Not sure what more i can say. I have two sons in their 20s and i know exactly what their issues are. But i can assure you they are not stupid enough to fall for populist nonsense and silver bullet solutions and money trees. Thanks for feedback, much appreciated.
Hi Guys, Still find your podcast very interesting and easy to follow along on subjects that sometimes are a bit complex.
However, I think Jim brought up the new Norwegian wealth tax on higher earners and how that doesn't work, resulting in the high net worth individuals fleeing and taking their jobs with them.
Ordinarily I take that news as presented. However I listen to your podcast to try and get more than one point of view - so I was surprised that you went straight down the line that this was simply bad and there was a wealth flight.
It seems you may have committed an error of omission. Yes some have fled - but there was more nuance information behind that.
The increase was just an increase above other tax payers by 1.1% - so can the super rich really not afford just 1.1 more? The group of rich Norwegians who left for Switzerland had a combined fortune of NKr29bn and paid NKr550mn in tax, so an extra NKr5.5mn from that pool.
Also - you failed to mention the other super rich who said they were happy to pay the tax as they felt they got good services in return. A hedge fund manager said: “I pay my tax with pleasure. I personally think I get a lot back for my tax money,”.
People benefit from free education, national infrastructure, free healthcare, subsidised pre-school childcare, robust furlough rules and corporation tax in line with other countries. It means those who enjoy success with this social model must contribute more than others'.
Also - the article pointed out that it was generally 'newly formed businesses' - i.e. startups the owners of which found the tax a challenge because revenues were not yet flowing - so they were cash strapped.
My point (perhaps poorly made) is that taxing the rich may or may not work for Ireland - but just throwing out the comment that it is a bad tax is not good enough - you gave the detraction's but none of the benefits.
Personally I am of the opinion that the worlds super rich all try to pay the least tax possible, that also never seem to have enough wealth, always looking to accumulate more. It is my belief that Musk et-al will eventually have a tax free heaven on Mars to which only those super rick will have access - tax free.
I can't wait to see them go to be honest - the rest of us might actually be better off with a little more levelling of wealth distribution.
All the best with '23, looking forward to more podcasts.
thanks John
Hi guys. Would you recommend to hold on to a tracker rather than fix on a mortgage with over 10 years left on it?
Hi guys like the podcast - but I do think you are perhaps too optimistic about the state of the nation, and are not really sympathising about what is driving young people towards populist rheoteric.
I really think the pod would be benefit from a guest who could articulate the frustrations of the under 40 population in Ireland and what might drive them to leave. I think Sinead O' Sullivan of The Currency is a very good and fair minded columnist, and I think an interview with Chris could be an excellent discussion ( she actually recently named checked him in an Irish Times op ed)
Thanks William - I hadn’t seen that piece by O’Sullivan. Just read it, and that’s 4 minutes of my life I won’t get back. I thought it was end-to-end nonsense. The stuff about data only ever being ‘historical’ was actually hysterical. I would love to have some data about the future. I could make a lot of money out of that.
She accuses me of making light of the housing issue. Every time we talk about the good data we mention, emphatically, housing and health. We always suggest the government should do much, much more. Jim, for example, suggested housing policy should be move to the office of the Taoiseach to get some much needed energy injected into the issue.
We always talk about the global context: all successful (and some not so successful) economies have housing crises. While there might be some unique domestic drivers of part of the problem, there are clearly global drivers. Low interest rates, for example, driving all asset prices up, including house prices. Until recently anyway.
For me the issue is this: people say Ireland is a kip because of its housing crisis. That’s simply a point of view that I disagree with. Ireland is not a kip, far from it, but it does have a major housing problem. And if you think the Shinners are the answer to that problem, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. Anyone who says ‘I am going to vote for a bunch of populist ideologues because they have promised me cheap housing’ deserves what will happen next. It will not be pretty.