82% of people in favour of Wealth Tax

Everyone knows this country is in a mess.

You won’t find any arguments here that dire actions aren’t needed now to get this nation back on its feet.

What you will get is condemnation of Fine Gael and Labours ideas of who should be targeted by these grave actions. The Fine Gael/Labour government propaganda machine has been running on full steam in the last few weeks as Margaret Thatcher wannabe, Joan Burton, was rolled out on radio stations across the country to denounce people on social welfare, question why so many young people won’t get jobs and to portray social benefits as being only in existence for old people who can no longer work.

This may sound a lot different from Burton’s talk of equality and snapping retorts towards former Finance Minister Lenihan only a year ago. Maybe Joan has been re-educated at a Fine Gael Gulag in South Dublin, or maybe she was just lying the whole time. Lying to get into power. Just like the rest of her party.

Joan and her government colleagues have released details of some of their planned budgetary measures. They include cuts to social welfare and increased tax on ordinary workers. The dreaded household charge will also be introduced. Once again, the working poor and the most vulnerable in society will be made pay what they simply cannot.

What our champagne socialist friends in the Labour party have failed to recommend in their budgetary proposals is a wealth tax.

Research commissioned by the Community Platform in November 2010 found that 82% of Irish people favoured the introduction of a wealth tax. The idea of a tax was broadly welcomed by people from all age, racial and class groups. According to the Community Platform, such a wealth tax would raise between €500 million and €1 billion when fully operational. This is supported by Goodbody stockbrokers who estimate total net wealth in Ireland to be in excess of €470 billion.

Sinn Féin have proposed a wealth tax of 1% on people with assets in excess of €1 million, not including working farmland. Such a tax could generate revenue to fund the state in a far more equitable way than cutting the already limited wealth of the majority of families in this land.