tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-333872042024-03-19T04:34:32.471+00:00Finfacts IrelandMichael Hennigan: The Finfacts economics site was launched in 1997. Average monthly page views of this blog are at 80,000. Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comBlogger690125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-84650890938707596422024-03-15T02:03:00.005+00:002024-03-16T05:21:58.029+00:00FT 1000 in 2024 tracks Europe’s fastest-growing companies
<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4JK6LgEmovAZ-zqUfBqPhRoBjxwahx80bDx17oxfc8_ytzxSpBTE3d6FONUqzqiCPRkohtWy3aJb1diNZJt69PLNEYPKg72zRC0hbDAQjUbe_QPTwEeDSKX4ta1tiSPkRhBPPIpGa-CanprNBsppQGWsDG62NX6MLqopaHOIsxCJTE4Rsf3Vrw/s700/FT1000_logo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="700" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4JK6LgEmovAZ-zqUfBqPhRoBjxwahx80bDx17oxfc8_ytzxSpBTE3d6FONUqzqiCPRkohtWy3aJb1diNZJt69PLNEYPKg72zRC0hbDAQjUbe_QPTwEeDSKX4ta1tiSPkRhBPPIpGa-CanprNBsppQGWsDG62NX6MLqopaHOIsxCJTE4Rsf3Vrw/w640-h388/FT1000_logo.png" width="560" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b>Raylyst Solar,</b> a Prague-based solar panel distributor, heads the eighth annual FT 1000 ranking with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (%) of 824.4%. The company says "We are a leading distributor of photovoltaic products for the European region. We provide the highest quality solar panels falling into the Bloomberg Tier 1 category, as well as inverters and battery systems from verified manufacturers in the market."</p><p><b>Adagio of France,</b> primarily sells to the digital advertising industry. It was founded in 2012 and is ranked second with a CAGR of 582.6%, followed by an <b>Italian digital ad agency. Bidberry</b> has 424.4% growth.</p><p><b>The FT 1000 ranking produced by the German statistics firm, Statista, highlights the European companies that have grown fastest.</b></p><p>They rank from the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR), in revenue from 2019 to 2022. This year, a minimum average growth rate of 36.9% is required for participation.</p>
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<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Ireland</span></b></h1><p>Ireland has not fared very well with this ranking in recent years: <b>Bevcraft Group is at 298 in the Food & Beverages category.</b> It is <a href="https://www.bevcraft.com/about" target="_blank"><b>a born-in-Ireland enterprise.</b></a></p><p><b>Alchemy Global Solutions was founded in Kentucky, United States in 2016. The ranking is 257.</b></p><p>Its category is Waste Management & Recycling (The company has said "Global revenues leap to more than $440m making Alchemy the fastest growing global company in the global circular tech market.")</p><p>The head office is in Dublin for tax purposes.</p><p><b>MCO (MyComplianceOffice) is at 768.</b></p><p><b>It was a unit of Fidelity in the United States from 1998 and it was spinout in 2008.</b></p><p>It says "MCO offers a unique combination of employee surveillance, transaction monitoring, and third-party oversight, ensuring that compliance obligations are not only met but exceeded."</p><p>Headquarters are in New York, and also in Dublin, for tax purposes.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">In effect, there is only one Irish entry.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: red;">These other two companies should not be included.</span></b></p><p>The criteria for inclusion is <b>"An independent company</b> <b>(not a subsidiary or branch office of any kind)."</b></p>
<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Italy in the lead</span></b></h1><p>IT and software groups have 189 entries in the FT 1000 — up from 176 last year.</p><div>European tech funding halved in 2023 and back to pre-Covid levels — however, AI was in a good position.</div><p>Atomico’s <a href="https://stateofeuropeantech.com/" target="_blank"><b>'State of European Tech'</b></a> report showed that overall funding for European venture-backed companies would decline to 45% in 2023 from a year before.</p><p>Atomico is a European Venture Capital firm headquartered in London, with offices in Paris, Berlin and Stockholm</p><p><b>Italy has 304 entrants; Germany 198; and France 129, accounting for 77%.</b></p><p><b>Adding Poland 44; The Netherlands 29; Spain 27; Sweden 17 and Belgium 15, results in 90%.</b></p><p>As for categories besides IT and software groups, Construction firms are at 92; e-commerce businesses are at 79; fintech and financial services are fourth place with 68 firms while energy and utilities are the fifth best placed, with 67 companies.</p><p><b>For cities, London leads with 70 firms — down from 84 in 2023; Milan is in second place with 43 firms, while Paris is at 39.</b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Criteria for inclusion</span></b></p><blockquote><p>"Revenue of at least €100,000 generated in 2019;</p><p>Revenue of at least €1.5mn generated in 2022;</p><p>An independent company <b>(not a subsidiary or branch office of any kind);</b></p><p>Revenue growth between 2019 and 2022 that was primarily organic (ie “internally” stimulated);</p><p>If listed on a stock exchange, having a share price that has not fallen 50% or more since 2022."</p></blockquote>
<p>"Companies with headquarters in these countries were eligible to participate: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom."</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Calculation of CAGR</span></b></p><p>"The calculation of company growth rates is based on the revenue figures submitted by the companies in the respective national currency. For better comparability in the ranking, <b>the revenue figures were converted into euros.</b> The average exchange rate for the financial year indicated by the company was used for this purpose."</p><p>The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) was calculated as follows:</p><p>[(revenue2022 / revenue2019)^(1/3)) — 1 = CAGR The absolute growth between 2019 and 2022 was calculated as follows: (revenue2022 / revenue2019) — 1 = Growth rate"]</p><p><b><a href="https://www.ft.com/ft1000-2024" target="_blank">FT 1000: the eighth annual ranking of Europe’s fastest-growing companies</a></b></p>
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<h1><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Related </b></span></h1>
<p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2024/03/irelands-gdp-per-capita-in-2023-at.html" target="_blank"><b>Ireland's GDP per capita in 2023 at €30,000 - Denmark at €69,000</b></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrkpMiVQguilLMlH-_dPtjGq1ethPhsh-SruRRXBooU_QYRsmuHKDFHkI3ioY0pY6yZi66YbIlXf6x4hd08ylD4G1FZNgK9-joj3mNxI0PNjnXitVHe5fQCm__oGiu4iPfyOIX5CQ3-YPliHhHq6P2FZtwM6orTNPkdiKqGP32Fi6C5Xkw-iHdA/s1921/Index%20of%20GDP%20per%20capita%20in%20PPS%202022%20flash%20estimates.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1921" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrkpMiVQguilLMlH-_dPtjGq1ethPhsh-SruRRXBooU_QYRsmuHKDFHkI3ioY0pY6yZi66YbIlXf6x4hd08ylD4G1FZNgK9-joj3mNxI0PNjnXitVHe5fQCm__oGiu4iPfyOIX5CQ3-YPliHhHq6P2FZtwM6orTNPkdiKqGP32Fi6C5Xkw-iHdA/w640-h360/Index%20of%20GDP%20per%20capita%20in%20PPS%202022%20flash%20estimates.jpg" width="560" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #515560; font-size: 16px;"><b>Source dataset: </b></span><a class="ecl-link" href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/bookmark/0652db29-8c5d-4124-a9ad-974a7c123d64?lang=en" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0e47cb; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;"><b>prc_ppp_ind</b></a> </div>
<p>It's a delusion that Ireland is among the richest countries in the world, with high levels of GDP per capita.</p>
<p><b>Ignore Luxembourg </b>(as 47% of its workforce live in other countries) and <b>ignore Ireland</b> as the high level of GDP per capita is explained by the presence of large multinational companies holding intellectual property and being Irish for tax purposes (e.g. <b>Medtronic,</b> the American firm, became Irish in 2016: <b>It's market cap is about $113bn in US compared with the total market value of the Irish Stock Exchange of €93bn/$101bn</b>). Employment is a plus.</p>
<p>Denmark (36% above the EU average), the Netherlands (30%), Austria (25%), Belgium (21%), Sweden (19%) and Germany (17%).</p>
<p>In contrast, Bulgaria (41% below the EU average), Slovakia (33%) and Greece (32%) registered the lowest GDP per capita.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">Once 1) Retained earnings from re-domiciled firms (Irish for tax purposes) 2) Deprecation of IP (Intellectual Property) 3) Deprecation of thousands of leased aircraft and 4) Virtual (fake) Contract for Manufacturing, are purged from the National Accounts, the reality will be seen. </span></b></p><p><b>In GDP per capita, Ireland is under the EU average and is in a group with Italy; Cyprus; Czechia; the Baltic countries and Spain.</b></p>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-79189177636320851022024-03-07T02:11:00.025+00:002024-03-16T05:18:37.147+00:00Ireland's GDP per capita in 2023 at €30,000 - Denmark at €69,000 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoqYwA6QKEIaPuZ1sfLm_1gkl1YromvvFkD6aEptix66MxL195NHtremezYW1nwohFbxhkODCLeseOxuBvmuSJuM3mXB3HMOIhJGXh1WkLtzIDNa1flU7dV8V-grqZN00B7LxrWjfAUlwXX-LpaPRXSxjGY7DTzMNfXtB1ObsfoIqA2JCrTlbJA/s757/Euro_area_Ireland.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="757" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoqYwA6QKEIaPuZ1sfLm_1gkl1YromvvFkD6aEptix66MxL195NHtremezYW1nwohFbxhkODCLeseOxuBvmuSJuM3mXB3HMOIhJGXh1WkLtzIDNa1flU7dV8V-grqZN00B7LxrWjfAUlwXX-LpaPRXSxjGY7DTzMNfXtB1ObsfoIqA2JCrTlbJA/w640-h484/Euro_area_Ireland.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">ECB: (European Central Bank): </span><a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/economic-bulletin/focus/2023/html/ecb.ebbox202303_02~3404c284d0.en.html" target="_blank">Intangible assets of multinational enterprises in Ireland and their impact on euro area GDP</a></b></p><p></p><p>The 20-country Euro Area has a population of about 348,000,000 and the EU is at 448,000,000.</p><p>The Irish population in December 2023 is estimated to have been <b>5,330,000.</b></p><p><b>Denmark</b> in 2023 had a euro income per capita of <b>€69,100. It is the most prosperous country in Europe (absen shenanigans) with a population close to 6mn.</b></p><p>A phantom Contract Manufacturing /Goods for processing was to be <b>among MNC (multinational) deductions made in 2017.</b> It was to be deleted from the headline GDP to produce a Modified General National Income (GNI*).</p><p>However, it got worse every year between 2017-2023 (see the chart above).</p><p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/10/irish-government-may-have-nixed-key.html" target="_blank"><b>Irish Government may have nixed a key remedy for 'Leprechaun economics'</b></a></p><p><b>GDP (Gross domestic product) was falsely boosted in 2022 by €143bn and €115bn in 2023.</b></p><p>I deducted <b>€115bn from the </b>GNI* and the Irish income per capita was about<b> €30,000 in 2023.</b></p><p><b>The notion that Ireland is among the richest in the world, would earn a Piseóg (an Irish curse) from many Irish people.</b></p><p>Denmark ranked 9th among the 132 economies featured in the Global Innovation Index 2023. Ireland has a small innovation base.</p><p><b>In 2023 Denmark's flagship drug firm Novo Nordisk, became Europe's most valuable company. In early March 2024, Novo Nordisk was the 12th most valuable company in the world, with a market cap of $604bn.</b></p><p>Competition for obesity drugs will bring down current high valuations enjoyed by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. However, Denmark has been a pioneer in developing commercial wind power since the 1970s and <a href="https://disfold.com/denmark/companies/" target="_blank"><b>Denmark is the world's fifth-largest maritime shipping nation.</b></a></p><p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/07/irelands-low-number-of-multinational.html" target="_blank"><b>It's 39 years since the birth of a significant multinational in Ireland:</b></a> <b>Ryanair</b> the largest airline in Europe both in terms of fleet size (527 aircraft) and routes served (1,831).</p><div><a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/newsevents/presentations/2023/Quarterly_Presentation_Q4_2023_Final.pdf" target="_blank"><b>(Provisional data on the Irish National Accounts have been published, and final figures will be published next July.)</b></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Ireland once had a significant pharmaceutical company, at the turn of the century. It was founded by an American in 1969 and in the late 1990s, its value on the Irish Stock Exchange reached over €20bn. In 2001 Élan Corporation was the world's 20th-largest drug company.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>In January 1984, Élan became the first Irish company to secure a public listing in America, floating on the NASDAQ. In 1990 Élan became the first Irish company to list on the New York Stock Exchange.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 2002 a corrupt plan by executives was revealed. They had agreed on complex joint-venture agreements with 55 companies. <b>By keeping the company’s stake in each of these vehicles below 20%, Élan was able to keep their poor results off the corporation’s income statements. </b>There were problems with products<b> and by 2013 several units had been sold and the company was acquired by an American firm. </b>The price was €6.5bn. </div></div><p><a href="https://gfmag.com/data/richest-countries-in-the-world/" target="_blank"><b>Global Finance magazine</b></a> has the 10 richest countries in the world in 2024 with Luxembourg, Ireland, and Singapore in the lead. Switzerland has a 6th ranking and Norway is at 9th. The United States is 10th.</p><p><b>Denmark</b> with a population of 5,911,000 has an 11th position at <b>$75,000</b> or <b>€69,100.</b></p><p><b>GDP-PPP (Purchasing power parity) per capita ($): Luxembourg $143,304; Ireland $137,638 and Singapore is at $133,108.</b></p><p><b>Both Ireland and Luxembourg are anomalies.</b></p><p>About 75% of<b> Luxembourg's</b> workforce comprises immigrant workers or cross-border commuters. The share of cross-border workers has increased from 3% in 1961 to <b>47% in 2023</b>; nearly one in two cross-border workers comes from France.</p>
