Not so bad after all

All the speculation and spin in the run up to the budget was that we were about to be crucified and I fully expected lots of pain but instead Michael Noonan pulled a delaying tactic by getting just enough out of consumption taxes and other changes to avoid hitting income. 

It's probably a smart move for two reasons. People spend what they think they will have, a 2% increase in VAT will hurt but if people saw their pay packets 2% lighter in January that would have hurt more and many would have cut spending even more. Secondly we are not really in control of our financial future. This budget is a side show on the collapse or not of the Euro. The government could have made a series of unpopular decisions only to have the situation deteriorate or improve at the next EU summit.

To a degree they have kicked the can down the road hoping that by the time budget 2013 comes along things will be better but if they are not then they will be able to blame the EU for unpopular income tax increases.

The Metro Herald headline summed it up this morning "It could have been worse"

3 Day Budget

So the government has started well on it's 3 day budget. It's clear that the simplest way to tackle the issues faced by the nation is to divide up the budget into 3 separate parts and announce the cuts and pain that particular income groupd in the population will suffer. 

Day 1: The Poor - Cuts to health, social welfare, justice and education. 

Day 2: The Middle Income - Probable increases in VAT, excise, motor tax, carbon taxes and a new property tax on homes.

Day 3: The Higher Earners - This is the big one, a new higher income tax bracket. Cuts to senior civil servant and politicians pensions, taxes on bonuses... 

Oh, whats that you say? There is no time for 3 days? Well I suppose we'll just hit the poor and the middle this year and next year try to fit in something for the higher earners. In the mean time if you are a Fine Gael supporter Enda will be giving out jobs and pay increases round the back of Government Buildings after the budget speech, just dont tell anyone.

I have nothing against the idea cuts and tax increases, we need to do something to fix the economy. But it feels to me like the pain is not being shared equally. You only need to look at the cuts in yesterdays budget and compare it to the cuts in politicians pensions then look at the proposals for tax increases in todays budget and compare it to a PR consultants salary increase to see that there really is a two tier economy, the governed and the governing. If we do not spread the pain fairly and evenly then the resentment and bitterness that is built up will be the main legacy of this government.

Update: Wow, I got that completely wrong.

Enda to kill Christmas?

I was surprised yesterday when I read a story on Facebook explaining how Enda Kenny was about to address the nation to outline the dismal state of our economy and how much extra we will have to pay in this years budget. I wasnt surprised at the fact that he would address the nation but at the abismal timing of it: during the ad break before the Late Late Toy Show

For those who dont know, the Late Late Toy Show is a sweet part of most Irish peoples childhood Christmas. We all grew up watching it and most of us of all ages will still sit down on Friday night to watch it bring out our inner child again. Scheduling a depressing state of the nation before it would be a bit like announcing an outbreak of bird flu 5 minutes before Americans sit down to enjoy their turkey dinner at thanks giving or going on TV to announce an immediate ban on suggary food just before showing Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. 

The Civil Servants around Kenny are apparently concerned ratings would not be high enough during the rest of the weekend. I suppose breaking into XFactor is not an option? Is Simon Cowel more powerful than Santa? Is the music industry more important than the toy industry? These are the same Civil Servants who got us into this mess and who still insist on being paid enormous salaries, fantastic pensions and automatic promotions to even better jobs. They live in a fantasy land but they seem determined to destroy everyone elses little dreams and fantasies. Let the nation have its Christmas, you have taken everything else from us.

I hope they see sense and reschedule it. Kenny will be a figure of derision and hatred if he announces tax increases and budget cuts just before people sit down to start their Christmas season.

Soccer is the new Rugby?

10 years? Has it really been 10 years since we last qualified for a major soccer tournament? It only seems like a couple of years ago since we were fighting the Roy v Mick civil war in Saipan. Then we had a long old spell in the wilderness but we're back now. Poland in 2012 will sure be something to look forward to, I wonder if Ryanair have jacked up the prices already :-)

Books

We went away to Co. Clare for the weekend and stayed in a hotel which falls into the "modern but trying to appear old" bracket. In one of the alcoves of the bar was a bookshelf stacked with old hardback books no one ever bothers to read. In the bottom corner of the bookshelf was a stack of even older looking, worn and tatty books. These looked far more interesting so I snapped a photo of them. I didnt try to read any of them because the pile looked a little too precarious to be messed with. For all I know they could have been made in China last year, treated to look old and sold in a Hotel Bits and Bobs market but I liked them.

Aras 2011

Voting day has finally arrived and since 2pm yesterday the broadcast media has had to avoid discussing the candidates. I'm not sure if a broadcast ban is really relevant these days since the internet and print media do not have the same restrictions and these days many people get a substantial amount of their news online and so can continue to read about election. The broadcasting ban may give us some peace quiet in the day before voting but it doesnt really achieve much else.

