Left's proposals for higher taxes on higher earners
I'd agree with this in general on hyperbole, except it definitely is a rental crisis. I've never subscribed the housing crisis terminology because imo house prices haven't really been over the top (I think in the last year it has become doughy though). The reason people couldn't afford to buy wasn't house prices, it was because of rental prices and availability that didn't provide people security and the ability to save in such a way that they can build a life.List of crisis;
Cost of living crisis.
Healthcare recruitment and retention crisis.
Teaching recruitment and retention crisis.
Housing crisis.
Rental cost crisis.
...add as appropriate.
Then there's the epidemics:
Road deaths epidemic (despite it being less than 10% of what it was 40 years ago)
Suicide epidemic.
Drugs epidemic.
Rural crime epidemic (also a crisis)
Urban crime epidemic (not a crisis)
I agree on the rental market in particular.I do find it somewhat funny when we see 20 somethings as like coffin ship types though. Whilst I believe they are stuck in a terrible rental market,
I strongly disagree on this. I accept that they have plenty of extra State supports but I think that the necessity for those state supports to be there in the first place is indicative of disfunction.they do have significantly more options than those in the generation before them. They have so many more options in terms of state supports.
.Blaming millennials for avocado toast
Millennials are not in their 20swe see 20 somethings as like coffin ship types
This is often repeated but doesn't make it true, you can calculate it up using simple sums and conclude that Ireland takes similar tax as other oecd countries. However we have a prsi system that in theory offers universal health care but is not free at point of contact and compels most people on 50K a year to take out private health insurance which now costs 2000 euros per adult. You would also need to add on another 1000 euros to pay for doctor and dentist visits which are also not free unlike our contemporaries. Then you have high VAT and among the highest energy and utility costs (provided by inefficient state sector). These are all effective extra taxes that are never properly accounted for. Also MUP on alcohol etc etc,At around the median wage (of €50k) I think we come out close to par for what a social democratic country would expect, possibly a bit less. They have significantly more tax home than a Germany but about the same as Sweden. I think when you add up the quality of services and other stealth taxes that you'll find we are fairly in the middle, on balance.
All that said there's an implicit contract between young people and their parents generation that if they work hard they will get their chance at the middle class norm of owing a home and being financially independent.
My generation (50's) and more particularly my parents generation broke that contract by mortgaging their future to avoid the consequences of our greed and ineptitude.
I am not disputing there is dysfunction.I strongly disagree on this. I accept that they have plenty of extra State supports but I think that the necessity for those state supports to be there in the first place is indicative of disfunction.
Anthony Scaramucci has a great line about the advantages of living in the modern world; would you like to live in Manhattan on $120,000 now or live in Manhattan on $120,000 in 1925? In 2025 you'd have a low disposable income and live in a small apartment. In 1925 you'd be in the top 1% of earners and have a lavish lifestyle. You'd also have to put up with disease, dirt, smells, bad plumbing, no showers, no TV, no internet, bad healthcare, bad dentistry, very limited international travel, massive levels of State corruption, etc.
All that said there's an implicit contract between young people and their parents generation that if they work hard they will get their chance at the middle class norm of owing a home and being financially independent.
My generation (50's) and more particularly my parents generation broke that contract by mortgaging their future to avoid the consequences of our greed and ineptitude.
I didn't say they were. I drew a distinction between the two as "generations".Millennials are not in their 20s
I’m not sure that argument holds up for young people anymore. Say someone coming out of college today at 22. They would surly have memories of the crash and be well aware of the housing situation. They didn’t grow up in a time of continuous opportunity improvement.
I actually think those aged around 50 have had the best run
Coming of age in 1990. There was a sense of optimism and continued improvement. Still some very good pensionable jobs about. Buying a house by the early 2000s when they turned 30 was very doable. Might even grab a 100% mortgage if they had no savings. Pretty well settled in a career and not a crazy mortgage by the time the of the crash. Could take advantage of the SSIAs.
Still young enough to embrace smart phones, cheap travel and improved health care.
Early retirement will be an option for many and they can expect that the state pension should still be functional once they get to retirement as the worst of the demographic collapse won’t have occurred.
Every gen will have its ups and downs and it’s hard to judge until you get to the end of the line but I think those say 50-55 at the moment hit the sweet spot.
Other than being able to actually rent a place.But there simply are more options than there was 10 years ago for someone in their early 20s and arriving into the rental market.
This is often repeated but doesn't make it true, you can calculate it up using simple sums and conclude that Ireland takes similar tax as other oecd countries. However we have a prsi system that in theory offers universal health care but is not free at point of contact and compels most people on 50K a year to take out private health insurance which now costs 2000 euros per adult. You would also need to add on another 1000 euros to pay for doctor and dentist visits which are also not free unlike our contemporaries. Then you have high VAT and among the highest energy and utility costs (provided by inefficient state sector). These are all effective extra taxes that are never properly accounted for. Also MUP on alcohol etc etc,
And, in any case, lazily slapping (social and traditional) media driven labels on cohorts that only have an age range in common is a facile exercise.Millennials
I think you're overpaying quite a bit therecompels most people on 50K a year to take out private health insurance which now costs 2000 euros per adult. You would also need to add on another 1000 euros to pay for doctor and dentist visits which are also not free
I'd agree, but I also appreciate that we have this tangled web of things that make it one of the most regulated and interfered with markets we have. Attempts to change that run into opposition from various groups with competing interests (and many of whom would style themselves as free market types in other areas).Other than being able to actually rent a place.