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<p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyehVmzZwpIQE3EsIG6tdAfaxyqqXQDGcvbIb6stV15-yd6MdyW86ehxL6zyfzEnIrSxVHeu7k5IrTKUcig38eoAFbEAu6wurTEZ9pcdWErPg423lQoEaN1GktZM3pbQzea8NqVqGQ2D2o1hNAlN_HXMzKiHPTJzqzinjMXiNQw_1s4iBXCL3cNA/s723/Contract-manufacturing_2024.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="723" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyehVmzZwpIQE3EsIG6tdAfaxyqqXQDGcvbIb6stV15-yd6MdyW86ehxL6zyfzEnIrSxVHeu7k5IrTKUcig38eoAFbEAu6wurTEZ9pcdWErPg423lQoEaN1GktZM3pbQzea8NqVqGQ2D2o1hNAlN_HXMzKiHPTJzqzinjMXiNQw_1s4iBXCL3cNA/w640-h600/Contract-manufacturing_2024.JPG" width="560" /></a></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>This was produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)</b></span></p><p>In July 2016 <b>Paul Krugman,</b> New York Times columnist and winner of the economics Nobel, called the 2015 Irish national accounts,<span style="color: red;"> <b>'Leprechaun economics.'</b></span></p><p><b>Ireland reported an annual growth of 26.3%!</b></p>
<p>Eight years later <span><b style="color: red;">'Leprechaun economics' </b>endures</span><span style="color: red;">.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbRHp1ftYsSZo-pkKoEjdubnRwNKAZDWUi99xq0iAiN7BxP20HkKMae1pFgsT8zylNNd6MOSZujlv3vg_oE3JEdcw1BOM4zoEH2YLEXwSuDn7zVdzC4CHB7vAfgwyeOiH9AJA4NFi-P4cpKouwWlWCrJ-CWxfIwDGVYg1yHvwxJ-NTeiCIPCnbGg/s742/Modified_GNI_2024.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="742" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbRHp1ftYsSZo-pkKoEjdubnRwNKAZDWUi99xq0iAiN7BxP20HkKMae1pFgsT8zylNNd6MOSZujlv3vg_oE3JEdcw1BOM4zoEH2YLEXwSuDn7zVdzC4CHB7vAfgwyeOiH9AJA4NFi-P4cpKouwWlWCrJ-CWxfIwDGVYg1yHvwxJ-NTeiCIPCnbGg/w640-h418/Modified_GNI_2024.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p>Ireland's national statistics office CSO (Central Statistics Office) on March 1, 2024,<a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/newsevents/presentations/2023/Quarterly_Presentation_Q4_2023_Final.pdf" target="_blank"><b> published a provisional detail on the economic outcome of year 2023.</b></a></p>
<p>GDP shrank by 3.2% in 2023 driven by a contraction in the multinational industry sector, while Modified Domestic Demand grew by 0.5%.</p><p><b>The final economic data for 2023 will be published by July 2024.</b></p><p><a href="https://www.fiscalcouncil.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Analytical-Note-Modified-Investment-Eddie-Casey-May-2023.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Eddie Casey of the Irish Fiscal Council</b></a> says "<b>Modified domestic demand</b> has become a key indicator of focus for understanding what is happening to Ireland’s domestic economy. This is good in the sense that it strips out some of the major distortions arising from foreign-owned multinational enterprises, including aircraft leasing and contract manufacturing.<b> However, users should remain cautious in interpreting the measure</b></p><p>The outsized role of multinational enterprises in very specific areas can still distort modified domestic demand through their effect on modified investment. <b>And by ignoring the trade side entirely, these investments are not offset by imports in the modified domestic demand measure.</b></p><p>We show <b>how imports of machinery and equipment to develop semiconductors may have distorted modified domestic demand growth in 2022.</b> We explore Ireland’s modified investment closely and propose some avenues to better understand it, including through a focus on selected areas of domestic machinery and equipment investment."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaEyUqrUfY4vgrVAERdWrKa-rb15bwU_h-tiC__8mpJFvI5IN2BdW6TYNxG1ABG5D7i7-F0AFFkEA4TN732wEWV3IRbDYjudo8RK_qa3ZMCO5rLH8vQCdYkDLccp45bIXefM6MgsvrKlegzHssglCvI533-GRKGFaxDciB4x1MectKm6MFRQXMQ/s470/Breakdown-Merchandise-exports-imports-2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="470" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaEyUqrUfY4vgrVAERdWrKa-rb15bwU_h-tiC__8mpJFvI5IN2BdW6TYNxG1ABG5D7i7-F0AFFkEA4TN732wEWV3IRbDYjudo8RK_qa3ZMCO5rLH8vQCdYkDLccp45bIXefM6MgsvrKlegzHssglCvI533-GRKGFaxDciB4x1MectKm6MFRQXMQ/w640-h420/Breakdown-Merchandise-exports-imports-2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p>The CSO says that<b> "Ireland’s trade balance at €22bn, all goods and services exports less all goods and services imports, fell by €26bn in the fourth quarter of 2023 over the same period in 2022, mainly due to a decrease in contract manufacturing exports."</b></p><p>Contract manufacturing or Goods for processing, and Merchanting (net exports) are mainly fiction (for example Apple merchandise being exported from Ireland to China!).</p><p>Just look at the chart <b>Tabe 2.1</b> — the imports are tiny compared with the exports.</p><p><b>It's a tax dodge by Apple and other big US companies.</b></p><p><b>There is a benefit from corporation tax receipts but adding most of the net into Irish national accounts is a fraud.</b></p><p>We have to wait for the data until July for the deductions of multinational from GDP of €504.6bn.</p><p>See the minuses in the Department Of Finance chart on top (F, G and H).</p><p>For Modified Gross National Income* (GNI*) net of MNCs distortions, the net was €273bn.</p><p>Let's say it is €265bn in 2023.</p><p>In 2022 the deduction from the GNI* was omitted from the net figure and the<b> Contract Manufacturing/Goods for Processing, a total value of €143bn in 2022 and €115bn in 2033.</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">The key issue again is that these net processing funds remain outside Ireland. </span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-mip/measuringirelandsprogress2022/economy/" target="_blank"><b>'Measuring Ireland's Progress 2022'</b></a> from the CSO is misleading.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In late 2021 economists at the Central Bank of Ireland noted:<b> <span style="color: red;">"Further increases in exports due to contract manufacturing and merchanting will continue to distort Ireland’s trade performance and inflate GDP in the National Accounts."</span></b></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2N_WxIuS_oir0x4cLnFOgzBwCwpaysMPGWBdL7yO1KStEaRaAlyILMKgyka2cpUUTHOIv39WOfEA6xDHg4PKdnI4GJI1T2Cu-1VgJLMEfcSjLpY_QXC16dGE2adlLcBZnUDZ2I_QhjdF9je_QLjSHmfBCwwVPLweJRgG8U0dqfJ7LhjyO-aZH2g/s803/National_accounts-2012-2022.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="803" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2N_WxIuS_oir0x4cLnFOgzBwCwpaysMPGWBdL7yO1KStEaRaAlyILMKgyka2cpUUTHOIv39WOfEA6xDHg4PKdnI4GJI1T2Cu-1VgJLMEfcSjLpY_QXC16dGE2adlLcBZnUDZ2I_QhjdF9je_QLjSHmfBCwwVPLweJRgG8U0dqfJ7LhjyO-aZH2g/w640-h268/National_accounts-2012-2022.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Treat the </b><b><span>€</span></b><b>52,700 per capita GNI* in 2022 as misleading. The correct figure was </b></span><b style="color: red;">€26</b><b style="color: red;">,000.</b><b style="color: red;"> </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Modified net GDP in 2023 is €150bn at current prices.</b></div><b><p><b><span style="color: red;">The per capita income with an estimated population of 5,330,000 in December 2023, results in just over €30,000.</span></b></p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Individual Consumption vs GDP</span></b></h1><p>Individual consumption (AIC) consists of the goods and services consumed by individuals, irrespective of whether these goods and services are purchased and paid for by households, government, or non-profit institutions serving households.</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Ireland has the second-highest headline GDP per capita in the EU while AIC consumption per capita in 2022 was 6% below the EU average.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUNpW4A2EtYC0kLSDhGxVbcLM2ww5B9brIOCaMIuzjXxGBw_j9zNeMJ49Ud68fW2eHfnmxRYu2Q9o0H7zZCc3E5xPojL8rWiieghhoHWsN1SBlUY8hHEuCOcY0m6NnQFi9OUEPrb6l3WUjATyNZaQPRKbi4NCwvyMEUnqBe6OSjQdaK2chfSLQg/s4000/actual-individual-consumption-volume-index-2022.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUNpW4A2EtYC0kLSDhGxVbcLM2ww5B9brIOCaMIuzjXxGBw_j9zNeMJ49Ud68fW2eHfnmxRYu2Q9o0H7zZCc3E5xPojL8rWiieghhoHWsN1SBlUY8hHEuCOcY0m6NnQFi9OUEPrb6l3WUjATyNZaQPRKbi4NCwvyMEUnqBe6OSjQdaK2chfSLQg/w640-h360/actual-individual-consumption-volume-index-2022.png" width="560" /></a></div>
</b>
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</center><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrkpMiVQguilLMlH-_dPtjGq1ethPhsh-SruRRXBooU_QYRsmuHKDFHkI3ioY0pY6yZi66YbIlXf6x4hd08ylD4G1FZNgK9-joj3mNxI0PNjnXitVHe5fQCm__oGiu4iPfyOIX5CQ3-YPliHhHq6P2FZtwM6orTNPkdiKqGP32Fi6C5Xkw-iHdA/s1921/Index%20of%20GDP%20per%20capita%20in%20PPS%202022%20flash%20estimates.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1921" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrkpMiVQguilLMlH-_dPtjGq1ethPhsh-SruRRXBooU_QYRsmuHKDFHkI3ioY0pY6yZi66YbIlXf6x4hd08ylD4G1FZNgK9-joj3mNxI0PNjnXitVHe5fQCm__oGiu4iPfyOIX5CQ3-YPliHhHq6P2FZtwM6orTNPkdiKqGP32Fi6C5Xkw-iHdA/w640-h360/Index%20of%20GDP%20per%20capita%20in%20PPS%202022%20flash%20estimates.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #515560; font-size: 16px;"><b>Source dataset: </b></span><a class="ecl-link" href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/bookmark/0652db29-8c5d-4124-a9ad-974a7c123d64?lang=en" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0e47cb; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px;"><b>prc_ppp_ind</b></a> </div><p><b>It's a delusion that Ireland is among the richest countries in the world, with high levels of GDP per capita.</b></p><p>Ignore <b>Luxembourg</b> (as 47% of its workforce live in other countries) and ignore <b>Ireland</b> as the high level of GDP per capita is explained by the presence of large multinational companies holding intellectual property and being Irish for tax purposes (e.g. <b>Medtronic,</b> the American firm, became Irish in 2016: It's market cap is about $113bn in US compared with the total market value of the Irish Stock Exchange of €93bn/$101bn). Providing employment is a plus.</p><p>Denmark (36% above the EU average), the Netherlands (30%), Austria (25%), Belgium (21%), Sweden (19%) and Germany (17%).</p><p>In contrast, Bulgaria (41% below the EU average), Slovakia (33%) and Greece (32%) registered the lowest GDP per capita.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">Once 1) Retained earnings from re-domiciled firms (Irish for tax purposes) 2) Deprecation of IP (Intellectual Property) 3) Deprecation of thousands of leased aircraft and 4) Virtual (fake) Contract for Manufacturing, are purged from the National Accounts, the reality will be seen. </span></b></p><p><b>In GDP per capita, </b><b>Ireland is under the EU average and is in a group with Italy; Cyprus; Czechia; the Baltic countries, and Spain.</b></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-47376872052492148992024-03-03T06:25:00.000+00:002024-03-03T06:25:09.576+00:00China world leader in 37 of 44 critical technologies, EU missing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNO5nlmCNxnawLpCmLPOhzVQP5GKoxXK2GxrAO8MCPakEhFxHyawnjOpNFSC1sjbM8bP99t5dhk_4XWUsGvXa9svP7Uaz_0UTt8ldhMGLrl8OqAI79Zl-mF58JhGLGkg7XEg2hzWlm_6p8e23UtcLiQxUodv-5e4LhDudBmLL7vz2eTMO5BJ6rgQ/s817/GFP-EU-US-2123.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="817" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNO5nlmCNxnawLpCmLPOhzVQP5GKoxXK2GxrAO8MCPakEhFxHyawnjOpNFSC1sjbM8bP99t5dhk_4XWUsGvXa9svP7Uaz_0UTt8ldhMGLrl8OqAI79Zl-mF58JhGLGkg7XEg2hzWlm_6p8e23UtcLiQxUodv-5e4LhDudBmLL7vz2eTMO5BJ6rgQ/w640-h636/GFP-EU-US-2123.JPG" width="560" /></a></div> <p>The <b>Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)</b> was formed in 2001 and the Critical Technology Tracker was launched on 1st March 2023. <b>It identified China as having stolen a march on its competitors.</b></p>
<p><b>ASPI said that China's global lead extends to 37 of the 44 technologies tracked, with the country excelling in defence and space-related technologies. The United States had 7 positions.</b></p><p>The think-tank said "Notably, China's strides in nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles, reportedly took US intelligence by surprise in August 2021. <b><a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/report/critical-technology-tracker" target="_blank">ASPI's Critical Technology Tracker</a></b> shows that, for some technologies, <b>all of the world's top 10 leading research institutions are based in China, </b>collectively generating <b>nine times more high-impact research papers than the second-ranked country, most often the US."</b></p><p>The dataset revealed a large gap between China and the US, "as the leading two countries, and everyone else. <b>The data then indicates a small, second-tier group of countries led by India and the UK: other countries that regularly appear in this group — in many technological fields — include South Korea, Germany, Australia, Italy, and less often, Japan."</b></p><p>Australia was in the top five for nine technologies; Italy (seven technologies), Iran (six), Japan (four) and Canada (four).</p><p>Russia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, France, <b>Malaysia </b>and the Netherlands were in the top five for one or two technologies. Several other countries, including Spain and Turkey, make the top 10 countries but were outside the top five.</p><p>ASPI noted,<b> "One surprising finding of the report is that Iran has surpassed countries like Japan, Canada, France and Russia to secure its place in the top five in six critical technologies."</b></p>
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<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The European Union </span></b></h1>
The <b>European Centre for International Political Economy</b> (ECIPE; Fredrik Erixon Oscar Guinea Oscar du Roy) say that an economy that grows at 3% per year will double in 24 years but an economy that grows at 1% per year will double only in 48 years. <b>For a long time now, the average growth rate in mature and developed European economies has been closer to 1% than 3%.
