The social cost of this budget in terms of massive unemployment, a definite sharp rise of those in serious poverty, a likely strong rise in emigration, cuts in community services, and its certain effect of increasing housing repossessions will be enormous. Hundreds or even thousands of young unemployed people living in rent allowance accommodation will almost certainly be driven to homelessness.
The reason for this unthinkable harshness has been the government’s pandering to those in the high echelons of international financial markets and large business groups in Ireland.
The reaction from Goldman Sachs (PDF):
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the Swiss psychiatrist, set out five stages in the process of dealing with loss: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. In the process of coping with its economic loss, Ireland appears to be somewhere between Stage 4 (depression) and Stage 5 (acceptance). By contrast, a number of other Euro-zone economies, in similar positions to Ireland, appear to be stuck somewhere between Stage 1 (denial) and Stage 2 (anger).
