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The current focus is on the Government borrowing requirement, which at 14% last year, topped even Greece.  As long as you reduce the borrowing requirement faster than GDP this ratio will look better...

In any case, as I said in the diary, the real problem isn't the real economy which is set to grow (marginally) this year despite the Government cutbacks.  The real problem (in Ireland's case) is the taking on of an unsustainable debt burden.

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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Tue May 25th, 2010 at 09:24:01 AM EST
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Frank Schnittger:
The real problem (in Ireland's case) is the taking on of an unsustainable debt burden.
That wasn't a problem when the unsustainable aggregate (household, private, and public sectors together) debt load was taken on. Only when the private sector blew up and the public sector agreed to take the private debt onto its balance sheet. Then it became a problem of public debt and an excuse for dismantling the social safety net.

Because as long as there was a bubble everyone was happy piling up debt to 200% of GDP.

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue May 25th, 2010 at 10:06:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Migeru:
Because as long as there was a bubble everyone was happy piling up debt to 200% of GDP.

No everybody wasn't happy because first time house buyers, in particular, were finding it impossible to get onto the housing ladder given the cost of buying or renting a house.

But there is a world of difference between people borrowing to buy a home and the sort of speculative "investment" the big banks and developers were getting into.

For one thing, there is no Nama for house buyers caught up in negative equity, unaffordable and rising interest rates, and redundancy.

Little people having their homes foreclosed is business as usual.  When the big banks do the same the same distressed borrowers - amongst others - are supposed to bail them out?

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by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Tue May 25th, 2010 at 12:56:14 PM EST
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