</b><blockquote>
"The EU has had positive economic growth but it has been slow in comparison with other developed economies. If European countries were states in the United States, many of them would belong to the group of poorest countries. In this <b><a href="https://ecipe.org/publications/comparing-economic-growth-between-eu-and-us-states/" target="_blank">Policy Brief,</a></b> we rank GDP per capita in EU countries and US states, and the result is dispiriting.</blockquote><blockquote> The ranking of GDP per capita in 14 EU member states, which together represented 89% of EU GDP, was lower in 2021 than in 2000.</blockquote><blockquote> <b>For instance, France and Germany were as rich as the 36th and the 31st US states in 2000, but twenty-one years later, French GDP per capita was lower than the 48th poorest US state, Arkansas, while German GDP per capita had fallen to become as prosperous as the 38th US state, Oklahoma. GDP per capita in Central and Eastern European countries have grown considerably but their relatively small size and lower starting point stop them from reverting the trend of relative European economic decline.</b></blockquote><blockquote>The result of this economic divergence between EU member states and US states is a growing wedge of GDP per capita between the EU and the US, <b>which in 2021 was as large as 82%.</b> If the trend continues, <b><span style="color: red;">the prosperity gap between the average European and American in 2035 will be as big as between the average European and Indian today."</span></b></blockquote>
<p><b>Francis de Véricourt, </b>a professor of management science and founding academic director of the <b>Institute for Deep Tech Innovation at ESMT Berlin,</b> has said that Europe finds itself at risk of missing out on the current deep tech revolution. "Europe is falling behind in various areas of innovation such as <b>genomics, quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI),</b> being outpaced by the US and China."</p><p>He says more than half of recently established deep tech companies are found in the US. In 2022, US$51bn was invested in US deep tech – more than double the European investment of around US$20bn.</p><p><b>"The same gap can be seen in AI (artificial intelligence). Venture firms have invested a huge €38bn (US$41.3bn) into US-based start-ups, with Europe receiving investments of €10bn.</b></p><p><b>China is also rapidly catching up, investing more in technologies such as autonomous mobility, generative AI and nuclear fusion."</b></p><p><b>Francis de Véricourt </b><a href="https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243821/why-europe-falling-behind-us-and-china-global-innovation-race" target="_blank"><b>said</b></a> that <b>t</b>his innovation gap is particularly visible in space tech. In October, the European Space Agency (ESA) engaged SpaceX to launch four of Europe’s Galileo satellites in 2024. <b>Turning to Elon Musk’s US-based company comes in the wake of delays to ESA’s own rockets.</b></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKR3YQywyAGk0BX4FFZfM-maDAUKz03SS4x8oNIW36FFcxOXl4-PO5fIEGbbWrNxcFo4pSuMN2khk5IbB9K2vtsTvPCArhmBovC1vTJauQC8RdBvLytjFZjsGaGPspPXBwF9dHWklfnUwxbSsC3CbxdIZ-c2ktXUu6RT1FFao-pk_kTFi2nSjeuA/s840/US-EU-2024-2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="840" height="418" separator="" span="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKR3YQywyAGk0BX4FFZfM-maDAUKz03SS4x8oNIW36FFcxOXl4-PO5fIEGbbWrNxcFo4pSuMN2khk5IbB9K2vtsTvPCArhmBovC1vTJauQC8RdBvLytjFZjsGaGPspPXBwF9dHWklfnUwxbSsC3CbxdIZ-c2ktXUu6RT1FFao-pk_kTFi2nSjeuA/w640-h418/US-EU-2024-2023.JPG" style="clear: both; text-align: center;" width="560//div>
<div class=" /></a></span><span style="color: #38761d; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKR3YQywyAGk0BX4FFZfM-maDAUKz03SS4x8oNIW36FFcxOXl4-PO5fIEGbbWrNxcFo4pSuMN2khk5IbB9K2vtsTvPCArhmBovC1vTJauQC8RdBvLytjFZjsGaGPspPXBwF9dHWklfnUwxbSsC3CbxdIZ-c2ktXUu6RT1FFao-pk_kTFi2nSjeuA/s840/US-EU-2024-2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; display: inline;">US population in 2023 was 320mn and the EU population was 448mn.</div></b></span></a></div></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">More than two decades into the 21st century, Europe’s industrial decline shows little sign of stopping. Over that period, the economic divergence between EU member states and <b>US states is evident in an 82% (in 2021) gap in GDP per capita between the EU and the US.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In the US, 60% of households own shares either directly or through various vehicles. In the EU it is 32%.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAFoSPG4Yqg5xiZIcB7lqTfvhDOm1nNYZMHF19svj4JwDIvyB-RRFCsXB54n5yH2-rbiVIProBVxLE40KJRKrCn6Hm0qUp4lddw6pRv1aFoUZZQhJDvEBCiyryqz9w-YGrnCeo3qmIZ9nM4-Gn3Bn7Md6KjTquCXw0w5P4N8Qn00ZdfxpytXrkNQ/s756/Jacob-Wallenberg.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="471" data-original-width="756" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAFoSPG4Yqg5xiZIcB7lqTfvhDOm1nNYZMHF19svj4JwDIvyB-RRFCsXB54n5yH2-rbiVIProBVxLE40KJRKrCn6Hm0qUp4lddw6pRv1aFoUZZQhJDvEBCiyryqz9w-YGrnCeo3qmIZ9nM4-Gn3Bn7Md6KjTquCXw0w5P4N8Qn00ZdfxpytXrkNQ/w640-h398/Jacob-Wallenberg.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<p><i>Since the late nineteenth century, the Wallenberg family has been Sweden's preeminent financial and industrial dynasty. The family's climb to wealth and power began when Andre Oscar (A. O.) Wallenberg (1816–1886), the son of a Lutheran bishop, founded Stockholm's Enskilda Bank (SEB) in 1856. (I worked in Wallenberg companies in Ireland and Saudi Arabia).</i></p>
<p>The EU has fallen behind the US and China in terms of economic growth and innovation, the European Round Table for Industry (ERT) <a href="https://ert.eu/documents/vision2024/" target="_blank"><b>warns in its latest paper, calling for a deeper integration of the EU’s single market, a capital markets union, and better incentives to invest in Europe.</b></a></p>
<p>The ERT (comprising 60 leading European CEOs and Chairpersons) says "Fragmentation, slow decisionmaking, short-termism and populism threaten to weaken Europe from within at a time when it needs to be strong, united and visionary if the EU is to assert its interests effectively in a more contested world. National governments will need to play their part in promoting European priorities to their citizens, communicating today’s context of mutual interest within the EU and global competition beyond it."</p>
<p>“The European Commission must spearhead an ‘encompassing programme’ to shape a common market across all policy areas, including energy, digital, capital, environment, and defence,” according to the ERT paper, hoping to influence the programme of the next Commission that will start its work in autumn 2024.</p><p>The ERT wants the Commission to more proactively and to “compel EU member states to promptly remove unlawful or unreasonable barriers” in the single market. Moreover, the Commission should focus more on harmonising and simplifying rules instead of making ever new ones.</p>
<p><b>"One of the key reasons why the EU is so reliant on regulations ...is the fact that it has very little budgetary power to solve problems through subsidies or tax breaks, as the US can do."</b></p></div>
<p><b>Yann Coatanlem, </b>co-author of ‘Le Capitalisme contre les inégalités’ in The Financial Times writes in <span style="color: red;">'</span><span style="color: red;"><b>Why Europe is a laggard in tech.'</b></span></p><p><b>"Investment in tech research and development in Europe is only one-fifth of what it is in the US and half that in China. Investment in AI is around 50 times higher in the US than in Europe. European tech is falling behind its competitors at an alarming rate."</b></p>
<p><b>He contrasts restructuring in the US and Europe.</b></p>
<blockquote>
<p>"In Europe, the three tech leaders — <b>Nokia, SAP and Ericsson</b> — also announced restructuring plans. While a sharp decline in sales last year for Nokia, the largest European investor in tech, required immediate action, it will take the company until 2026 to implement its plan due to labour regulations in Germany, France and Finland.</p>
<p>SAP, Europe’s software leader, cannot react much faster and, at the same time, can only invest in AI at a rate of €500mn a year, compared with the tens of billions being invested by each of the <b>so-called Magnificent Seven (</b><b>The seven largest tech groups — Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Tesla and Nvidia.)</b></p><p>The complexity of restructuring in Germany, for instance, can be illustrated by the two-year plan announced in October by Volkswagen. The carmaker said the plan still requires approval from its works council, which has guaranteed jobs for workers until the middle of 2025.</p><p><b>Restructuring matters more in tech than in any other sector. Why? Simply because frontier-tech investments are riskier. It is not uncommon to see failure rates of 80%.</b></p>
<p>The consequences are profound. As Oliver Coste shows in his book<b> 'Europe, Tech and War,'</b> investments that are deemed profitable in the US don’t make the cut in Europe, precisely because of the lack of cheap and swift restructuring capabilities at large companies.</p><p>At a more macro level, this diagnosis is confirmed by<b> a McKinsey study which shows that large European companies are much less profitable than their American counterparts and that 90% of that gap can be attributed to technology-creating industries.</b></p><p>Tech is unpredictable, disruptive and volatile. With higher severance costs and longer delays, <b>the costs of adaptation in Europe are about 10 times higher than in the US.</b> After decades of greater agility, American companies have the financial means to invest in AI; European companies simply can’t compare."</p></blockquote>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgejxySs7pL3-nK0nAwAlGeZIqm9s7ISDfY-1_wiueVxXow7-gGZEijvIJfBlaFFku7olxJ0YniH37UFF7TEmWM6zknGC7jMVr6OCbEUmLwzhhYJbtkEoZMNdi2bpWQnHfmNIZ5PZVYOLdCcRCAJJ_9Z61uGXs2TOAuTG6ZGqapTXPZgN4xVPmQ/s730/Economic-Growth-2004-2024.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="730" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhgejxySs7pL3-nK0nAwAlGeZIqm9s7ISDfY-1_wiueVxXow7-gGZEijvIJfBlaFFku7olxJ0YniH37UFF7TEmWM6zknGC7jMVr6OCbEUmLwzhhYJbtkEoZMNdi2bpWQnHfmNIZ5PZVYOLdCcRCAJJ_9Z61uGXs2TOAuTG6ZGqapTXPZgN4xVPmQ/w640-h498/Economic-Growth-2004-2024.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib791we991vdoTlPAmIDAfk8K0_XMJVctrdDfUTsjJQWQMLbQg3gkBoOcdNx8pe9Tsw6xzhViAJQNK8blJOC_PwgkCLibceIIxSeVQdIYMzl4zzjg1jrE6CHd6CNvSDKlgnq-3yAX08fnVckdrzt9q8PYu0TEiqqRlIc_kt789C0OVfZv4_PNXmQ/s837/EU-countries-2008-2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="837" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib791we991vdoTlPAmIDAfk8K0_XMJVctrdDfUTsjJQWQMLbQg3gkBoOcdNx8pe9Tsw6xzhViAJQNK8blJOC_PwgkCLibceIIxSeVQdIYMzl4zzjg1jrE6CHd6CNvSDKlgnq-3yAX08fnVckdrzt9q8PYu0TEiqqRlIc_kt789C0OVfZv4_PNXmQ/w640-h276/EU-countries-2008-2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: left;">At the end of January 2024, the <b>International Monetary Fund (IMF),</b> downgraded growth in the 20-country Euro Area. Growth is forecast at just 0.9% in 2024 and 1.7% in 2025, with the biggest country, Germany, expected to see minimal GDP growth of 0.5% in 2024.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The US has outperformed the Eurozone and the UK, with per capita output growth rates since 2003 at 26%, 18% and 12 per cent respectively.</p><pv><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Italy, the biggest economy in the Euro Area, for years, had virtually no growth, but the German Roland Berger Institute says that growth in 2019-2024e will be 3.6% compared with 0.45 for Germany.</b></div></pv></div><p>Growth in 20 years in the former communist countries in Eastern Europe has had significant catchup growth that boosted the EU average.</p><p>According to the FT, Poland’s GDP per capita is nearly 70% that of Germany, up from only 42% in 2003.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1cOmOVKzpk2wj5GRZ1EX6kLouSfOH70hXqLFAW6tlVQD6F3HzXZxtSsLLu8pPfEnDPRWhrBmvtkILYM43FkqTNbPczOqpKBk_uHo7uy67zUuKFwNu6jMLu1imE0oXjY5Gr1iGFzW09FG8SDxT-bHWYUQaA3YBwLRUeG5mTQuebE9gVqzy5qN8w/s884/Group-of-20-growth-2019-2024e.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="884" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1cOmOVKzpk2wj5GRZ1EX6kLouSfOH70hXqLFAW6tlVQD6F3HzXZxtSsLLu8pPfEnDPRWhrBmvtkILYM43FkqTNbPczOqpKBk_uHo7uy67zUuKFwNu6jMLu1imE0oXjY5Gr1iGFzW09FG8SDxT-bHWYUQaA3YBwLRUeG5mTQuebE9gVqzy5qN8w/w640-h508/Group-of-20-growth-2019-2024e.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<blockquote>
<p><b>Allianz,</b> the German multinational financial services company, in January 2024 published <a href="https://www.allianz.com/content/dam/onemarketing/azcom/Allianz_com/economic-research/publications/specials/en/2024/january/2024-01-24-Europe-AZ.pdf"><b>'Europe needs to step up its game: Lessons from the American playbook.'</b></a></p><p>"In the 25 years since the foundation of the Euro, the economic gap between the US and Eurozone has almost tripled. <b>In 1999, the year the Euro was introduced, the US economy was 11% larger than the Eurozone in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms;</b> <b>this gap has since widened to 30%.</b> Even in per capita terms, the US is leaving Europe far behind: As of 2022, the average American enjoyed real income that was 35% higher than that of the average European in purchasing power parity terms, up from 27% just before the 2008 financial crisis."</p></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFXngFFpN7cpIEaaBrpqZtXvKoDBDtkeEabmEknuF8PmzdkBo8k6Oo4JiZfgAe2kkE7KjlakAm1-OgiY2JkgF-gUKzTel8qafW_H2dxkEd9z-k6BXg2II3S9_qpuO3QK66me9ZiPnxU4Mh_MDzIyU0JQmCc-GsRLxLClZ2lwxXjDTcvaAdvc-cA/s1288/EU-R-and-D-GDP-2022.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="1288" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFXngFFpN7cpIEaaBrpqZtXvKoDBDtkeEabmEknuF8PmzdkBo8k6Oo4JiZfgAe2kkE7KjlakAm1-OgiY2JkgF-gUKzTel8qafW_H2dxkEd9z-k6BXg2II3S9_qpuO3QK66me9ZiPnxU4Mh_MDzIyU0JQmCc-GsRLxLClZ2lwxXjDTcvaAdvc-cA/w640-h310/EU-R-and-D-GDP-2022.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white;">In 2022, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=R%26D_expenditure&oldid=627002" target="_blank"><b>EU research and development expenditure relative to GDP</b></a> stood at 2.23% lower than in the previous year when it recorded 2.27%.
