People Before Profit launched it ‘Alternative Economic Agenda’ document at a press conference today.
People Before Profit argues that the resources are there to counteract the impact of recession on ordinary people, what is lacking is the political will. The instant availability of billions to ‘recapitalise’ the banks and to relieve them of their toxic assets shows that it is not necessary to apply devastating cuts to health, education or social spending or for wage-cuts or tax increases on low and middle earners.
Speaking at this morning’s press conference Dr. Kieran Allen, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at UCD and the document’s lead author, commented:
*“There are clear alternatives to austerity plans and the EU/IMF deal, what is lacking is the political will to achieve them. The absence of serious political debate in this country is astounding. When any attempt is made to discuss economic alternatives to the crisis, political correspondents go into overdrive to defend their political masters and insist that any moves to discuss alternatives are delusional and the country must simply ‘knuckle down and pay its debts’.
“What they really mean, of course, is that working people and the poor should pay the debts of the bankers and the property developers who created this crisis; that interests of the rich and powerful in this country should continue to be protected while people see their wages slashed and their public services attacked. We believe there is an alternative to this strategy. It begins with refusing to bail out the bankers and the bondholders and involves a serious strategy of putting people back to work, protecting social welfare and defending public services.”*
Cllr. Joan Collins People Before Profit and United Left Alliance candidate for Dublin South Central also commented: “The Fianna Fail-Green government and a golden circle of developers and bankers have wrecked our economy. Yet this government continues to protect the interests of these bankers and super-wealthy individuals who continue to live a life of luxury while ordinary people pay the cost."
“In order to prevent the bulk of the pain for this economic crisis falling onto the shoulders of working people we propose an alternative economic agenda that focuses on developing serious strategies for putting people back to work in this country. There are over 450,000 people living on the dole and over 60,000 people emigrated last year. This cannot continue. The key aspect of our ‘Alternative Economic Agenda’ is putting people back to work. We advocate a public works programme to provide immediate employment for people; investment in education and retraining so that people can develop new skills and the development of new strategic industries to take Ireland’s industrial development forward.”
Cllr. Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit and United Left Alliance candidate for Dun Laoghaire added: *“People Before Profit, as part of the United left Alliance, is a real alternative to the mainstream political establishment who are all committed to the same policies of cutbacks and austerity. What has been most shocking about this election so far is the absence of any real debate on the economy, when even mainstream economists accept that the economic strategy of bailouts and austerity is disastrous."
“All of the mainstream parties are committed to same policies of making working people pay for the actions of the banks and the speculators. Despite all their talk a Fine Gael-Labour ‘alternative’ government led by Enda Kenny will change very little. They will not reverse the cuts. They will continue with the bailouts of the banks and bondholders. They will support an IMF deal that hands control of the economy to unelected bureaucrats. We want to put the interests of people first by burning the bondholders, ending the bank bailouts and reversing cuts to pay, social welfare and public services. Instead we will invest in jobs, housing, health and education.”*
Read the document HERE