The Irish may be depressed about being in an officially-declared recession ("It's official — Ireland has entered a recession," Irish Independent, 09/25/08), but they can at least take comfort in the fact that, unlike American politicians, Irish politicians have enough of a spinal column to admit the truth — a truth that is half the battle. Having acknowledged the situation, they can now stop trying to emulate their American counterparts to see how deep they can bury their heads in the sand, and take effective action instead of assuring everyone that all will be well . . . if someone is given total control over both money and credit, and the State.
What should be done? Readers of this blog should know the answer to that, already. The previous boom of the "Celtic Tiger" was fueled first by increased exports and then extended by an unprecedented expansion of the housing market, according to Fergal O'Brien's article in the Independent. It therefore makes sense to start with something along the lines of the "Homeowners' Equity Corporation," or "HEC." This should be much easier to accomplish in Éire, if only because the scale of the problem is somewhat smaller than in the United States, and therefore easier to handle and move expeditiously.
Once HECs have been established, Dáil Éireann can follow up with a "Capital Homestead Act," designed to build direct ownership of the means of production into everyone in a country. From there it's a short step to total fiscal sanity: a nation of owners, an asset-back currency, and a balanced budget with built-in debt reduction.
It only takes a little study to get the ball rolling. If you're Irish, why not refer your TD to this blog for a few tips? Better yet, go to the web site of the Center for Economic and Social Justice, www.cesj.org.