Madam, – Surely it is becoming increasingly obvious that the cost of bailing out the bankers cannot be borne by driving into penury the great majority of taxpayers who gained little or nothing from the Celtic Tiger?
All those who gained during this period and have accumulated substantial wealth (including bank executives who paid themselves millions of euro per annum) must contribute on the basis of their gains.
A wealth tax based on assets over €1 million (excluding one’s primary residence) must be introduced, plus a property tax on property in excess of €1 million. This could be limited to a five-year period. The alternative of fleecing the ordinary taxpayer for the next 20 years is unacceptable. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Surely there is a majority of people who do not accept the decision to take on the €70 billion of liabilities at Anglo Irish Bank?
What happens in the future if we can’t sustain the total burden? This could create unmanageable problems, not only in Europe but also within the State. Where is the logic of a tough commercial organisation in Nama and strong far-sighted financial regulator if we fail them by taking on the wreck which is Anglo Irish Bank?
I listen to Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan and his staightforwardness is commendable, but the economic problem in Ireland demands reducing that €70 billion as far as it is possible. To do this the make up of this debt needs to be examined in detail, without any restriction. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Brian Cowen is quoted as saying that “Nama will deliver net gains”.
Is this the same net that bankers and developers have slipped through? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – I note the superb selection of Martyn Turner cartoon for March, depicting Brian Lenihan holding an umbrella over the banks in the pouring rain – incredible foresight (The Irish Times Calendar, 2010). The nation no doubt wishes that the image for April, showing €7 billion being given to the banks were as accurate. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – If banks wouldn’t lend to poor people, why are poor people being forced to lend interminably to banks? This new civil war will be remembered forever. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – On Tuesday morning, scientists claimed that, following the activation of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the emergence of an all-consuming black hole was not observed. Try telling that to Irish taxpayers, following the first transfer of loans to Nama, and especially to shareholders following the announcement of “haircuts” which effectively led to the gobbling up of AIB and Bank of Ireland by the State, as was initiated due to Government policy later that day. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Never was so much owed to so many by so few. – Yours, etc,
Madam,– I have a small suggestion which I hope might bring home to all of us the enormity of the damage done to the country by the banking and regulatory sectors and consequently the enormity of the decisions being made by the Government with regard to Nama. I ask that the media henceforth refer to, for example, €20,000 million rather than to €20 billion when reporting on Anglo Irish Bank or any of the other financial institutions being bailed out by the taxpayer via Nama. When spelled out in longhand, as it were, I think the sums of money involved and therefore the implications for succeeding generations will be more readily appreciated. The shorthand reference to billions somehow camouflages the staggering scale of the damage done to the country by the recklessness of a few, condoned by quite a few more. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Brian Lenihan is quoted in your paper as saying “the Irish State has established its own credibility as a State that can manage its own finances” (March 30th). Shouldn’t he have waited to play any April Fool pranks? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Nama sounds like a practical attempt to “detoxify” bank balance sheets and provide badly needed capital to grow and develop indigenous enterprise. All very laudable, but plausible – I think not.
Although not all loans that will be eventually transferred to Nama will be termed “toxic”, the fact remains that this piece of fiscal magic called Nama is no more than a shot in the dark in the vain hope that the underlying assets which were used as security against the offending (toxic) loans will somehow and some day recover in value.
If Nama works, and I hope it will, then it will be a triumph of appearance over substance and skill.
Surely, some international financial expert can find a better solution to our financial crisis based upon tried and tested macroeconomic principles rather than “the magic” of Nama? – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Just to recap. I am to pay for the banking crisis for the second half of my working life. My kids can get ready to emigrate. The bank credit review is to be headed by a banker. A seed capital fund of €100million will be created to help create a few jobs, while €2.6 billion into Irish Nationwide Building Society will create none. The only business in town of being an adviser to Nama (€2.6 billion in fees to be paid over 10 years) is going to the beneficiaries of the property boom (60 law firms and 35 estate agents to date, I believe).
After all that, the only thing that could propel us out of the recession to pay the Nama bill (ie increased bank credit), is not guaranteed and seems unlikely.
There was me thinking things were out of control. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – As a new resident in your fair island and having worked in financial services for many years, it surprises me that the Government has not embedded a non-embarrassment clause in the Nama bailout. Essentially, it would provide an equitable formula between the Irish people and the banks such that if less money is raised from the bad loan book once it has been fully worked through, the banks would have to pay more to Nama and vice versa.
Necessarily everyone would be forced to make a serious effort to get the loans back, thereby embedding a simple but effective check and balance into the whole mess. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The State has just bought €8.5 billion worth of property loans from wayward banks. The Nama buying spree has begun, but Nama provides the bare minimum of information about what it has bought. No information about the location or description of the individual properties concerned is or will be made available.
A query to the agency on Wednesday morning received the reply that “. . . Nama at present does not envisage releasing a list of tranche 1 assets being transferred into our control nor is it envisaged to do so in the future”.
Nama is conveniently not covered by the Freedom of Information Acts. The citizens of the Republic, the ultimate bearers of the risks attached to these toxic assets, will be kept in the dark and will have no means of assessing whether we have received good or bad value in these apparently secret dealings. – Yours, etc,