Lying? come on.

That's what it's usually called when people repeat factually inaccurate claims after having been repeatedly corrected in the past.

And you damit the point on deficits?

What point?

That Ireland is currently running a deficit, even when you take out all interest payments on the sovereign debt (which are odious subsidies to people who have more money than they should) and all the costs of guaranteeing anything beyond insured deposits and vital clearing functions in their banking system?

They probably are. They damn well should be, considering the rate at which their private sector is deleveraging.

That Ireland is running a structural deficit in excess of what is required to accommodate a sustainable growth path? I wouldn't know. I haven't run those numbers, or even formed a coherent idea about what a sustainable growth path would be for Ireland. I'm prepared to be educated if you are better informed than I am on such matters. But "pay back their national debt" is not a sustainable growth path.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.