A SHORT ESSAY ON OVERSPIN!

There is absolutely no doubt about it our previous Government fell asleep at the wheel and allowed their belief in themselves and their place in the world order to allow them to lose sight of reality.
When the international banking crisis came knocking on their door the Government of Brian Cowen made the biggest mistake in the history of our country. The bank guarantee  which strapped us with billions of debt and left us in need of a Bailout. This was provided by the Troika of the E.C.B.  the I.M.F and the E.C.(The European Central Bank,the International Monetary fund,and the European Comission.)
Shortly after the bailout the government collapsed forcing an election.
Quite a few senior Fianna fail ministers did not even run for re election opting for a new life free from worry, whilst those who could not bow out on health or other reasons fell at the polls.

The current government swept to power and promised to shepherd us through the difficult times whilst protecting  the vulnerable.
For the last two and a half years plus they have been working carefully to see us out of our program
and back to a limited financial independence.

Today marks the final day of that program. Our government Is now committed to a SIX YEAR financial Program  but there is no way the Irish people will vote to return the current Government to power in two and a half years time. The electorate never responds well to being bashed down by blow after blow. With more austerity promised and water tax yet to bite in one neutral budget is not going to do it for these boys. Obviously they have not taken this into account in framing the way forward. Once more delusion reigns and no lessons were learned from the  recent lost referendum.
The reality of life on the ground is far from that which would fill the ordinary voter with the fervor to
vote return the same parties to office.The reasons for this are clear and many.
But on top of it all there is the spin!
Since the get go this Government have smothered  all debate on the basis that negativity was not a way forward, As a result of this the government did not do bad news only good news, and unfortunately our media still blindly read out press release after press release without challenging each and every action.

For example, today a minister said on radio that not only did the Irish government meet the targets set by the troika program,they beat them.NO QUESTIONS WERE ASKED!Like, surely beating the targets means that some sectors of our society suffered cutbacks that they should not have needed to endure?

No, the statement was let go and allowed to colour the case the minister was making for our Government.
For Example,Less than a month after a major study from impartial scientific researchers in  University College Cork with the Title, Emigration in the age of austerity we get reporting of the latest jobless figures from the C.S.O. with no mention of the amount of young that have fled since the cruel welfare cuts designed to get them off the dole and out the door.

The spinning of good news stories out of proportion is rubbing salt in the wounds of those suffering from a range of issues on the ground.
It's not a good time to be sick and dependent on the health service.
It's not a good time to be unemployed and/or in debt.
It's not a good time  to be self employed,a retailer,caterer,a small business.
It's not a good time to be a charity.
It's not a good time to be alone with your family scattered to the four winds.
It's not a good time to  rent a house or flat with rents spiraling.
It's not a good time to want to buy a house as banks are not lending.
It's a great time to be a volunteer, and although it helps, feeding your soul is not the only food needed.

A counter point to stories running in the Irish press like the one linked to above is this article in the New York Times which rings out the sentiments I allude to in the lines above,see it here
These are all serious issues,serious for those affected but when the  live line is the only forum for  local/national outpourings the debates of the disaffected then become boxed off and the subject of parody.Our media really need to challenge all government announcements, ask the hard questions, and put the brakes the spin!

I would class myself as an  optimist I like to smile  and laugh, I strive for happiness for me and those around me. So with the onset of our current regressive climate which hit me personally like so many others in late 2009 I redoubled my efforts to work my way through the malaise as it presented itself to me, inventing opportunities through innovative application of my profession.

I know I and many like me have difficult times still ahead but still we slog on, my latest offering is a counter to all of the over spin, my own effort to make something out of nothing, like so many empty headlines that have spun out of Kildare street and Merrion Street I too have been combing my own neighbourhood for SIGNS OF RECOVERY, they are as plausible as any good news story I have seen recently and today I present 5 of them for your entertainment and analysis.I suppose they are 5 mini satires, and I hope they bring a smile to your faces but  deepen your thoughts about our reality and make you ponder what you can do to help change society for all and move us forward and out of the grips of the worlds markets in which we are just another commodity
whose price goes up and down over time.

Thanks (and I really hope the cat gets home)Please share and comment we love the banter!
David