Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The thin veneer of 'democracy' and Politicians calls for 'empowerment'.

When governments make unpopular decisions, there's always a spin doctor
to remind us that "it's a democracy", and we must accept the decisions of the elected government or vote them out in 5 years time.

That's a very thin veneer of democracy for 'the little people' not the 'big players'. 
Take for example the banks. Back in 2006, when it was known that we were already building far more houses than even the frenzied property bubble was buying up, the banks were still lobbying
heavily to get the regulations changed, so they could take even bigger and riskier gambles.
Some of the civil servants at the department of finance and staff in the financial regulator raised repeated concerns about this, but were over-ruled. The government published a bill in February 2007, and
passed in April 2007, just BEFORE the election. No empty election promises for this crowd. They got their changes without even trading a vote for it. So much for the 'currency of democracy' in Ireland.





In a proper democracy, TDs in government and opposition would have
been jumping up and down at how dangerous this was for the country.
But the short-term mentalities were in play again, and they did not want to be unpopular. 
Nobody wanted to upset the likes of Tom Parlon at the Irish Builders Federation, or their mates the bankers and developers. 
The most important item was the prospect of getting re-elected, not of
safeguarding the country. On that count alone, many of them did not
deserve to be returned to Dáil Éireann.

Having done nothing to alert the public, or resist the legislation, the last government condemned the 'doom
mongers' and tried to convince us that somehow it was our fault, as if borrowing money for a house or car, spending it, and continuing to repay a huge mortgage brought down the country, rather than lending to their buddies to make a fortune on very risky deals they couldn't afford to do.
The opposition acted innocent, despite the fact that they failed to provide the necessary oversight. Monitoring and
safeguarding the state of the economy and the nation is the actual job
of national parliament, not chasing votes about potholes, being photographed cutting ribbons, and making serious sounding statements about a crisis, which they didn't do anything to stop developing.

And Minister Howlin seeks a referendum giving the TDs and Senators
greater powers of enquiry? Why would they not exercise the powers they
already had, when the task was easier and the problem smaller? They
could have fought against the Bankers bill back in 2007. Perhaps if
they had, then we wouldn't have experience the financial black hole
that quickly arose and resulted in the banking guarantee less than 18
months later.

Rather than mild finger pointing in an expensive inquiry years after
the fact, where were the watchdogs of democracy back when the
charlatans were pulling the rug from under the economy?
Why do people, (and the media) still give credence to the waffling
from these people who are (over)paid to steer us clear of such crises
in the first place? We should  point fingers at the legislators and
watchdogs as well as bankers and developers.

We should REDUCE the powers of TDs, Senators and Ministers, outlaw the
party whip system, which coerces TDs into giving their voting
allegiance to the central committee of a private organisation (and it's
vested interests). Is this really the system the people want TDs to
operate under, rather than having to use their vigilance, wits and
conscience to actually vote based on considered judgement?  We should
also introduce a system for FIRING TDs (recall elections perhaps)
before a Dail term ends, so that when a TD, or whole govt is so far
removed from the job it should be doing, the people have a peaceful
and legal way of saving the country from ruin.

It seems this country has an electorate determined to continue the
tradition of rewarding incompetence inaction and corruption, even when
the cost of these rewards will be heavy burdens on future generations.

The blame for starting this crisis may not directly lie on our
shoulders, but our children and theirs will blame us for allowing it
to continue.

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