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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Bill O'Reilly gets Ireland's economic crisis all wrong

Posted on Friday, November 26, 2010 at 06:15 PM

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'The luck of the Irish has run out.. the primary problem is that the European model of providing cradle-to-grave entitlements is no longer sustainable"

So Bill O'Reilly diagnoses the Irish financial meltdown in his weekly column.

It is a classic right-wing analysis of what allegedly happened.

Unfortunately, it is completely wrong.

Ireland had no great debt until it assumed the $100 billion or so that the banking system delivered to it when it collapsed.

By socializing that debt, in other words, making the taxpayer responsible for it not the greedy and out of control bankers, Ireland then hit the skids.

But it was a capitalism problem to begin with Bill, not a socialist problem.

The banks were like 'Girls Gone Wild' loaning money from European banks then reloaning it to ever more gullible Irish clients who spent and spent and built and built until.....

Well you know what happened next.

Now the banks, who took all the rewards want to avoid the risk too and stick the taxpayers with the bills.

And gullible Ireland has gone along with the IMF in making sure that it is all repaid with the bankers covered.

There is a reason why countries like Canada and Australia did not fall into this near economic collapse like Ireland, the U.S. and other countries did.

They had good government oversight of their banks.

That may be a form of socialism Bill, but I'd gladly undertake it if it made the ordinary taxpayer keep his money and stop it falling into the hands of greedy bankers as is happening in Ireland.

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58 Comments

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cillowen | Jan 04, 2011, 11:58 AM EST

that o'reilly moron should not be taken seriously. he's the car-wreck people stop to look at each night. we have too many rubber necking sheep to feed the fox beast.

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sirpeter | Jan 02, 2011, 03:10 PM EST

Hi, sirpeter - what do you think about this? I think it's correct Patrick.

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maireadinmelb | Dec 15, 2010, 05:02 AM EST

I dont have O'reilly there are many other broadcasters in the world, many of whom base their reports on fact not fiction like Mr O'Rielly and Ms Palin!!

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hancock | Dec 13, 2010, 01:12 AM EST

They would still have Palin. Sorry about that.

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hancock | Dec 13, 2010, 01:11 AM EST

tHEY WOULS STILL HAVE pALIN.

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MrSinatra | Dec 12, 2010, 03:52 AM EST

so you blame capitalism? nonsense. think about it, why did the gov't back the banks? anyway, what would you do in your life if you didn't have o'reilly?

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maireadinmelb | Dec 10, 2010, 02:54 AM EST

again Maloney, not able to continue a rational adult discussion!!

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maloney | Dec 09, 2010, 08:21 PM EST

hancock, don't ask seano to do the impossible. He's having a hard enough time pretending to be two people. The only way he can pull that off is one of them is female.

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hancock | Dec 07, 2010, 11:42 PM EST

Hey Sean, get back to me when you ghrow up mate.

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maireadinmelb | Dec 07, 2010, 04:56 AM EST

Didn't say I liked the fact that we sell the uranium but you did appear to not be aware of the fact that we are having an economic boom, in our mining sector! We are not close to bankruptcy like some countries, probably all the good stimulus spending on public infrastructure and schools!! IF you had enough oil you would not need to control the economic oil market the only reason you are in IRAQ!

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seanomelbourne | Dec 06, 2010, 09:50 PM EST

Hancock sounds like a drone.

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hancock | Dec 06, 2010, 04:23 PM EST

Australia isn't even a real country yet. Do they still have the English lady?

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Monsoonman | Dec 06, 2010, 12:29 PM EST

You exist because you were part of the british empire and allied with the US, didn't you learn anything from ww2? You would have been a slave state of Japan if the US didn't come in and bail you out. Since then you have been under the US skirt, from where YOU can pretend you are an independent country. But we know who you will call upon if a bully comes knocking. BTW: Isn't it just a bit hypocritical that you export uranium for use in nuclear weapons? Aren't nukes bad for children animals and all living things? Jes axin'. The US would be self sufficient in fossil fuels if your liberal ilk that took over our government, would allow us to exploit our massive reserves which they put off limits.

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maireadinmelb | Dec 06, 2010, 03:46 AM EST

BTW we exist because traditionally we dont go butting our noses in other peoples business! Until conservative governments decided to follow you lot into conflicts irrelevant to our survival!!

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maireadinmelb | Dec 06, 2010, 03:45 AM EST

Not to mention all our uranium that powers the nuclear weapons trade!! Some Gold, and loads of natural gas! But you the self sufficient USA (ha ha) don't have to rely on anyone else!!!!

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