Welcome to the inaugural DáilOfTheDead Political Penalty Shoot-out.
Today's ContestantsRepresenting truth, justice, revenge and anger - DarkPassenger.
Representing hypocrisy, rhetoric, greed and waste - George Lee.
Pre-match PreambleGeorge "IToldYouSo" Lee's entry into the Dublin South by-election marks a new low in Irish politics. The announcement of the "celebrity candidate" has been greeted with a chorus of triumphalist bullshit by the blueshirted masses. Their little keyboards are on fire - posting gigabytes of cyber-diarrhoea on political discussion sites such as
Politics.ie. You would swear that Jesus H. Christ himself had donned a blue shirt and gone up for election.
I hope that the people of Dublin South will see Lee for the snivelling, treacherous little runt he is. He spent the last 10 years talking the economy down and sermonising about public sector waste while he worked for the monetary black hole that is RTE. He claims that he will take a significant cut in pay if he is elected a TD - proof that he has had no problem screwing the state out of millions in the past and that he intends to carry on doing so if elected to Leinster House.
Match ReportSo what does "IToldYouSo" Lee plan to do to rescue us all? He outlined his master plan in an article in the
Evening Helard. This blueprint of hypocrisy promised the following:
The Shootout Begins1. He would finance a massive job-intensive investment programme in green energy, broadband and clean water, financed in part by selling off state companies like Bord Gais and parts of ESB that the State no longer needs to own.
DarkPassenger says: Are you a bit thick George? Have you not heard of Eircom? We have all seen how disastrous it was when the state sold vital infrastructure into the hands of private companies. What could be worse than handing our communications infrastructure over to foreign companies who continue to rape us for phone and broadband services? Duh.....we'll sell our natural gas and electricity infrastructure off too. George you are a clown.
1-0 to DarkPassenger.2. He would fight for a fairer sharing of the burden of rising taxes. Middle income families on an average wage should not be paying 51pc in tax on every extra euro earned (41pc income tax, 4pc PRSI, 4pc health levy, income levy 2pc), while non-resident millionaires who creamed it during the boom years pay nothing. This is hardly the strategy needed to encourage people to put in the effort and initiative needed to create new jobs and economic opportunities.
DarkPassenger says: To coin an Enda "de road" Kennyism - POPULIST NONSENSE. We would all love to see taxes cut. We would all love to see non-resident millionaires pay their fair share. But how does IToldYouSo Lee plan to extract this money from tycoons such as Denis O'Brien? Especially since the likes of the afforementioned O'Brien are (or were) financial backers of Fine Gael. If IToldYouSo supports DarkPassenger's plans to form a Mossad style unit to abduct these millionaires and "extract" the money they owe us then I'll defer to his wisdom.
Given that this is an unlikely course of action for a wimp like IToldYouSo it's 2-0 to DarkPassenger.3. He would reverse the increase in the VAT to 21.5pc announced by the Government last October, which has combined with the weakness of sterling to see a deluge of hard-pressed Irish shoppers crossing the border, at the expense of thousands of Irish jobs and hundreds of millions in lost tax revenues.
DarkPassenger says: A poxy half a percent reduction in VAT will not stop my friend Devoted Dexter embarking on more adventure's up north! What else have you got IToldYouSo? Will you dispatch a platoon of blueshirts to the border to attack any cash-strapped Free State citizens and send them back south?
He shoots, he scores...3-0 to DarkPassenger.4. He would cut the reduced 13.5pc rate of VAT to just 10pc between now and the end of 2010. This would stimulate labour-intensive services like construction, help the tourism industry through the downturn, and give a huge incentive for first time buyers to bring forward purchases of new houses, helping to resolve crises in banking and the public finances.
DarkPassenger says: I can't really argue with this one too much. However, reducing VAT does not even begin to address the massive oversupply of housing stock in many areas of the country. The biggest problem that the construction industry has is that the demand for housing has peaked - the industry needs to refocus on other areas. But not the worst of policies all the same. IToldYouSo is on the scoreboard.
3-1 to DarkPassenger.5. He would freeze local authority rates for at least five years.