</span><p>Of the 27 countries, only 6 were above or near the 3% of GDP level: Belgium; Sweden; Austria; Germany; Finland and Denmark.</p><p> <b>Deep blue in the chart relates to business enterprises that spent 1.5% in 2022</b>.</p>
<p>From the the <b>Transistor</b> (1947); the <b>Integrated Circuit,</b> also known as a microchip (1958); the <b>Interet and putting men on the Moon </b>(1969); the <b>Persoanal Computer</b> (1974); and the first commercial <b>GPS positioning product </b>(1984), the US has been in the lead.</p><p><b>Tim Berners-Lee, </b>a British scientist, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989, while working at CERN, in Switzerland.</p>
<p>
American entrepreneurs took advantage of the Internet for the masses, with one large market and most speaking the same language.</p>
<p>
What became known as Silicon Valley, in California, provided funding for Internet entrepreneurs. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoWfoeqPxpvKm5oRU517ceFz59PTmYWsFkh8HgFpjFSUx2ZUdSk5ymt8KIq0orBtc9or3zrQLGv9VlHmrAG_xu7iShkRLlMUW-eQaiXqlHEfiGAATmrMd8F9dNNlSfxrgW9cn291onuOpiaiyg5v5brWkjcM8JK_7O3g-s_iRtU28XZvuA7YZiJA/s560/EU-scorecard-R-and-D-2023.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="560" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoWfoeqPxpvKm5oRU517ceFz59PTmYWsFkh8HgFpjFSUx2ZUdSk5ymt8KIq0orBtc9or3zrQLGv9VlHmrAG_xu7iShkRLlMUW-eQaiXqlHEfiGAATmrMd8F9dNNlSfxrgW9cn291onuOpiaiyg5v5brWkjcM8JK_7O3g-s_iRtU28XZvuA7YZiJA/w640-h492/EU-scorecard-R-and-D-2023.png" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Forthcoming on the top global 2,500 R&D firms: "Although the EU still has several global tech companies, and remains relatively strong in the top 50, the share of EU companies in the top 2,500 R&D investors has fallen over time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Interestingly, when comparing a panel set of 801 companies over the period 2012-2022 with the Scoreboard top 2,500 dataset, shows that only 82 new EU companies entered the Scoreboard. In comparison, China has 657 new companies in the 2022 Scoreboard that are not in the panel, the US 634 new companies, Rest of the World (RoW) 276, and Japan only 52.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This shows EU is less well placed to host new companies capable of becoming global leaders in R&D investment. The emerging gap in R&D investment in the EU vs US and China is a wake-up call to consider how EU can compete in the future in the context of interdependencies and the EU policy on open strategic autonomy, technological sovereignty and economic security."</div>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-18738748044907100752024-02-11T04:24:00.056+00:002024-03-14T06:11:48.788+00:00Value of Amsterdam house doubled in over 350 years - What happened next?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTHXCb8YqY70MK6ykrR142-oWRsj42S1xkttxsMTks8iXchxz5P4XkczYwBxvwbxi0UkbuEF36EsZoEUHqIuOGgtXEn5_ZbogMdvLOlSk4ZwR3xhJTAVqn5uLLtZZD2tCvDJvezqNhVsw20HLNi0eRekQwjm8SUw9dk_evWQADRRnJwHdJ_aPHw/s605/1625-house-Amsterdam%20(1).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="605" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnTHXCb8YqY70MK6ykrR142-oWRsj42S1xkttxsMTks8iXchxz5P4XkczYwBxvwbxi0UkbuEF36EsZoEUHqIuOGgtXEn5_ZbogMdvLOlSk4ZwR3xhJTAVqn5uLLtZZD2tCvDJvezqNhVsw20HLNi0eRekQwjm8SUw9dk_evWQADRRnJwHdJ_aPHw/w640-h294/1625-house-Amsterdam%20(1).JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<p>In 1625 <b>Pieter Fransz</b>, a carpenter, built a house on the outskirts of Amsterdam, by the new Herengracht (Gentleman's Canal). A picture of the house can be seen above (at the left) and below.</p><p><b>The Eighty Years' War, (1568–1648), </b>was initially a fight for the Netherlands' independence from Spain, which led to the separation of the northern and southern Netherlands, and the formation of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (the Dutch Republic).</p><p>The <b>Dutch Republic</b> was a confederation from 1579 to 1795 and in the 1600s its population was the richest in the world on a per capita basis.</p><p>The Southern Netherlands also called the Catholic Netherlands, were part of the Low Countries. They were controlled by Spain (1556–1714), Austria (1714–94) and added into France (1794–1815). This area was most of modern Belgium [at the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, Belgium (The Southern Netherlands) and the Northern Netherlands (Holland) were united to form one state (Belgium became independent in 1831)].</p><p><a href="https://finfacts.ie/Irish_finance_news/articleDetail.php?First-Modern-Economy-Myths-on-tulips-most-valuable-firm-in-history-831 " target="_blank"><b>First Modern Economy: Myths on tulips & most valuable firm in history</b></a></p><p><b>Piet Eichholtz (1962), </b>professor of Real Estate and Finance at Maastricht University, <b>in 1997</b> published <a href="https://maastrichtrealestate.com/upload/researches/Eichholtz_A-long-run-house-price-index.pdf" target="_blank"><b>'A Long-Run House Price Index: The Herengracht Index, 1628-1973.'</b></a></p><p>Prof Eichholtz had transactional details for 487 houses on the Herengracht and from 1632 to 1634 house prices fell almost 50%.</p><p>In 1636 alone 17,000 people or 14% of the Amsterdam population died during a plague.</p><p>700 years of Amsterdam was celebrated in 1975. The book '<b>Vier eeuwen Herengracht'</b>(1975 'Four Centuries Herengracht') chronicled all the families that had lived on the Herengracht.</p><p><b>The average real price increase after World War II was about 3.2% per annum. Nevertheless, the real value of the index in 1973 was only twice as high as it was in 1628.</b></p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44067178" target="_blank"><b>Prof Anne Goldgar,</b></a> the author of <b>'Tulipmania: Money, Honor, and Knowledge in the Dutch Golden Age'</b> <b>(2007</b>) wrote that the crash in 1637 was probably caused by unsustainability, and fears of oversupply. But the effect wasn't nearly as bad as the story suggests.</p><p>"I looked to try and find anybody that was made bankrupt because this is the myth of course that people were drowning themselves in canals because they were made bankrupt," she says. "<b>Actually I couldn't find anybody that was bankrupt because of Tulip Mania."</b></p><p><b><a href="lodewijk petram" target="_blank">Lodewijk Petram,</a></b> author of <b>‘The World’s First Stock Exchange’</b> (2014) says “There were some 285 people actively involved in bulb trading in Haarlem, with an estimated sixty traders in Amsterdam.”</p><p>The Dutch economy primarily flourished due to its efficient textile, shipbuilding, and agricultural industries; also its development of an advanced financial system; and its establishment of monopolies on international trade such as in spices, sugar, and slaves were important. Migration to The Netherlands also helped.</p>
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<p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.amsterdam-monumentenstad.nl/database/grachtenboek_objecten.php?id=1857" target="_blank"><b>Herengracht 81,</b></a> Pieter Fransz's house, was registered in 1626 and his occupation was huistimmerman (house carpenter). Between the second and third floors of Herengracht 81, there's an inscription <b>'1590.'</b></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There had been a house on the Herengracht 81 site dating back to about 1590, and Pieter Fransz rebuilt it in 1626. It’s one of the oldest houses in Amsterdam.</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Herengracht 43-45 is the oldest building by the canal. <a href="https://www.amsterdam-monumentenstad.nl/database/grachtenboek_objecten.php?id=194" target="_blank"><b>It has an inscription '1580.'</b></a></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Two warehouses were turned into houses named Noah’s Ark and ‘t Fortuijn (or Fortune). The two warehouses were built in 1580.</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://amsterdamsegrachtenhuizen.info/grachten/hgo/hgo1/hg05081/index.html" target="_blank"><b>The Dutch are meticulous in keeping records.</b></a></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>1588 </b>uitgifte erven, daarna bouw eerste huizen (This relates to Herengracht 81: 1588 issue of inheritance,<b> then construction of first houses.)</b></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>1626</b> Koopmanshuis, 5,90 m. breed. Trapgevel met ontlastingsbogen, sluitstukken, hijskast (1626 Merchant's House, 5.90 m wide. Stepped gable with relief arches, closing pieces, lifting box).</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>After the fall of Spanish-controlled Antwerp in 1585 during the Eighty Years' War, mainly Calvinist merchants and craftsmen fled the south.</b></p><p></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Singel Canal encircled the city of Amsterdam and was a moat from 1480 until 1585. Then Amsterdam expanded beyond the Medieval city walls.</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both;">Digs commenced after 1585 and would become part of the Herengracht Canal. </p><p class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>In 1612 the city council decided a new extension — the Three Canals Plan. The excavation of Herengracht began in 1613, with those of Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht commencing in 1614 and 1615 respectively.</b></p>
<p>In the 17 years after Pieter Fransz built his house, he was rich enough to buy the one next door, into which his daughter and her husband moved. In 1683 he was still listed as the owner of both properties.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGodkKrBcxmWKP4bpT3iJLYA9web9kXxv7AYR9OLVuOJ6EIP7vv4zrksv0NlEQd3kyOg85xGM9_lIlI-oAkKd9GozkbtEKSSnoqQoNez5W6r9NoNkIW4Lu0rMmQEz_XYkeDekBcfRJ_98_3kphEVVgWKyt4mBpI3uSpQTRPNeFyUD_eelq8CEeuA/s300/lounga_IMF.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="300" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGodkKrBcxmWKP4bpT3iJLYA9web9kXxv7AYR9OLVuOJ6EIP7vv4zrksv0NlEQd3kyOg85xGM9_lIlI-oAkKd9GozkbtEKSSnoqQoNez5W6r9NoNkIW4Lu0rMmQEz_XYkeDekBcfRJ_98_3kphEVVgWKyt4mBpI3uSpQTRPNeFyUD_eelq8CEeuA/s1600/lounga_IMF.gif" width="300" /></a></div><b>When the house changed hands in the 1980s, its real value, after inflation, had only doubled in about 350 years –– offering a very modest rate of return on the investment.</b><p></p><p>In 2008 the price was slightly above the 1973 level.</p><p>Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has reported that for existing homes in Amsterdam, the index in 2015 was 100 and it has risen to 190.1 in 2023.</p>
<p><b>Matthijs Korevaar, a professor at Erasmus School of Economics</b> produced the chart below, <b>Real (inflation-adjusted) House Prices (below).</b></p><p><b>Jan Nieuwenhuijs </b>of the <b><a href="https://thegoldobserver.substack.com/p/amsterdam-real-housing-prices-highest " target="_blank">Gold Observer</a></b> <b>puts the Real Index (1700=100) <a href="https://thegoldobserver.substack.com/p/amsterdam-real-housing-prices-highest" target="_blank">at 700.</a> </b></p><p>According to a recent study, The Netherlands, one of Europe's most densely populated countries with 17.8mn people,<b> is short of about 390,000 homes.</b> Asylum and immigration were major themes in the November 2023, Dutch elections, particularly among right-wing parties which blamed refugees for the housing shortage.</p><p>Barron's, an American publication, said the average house price in the Netherlands was €430,000 ($470,000), quoting a report from last December.
</p><p>Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has reported that for existing homes in Amsterdam, had an index of 100 and it has risen to 190.1 in 2023.</p><p></p><center><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAjeRVeIOxZy5DQw1EgBNFFnbfPCFGRzoXpPHlAeU3x4YLY2ejJx2V4qQ17Fqzs56Ugh4w9fn1hDm-900bsBWxMGwabZvs2UIt-RLxTUOPUFXUCz64vL9yWZFfity0k9DBIKGdHbNrMQNfJo0Fq7UlRRa8ur-oFAwgiZoydorPIvIfp2VhvSP7g/s2294/Dutch-house-1628.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1406" data-original-width="2294" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggAjeRVeIOxZy5DQw1EgBNFFnbfPCFGRzoXpPHlAeU3x4YLY2ejJx2V4qQ17Fqzs56Ugh4w9fn1hDm-900bsBWxMGwabZvs2UIt-RLxTUOPUFXUCz64vL9yWZFfity0k9DBIKGdHbNrMQNfJo0Fq7UlRRa8ur-oFAwgiZoydorPIvIfp2VhvSP7g/w640-h392/Dutch-house-1628.jpg" width="560" /></a></center>
<p><b>Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) </b>was born in Leiden, South Holland, and moved permanently to Amsterdam in 1631.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrE44lxz-oqv3X8z4vPOvlbyiP2CyWEgK19Jets920JmVHTP2W7rkcSeXFC-tfmkBvIcnqiDnCbXB_kplRwL5XvBqcTn28H-vtwdMjcIutZ6gqKCXwgFl0_GVJ5K6nAEF_tFNwVqfL6d0if4ov7XlZpfNo8-bYQ5MJCcB-ozTuYhkRfcpdnmJfA/s350/Rembrandthuis-1-350x233.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="350" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrE44lxz-oqv3X8z4vPOvlbyiP2CyWEgK19Jets920JmVHTP2W7rkcSeXFC-tfmkBvIcnqiDnCbXB_kplRwL5XvBqcTn28H-vtwdMjcIutZ6gqKCXwgFl0_GVJ5K6nAEF_tFNwVqfL6d0if4ov7XlZpfNo8-bYQ5MJCcB-ozTuYhkRfcpdnmJfA/s320/Rembrandthuis-1-350x233.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>He bought a house in 1639 at the height of his fame, for the very high amount of 13,000 guilders, <b>with two-thirds financed by a mortgage. </b><a href="https://vanosnabrugge.org/docs/dutchmoney.htm" target="_blank"><b>He finally went bankrupt in 1656, which is to say he voluntarily surrendered his goods – <i>cessio bonorum.</i></b></a><p></p><p>Half the payments on his house had been made and his creditors began to chase him for money. He was buried in a pauper's grave.</p><p>According to scholarly research, in the 1650s, painters in The Netherlands belonging to the Guild of Saint Luke numbered about 650–700. The leading painters of the Golden Age Dutch Republic are here. The leading painters of the Golden Age were <a href=" https://artsandculture.google.com/story/discover-the-work-of-the-dutch-golden-age-painters/HgURuPe2Fz5CIw?hl=en" target="_blank"><b>here.</b></a></p><p><b>Jan de Vries, University of California, Berkeley and Ad van der Woude, Landbouw-Economisch Instituut, The Netherlands, </b>in their book<b> 'The First Modern Economy,' wrote</b>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"With its relatively high standard of living, strong demand for labour, and religious toleration, the republic long attracted immigrants from the rest of Europe. This well-known fact had profound implications for the republic’s culture, economy, and demographic characteristics...In all of Europe no less than in the republic, <b>large cities usually experienced an excess of deaths over births, so that the maintenance of their populations depended on in-migration."</b></p></blockquote>
<p>There were very <a href="https://research.rug.nl/files/15865622/articlesardinie21sep2014.pdf" target="_blank">high rates of urbanization</a> (45% vs 3% in most Agrarian societies); Agriculture made up only 40% of the jobs and a much lower percentage of the economy.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://research.rug.nl/files/15865622/articlesardinie21sep2014.pdf" target="_blank"><b>population of the Dutch Republic</b></a> was about 1.420mn in 1600 and 1.825mn in 1650. <a href=" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam" target="_blank"><b>Amsterdam had a population</b></a> of about 59,560 in 1600 and 192,7670 in 1650.</p><p>In July 1650, Amsterdam was under attack as part of a planned coup d'état by the 24-year-old William II, of the House of Orange. He died after contracting smallpox and a child was born posthumously.</p><p><b>William III (1650–1702) became King of England, Ireland, and Scotland from 1689 and was known as William II. Protestants in Ireland called him William of Orange.</b></p><p><b>Oliver Cromwell</b> who became Lord Protector for life at the end of 1653, had already started a war with the Republic. T<b>he blockade of Dutch ports damaged trade and the Dutch economy. Besides ships captured by the English navy, over a hundred other Dutch ships were captured by English privateers between October 1651 and July 1652. </b></p><p>During the seventeenth century, some 400,000 seaworthy vessels were built in the Dutch Republic, and it is estimated that by 1670 the Dutch-owned ships had nearly half the total tonnage of European shipping.</p><p><b>What was called the Golden Age from 1588 to 1672, came to a bloody end.</b></p><p>In the 'Disaster Year' (Rampjaar) of 1672, the armies of France and England with the support of the bishops of two German cities, Cologne and Münster, almost toppled the Republic.</p><p><b>Johann de Witt (1625-1672), </b>was the de facto Prime Minister for almost 20 years, and a skilful leader.</p><p>In August 1672, <a href="https://jhna.org/articles/between-memory-amnesia-posthumous-portraits-johan-cornelis-de-witt/" target="_blank"><b>he and his brother were lynched by a royalist mob in The Hague.</b></a> It is said that some of the rioters burned the bodies and engaged in cannibalism.</p><p>While the Golden Age promoted arts, paid high wages and promoted migration,<b> the Dutch conquered communities in America, Africa and Asia and were heavily involved in both slavery and the slave trade on the three continents.</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2018/03/claim-dutch-east-india-co-most-valuable.html" target="_blank">I wrote this in 2018:</a></b> "A statue of <b>Jan Pieterszoon Coen</b> (1587-1629), the VOC (Dutch East India Company) governor-general for Asia, was erected in his native Dutch town of Hoorn in 1893. <b>In 1621 Coen had organised the genocide of about 14,000 inhabitants of the Banda Islands, a group of small volcanic islands within the Moluccas archipelago, Eastern Indonesia.</b> In past centuries the Bandas were called the Spice Islands in Europe and elsewhere. Nutmeg was native to the Banda Islands."</p>
