A Chara, - Fintan O'Toole may well be right that our low direct taxes give us an illusion of wealth (Opinion, May 2nd). But he makes a number of comparisons that are clearly unfair. For example, he compares the GDP per capita of Ireland with that of inner London, whose economy is hardly typical of the rest of the UK. Indeed it is atypical of most of the developed world. He is comparing apples with turnips.
He then looks at average household spending in Ireland and the US. This comparison is useless without examining how much is saved. The miser, who hoards much and spends little, cannot be assessed for wealth by the contents of his shopping basket. Surely wealth is a measure of how much we earn (or own), not how much we spend.
Mr O'Toole claims that we work 48 hours a week on average while the French work a mere 35. Here the figures are suspect. Is Mr O'Toole comparing the average hours worked in Ireland with the legal 35-hour week in France? Data from the EU Labour Force Survey shows that, on average, full-time workers in Ireland work 42.5 hours, while those in France work 40.2.
These figures have the Irish working about 6 per cent more hours than the French, against Mr O'Toole's utterly incredible 37 per cent.
Mr O'Toole raises a valid question about our perception of being rich. But the answer went missing in the layers of spurious figures and defective argument. - Is mise,
CIARÁN MAC AONGHUSA, Churchtown, Dublin 14.
Madam, - Having read Fintan O'Toole's piece on Ireland's perception of wealth, I want to say one thing: well done. Just when I was beginning to believe we had lost any semblance of collective sanity, out shines a little light.
It is a real pity that more commentators don't put quality of life in this little nation of ours centre stage; for if they did I believe more of us might question the direction in which this tragic Government is taking us.
Is it not a little scary that all the main governing party in this State needs to do to get a big bump in the polls is to send a couple of little tanks down the main street of our capital. Yes, "rich and thick" is right. - Yours, etc,
TERRY BROPHY, Beaumont, Dublin 9.
Madam, - I see that Tánaiste Mary Harney is returning to her favourite subject of tax cuts. We are, it seems, to have more of them.
According to his obituarist, the late, much respected economist J.K. Galbraith said on one occasion, when the subject of tax reduction was raised, "I am not quite sure what the advantage is in having a few more dollars to spend if the air is too dirty to breath, the streets are filthy and the schools bad."
In the Irish context, it might be added to this perceptive analysis that hundreds of people lie on trolleys in hospitals for days or are sent home seriously ill because there are not enough beds in hospitals.
Since it is mainly the "haves" who benefit from tax cuts and the "have-nots" who suffer the consequences, I hope Ms Harney will take Prof Galbraith's remarks to heart - or, if not, that the electorate will. - yours, etc,
MÁIRÍN DE BURCA, Upper Fairview Avenue, Dublin 3.