DarkPassenger says: Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Funny this one. Now my views on local government have been made clear in my last post so anything that causes local authorities to loose out on money makes me happy. However I'm not sure IToldYouSo's colleagues sitting in the council chambers of Ireland will be so enthused. Local government in this country is already a joke and any plans to reform this situation will require serious sums of cash. IToldYouSo hasn't presented any proposals on providing alternative sources for local government funding - I'm guessing he doesn't expect too many people to question his "wisdom". Must try harder here George.
4-1 to DarkPassenger 6. He would legislate to make upward only rent reviews for small businesses illegal.
DarkPassenger says: Can't disagree here. Another score for Ireland's most treacherous journalist.
4-2 to DarkPassenger.7. I would exempt employers who take on additional staff from additional employer PRSI obligations until the end of 2010.
DarkPassenger says: Not nearly enough detail provided here oh sanctimonius one. Any sweeping plan which sees en mass PRSI exemptions will be abused big time. There is no doubt that many businesses that haven't been badly affected by the recession have been taking the piss of late, using the downturn to justify cuts in pay and conditions for their staff. Profitable businesses shouldn't be entitled to any more reductions in costs. IToldYouSo's hasn't identified this most basic of points.
5-2 to DarkPassenger.8. He would make sure that taxpayer support for banks is used only to support new lending to small businesses and families, not to nurse along dodgy property related debts to Fianna Fail's developer friends. The banks, the professional investors who funded them and developers should between themselves take care of the mess they have created. They made the big profits in the good years. They should now eat the losses.
DarkPassenger says: Fair enough. But the tone of this smacks of political opportunism. Everyone would like to see the banks and the property developers having to take it in the ass for the damage they have done. However, let us not forget that it was Fine Gael who bailed out the AIB/ICI in 1985. Leopards don't change their spots - anyone who believes that George of the Bungle or his fascist colleagues would really let the captains of industry loose is a fool.
6-2 to DarkPassenger9. He would fight to make performance, accountability and thrift core values of our public service once again, starting with the political system itself, and cut top-end public sector salaries, including those of TDs, by at least 5pc.
DarkPassenger says: OH MY GOD! A case study in hypocrisy this one. The man who spent 17 years working for one of the most unaccountable, wasteful and poorly managed organisations in the country is now talking about accountability and value for money. IToldYouSo has shown his true colours here. By his own admission he was overpaid in RTE. He had no problem raking in the cash for 17 years - but now he wants value. And he will cut top-end salaries by at least 5 percent. WOW 5 whole percent - how radical, how brave - how bleedin' sickening. TDs and senior public servants deserve a paycut of at least 20%. Anyone who suggests anything less is a moron. Quoting a figure of 5% is an insult to the people of this country.
7-2 to DarkPassenger.10. He would overhaul the massive public sector quangos like the HSE, CIE and FAS and expose them to more competition in order to deliver vital health, transport and training services more effectively and at less cost to the taxpayer.
DarkPassenger says: It doesn't take an MSc in Economics to see that the HSE, CIE and FAS are a disgrace. Most people would rather see them exposed to lethal doses of radiation rather than "more competition". How about adding RTE to your list George - there's not much competition or value for money to be found amongst your mates in Donnybrook. You spend 17 years sermonising on the economy in an organisation that is rotten to the core. Now you have the temerity to point fingers at every state supported agency bar the one that facilitated your 10 year campaign for a seat on the Dáil gravy train. Shame on you!
8-2 to DarkPassenger.So the next time someone tells you how great it is that someone of the status and calibre of George Lee is going to enter Dáil ask them if they've bothered to examine his "policies". Point out the sickening hypocrisy surrounding his entry onto the political stage. Point out the total lack of depth and sheer stupitidy of some of his policies. Whether Shay Brennan, Alex White or George Lee wins in Dublin South matters not. The net result will be the same - another money-grabbing hypocrite will enter the Dáil. But let us not pretend that George Lee is some kind of patriotic economic crusader. He is as greedy a charlatan as anyone else in Leinster House.
They think it's all over.....It is now!
Full Evening Herald article where IToldYouSo outlines his policies:How I would fix the economy by George Lee