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<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Housing</span></h1>
<blockquote><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">2020</span></b> "Data-crunching by The Economist <b>suggests that the number of new houses constructed per person in the rich world has fallen by half since the 1960s.</b> Because supply is constrained and the system is skewed towards ownership, most people feel they risk being left behind if they rent. As a result politicians focus on subsidising marginal buyers, as Britain has done in recent years. That channels cash to the middle classes and further boosts prices. And it fuels the build-up of mortgage debt that makes crises more likely."</p></blockquote>
<p>In the last century's closing decades, the UK and Ireland sold off most of their social housing to tenants at steep discounts.</p>
<p><b>About a third of the housing stock in The Netherlands is social and funded by the government. The administration is performed by not-for-profit private organisations that operate at the local level.</b></p><p>The average cost of delivering <a href="https://scsi.ie/realcost2023/" target="_blank"><b>a new 3-bed semi in Ireland</b></a> ranges from €354,000 in the Northwest of Ireland, to €461,000 in the Greater Dublin Area.</p><p>Data published in 2023 by the CSO (Central Statistics Office) to mark Ireland’s 50 years of EU membership show that although the Irish economy is 10 times the size it was when we joined the bloc in 1973, housing is less affordable for the average worker.</p><p><b>The average industrial worker needs more than seven times their salary to buy a house today, compared to four-and-a-half times their salary in 1973.</b></p>
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<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ux4-IlaWSf-6SlSGZwDU0y9VyAM6GM1FewNQojl6U4Z1uB291GGDCKjOxSZx1xl8kjhEGOhsBZ60it_KoCyg7etcnUCql593fvBUp-qygcS7B-vrZuOjk4MliDNAvB2qtCn3KZGG_lr4gJU6ZPJw4LiGc7ix-3uuIDFSbKEVpPYZ6vcpFIl59w/s973/1973-2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="973" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Ux4-IlaWSf-6SlSGZwDU0y9VyAM6GM1FewNQojl6U4Z1uB291GGDCKjOxSZx1xl8kjhEGOhsBZ60it_KoCyg7etcnUCql593fvBUp-qygcS7B-vrZuOjk4MliDNAvB2qtCn3KZGG_lr4gJU6ZPJw4LiGc7ix-3uuIDFSbKEVpPYZ6vcpFIl59w/w640-h314/1973-2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></p></center>
<p>That means the gap has grown by almost two-thirds in 50 years, before taxes, interest rates and inflation are considered. Mortgage rates were well into the double digits in the 1970s.</p><p>However, the Central Bank now restricts the amount of money a homebuyer can borrow to a maximum of four times their gross income.</p><p>According to McKinsey, management consultants, we "live in an urban world. Half of the world’s population already lives in cities, generating more than 80% of global GDP today. But, the urban economic story is even more concentrated than this suggests. Only 600 urban centres, with a fifth of the world’s population, generate 60% of global GDP."</p><p><b>In the digital age capitals or big commercial cities attract tech firms and educated workers.</b></p><p>European Union data show that the number of single-person households without children in the EU increased by 30.7 % from 2009 to 2022<b>–– this is also raising the demand for housing.</b></p><p><b>The most numerous type of household in the EU in 2022 were single adult households without children, amounting to 71.9mn,</b> followed by couples without children representing 48.2mn, and couples with children numbering 30.6mn. A separate category has 30.1mn. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Household_composition_statistics" target="_blank"><b>The grand total of households was 198,462,600.</b></a></p><div>In 2000-2023 both The Netherlands and Denmark had gains in overall populations of 11%.</div><p><b>However the population of North Holland where Amsterdam is located, the population grew by 17% while in Greater Copenhagen gained 29%. In 2002-2222 in Dublin and its contiguous counties: Kildare; Meath; Louth and Wicklow had a gain in population of 34%.</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p>
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<p style="text-align: left;">The <b>Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)</b> is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is dominated by advanced countries:</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">"The number of dwellings per thousand inhabitants is around 468, on average, among OECD countries, below the EU average of 495 in 2020. There are considerable differences across countries. The number of dwellings in relation to the population is <b>highest in Greece, France, Italy, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland, Spain and Latvia (with over 550 dwellings per thousand inhabitants).</b> In contrast, the number of dwellings reported is the lowest in South Africa (283), Colombia (294), Korea (310) and Costa Rica (310). <span style="color: red;"><b>The number of dwellings per thousand inhabitants increased between 2011 and 2020 in all but six countries: Croatia, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Iceland, New Zealand and Luxembourg.</b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Chile, Lithuania and Türkiye reported the biggest increase in the number of dwellings per thousand inhabitants over this period."</b></p></blockquote>
<p>
Based on house completions to the end of 2023 and <b>the 2022 Census, the Irish Housing Stock was 2,168,820 while the estimated population was 5,330,000.</b></p><p>The dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants level is <b>407.</b> If 67,000-holiday properties without owners on Census night were ignored, the rate would be <b>394</b>.</p>
<p><b><span style="color: red;">To attain France's 570 dwellings per 1,000 inhabitants, Ireland would have to produce an additional 853,700 housing units. </span></b></p><p><b>Internal report: LDA pays more to build affordable homes than EU neighbours Confidential Land Development Agency comparison report seen by the Business Post</b></p><p><b>KILLIAN WOODS, JANUARY 7, 2023</b></p><blockquote><p>The state is paying up to €138,000</p></blockquote> more to build a home than other European countries building similar affordable housing, a confidential <b>Land Development Agency (LDA)</b> report has shown.<p>The 40-page research document obtained by the Business Post, which has not been shared with the Department of Housing, was labelled by the agency as “private & confidential – not to be shared outside LDA”. It was completed in April 2021.</p><p>A spokesman for the Department of Housing said it was not aware of the report’s existence. He said that the LDA and the department frequently share other information about increasing the delivery of cost-effective affordable housing.</p><p><b>The LDA, which has €3.5 billion in available capital, was established in September 2018 to expedite the construction of 150,000 homes on state lands over 20 years.</b></p><p>Four years ago, the government said sites had already been earmarked for 10,000 homes by the LDA. Late last year, it emerged that the agency will not deliver the first of these homes until at least 2024.</p><p>The confidential report compared how much the LDA will spend to build housing on a site in Naas with similar housing projects in comparable areas of France, Belgium and Germany. The report found that the agency’s construction and development costs are significantly higher than state builders in those countries.</p><p><b>“When looking at all-in development costs there is a range of differences from the LDA development being €274 (9.2%) more expensive per square metre than the German maximum to €1,545 (90.3%) more expensive than Brussels,” it found.</b></p><p>The findings of the report suggest it would cost the LDA between €155,000 and €200,000 to build 70 and 90-square-metre apartments on state lands in Naas, Co Kildare. The cost of the two-bed 90-square-metre apartment in Naas is between €42,000 and €81,000 more than the cost of units in similar public housing projects in comparable areas of France, Belgium and Germany.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">The all-in development cost, which would include utilities, land work such as footpaths, local taxes and architect and designer fees, for a two-bed apartment in the Naas scheme would be €292,000. The results of the LDA’s research showed this was between €23,000 and €138,000 more expensive per unit.</span></b></p><p>The report added that the cost of utilities in Ireland is broadly in line with Belgium, but almost double France’s figures. In Ireland, land works such as footpaths and roads cost €438 per square metre compared to €33 to €101 per square metre in France and €68 per square metre in a Belgium scheme.</p>
<p>“Similar local taxes and fees for Ireland are more than double France. However, for professional fees, Ireland is one of the lowest,” the private report said.</p><p>Further parts of the study examined if Irish taxes on construction are driving higher development costs.</p><p>”The evidence suggests that Vat is more than likely not the issue on any potential cost discrepancy with delivering apartments in Ireland compared to other EU countries. In fact, Ireland is lower than most member countries when it comes to Vat levied on the building sector,” the LDA report said.</p><p>The government has considered cutting Vat in order to stimulate development but the LDA’s internal report indicated the tax rate was not a factor in higher costs here compared to other EU countries.</p><p>The report added that hourly labour costs in Ireland, when compared to the other countries, are also not the main driver in the disparity in construction costs with Ireland having one of the lowest from surveyed countries.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMupn_ztdXu1KPpJlBXn692NeabT7014ipevwuKTycsxhpECRblVQsjijmpi53ZqKBk2OspxBjIBqoX8L_ZaIxwvFRiRMmtLIK31xpRhb8tg2KEi01XmllK_GBlK41I5YtaQQQVWMaozIUl5Ob7DFeyLz6efPMwkTjnpKH-IkjP9NAEOv0K5qs8Q/s2048/18Smallhouses1-cover-qmfg-superJumbo.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1537" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMupn_ztdXu1KPpJlBXn692NeabT7014ipevwuKTycsxhpECRblVQsjijmpi53ZqKBk2OspxBjIBqoX8L_ZaIxwvFRiRMmtLIK31xpRhb8tg2KEi01XmllK_GBlK41I5YtaQQQVWMaozIUl5Ob7DFeyLz6efPMwkTjnpKH-IkjP9NAEOv0K5qs8Q/w480-h640/18Smallhouses1-cover-qmfg-superJumbo.webp" width="480" /></a></div><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>New York Times: "Thanks to soaring housing prices, the era of the 400-square-foot subdivision house is upon us." Many small houses sit side by side in the Elm Trails subdivision in San Antonio, Texas.</b></span><br /><p style="text-align: left;">“Of course, this is heavily contingent on the magnitude of people working on a development. There is evidence in recent years the wage costs in the sector are growing at a faster rate than the comparator country average,” it noted.</p><p>Sources with knowledge of the LDA said that no further analysis was conducted as to why the agency’s costs are significantly higher or what could be done to reduce these costs.</p><p>The LDA’s overview of building costs was completed six months before the Department of Housing commissioned its own research project into construction costs in September 2021.</p><p>A spokesman for the LDA, responding to queries from the Business Post, said the report was an exercise to gain greater insights into the costs of residential construction in Ireland as compared to other European jurisdictions.</p><p>“The LDA continually researches ways to reduce costs and to design its schemes to result in quality affordable homes and value for money for the state,” the spokesman said.</p><p>The spokesman said the report was marked “not to be shared outside” as it contained potential pricing information regarding a specific project which is currently in a tender process. This may be deemed confidential, market-sensitive information that may result in loss to the LDA if released and could not be released by law, he said.</p><p>The LDA spokesman said that report, which includes 40 pages of information and a complete set of conclusions, was a “draft.”"</p>
<p><span><a href="https://businessplus.ie/business-insights/breakdown-three-bed-semi/" target="_blank"><b>Breakdown Of The Cost Of A Three-Bed Semi - Why Houses Are Costing €460,000?</b></a></span></p><p>The cost of land for houses remains "prohibitively expensive," according to the Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland (SCSI) in 2020. </p><p>The group, representing estate agents and surveyors, said the price of land for a three-bed semi-detached house is about €60,000 on average or 20%t of the total cost of the property.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIQqE7sDWFY9OSupf0nukFU-uOrM-XWNP7ys9q5qRjUTsbNM4XcftFU7fnad1EdTMwMC3fEtODFCy7YQk1o4mpBHXLQk0zQd3thv86BWVIWptPXZQrpRdI5D2S3bBtXXywhFlLyBu7jDj7PQmDZqcuyZeItVuXyL4wVFG-GZvA2C-m3zAL13w-A/s1875/Census_Ireland_2022_housing.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1095" data-original-width="1875" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIQqE7sDWFY9OSupf0nukFU-uOrM-XWNP7ys9q5qRjUTsbNM4XcftFU7fnad1EdTMwMC3fEtODFCy7YQk1o4mpBHXLQk0zQd3thv86BWVIWptPXZQrpRdI5D2S3bBtXXywhFlLyBu7jDj7PQmDZqcuyZeItVuXyL4wVFG-GZvA2C-m3zAL13w-A/w640-h374/Census_Ireland_2022_housing.png" width="560" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto Slab sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #38761d;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span face="Roboto Slab sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #38761d;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeyKT3OIFY0YvcYQvNNXgsejk_0c4MdJyOu_4X1_t4CwOFCerLkCAQ0_kNaLYXKedrXcnv1sjx9AQY4GFhRbR7o0S3A8_SiocbVU02o2yNQ7spwdFQleqfBpLHkrPdHnAAZeIZTupi_9dvGhesHadzP0NObncGlNKaBxY9FnzLt-MDbUqvzwSZXg/s926/Dublin-Miltown-Dublin_6_residents-object-600+-new_houses.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="622" data-original-width="926" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeyKT3OIFY0YvcYQvNNXgsejk_0c4MdJyOu_4X1_t4CwOFCerLkCAQ0_kNaLYXKedrXcnv1sjx9AQY4GFhRbR7o0S3A8_SiocbVU02o2yNQ7spwdFQleqfBpLHkrPdHnAAZeIZTupi_9dvGhesHadzP0NObncGlNKaBxY9FnzLt-MDbUqvzwSZXg/w640-h430/Dublin-Miltown-Dublin_6_residents-object-600+-new_houses.JPG" width="560" /></a></span></div>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Irish Times Feb 2024: "South Dublin residents take High Court action against 600-plus housing project in Milltown."</span></b></p>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">"An Bord Pleanála (Planning Board) approved the 636-apartment scheme following a previous court challenge to 661-home, mainly ‘build to rent’ plan."</span></b></p>
<p>"The High Court is for the second time being asked to quash permission for hundreds of homes on former Jesuit Order lands in Milltown, south Dublin."</p>
<p><b>Census 2022 Housing in Ireland</b></p>
<ul style="background-color: white; border: 0px; list-style: square; margin: 10px 0px 15px 40px; padding: 0px;"><li style="border: 0px; color: #384350; font-family: "Roboto Sans sans-serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">In 2022, 679,718 dwellings were owner-occupied <b>without a mortgage or loan, up 11% from 2016;</b></p></li><li style="border: 0px; color: #384350; font-family: "Roboto Sans sans-serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">In 2022, 531,207 dwellings were owner-occupied <b>with a mortgage or loan, down 1% from 2016;</b></p></li><li style="border: 0px; color: #384350; font-family: "Roboto Sans sans-serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">In 2022, the number of rented occupied dwellings <b>was 513,704, up 9% since 2016;</b></p></li><li style="border: 0px; color: #384350; font-family: "Roboto Sans sans-serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">The average weekly rent for occupied dwellings <b>rented from a private landlord in Census 2022 was €273, up 37% since 2016;</b></p></li><li style="border: 0px; color: #384350; font-family: "Roboto Sans sans-serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">The lowest average weekly rent in 2022 was in Donegal, €134, up 29% since 2016;</p></li><li style="border: 0px; color: #384350; font-family: "Roboto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">The highest average weekly rent in 2022 was in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, €442, up 32% since 2016;</p></li><li style="border: 0px; color: #384350; font-family: "Roboto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">In 2022, there were 119,300 homes in the State using solar panels, 6% of all occupied dwellings;</p></li><li style="border: 0px; color: #384350; font-family: "Roboto Sans"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">In Meath, the use of solar panels was reported by 7,629 homes, 11% of all occupied dwellings in the county and the highest proportion at the State level;</p></li><li style="border: 0px; color: #384350; font-family: "Roboto Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">In Dublin City, the use of solar panels was reported by 6,197 homes, 3% of all occupied dwellings in the county and the lowest proportion at the State level.</p></li><li style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.3rem; margin-bottom: 0.5rem; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Roboto Sans, sans-serif" style="color: #384350;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>The foreign-born population was at 19.7% in Census 2022. In December 2023 the foreign-born population was likely at 1,130,000 while the estimated population was 5,330,000 (The CSO estimated the population at 5,281,600 in April 2023).</b></span></span></p><p style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.47; margin: 10px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;"><span face="Roboto Sans, sans-serif" style="color: #384350; font-size: 15px;"><b>The ratio for the foreign-born in December 2023 was 21%</b></span><b style="color: #384350; font-size: 15px;"></b></p></li></ul>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">The land</span></h1>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqwGAWr-2vIM9wjBa75Ow_LOTO_0Dj4n4Pl5REF2N93ej15GvQJpJc4PICcdZKSC1VGy-BenC1N_M8Yfj_jObKOO5u5_bCdJtxYYSqA17zse-Ifm4xN5ZUv-BvnNRAVE6xzj4H0ZfvKAcYXu3C0ELs9-syAX80_MR15oiPQQ_rjQJbh0ngz081Q/s4000/agricultural-land-average-prices.jpg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="4000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqwGAWr-2vIM9wjBa75Ow_LOTO_0Dj4n4Pl5REF2N93ej15GvQJpJc4PICcdZKSC1VGy-BenC1N_M8Yfj_jObKOO5u5_bCdJtxYYSqA17zse-Ifm4xN5ZUv-BvnNRAVE6xzj4H0ZfvKAcYXu3C0ELs9-syAX80_MR15oiPQQ_rjQJbh0ngz081Q/w640-h360/agricultural-land-average-prices.jpg.png" width="560" /></a></b></div>