The supports are an attempt to mitigate the dysfunction in the market. It's better to remove the dysfunction and not have supports.
The State, to a very large degree, created the dysfunction by interfering in the supply side. Now they are doing the same thing on the demand side. It would be better if they just got out of the way, other than having efficient enforcement of minimum standards, and let the market function.
But comparing tax systems on the macro level is useless regarding Ireland because of the hugely distorting effect of multinationals on GDP ,even the makey up statistic GNI* is heavily influenced by multinationals which has no relevance in comparing the taxation and buying power of a middle income worker earning 50K. Our contemporaries are not countries like "Umbrellastan" but real live nations like Germany, France and UK so comparing how much tax we pay , how much benefits we receive and the buying power of that after tax income is highly relevant and important.Comparing countries' tax systems on the macro level is quite easy — Ireland collects X% of GNI* in taxes, and this is broken down between income taxes, social security tases, capital taxes, property taxes, etc in ascertainable proportions, which can validly and meaningfully compared with the same analysis for other countries. But when you trie to break this down on a micro level it falls apart very quickly — for example, if you want to compare the tax treatment of an individual earning €50k in Ireland and Umbrellastan
Well it's clearly a thing. You can argue it is arbitrary but when you have a sustained period of years where common factors impact on an age range, it does become a thing. The trivialisation of it is ridiculous but there is a phenomenon around it.And, in any case, lazily slapping (social and traditional) media driven labels on cohorts that only have an age range in common is a facile exercise.
But the generations blend into each other. There is a continuum rather than defined periods.Well it's clearly a thing. You can argue it is arbitrary but when you have a sustained period of years where common factors impact on an age range, it does become a thing. The trivialisation of it is ridiculous but there is a phenomenon around it.
I agree with that. In the absence of hope for the future we look for comfort in the present.The concept of Sibal Biyong is absolutely a thing in South Korea and is something we saw here. It's actually a more grown up way to talk about certain human behaviours. I do believe people will amend their behaviours where they see realistic end points, but that wasn't apparent for people for years. But it is very easy to spend €5k on a couple of holidays and a festival when to get a deposit as a single person you are spending 50% of your take home on rent and would need €40k-€60k for an apartment deposit in Dublin.
Well I think the comparison based on 50K is a good figure as that is close the average industrial wage here but you could also use median wage if you wanted. However Im going to have to eat my words somewhat especially with regard to comparing taxation with countries like France and Germany, those are indeed very high tax countries on income of 50K . Germany and France take off 35% tax on those incomes whereas Ireland takes 20% at the low end of the scale . I ran the figures on a tax calculator comparison tool and was very surprised actually, we are more like UK and Netherlands regarding income tax . Probably because we take many low income earners out of the tax net completely that also benefits those on incomes of 50K through the tax credits. I hate to admit but on an income tax basis Ireland is pretty good well until you start getting into very high incomesA more justifiable comparison of the impact of taxation on individuals and families would not compare individuals/families in different countries on the same income. The fact of the matter is that if you're on 50K in Ireland and you went and did the same job in Germany, you probably wouldn't be on 50K. A more robust comparison would compare individuals/families at the same point on the income distribution spectrum — i.e. the taxation of a person on median income in Germany versus a person on median income in Ireland (or a person at the 25th percentile in both countries, or the 75th percentile, or whatever).
The problem here is that high marginal tax rates above that point act as a disincentive to work but it's absolutely fair to say that average incomes are not heavily taxed in Ireland. When you look at lowish incomes we are very under taxed by Western European standards.I hate to admit but on an income tax basis Ireland is pretty good well until you start getting into very high incomes
As a 47 year old who left school 30 years ago, I'm inclined to agree. People in my cohort could pick pretty much anything outside of medicine and pharmaceuticals as a career and get in the door with (speaking for myself) very mediocre college results and work experience and rapidly get up the ladder. Banks were, rightly or wrongly, handing out mortgage approvals with boxes of cornflakes which enabled me to buy my home at 24. With a bit of financial sacrifice between now and then I should have no difficulty retiring at 60.I actually think those aged around 50 have had the best run.
The median household income is around €58k which keeps half the households in the country in the lower tax brackets. For people at the higher rate there's also ample opportunity via pension contributions to push the effective standard rate cutoff out by another €15k or more. Our household for example has an income over €100k (putting us in the top 10% I think) and we've yet to pay any tax at the higher rate.The problem here is that high marginal tax rates above that point act as a disincentive to work but it's absolutely fair to say that average incomes are not heavily taxed in Ireland.