[Irishguy]

we still have never been told WHO we owe this money to..

there is always a but

during the boom here people lost their freaking minds. they were buying houses for 400k euro (a 3 bed roomed semi detached). ultimately it was people buying and each house the government had a charge, a stamp duty (% of the house price, cant remember exactly but for 400k, about 30k would goto the government). they were borrowing by proxy and allowing the building 100 of thousands of homes per year. if the government were not involved in this, we would never have had this problem. it was artificial stimulation by government that encouraged the madness.

personally, i would have let the banks fail. they are in bed with government here and everyone who was lending to them knew that. i always ask this question for the bailout people: if the prices had continued to go up would you have given your profit to other taxpayers? no, well then why as a taxpayer who didnt go mad during the boom do we have to pay for your madness because you lost?

[Moltke]

if the prices had continued to go up would you have given your profit to other taxpayers? no, well then why as a taxpayer who didnt go mad during the boom do we have to pay for your madness because you lost?

Exactly. Same with Greece et al. The bankers wanted 20% interest on their loans, but when that turned sour they put the losses on the general public by way of bailouts. Bastards.

[hinckley buzzard]

What ever possessed the Irish to join the EU in the first place. The "political economy" of the British Empire wasn't enough of a warning?

[Olog-hai]

That is what the Taoiseach before Enda Kenny wanted to do. The “bailout” loans were a power grab, facilitated by the country’s compliant Eurocrats.