Economic Crisis or an Opportunity for Equality

Dear Editor, As one of the over 100,000 who marched in Dublin last weekend I feel we are in danger of heading not just into a recession but also into a period of long term inequality.This ill thought out pension levy is being portrayed as a section of society not being prepared to pay their fair share, or as private sector against public sector, and it is certainly being portrayed as a hard pressed government not getting cooperation from the unions.It is Maggie Thatcher revisited. What have we learned?The history of our problems has been well documented and we know that it is primarily those who did not benefit at all from the boom who are being made to pay the brunt of the recovery. Those who are now being hit with a levy of up to ten per cent have already being paying 6.5 per cent for their pensions, four per cent for PRSI, two per cent of a health levy and the new January levy of at least one per cent on income. That is 24 per cent before income tax is paid.The reality of the levy on workers in homes where one person has lost their job is that it is putting many low paid workers on family income support. The private sector is meanwhile suffering massive job losses with no economic stimulus package in site, small business are paying exorbitant rates and countless taxes and charges.Both private and public sectors are snowed under with countless stealth taxes at a time when often one and sometimes two in a home are losing their jobs.If this wasn"t bad enough there seems to be no national recovery plan that would put some of these hard earned euros into schools, transport and infrastructure that would aid the recovery and take thousands off the dole.We are being told to be patient but what we need is vision. For years many workers have been surviving just above the water line while those on the upper decks have been creaming the effects of Celtic induced property boom.Some estimate that 21 billion in property profits have been made since 2000 by people who have often paid less tax than those on the average industrial wage.Why do we continually refuse to close the tax loopholes and take on the tax exiles while systematically taxing the soft targets. Now that much of the boat is below the water line the upper decks have been given the life rafts and everyone else is expected to bale out the sinking ship.Let us get real. We need a national recovery plan that is fair, transparent and honest.It must begin with the full nation will do our fair share to get people back to work, to increase our competitiveness, restore consumer confidence and give people near retirement confidence in their pension after a lifetime of work.The alternative is a cascade of endless tax increases without anyone realising any real benefit and business as usual for those who caused the problems and benefited most from the situation. Why is it that a wealth tax is never mentioned for those who made a fortune building houses we didn"t need, or about getting them building schools, health facilities and transport infrastructure that we do need. It"s the old adage, some see things as they are and say why, others see things that never were and say why not?Denis LeonardKinnegad.