Sir, – Fintan O’Toole makes a number of unsustainable logical leaps (Opinion, April 24th).
First, he argues that the increased share of national income earned by the top 20 per cent since 2009 is evidence that “the most privileged groups in society have been able to regroup and consolidate their privilege”. Nowhere does he address the possibility that the composition of the top 20 per cent may have been radically altered in that time. This possibility is real, given the evaporation of property values since 2009, to which many of Ireland’s wealthy families had firmly shackled their fortunes. If such an upheaval has occurred, then the membership of Ireland’s elite is less secure than Mr O’Toole depicts, and small fluctuations in its share of national income is, to that extent, less problematic.
Second, he concludes that Labour is “actually more regressive than Fianna Fáil” on the basis that budget 2012, that Labour supported, was more regressive than any of those introduced by Fianna Fáil. This is a false comparison. Circumstances are different in every year. In particular, it would be astounding if, with almost €15 billion more available in 2008 than 2012, the previous government adopted the most regressive cuts and taxes first.
The only fair comparison is between the present budget and alternatives proposed in the same year, in response to the same economic, budgetary and financial considerations. A wealth of such alternatives are available in the form of pre-budget submissions from other political parties, think- tanks and community organisations.
Mr O’Toole performs a valuable public service in keeping us alert to the errors and excess of the governing class, but in this case his polemic is premature. – Yours, etc,