IMF Report highlights rough times ahead

national | anti-capitalism | opinion/analysis Thursday June 25, 2009 12:14 by Socialism or Barbarism!

http://www.revolutionaryireland.com

An in-depth socialist review of the IMF report on the economy of the Republic of Ireland.

When it comes to mainstream economists working for big institutions, they always seem to simply confirm what everyone already knows and usually months after it is blindingly obvious. The same economists who were unable to predict the downturn now can tell us what we need to do to get out of it. Even after it was clear we were in the middle of one and for months economists, often with a interest in 'bull' markets kept telling us nothing was wrong.

The latest report by the enforcer of neo-liberalism, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), confirms that Ireland is the most exposed 'developed' economy. The latter categorisation is likely to be challenged as the extent of the collapse ripples out across our society but the fact that Ireland is maximally exposed is all too obvious to those who have had to endure temporary or longer-term unemployment or wage cuts.

The importance of this IMF report is not the headlines but the detail. It is a window into the future and it confirms all the predictions Socialism or Barbarism and other socialist commentators have been making. Readers should take the time to follow the link above to read the tone of the document which is very much in the style of a teacher correcting the work of the student i.e. the purportedly 'sovereign' Dublin government. One implication of that is that measures for adoption in the coming years are disclosed in this report which have not been released into the public domain domestically.

There are few holds barred in its detailed analysis of the unprecedented crisis. The report suggests the collapse in fiscal receipts could result in a deficit of up to 12% in 2009. The report now quantifies the bank liabilities at €35 billion which is an increase of €10 billion on the figures quoted only a few weeks ago.

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