Labor productivity is a neoliberal metric that uses GDP per capita, that in actuality measures value captured, not value added.. For example, the most “labor productive” countries in the world, are those tax havens in the caribbean. Considering the Irish economy’s dominance by finance capital, that’s completely unsurprising that it would rank so high:
The reason that these large companies utilize child labour and forced labour and labour under such conditions is simple; profits. This is where Ireland comes into play, in its role helping these large multinational corporations maximize the profit they gain from exploiting such labour conditions. Of the five companies named in the lawsuit, Apple, Dell, Google and Microsoft all have their European headquarters in Ireland. So, one would logically ask why this might be. Perhaps it is our highly skilled and trained population? Or maybe our location on the very western edge of the continent makes it more convenient for big-wig employees to fly to and from Ireland? Or could it possibly be that these companies are attracted by the striking beauty of our cities, towns and wild landscapes? Or, may I suggest, is it our friendly, open, hospitable and charmingly roguish nature that means companies cannot help but to set up their regional headquarters here? Or could it be that Ireland is essentially a tax haven that allows them to maximize their profits?(14) Ah, yes, I think we’ve found the solution to that riddle then. The study, authored by Thomas Wright and Gabriel Zucman, reveals that U.S. multinationals book roughly 18% of their foreign profits in Ireland, more than anywhere else in the world.(15) Ireland’s laws also help U.S. corporations to achieve a pre-tax profits-to-wages ratio of 800%.(16) In the end this amounts to Apple owing the Irish government €13 billion in back taxes, and a legal dispute with the European Union. In 2016 the European Commission ruled that Ireland had given unfair tax advantages to Apple to the sum of €13 billion, a decision which the Irish government itself appealed. Eventually the decision was overturned by the European General Court in July this year (2020), although further legal challenges to that decision may be forthcoming.(17) It is also important to note that the figure of €13 billion is only for the case of Apple and does not include how much taxes other multinational companies may owe, so the actual figure is so high it does not bear thinking about.
We also did not wholly adopt anything, we have a different type of government, we dont have a monarchy and our elections are not first past the post.
Ireland is a bourgeois democracy / capitalist dictatorship just like GB, and it doesn’t matter what form your elections take. The important point is that capital (specifically finance-capital) stands above your political system. Australia also doesn’t use FPTP, yet its able to use that voting system to continue its colonization and theft of aboriginal land. These alternative voting systems have proven to be no obstacles in the slightest for capitalists.
We absolutely did not allownfornour bases to be used by foreign military. We did however allow for refuelling by an ally. We also had caveats about what type of aircraft and cargo could land and refuel.
The US racial state, which built its wealth on the graves of its indigenous inhabitants, and enslaved millions of captured Africans, is not a good military ally to have. If Ireland were actually anti-imperialist, there would not even be a debate on allowing the US military to use its bases, especially given the context of its wars on Iraq.
Do you just hear what you want? We are not a dictatorship. We didnt let anyone use our bases for the war in Iraq. We didnt invade anyone or steal any land. In less than 100 years we revolutionised our economy and lifted the people out of poverty. We are not a utopia, you will claim not everyone is out of poverty but for the most part everyone is, and while more work is needed, there are continued efforts to improve and continue lifting people up.
We didnt let anyone use our bases for the war in Iraq.
From the source above:
There are also very obvious ways in which Ireland assists the U.S. empire, the foremost of these being the U.S. military’s use of Shannon Airport as a stopover sight. U.S. military planes have been using Shannon airport since the end of 2001, when the latest U.S. global ‘war on terror’ and the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan began. Much of what we know about the activities at Shannon has only come to light due to the dedicated work of the people at Shannonwatch who, as the name suggests, have attempted to expose the truth about U.S. activity in Shannon.(21) As such anyone looking for more detailed information should seek out their website. However, it is still necessary to highlight some of the key issues associated with the U.S. military and CIA’s use of Shannon airport here. Their work estimated that between 2002 and 2014 almost 2,500,000 U.S. troops had passed through the airport.(22) They have also estimated that roughly 20 known or suspected rendition planes have used the airport (a rendition flight is when the CIA kidnaps and tortures someone they suspect of being a terrorist, they are usually transported to Guantánamo Bay or other black sites).(23) This is all done despite Ireland following an official policy military neutrality. So, let us consider more closely what exactly this policy of ‘military neutrality’ means. Quite obviously, given the use of Shannon airport mentioned above, the phrase ‘military neutrality’ is totally vacuous. If the U.S. military is allowed to use Shannon airport to help perpetuate its global reign of terror then Ireland is not ‘militarily neutral’, it is actively supporting U.S. imperialism. There is no time here to detail the horrors the U.S. military has committed globally since they began using Shannon airport at the turn of the 21st Century. Needless to say, the death and destruction brought upon Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Yemen, to name just a few, is almost incalculable.
We are not a dictatorship.
As is standard for uneducated neoliberals, you’re equating dictatorship with autocracy, and not with what group of people dictates how your country functions.
and who’s the one plugging their ears and ignoring the housing crisis and other systemic problems that comes when you let finance capital run the country?
Labor productivity is a neoliberal metric that uses GDP per capita, that in actuality measures value captured, not value added.. For example, the most “labor productive” countries in the world, are those tax havens in the caribbean. Considering the Irish economy’s dominance by finance capital, that’s completely unsurprising that it would rank so high:
Ireland is a bourgeois democracy / capitalist dictatorship just like GB, and it doesn’t matter what form your elections take. The important point is that capital (specifically finance-capital) stands above your political system. Australia also doesn’t use FPTP, yet its able to use that voting system to continue its colonization and theft of aboriginal land. These alternative voting systems have proven to be no obstacles in the slightest for capitalists.
The US racial state, which built its wealth on the graves of its indigenous inhabitants, and enslaved millions of captured Africans, is not a good military ally to have. If Ireland were actually anti-imperialist, there would not even be a debate on allowing the US military to use its bases, especially given the context of its wars on Iraq.
Here’s another good article on Ireland’s role in imperialism and its internal crises.
Do you just hear what you want? We are not a dictatorship. We didnt let anyone use our bases for the war in Iraq. We didnt invade anyone or steal any land. In less than 100 years we revolutionised our economy and lifted the people out of poverty. We are not a utopia, you will claim not everyone is out of poverty but for the most part everyone is, and while more work is needed, there are continued efforts to improve and continue lifting people up.
From the source above:
As is standard for uneducated neoliberals, you’re equating dictatorship with autocracy, and not with what group of people dictates how your country functions.
and who’s the one plugging their ears and ignoring the housing crisis and other systemic problems that comes when you let finance capital run the country?