Either way ban or no ban, my choice is already made, I'll be voting for Michael D Higgins because I feel he better fits the role of President. In the end it was as simple as that. The President is a ceremonial position, they need to represent the state with dignity and poise, they need to be above the politicians who go to them looking for seals of office. Michael D for all his quirks appears to me to be the right person for the job. While some of the candidates had strong points I think they would be better suited to life in the Dail than in the Aras. Others should have been content to make a difference outside the Aras and will leave this election with their reputations tarnished without ever having a realistic chance or getting elected or even getting their expenses back.

Regardless of who you vote for you should go out to vote, it's a right, a privilege and a duty. It is something that people around the world fight and die for even today, dont waste it.

Occupy Dublin

Here is a photo I took outside the Central Bank a couple of weeks ago where the Occupy Dame Street Protestors are living in tents to protest against capatilism. I'm not sure exactly what their goal is and what will get them to stop the protest in Dublin. Do they want to close down the Central Bank, redistribute all wealth or just raise awareness? Why are they at the Central Bank instead of the IFSC which would more closely reflect the Occupy Wall Street image? I'm not clear but sure maybe we could all do with some of their passion in our lives, maybe not the protesting but just being that dedicated to a cause or an interest. Though volunteering to live in a small tent on nights like last night when Dublin suffered 100 year floods requires a level dedication, passion and more than a touch of the crazy that I could never have.

iOS 5

I've been playing with iOS5 for a while and I've come to two conclusions on it. First it's a great update on the iPad. Second its a bit of a let down update on the iPhone. 

iOS 5 on the iPad is actually a nice step forward. There are lots of headline features but the three I've found myself using regularly are the notifications on the lock screen, newsstand and the multi-touch gestures. Notifications are actually very useful and I've now find that I have my iPad in a stand beside my monitor and I can see when an email, twitter of Facebook message pops in. Newsstand I assumed would be a gimmick and perhaps it will be but I currently have two newspapers installed for free (the Guardian trial and metro) and I do find myself reading them. I feel the novelty could wear off and I'll go back to just reading the websites. Finally the killer update for me is the multi-touch gestures. Swiping up with 4 fingers to access multitasking, swiping across to switch apps and pinching to close apps have become my usual way of navigating apps. 

On the other hand (no pun intended) the multi-touch gestures don't work on the iPhone 4, where I actually need them because my home button is acting up a little so I'd like an alternative to pressing it, especially the double tap to open multitasking. I can understand that the screen is a little small and fiddly for 4 finger gestures but Apple could at least have given us the option. To not have it there is a let when compared to the iPad. The notification system is the one update on the iPhone I regularly use and like. 

Other features like wifi sync, and reminders may become party of my day to day use but haven't yet. The photo editing tool is simply too late to the game since I'm already using Photoshop Express and Snapseed.  Airplay mirroring to the Apple TV might prove useful some time but it's not something I have a use for at the moment. My wife and I might use iMessage but she's rather sensibly banned me from updating her 3GS at least for now. She doesn't want any of the other new features and doesn't want anything to change  so she's happy to stay a version behind until everyone else tests the OS.

All in all iOS 5 isn't a bad upgrade. It's adds some useful features, especially for the iPad but most importantly it's free so it is pointless to complain about anything. Like the iPhone 4S it seems like an incremental update but then again iOS works and works well so we'd all probably complain more if Apple changed it.

Autumn 2011

Something good seems to have come from the economic collapse, we still have St Stephens Green (at least for another autumn). The plans for Metro North and the Dart Interconnector seem to have been put on hold if not cancelled so there is no need to dig up the Green and build a train station. 

Steve Jobs RIP

Every morning when I wake the first thing I do is check my iPhone for the news. I suppose that was indeed a fitting way to learn about the untimely passing of Steve Jobs, the man who gave us the iPhone and set the standard by which smartphones, tablets, PCs and laptops are measured today. 

I am an Apple fan. I have owned all the iPhone versions up to and including 4. I own the iPad2, a classic iPod, Apple TV 2, a MacBook Pro, my wife uses a MacBook Air and the whole lot are connected using an Airport Extreme. We don't buy DVDs anymore, we rent from iTunes. My CDs are in a box under the stairs, replaced by iTunes as well. I'm sure many people will tell me that in each case a better device exists for numerous technical reasons. However I chose the Apple device because they are the best fit for what I want.

Steve's genius wasn't in inventing the first device in a class (the iPod wasn't the first MP3 Player, the iPad was not the first tablet device) or even the device with the most features (no Flash), it was in looking at a market and creating something to meet that need and something that would in a short amount of time come to define that market. He will be missed by many who never met him but who have grown accustomed to his genius.