<p>Teagasc, the State agricultural agency, said in 2020, the share of agricultural land that is transacted for sale annually is approximately<b> 0.5% (CSO, 2020)</b>, a main reason for a strong agricultural land letting market.</p><p><b>Savills' Irish unit said in 2007, that in France, each field changes hands at least once every 70 years, but in Ireland, on average a field changes hands every 555 years! Total annual turnover in Ireland was less than 0.2% of the total acreage.</b></p><p>"Countries with sales restrictions, such as France, are the cheapest. The land is about €6,000 a hectare, compared with almost €60,000 in Ireland, as French land must be offered first to young local farmers.'"</p><p><b>In 2022 a hectare (ha: 2.471 acres) of arable French land was priced at €6,130 and in Île-de-France (Greater Paris) €7,690. The Dutch who are the second-biggest agri-food exporter in the world had a value of </b><b>€</b><b>85,431.</b></p><p><b><b>Ireland's value was €38,013. </b></b></p><p>In 1971 the Irish government appointed a committee to investigate the escalating price of land for building.<b> Mr Justice John Kenny (1917-1987)</b> of the High Court (he was later appointed to the Supreme Court) was appointed the chairman.</p><p>In 1973 the <b>‘Report of the Committee on the Price of Building Land’</b> noted that the price of County Dublin serviced development land <b><span style="color: red;">on average rocketed by 530% in 1963-1971 compared with a rise in consumer prices of 64% in the period.</span></b> The committee recommended that the price of development land should be based on the agricultural use value plus 25%.</p>Politicians had a lame excuse for doing nothing: the 1937 Constitution.<p>In 2018, the then taoiseach (prime minister), <b>Micheál Martin,</b> said: <b>“I think implementing Kenny is morally the right thing to do – I don’t think there should be windfall profits once land is rezoned but it would also undoubtedly reduce the cost of housing because the price of land at the moment is a significant factor in increasing the price of houses.”</b> <b></b></p><p></p><p>
</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfmNVY6ABzXotUfIjNndQcZL7ciaVfr13gNBrJi2eRa9TBx2THMN1VX6OCUuyBvl1tyDI23ZDEPN_XRJuikvAleaPwFz2Hb2Qx43_8spFU-m2qDUopgLqAhXaiGhfU7GZTkfJ3gGRLicgm5dsU2g9iI1_Pu-CVugxAk5uhiCCs8OwVS1gy4DZOQ/s1200/Land_Dublin_airport-2024.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfmNVY6ABzXotUfIjNndQcZL7ciaVfr13gNBrJi2eRa9TBx2THMN1VX6OCUuyBvl1tyDI23ZDEPN_XRJuikvAleaPwFz2Hb2Qx43_8spFU-m2qDUopgLqAhXaiGhfU7GZTkfJ3gGRLicgm5dsU2g9iI1_Pu-CVugxAk5uhiCCs8OwVS1gy4DZOQ/w640-h336/Land_Dublin_airport-2024.jpeg" width="560" /></a></div>
<p>Ulick and Des McEvaddy are aviation entrepreneurs who in 1996 bought land at Dublin Airport to build a private passenger terminal.</p><p>The strip between the two runways at the airport has 123 acres and along with other land owners, Seán Fox, and Brendan and Orla O'Donoghue, the total acreage is 260 acres.</p><p><b>In 1996 an acre of land in Ireland <a href="https://www.ipav.ie/sites/default/files/land_prices_in_ireland_1901_to_2020.pdf" target="_blank">was valued at €1,509</a> and the Dublin Airport Authority (DDA) recently bought a car park for €1.7mn per acre.</b></p><p>"The Dublin Airport operator is absolutely delusional in thinking it will be the only bidder for a plot of land in the centre of its grounds that has been put up for sale," Ulick McEvaddy" has said.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">The sellers are seeking more than €200mn.</span></b></p></div><p>The DAA has bid in the region of €75mn for the plots, which was <b>called “derisory” by Ulick McEvaddy</b>.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">The 260 acres at an agricultural price would be €400,000 and applying the 1973 Kenny formula of an additional 25%, the sum would be €500,000.</span></b></p>
<p>In December 2OO6, it was reported that up to €4.6bn of the €18.5bn of Irish taxpayers' money that would be spent on new main roads over the following decade, would go into the pockets of landowners.</p><p>Fred Barry, the then chief executive of the National Roads Authority <b>was reported as saying that the increases in the cost of land for major road projects as "disturbing".</b></p><p><span style="color: red;"><b>Barry said that acquisition accounted for 23% of the cost of road projects in Ireland, but just 12% in England, 10% in Denmark, 9.4% in Greece and 1% in Iceland.;</b></span></p><p><b>Also in 2006, Dublin's sprawl was cited by the European Environment Agency (EEA) as a "worst-case scenario" of urban planning so that newer EU member states such as Poland might avoid making the same mistakes.</b></p><div>In 1991-2010, the amount of Irish agricultural land within the county fell by 22.9%. <b>In 2020 the CSO reported 699 farms in County Dublin and 10,113 agricultural ha.;</b></div><p></p><p><b>The Irish generally have an aversion to high rise and apartments.</b></p><p>Looking at the results at a county level, Census 2022 shows that the population of County Dublin (922 km²) grew by 8% to <b>1,458,154</b>, which means the number of people in the county rose by 110,795 between April 2016 and April 2022.</p><p><b>Dublin City, the core, has 592,713 (2022 Census) in 117.8 km² compared with Paris with a population of 2,138,551 and an area of 105 km².</b></p><p>In the 19th century, <b>Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann (1809-1891), </b>a Parisian official with no architectural background, revamped the city at the request of Emperor Napoleon III. Buildings in his style were required to be between 12 and 20 metres (about 39 to 65 feet) high and consist of no more than six stories. Initially, stairs were the only means of reaching different floors.</p><div>In Dublin in the past anti-high rise advocates have cited Haussmann but to emulate him, there would be need for extensive demolitions.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yvOZd6Obgh9-hWkSBpbaFn4BSEgFker7n1QxLW2YkUUrVYJ8waH5C-LNBtPY7Ekl7NghYScXIlgfPr9gZ10EerqZaoSI4ozDBRloBqgbPFGdyPxBAGCtIJiJSGQ0FTLCY1iCZujLG8wDL3iUORulobo-kBLUbz0SsXjXJO_xkQzLwhWp28NKgQ/s2323/De_Gouden_Leeuw_Vlaggenschip_(Flagship)_Detail,_Willem_van_de_Velde.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2323" data-original-width="1900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yvOZd6Obgh9-hWkSBpbaFn4BSEgFker7n1QxLW2YkUUrVYJ8waH5C-LNBtPY7Ekl7NghYScXIlgfPr9gZ10EerqZaoSI4ozDBRloBqgbPFGdyPxBAGCtIJiJSGQ0FTLCY1iCZujLG8wDL3iUORulobo-kBLUbz0SsXjXJO_xkQzLwhWp28NKgQ/w524-h640/De_Gouden_Leeuw_Vlaggenschip_(Flagship)_Detail,_Willem_van_de_Velde.png" width="524" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">During the seventeenth century, some 400,000 seaworthy vessels were built in the Dutch Republic, and it is estimated that by 1670 the Dutch owned nearly half the total tonnage of European shipping.</span></b></div><p></p>
<p>In July 1909, <strong>Winston Churchill</strong>, the 34-year-old Liberal MP and member of the British cabinet as President of the Board of Trade, gave <a href="https://www.cooperative-individualism.org/churchill-winston_mother-of-all-monopolies-1909.htm" target="_blank"><b>a speech</b></a> in Edinburgh in defence of the <b>'People's Budget'</b> of <strong>David Lloyd George</strong>, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Welfare measures were to be financed by taxes <b>including a land capital gains tax and an annual valuation tax.</b> Only £0.5m was to be raised in the ensuing fiscal year from land taxes<b> but the landowners in the House of Lords rejected the budget. Churchill told his Edinburgh audience that:</b></p><p></p>
<blockquote><p>"Roads are made, streets are made, railway services are improved, electric light turns night into day, electric trams glide swiftly to and fro, water is brought from reservoirs a hundred miles off in the mountains – and all the while the landlord sits still. Every one of those improvements is effected by the labour and at the cost of other people. Many of the most important are effected at the cost of the municipality and of the ratepayers. </p>To not one of those improvements does <b>the land monopolist</b> as a land monopolist contribute, and yet by every one of them the value of his land is sensibly enhanced. <b><span>He renders no service to the community, he contributes nothing to the general welfare he contributes nothing even to the process from which his own enrichment is derived."</span></b></blockquote>
<p><strong>In 1920 when David Lloyd George was prime minister of a coalition government dominated by the Tories, the land taxes were repealed.</strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1me7YdNaj1B439GbdByUr827toJZWtB5IDzC_n6uJGh4L15LOhVvPVegCDLN3nZSOGaEhSvLCLY40RFYbxRqRZrKTvZnLC2TbLV1mECLj9YUtdghzyU9DKpKn97B0sAv2ZdKQYLF_CC9ffRCE6yIIYwjbPc1UVIiHN6HEyGAXcm7Anwul73c8MA/s640/David_Lloyd_George_1909.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1me7YdNaj1B439GbdByUr827toJZWtB5IDzC_n6uJGh4L15LOhVvPVegCDLN3nZSOGaEhSvLCLY40RFYbxRqRZrKTvZnLC2TbLV1mECLj9YUtdghzyU9DKpKn97B0sAv2ZdKQYLF_CC9ffRCE6yIIYwjbPc1UVIiHN6HEyGAXcm7Anwul73c8MA/w640-h428/David_Lloyd_George_1909.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">April 1909: Winston Churchill listens attentively to David Lloyd George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, while walking in Central London with him, his wife and his parliamentary aide on Budget Day. Left to right: Margaret Lloyd George, David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill and the Private Secretary to Lloyd George.</span></b></p><p>In the past decade, German economists tracked annual house prices for 14 advanced economies since 1870. "Based on extensive data collection, we show that real house prices stayed constant from the 19th to the mid-20th century, but rose strongly during the second half of the 20th century. Land prices, not replacement costs, are the key to understanding the trajectory of house prices. <b><a href="https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2014/working-paper/no-price-home-global-house-prices-1870-2012" target="_blank">Rising land prices explain about 80% of the global house price boom that has taken place since World War II. Higher land values have pushed up wealth-to-income ratios in recent decades."</a></b></p><p><b>Australia; Belgium; Canada; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Japan; The Netherlands; Norway; Sweden; Switzerland; The United Kindom and The United States.</b></p><p>In 2015 <b>Jason Furman,</b> President Obama's chief economic adviser, <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/page/files/20151120_barriers_shared_growth_land_use_regulation_and_economic_rents.pdf" target="_blank"><b>in a speech cited zoning restrictions that add as much as 50% to the cost of a house.</b></a><b><a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/page/files/20151120_barriers_shared_growth_land_use_regulation_and_economic_rents.pdf" target="_blank"> </a>Paul Krugman,</b> the New York Times columnist, has said that “this is an issue on which you don’t have to be a conservative to believe that we have too much regulation.”</p><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-1765401768188124662024-01-14T11:40:00.014+00:002024-01-16T13:58:19.256+00:00Elections galore in 2024 - Ireland among reluctant voters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPM0PyMRNn7EkZgk_dMWKZXeFxL_4WMndvSDZ8PYaIS4XbJlfX_4acZaOzSybjGEBpOEpuQJfJWJQF5rYLq5nycp28dYa6R869vaznpvxdJTUNTqXwxqjy-4cdaP2WWsykY9W6YprFNfa2ulNM0gewtmSXNXx96TzoPMNbz_C4PQyU7GDRbDft7w/s964/Voting_age-percentage-of-population-world.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="642" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPM0PyMRNn7EkZgk_dMWKZXeFxL_4WMndvSDZ8PYaIS4XbJlfX_4acZaOzSybjGEBpOEpuQJfJWJQF5rYLq5nycp28dYa6R869vaznpvxdJTUNTqXwxqjy-4cdaP2WWsykY9W6YprFNfa2ulNM0gewtmSXNXx96TzoPMNbz_C4PQyU7GDRbDft7w/w426-h640/Voting_age-percentage-of-population-world.JPG" width="540" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The Pew Research Center published in late 2022 the most recent nationwide election results for 50 countries, mostly with highly developed economies and solid democratic traditions. The Center said the clear turnout champion was Uruguay: In the second, decisive round of that nation’s 2019 presidential election, 94.9% of the estimated voting-age population and 90.1% of registered voters cast ballots.</span></b></div>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The <b>International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)</b> based in Stockholm, has a database of the <b><span style="color: red;">Voting Age Population (VAP),</span></b> as well as the number of Registered Voters (REG) as indicators of political participation. The VAP figure includes an estimated number of all those citizens over the legal voting age, while the registration rate comprises the actual number of people on the voters’ roll.</p><p><b>Ireland's VAP Turnout rate</b> was only 56.65% in the general election of 2020; 58.04% in 2016 and 63.78% in 2011.</p><p><b>The Irish general election in February 2011 was crucial as it came months following the economic rescue following the busting of the property bubble.</b></p><p>In November 2010, the Irish government sought help from the IMF and the European Union, which together provided loans totalling €67.5bn — equal to 40%t of Ireland's then economy. The rescue involved the International Monetary Fund (IMF); European Central Bank (ECB), and also the British government, which gave a loan to Ireland.</p><b>In February 2011 36% of the 18 age-plus population did not vote.</b><p>The Irish VAP was 77.76% in 1973 when Ireland joined the European Economic Community (EEC). It was 73.41% in 1948.</p>
<p><b>The 2020 Irish poll was the first general election held on a Saturday since 1918 but the participation rate still fell.</b></p><p>The next Irish general election has to be held by March 2025 to elect the 34th Dáil, the lower house of Ireland's parliament, the Oireachtas.</p><p>Under the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2023, there will be 174 TDs (Repersatives) at the next election, an increase of 14 seats from the current Dáil, and an increase in the number of constituencies from 39 to 43. This will be the largest Dáil in the history of the state.</p>
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<p><b>Denmark's VAP Turnout</b> hasn't been below 75% in every parliamentary election since 1945.</p><p>In 2022 the rate was 75.65%. It has been below 80% on only 5 occasions since 1945 when 28 general elections were held.</p><p>Denmark and Sweden have very similar voting patterns.</p><p><b>Sweden's VAP</b> has not been below 75% or below 80% only 5 times. 23 parliamentary elections have occurred since 1948. It was 80.34% in 2022.</p>
