Cross posted at the TASC-blog.
It is almost never correct to sacrifice a present benefit for a doubtful advantage in the future. Ireland’s political classes understand this truism at the genetic level. In a world where less and less seems predictable, Ireland faces multiple uncertainties: we cannot afford to splurge on one by neglecting the other.
The coming budget will unhinge whatever remains of social partnership, and may even bring down the government. The coming wave of mortgage defaults will ensure our banking system remains under extreme pressure and international scrutiny, no matter how well NAMA does or does not perform in cleaning up the balance sheets of recalcitrant banks. It is uncertain how many indigenous Irish businesses will weather the unprecedented economic storm they find themselves in, and what the resulting level of unemployment may be. The slow, but steady, international recovery may leave many parts of Irish society not directly tied to export industries behind. These are short-term concerns.
The negative social consequences of mass unemployment are starting to be felt. The cost to families and communities of increased domestic violence and criminality is incalculable. The security of every family against unnecessary hardship is an invisible social asset on which our culture is dependent: we don’t see this asset until it is gone. These are longer-term concerns.
In the midst of these uncertainties, the government must display prudence in the face of the unknown. Freeing up resources through increased efficiencies in the public sector will take time. One swipe of a pen can reduce incomes of public sector by thousands. A cut in public sector pay is inevitable. An increase in efficiency in the public sector—doing more with less—is not. Which course of action is more prudent, and which more likely to save taxpayers’ money in the long run?
In attempting to be prudent in some areas—fiscal policy, for one—the government may lose the good will of its citizens. By being extremely imprudent, in the cases of NAMA, the stalled reform of the taxation system, the crawl toward accountability, and most of all in a claw back of frontline public services, the government may damage the long run interests of its citizens.
The government has a duty to provide the highest standard of living for its citizens the nation can afford. That appears to be at 2003 levels of income at the moment. Our spending remains at 2009 levels. Prudence dictates the most likely course of action for the government in the coming budget. Actions are not without consequences, however, and a prudent public will do well to remember the choices made on their behalf come election time.
