ANN CROTTY: Ireland — a terrible role model for SA
Low taxes, minimal social spending not the solution
It’s been years since anybody suggested Ireland as a model for SA to consider, so it came as a bit of a shock to hear it being bandied about at a recent conference. Admittedly the suggestion wasn’t entirely unsolicited; the high-profile panellists were asked if there was a country SA could look to and one of the very smart panellists suggested Ireland. It’s probably important to know he is a banker. "Ireland" as an answer to that question only makes sense if it is given by a banker. Fortunately, the many-hatted Jabu Mabuza interjected with some sanity. "You have to ask what is right for SA today. We are South Africans, we must deal with SA in a South African way," he said. Not exactly rocket science but eminently sensible and the only approach that actually works. Until 2008, when Ireland’s so-called miraculous economic policy resulted in control of the country being handed over to the IMF and the European Central Bank (ECB), we were regularly exhorted to be more like Ireland. The e...
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