<p><b>Norway </b>with 20 parliamentary since 1945 had a level of 69.33% in 2021, which was the first time to be below 70%.</p><p><b>Finland </b>has had 22 parliamentary since 1945: The VAP level was 68.87% in 2023. The lowest level was 65.21% in 1999.</p><p><b>Iceland</b> has a population of about 370,000 and in the 3 last parliamentary elections were at 75.79%; 78.39% and 75.68%.</p><p><b>Belgium</b> since 1949 has had consistently high rates in the 80s, and in 2019 the rate fell to 77.94%. The <b>Netherlands </b>in November 2023 had a VAP Turnout of 72.65%. Since 1946 when the rate was 85.47% and 92.07% in 1967, the rate never fell below 70.00%.</p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Elections in 2024</span></b></h1><p>This year, 2024, more than half the people on the planet will hold national elections. About 2bn people in more than 70 countries may vote. Ballots will be cast from the United Kingdom to Bangladesh, and from India to Indonesia.</p><p><b>Bangladeshis </b>with a population of 170mn held its general election in January, giving Sheikh Hasina a fifth term as Bangladeshi prime minister after a vote boycotted by the main opposition party and marred by violence.</p><p><b>The turnout was 27.5%. In 2018, it was more than 80%.</b></p><p><b>Taiwanese voters </b>swept the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te into power on Saturday, January 13<b>, rejecting Chinese pressure to spurn him, </b>as China said it would not give up on achieving "reunification." Lai also only won 40% of the vote in Taiwan's first-past-the-post system.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>The turnout was around 72% of the nearly 19mn eligible voters on the island of 23mn.</b></div>
<blockquote><p>The Economist says "The favourite in<b> Indonesia’s presidential election </b>has a sordid past." The current favourite, Prabowo Subianto, a former general, is said to be very wealthy. The election first round is on February 14.</p><p><b>In March the Russian dictator will organise a sham presidential election.</b></p><p>The Economist "According to our calculations, 76 countries are scheduled to hold elections in which all voters have the chance to cast a ballot in 2024. Of the 71 covered by EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit)<b> Democracy Index</b>, 43 will enjoy fully free and fair votes (27 of which are EU members); the other 28 do not meet the essential conditions for a democratic vote.</p><p><b>Eight of the ten most populous countries in the world — Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia and the United States—will hold elections in 2024. </b>In half of these, <b>elections are neither free nor fair and many other prerequisites of democracy, </b>such as freedom of speech and association, are absent. <b><span style="color: red;">Elections in Bangladesh, Mexico, Pakistan (all hybrid regimes, which combine elements of democracy and authoritarianism) and Russia (an authoritarian one) are almost certain not to bring regime change."</span></b></p></blockquote>
<p>The<b> <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2023/754634/EPRS_BRI(2023)754634_EN.pdf" target="_blank">European Parliament</a> </b>says <b>"Between 6 and 9 June 2024, the 10th European elections will take place in the 27 EU Member States, and around 366mn EU citizens will be called to the polling stations.</b></p><p>"The elections to the European Parliament represent a crucial moment in EU democracy: they give citizens a say in the EU's political direction. After declining ever since the first European elections in 1979, <b>electoral turnout in the 2019 elections reached an unprecedented 50.6 % (up 8 % points compared with 2014).</b> This increase was largely the result of greater youth participation, demonstrating young people's desire for active political participation, including by casting their vote. This desire was also repeatedly expressed during the Conference on the Future of Europe, a major innovative exercise in participatory democracy. <b>In 2024, four Member States (Belgium, Germany, Malta and Austria) will allow their citizens to vote from the age of 16, and in Greece, the voting age is 17</b>."</p><p>Austria in 2007 was the first country in the European Union to allow 16-year-olds to vote in elections and 17-year-olds to vote in federal elections. In 2016 the Greek government cut the age of participation in elections to 17. </p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlkiK-qvGhMevoGysvqgdXp3T2kdee5DzXSs806XYqLhEEt864eO_wqwCIkGAeO0c8rS3Dqdbrz9ezV_6tvVdI_ijbWyExvnGOCQPluVm6_Ft_sUsLiZRijk0ZYZA5SGxNp43mUSmXgwD5zwaHMIKsFWcBh9ggnS4coHO5C0HSxfLLQzoiKViuA/s848/Democracy-Index_2022.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="848" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXlkiK-qvGhMevoGysvqgdXp3T2kdee5DzXSs806XYqLhEEt864eO_wqwCIkGAeO0c8rS3Dqdbrz9ezV_6tvVdI_ijbWyExvnGOCQPluVm6_Ft_sUsLiZRijk0ZYZA5SGxNp43mUSmXgwD5zwaHMIKsFWcBh9ggnS4coHO5C0HSxfLLQzoiKViuA/w640-h226/Democracy-Index_2022.JPG" width="580" /></a></div><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">Democracy Index</span></h1>
<p style="text-align: left;">The Economist's sister organisation, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in 2023 said that its <b><a href="https://www.protagon.gr/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Democracy-Index-2022-final.pdf" target="_blank">Democracy Index 2022</a></b> was based on five categories: <b>electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Countries are placed within one of four types of regimes: full democracies; flawed democracies; hybrid regimes; and authoritarian regimes.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>There are 24 full democracies among 167 countries. with 8% of the global population. Ireland has an 8th ranking.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>While full democracies account for 8% of the world's population and 37% of authoritarian regimes including the Russian dictatorship.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">"The global record in democratisation since the start of its so-called third wave in 1974, and acceleration after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, has been impressive. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s measure of democracy, one-half of the world’s population now lives in a democracy of some sort. However, in recent years there has been backsliding on previously attained progress in democratisation. The global financial crisis that started in 2008 accentuated some existing negative trends in political development."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqa3SFSTX2Rd-Aj2rjBW9WMxLIuRTycjeWsmxl0W1pOl9Ag97HN8a8Gvk9e5n35uzsuD0E4sth_yK7P8dsjhT_uZHdOZfWoQZJPgKlCIE0tZ9igfI7ji1WTun8u7H8cfVVhCPyDtmp-c6P6o4AhiRfqHE_Cv89j18N-WuM-rwsecNUgPo50GJGvA/s1057/Democracy-Index_2022-full.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1057" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqa3SFSTX2Rd-Aj2rjBW9WMxLIuRTycjeWsmxl0W1pOl9Ag97HN8a8Gvk9e5n35uzsuD0E4sth_yK7P8dsjhT_uZHdOZfWoQZJPgKlCIE0tZ9igfI7ji1WTun8u7H8cfVVhCPyDtmp-c6P6o4AhiRfqHE_Cv89j18N-WuM-rwsecNUgPo50GJGvA/w640-h476/Democracy-Index_2022-full.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Plus Spain and South Korea to make 24 Full democracies <br /></span></b><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">The United States is a flawed democracy which will elect a president in November. Trump could get elected again on a minority vote.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Biden’s 2020 victory came not because he won nearly 7mn more votes nationally than Donald Trump, but rather because he won about 200,000 votes more in a handful of swing states.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>While Republican senators had a majority in the chamber in 2020, they represented less than 20mn fewer Americans than Democratic senators did.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">A minority president nominated 3 Supreme Court justices and the minority Republican senators voted for them.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b> In Senate terms, Wyoming has 2 senators for a 580,00 population while California has a population of 39mn and two senators.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Until 1965 Blacks in the Deep South could not vote for over 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation.</p><p style="text-align: left;">When they got the vote Republican states made it difficult to vote including gerrymandering.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In <a href="https://bsos.umd.edu/featured-content/washington-post-umd-poll-three-years-after-jan-6-riots-republicans-remain-loyal" target="_blank"><b>a poll published in early January 2024,</b></a><b> more than one-third of Americans said Biden’s election was "illegitimate."</b> Older Americans were slightly more likely than younger ones to say Biden was legitimately elected, as are Americans with college degrees.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">More than 3 in 10 Republicans have adopted the lie that the FBI conspired to cause the Capitol riot on January 6 2021.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnh90wpxWy4ip_GzpqONqJpVMjSLJu4tS3Ne_7wuBW-XLkztXdPjCQ1qJfoitBLvSNtIRsUxq1JMa6rZNPT6rBwWA-VIkxuPZkkhyphenhyphenPiKnOpzZJWv26x2XI-T6rNWXkETXRCF6wFN4GIhVTbwtVGa8-1sb-_u-X46ejZG7RyIVdLgmOyfRn8Wu5w/s1057/know-nothings.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="1057" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnh90wpxWy4ip_GzpqONqJpVMjSLJu4tS3Ne_7wuBW-XLkztXdPjCQ1qJfoitBLvSNtIRsUxq1JMa6rZNPT6rBwWA-VIkxuPZkkhyphenhyphenPiKnOpzZJWv26x2XI-T6rNWXkETXRCF6wFN4GIhVTbwtVGa8-1sb-_u-X46ejZG7RyIVdLgmOyfRn8Wu5w/w353-h216/know-nothings.jpg" width="353" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">In the mid-19th century in America a new party, The National American Party, became known as the <b>Know-Nothings.</b> The party enjoyed a quick but brief rise in fame in the 1850s. While firmly against Catholics and foreigners, the Know-Nothings, like the rest of the country in the pre-Civil War Days, would divide over the issue of slavery.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">The US Republican Party, in the past known as the Party of Lincoln, are the 21st century's Know-Nothings. </span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Israel </b>is also <a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/11/israel-brutal-colonial-power-local.html" target="_blank"><b>a flawed democracy</b></a> amidst the dictatorships of the Middle East.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The<b> Economist Intelligence Unit </b>said "Poor institutions continue to be a drag on the quality of democracy in the region (Eastern Europe), <b>and the score for the functioning of government remains Eastern Europe’s worst-performing category: its score of 4.74 represents only a modest improvement from the previous year. The political culture and civil liberties categories register the biggest improvements."</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Last October Poland’s conservative "Law and Justice (PiS)" party was defeated by the centrist Civic Coalition (KO) in the general election.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>The Rule of Law has been restored in Poland but the president from the defeated far-right regime will be in office until 2025. A president will be held on <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">May 18 2025</span>.</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgCTWOzVEzaD4STa4Y6P817TMsEfIvuHaaHJOMe1R8XAwMlnkGDmhnvU3lqy8faehUqyRwP9uP3qfndWXkqpKAxf8ucsfPgHHQlSTFoJ0pOv0HxHHA4PTau5kp9vQgcWRXw9WrUMkrB4vD_tODA6-VYdxlrVkKcKxk431UqG3FmXr2JYwlfeHrw/s1077/german-chancellors-list-1-e1649066692113.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="1077" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgCTWOzVEzaD4STa4Y6P817TMsEfIvuHaaHJOMe1R8XAwMlnkGDmhnvU3lqy8faehUqyRwP9uP3qfndWXkqpKAxf8ucsfPgHHQlSTFoJ0pOv0HxHHA4PTau5kp9vQgcWRXw9WrUMkrB4vD_tODA6-VYdxlrVkKcKxk431UqG3FmXr2JYwlfeHrw/w640-h332/german-chancellors-list-1-e1649066692113.jpg.webp" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">In December 2023 if a general election was held in Germany then the party of<b> Chancellor Olaf Scholz </b>would<b> only have received 14% of the vote. </b>That was another 2% lower than November's figure and the lowest since June 2021, according to DeutschlandTrend, a monthly tracking of political sentiment among the German electorate.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Europe's biggest economy is without a helmsman. at a time when a leader is needed.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Reuters said support for Germany's far-right <b>Alternative for Germany (AfD)</b> hit an all-time high of 23% in a poll published on December 19 as the party continued to benefit from the fallout of a budget crisis.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Although the ruling coalition agreed on a budget for this year in December after a court ruling upended its financial plans, mainstream parties fear that economic uncertainty could push voters to the AfD before elections in three eastern states this year.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Gross domestic product (GDP) was 0.3% lower in 2023 than in the previous year, according to Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">“Overall economic development faltered in Germany in 2023 in an environment that continues to be marked by multiple crises,” Destatis president Ruth Brand said in a statement.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.v-dem.net/documents/29/V-dem_democracyreport2023_lowres.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Defiance in the Face of Autocratization</b>:</a> Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) produces the largest global dataset on democracy with over 31 million data points for 202 countries from 1789 to 2022. <b>Produced by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg</b></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-17399804082393831302024-01-03T04:27:00.008+00:002024-01-21T04:30:17.333+00:004,000+ big multinationals fall within new global tax regime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0Z80EkE1EfKFj9NTxjRWtkQfEw1sKArdg_UyojGvySMMHm4SvSA6vVrsU9MNl63lDJCOMIefqt_E5we1dk_3sGUevzKUAHycLCXB815LV9J5DStFbqDnf9EZogmMtLjwmqktgWXyxY35-9RnbOSnTbJuY2mljP-50RiHyuyRfNRTk_-OEC9RIg/s960/2024-Global-Tax-Jan03.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="960" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0Z80EkE1EfKFj9NTxjRWtkQfEw1sKArdg_UyojGvySMMHm4SvSA6vVrsU9MNl63lDJCOMIefqt_E5we1dk_3sGUevzKUAHycLCXB815LV9J5DStFbqDnf9EZogmMtLjwmqktgWXyxY35-9RnbOSnTbJuY2mljP-50RiHyuyRfNRTk_-OEC9RIg/w640-h246/2024-Global-Tax-Jan03.png" width="560" /></a></div><p><b>Paolo Gentiloni, EU Commissioner for Economy,</b> says that the coming into force of new rules for big multinational firms in Europe and in jurisdictions around the world is a historic reform which marks a major step towards a fairer corporate taxation system.</p><p>He says the reforms have the potential to generate an extra $220bn annually — about 9% to help countries around the world, to fund crucial investments and high-quality public services.</p><p>Gentiloni says that since 1980 the rate of corporate taxes has fallen from an average of 40 to 23% and across Europe they have fallen from 45 to just under 20%. He says additional sweeteners, preferential rates and unacceptable loopholes allowing profits to be shifted to zero or low-tax jurisdictions have resulted in effective tax rates well below those headline figures.</p><p>"As the extent of such practices has come to light, the general public and owners of smaller businesses have become increasingly indignant...<b>More than 4,000 large multinationals fall within the scope of this potential future top-up tax in the EU</b> — an additional incentive for jurisdictions elsewhere to comply with the new rules."</p>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.oecd.org/about/" target="_blank"><b>OECD, </b></a>which has 38 mainly advanced member countries, together with the Group of 20 leading advanced and emerging member countries, have been working on global business tax reform for more than a decade, succeded from 2021in getting the support of more than 140 countries — almost 75% of all UN members, representing over 90% of the global corporate tax base.</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The reform has two parts: Pillar 2 and Pillar 2.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Pillar One</span></b> applies to the biggest and most profitable MNEs and re-allocates part of their profit to the countries where they sell their products and provide their services, where their consumers are. Without this rule, these companies can earn significant profits in a market without paying much tax there.</p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Pillar 2</b></span> proposed a global minimum corporate effective tax rate of 15% for multinational companies with annual revenues of more than €750mn.</p><p><a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/beps/faqs-two-pillar-solution-to-address-the-tax-challenges-arising-from-the-digitalisation-of-the-economy-july-2022.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Frequently asked questions</b></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQB60w3457TE_jCDgI_cj5Z9ok5G6wT8mRCiNCz-GLQI62A2vsu63z3sT9wnCxrlbdJTSjTpVQIGb1pxXp_j2nrNQa0fF6teokwUfyINdEcIdrxpKRYYUL9nkYHgHRao8ioM50czyMhTQTHmLx2YYD35GwWlI-9tBmhUHvKeU3uiQBYriajlflWQ/s609/2024-Multinational-tax.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="605" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQB60w3457TE_jCDgI_cj5Z9ok5G6wT8mRCiNCz-GLQI62A2vsu63z3sT9wnCxrlbdJTSjTpVQIGb1pxXp_j2nrNQa0fF6teokwUfyINdEcIdrxpKRYYUL9nkYHgHRao8ioM50czyMhTQTHmLx2YYD35GwWlI-9tBmhUHvKeU3uiQBYriajlflWQ/w636-h640/2024-Multinational-tax.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>The first group of countries to implement the global minimum tax from January include the 27 countries of the EU, UK, Norway, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Canada.</b></p><p>The EU countries include<b> Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,</b> together with Switzerland and Barbados which mainly has a 5.5% business rate.</p><p>"Pillar two only needs a critical mass of countries to implement it,” said <b>Pascal Saint-Amans, the OECD’s former tax chief until January 2023.</b> “Nobody has found a silver bullet where you can avoid it.”</p><p><b>Manal Corwin, head of tax at the OECD,</b> told the Financial Times that tracking where additional revenue ended up <b>in the early stages would represent only a “snapshot” of the reforms.</b></p><p>“This will shift over time,” she said. “The future footprint is the value of what’s being delivered.” Corwin said — distortions would be eliminated in the system and she expected more taxes to be paid <b>“where economic activities take place.”</b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The <b>OECD</b> defines investment hubs as jurisdictions where inward foreign direct investment accounts for more than 150% of gross domestic product. <b>These include jurisdictions such as Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland and Singapore.</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">“The global minimum tax reduces profit shifting incentives and in doing so it improves the allocation of capital by increasing the importance of non-tax factors,”<b> David Bradbury, deputy head of tax</b> <a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/beps/presentation-webinar-economic-impact-assessment-global-minimum-tax-january-2024.pdf" target="_blank"><b>at an OECD, said on a webinar.</b></a></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"<b>Low-taxed profit (with an ETR [effective tax rate] below 15%) amounts to 36% of the profits of all MNEs (Multinational Enterprises) above the EUR 750mn turnover threshold globally:</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">–<b>74% of all profit in investment hubs is estimated to be low-taxed;</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">–<b>28% in high-income jurisdictions is estimated to be low-taxed;</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">–<b>19% in developing jurisdictions (low and lower-middle-income jurisdictions) is estimated to be low-taxed."</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/beps/corporate-tax-statistics-database.htm" target="_blank"><b>Corporate Tax Statistics 2023</b></a></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/taxation/effective-tax-rates-of-mnes_4a494083-en" target="_blank"><b>Effective tax rates of MNEs: New evidence on global low-taxed profit</b></a></span></p><p><b>To help big multinationals adapt to Pillar Two’s complexities, 2024 returns won’t be due until 18 months after the end of that year.</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9igxMg2KSSzJ-PUMtKutIYOiKU_MPzIABJtL9wJ-Yld29LimhpNtV0da2lmdtUx6izaLNRzqnaLWFs1ycDSy5-yrc2MDD8Z32oaRIYdMozIm0RuuPwVwZmLmL4ap7Uz6pXnpgQqXSfOAnEzlAjL0fgClN_eqbr_9l0DgVfsV5lIZyQepPM4dOUA/s718/Federal_Reserve-percentage-equities-held-by-10%25-wealthiest.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="718" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9igxMg2KSSzJ-PUMtKutIYOiKU_MPzIABJtL9wJ-Yld29LimhpNtV0da2lmdtUx6izaLNRzqnaLWFs1ycDSy5-yrc2MDD8Z32oaRIYdMozIm0RuuPwVwZmLmL4ap7Uz6pXnpgQqXSfOAnEzlAjL0fgClN_eqbr_9l0DgVfsV5lIZyQepPM4dOUA/w640-h402/Federal_Reserve-percentage-equities-held-by-10%25-wealthiest.png" width="560" /></a></div><center><b><span style="color: #38761d;">2024: 92.5% of equities held by 10% wealthiest Americans<br /> A record high concentration.</span></b></center>
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<p><b>On New Year's Day, the European Commission issued a statement:</b></p><p>"The framework will bring greater fairness and stability to the tax landscape in the EU and globally, while making it more modern and better adapted to today's globalised, digital world. The entry into force of the minimum effective taxation rules, unanimously agreed by Member States in 2022, formalises the EU's implementation of the so-called ‘Pillar 2' rules agreed as part of the global deal on international tax reform in 2021.</p><p>While almost 140 jurisdictions worldwide have now signed up to those rules, the EU has been a front-runner in translating them into hard law. <b>By lowering the incentive for businesses to shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions, Pillar 2 curbs the so-called "race to the bottom"</b> — the battle between countries to lower their corporate income tax rates in order to attract investment. It is already delivering results, with a number of zero tax jurisdictions around the world having announced the introduction of a corporate income tax for the companies in scope."</p></blockquote>
<p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/12/ireland-in-2023-music-and-tax-haven.html" target="_blank">December 2023: Ireland in 2023: Music and tax haven shenanigans</a></b></p><p>The real Irish GDP value in 2022 was €140bn, not the headline €506bn i.e. €27,200 per head or $28,600 compared with Denmark's $67,800 at current prices.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZegxYCJKhze_7V-vnmbF8MPh4x4oNYl-dkrovPfB1gDt3IuklUZWgQCCqg_wWDU9e34leS-vjCEN_hX69cTJ3KAaifkbKAWMOZxJ_Z0dKkDxn6MYyFoXy-FQAYBPsmsq5rWbR2AW1a7s2FSFYnGoqPbXn8KNFvz451vRTxu7BVsiEdZU81GBM9A/s720/global-corporates-tax_2024.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="720" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZegxYCJKhze_7V-vnmbF8MPh4x4oNYl-dkrovPfB1gDt3IuklUZWgQCCqg_wWDU9e34leS-vjCEN_hX69cTJ3KAaifkbKAWMOZxJ_Z0dKkDxn6MYyFoXy-FQAYBPsmsq5rWbR2AW1a7s2FSFYnGoqPbXn8KNFvz451vRTxu7BVsiEdZU81GBM9A/w640-h350/global-corporates-tax_2024.jpeg" width="560" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-77839434269057291522023-12-29T07:04:00.022+00:002024-03-04T08:43:46.573+00:00Ireland in 2023: Music and tax haven shenanigans<center><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6s8lvnSmISc" title="'Fairytale of New York' played at Shane MacGowan's funeral" width="560"></iframe></center>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;">'Fairytale of New York' played at funeral</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;">(</span></b><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;"><b>reload the page if the music doesn't start)</b></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>John Sheahan (born 1939), the last surviving member of 'The Dubliners' (the famous group that was founded in 1962) played at the funeral.</b></span></p><p> <a href="https://youtu.be/3izhIBdIhac?si=kH_diku-5_7MpINE" target="_blank"><b>"The Rare Auld Times - John Sheahan – 80th Birthday Concert Celebration" </b></a></p>
<p>I was in Ireland in the first 3 weeks of December 2023. I was there to attend the funeral of my youngest brother in West Cork.</p><p>In Dublin despite the cold, the Christmas spirit was high. I visited <b>The Ginger Man</b> pub and the crowd spilled onto the pavement. A kind doorman prioritised me (I shocked him later by giving him a tip!).</p><p><b>Inside, the iconic Irish Christmas ‘Fairytale of New York’ played with the late frontman for the Pogues Group – Shane MacGowan and the late Kirsty MacColl singing.</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/jun/26/featuresreviews.guardianreview13" target="_blank">James Patrick Donleavy (1926-2017),</a></b> a New Yorker whose parents were Irish migrants, had served in the US Navy during World War II and came to Ireland in 1946. Trinity College in Dublin after the war was a mecca for adventurous Americans who used the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.I._Bill" target="_blank"><b>GI Bill</b></a> as a passport to higher education and he enrolled in the university.</p><p>Donleavy's book <b>‘The Ginger Man’ (1955)</b> was banned in Ireland. <b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127017.A_Fairy_Tale_of_New_York" target="_blank">‘A Fairytale of New York’ </a>(1973)</b> had an Irish theme. In the 1980s the London-Irish group the Pogues popularised the song version.</p><p>Five years ago <b>Saoirse Ronan</b>, the Irish-American actress, sang <b><a href="https://youtu.be/eeOVR09ohSU?si=hLPE_8WrqGQtG5X1" target="_blank">'Fairytale of New York'</a> </b>with <b>Jimmy Fallon,</b> the host of NBC's 'The Tonight Show.'</p><p>The Pogues achieved 2nd place in the UK single charts in 1987, and last week <b>'Fairytale of New York' </b>got a 6th ranking.</p><p><b>Sinéad O'Connor (1966–2023); Shane MacGowan (1957–2023), and Christy Dignam (1960–2023) were leading Irish musicians who died in the year.</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMDd1TR_8HZ7gYvOfEdxO96FNs4JkfJEr-yIIj6LQ0_lgRKLkqmaMIKd_5ytwIlnSEiRDK-pj5oUDcirZvEpz7xjJGJGZdl7hmieTvbm2q8N0JrEHYMj8eaVHG01zWZRXzPFzYeBhMEUWixwZKtXvzRFYDvP5zl9yqT_yBgj49JsEeZ6vu97iMA/s746/Guinness_Dublin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="560" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMDd1TR_8HZ7gYvOfEdxO96FNs4JkfJEr-yIIj6LQ0_lgRKLkqmaMIKd_5ytwIlnSEiRDK-pj5oUDcirZvEpz7xjJGJGZdl7hmieTvbm2q8N0JrEHYMj8eaVHG01zWZRXzPFzYeBhMEUWixwZKtXvzRFYDvP5zl9yqT_yBgj49JsEeZ6vu97iMA/w480-h640/Guinness_Dublin.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>In The Ginger Man, Dublin, Ireland</b></span></div>
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<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">1) </span></b>In 2022 Luxembourg and Ireland posted the highest level of GDP (gross domestic product) per capita expressed in PPS (purchasing power parity involves an economic theory that compares different countries' currencies through a 'basket of goods.' In the EU the respective levels were at 156% and 135% above the average. However, over 40% of Luxembourg's workforce live beyond its border while foreign-owned multinationals distort Irish data.</p><p>The IMF (International Monetary Fund) said Ireland's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in April 2023 was the highest of 195 countries. This was based on PPP.</p><p>Ireland was at $145,200 per capita; the UK was at $56,500 <b>but Ireland's adjusted data was $33,500 per head. Denmark was $73,400.</b></p><p>Official <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck5xjrnn07go" target="_blank"><b>Irish figures for population in April 2023 was 5,281,600, up from 5,184,000 in 2022.</b></a> By year end the population likely is about <b>5,330,000.</b> The Danish population is about 5,940,000.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/09/irish-wealthiest-in-world-in-2023-brits.html" target="_blank">Irish wealthiest in the World in 2023! (April ) Brits ahead in GDP per capita</a></b></p><p><b>In October 2023 <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPDPC@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD" target="_blank">IMF GDP data per capita at current prices has Ireland on top at $112,500</a> followed by Switzerland at $102,870; Norway $99,300,000 and the United States at $80, 410.</b></p><p>Full data for 2023 will be available in April and October 2024. Ireland's national accounts will be available in March and July.</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">2) </span></b><b>There are more realistic data for Ireland.</b></p><p>Eurostat, the EU's statistical service says<b> "Actual individual consumption, abbreviated as AIC, </b>refers to all goods and services actually consumed by households. It encompasses consumer goods and services purchased directly by households, as well as services provided by non-profit institutions and the government for individual consumption (e.g., health and education services). In international comparisons, the term is usually preferred over the narrower concept of household consumption, because the latter is influenced by the extent to which non-profit institutions and general government act as service providers."</p><p><b>For 2022 Ireland's status improved in the final report in December 2023.</b></p><p><b><a href="However, its 94 result is still behind the EU average and Italy's." target="_blank">However, its 94% result is still behind the EU average and Italy's.</a></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAga31LFkr-vdDbgUj1EWTnb2LOJp59N8EZKfqC2FXCzhdVdU-PDDoBXA8-SGEMlKxUgApZdNv7wqnS4YSz83Ao4KmDV9y88-djkaJTznRyIHoVJ7LHNfdz-qV5BeRT6GH3vahLkNHIya34_8JJfTjYp6BGgIeGrnXPCUZuvqItAMtPRu_DpOlvg/s800/actual-individual-consumption-volume-index-2022.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAga31LFkr-vdDbgUj1EWTnb2LOJp59N8EZKfqC2FXCzhdVdU-PDDoBXA8-SGEMlKxUgApZdNv7wqnS4YSz83Ao4KmDV9y88-djkaJTznRyIHoVJ7LHNfdz-qV5BeRT6GH3vahLkNHIya34_8JJfTjYp6BGgIeGrnXPCUZuvqItAMtPRu_DpOlvg/w640-h360/actual-individual-consumption-volume-index-2022.png" width="560" /></a></div><p>Austria and Germany (both 18% above), the Netherlands (16% above) and Belgium (15% above). In 2022, nine EU countries recorded an AIC per capita above the EU average.</p><p><b>Ireland was 24% below the per capita levels of Austria and Germany.</b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;"> 3)</span> </b>The Irish Central Statistics Office (CS0) says "Contract manufacturing (also called goods for processing) — where a change in ownership occurs at a different point in time compared to the timing of a cross border movement of goods. Merchanting — to include the transactions related to merchanting1 because they are not already included in the international trade i.e. these transactions do not cross the border of the Irish merchant."</p><p><b>In 2022 the headline value of Irish GDP was €506,300bn and most of €143,000bn was fake.</b></p><p><b>Modified GNI* (Gross National Income) was introduced as an indicator designed specifically to measure the size of the Irish economy by excluding Globalisation effects. There would be adjustments in these four areas:</b></p><p>– Intellectual Property product relocations;</p><p>– Aircraft Leasing;</p><p>– Re-domiciled Firms</p><p>– Contract Manufacturing in Exports and Imports data.</p><p><b>Contract Manufacturing was subsequently excluded, making the Modified GNI* redundant.</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/10/irish-government-may-have-nixed-key.html" target="_blank">Irish Government may have nixed a key remedy for 'Leprechaun economics'</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FgP-c4mbUs5LdoZ7JlCq6PuPb5RHs86l7fAWcI6r9M340psWKv3Bsb4BHTc1edZbI90Fgzo2qqWQsgOxJKBuONHzHEbHcTV2mWiGFPvsaKirfEYYYZM15da9YIZ6cFRR5XLQ1vLOjNZSxUHIEQ9WjaHLRtL7gEzOv5BevGwv9P8Fnnpe57FaAw/s794/Ireland_Netherlands_big-tax-havens.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="794" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4FgP-c4mbUs5LdoZ7JlCq6PuPb5RHs86l7fAWcI6r9M340psWKv3Bsb4BHTc1edZbI90Fgzo2qqWQsgOxJKBuONHzHEbHcTV2mWiGFPvsaKirfEYYYZM15da9YIZ6cFRR5XLQ1vLOjNZSxUHIEQ9WjaHLRtL7gEzOv5BevGwv9P8Fnnpe57FaAw/w640-h554/Ireland_Netherlands_big-tax-havens.PNG" width="560" /></a></p><p><b>In recent years <a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/interactivezone/statisticsexplained/nationalaccountsexplained/totaldomesticdemandandmodifiedtotaldomesticdemand/" target="_blank">Modified Domestic Demand</a> has replaced the Modified GNI* but that also has distortions.</b></p><p><b>Dr Eddie Casey, Chief Economist and Head of the Secretariat at the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, warned in May 2023:</b></p><blockquote><p>"However, users should remain cautious in interpreting the measure. The outsized role of multinational enterprises in very specific areas can still distort modified domestic demand through their effect on modified investment. And by ignoring the trade side entirely, these investments are not offset by imports in the modified domestic demand measure. We show how imports of machinery and equipment to develop semiconductors may have distorted modified domestic demand growth in 2022."</p></blockquote>
<p><b><a href="https://www.fiscalcouncil.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Analytical-Note-Modified-Investment-Eddie-Casey-May-2023.pdf" target="_blank">Ireland’s modified domestic demand: what it tells us and where we should be cautious</a></b>
</p><p><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">4) </span>Data on international tax has been published in 2023:</b></p>
<p><a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/multinational-enterprises-report-low-taxed-profit-even-in-jurisdictions-with-high-corporate-tax-rates-underlining-need-for-global-tax-reform.htm" target="_blank"><b>Multinational enterprises continue reporting low-taxed profit, even in jurisdictions with high corporate tax rates, underlining the need for global tax reform</b></a></p>
<p>The OECD says "The new data and estimates on taxation of large MNE profits show how tax incentives and other concessions in jurisdictions with high statutory and average tax rates enable some firms to pay low effective tax rates (ETRs). The findings highlight how the introduction of a global minimum tax rate on the profits of large MNEs agreed by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework would create new opportunities for domestic resource mobilisation for high-tax and low-jurisdictions alike." November 21, 2023</p>
<p><a href="http://Journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293552" target="_blank"><b>Effective tax rates of multinational corporations: Country-level estimates</b></a></p><p>"Ireland, with ETR values of 16%, 15%, 14% and 19% and a statutory rate of 12.5%, presents a more intriguing case; however, given the data limitations, these results are consistent with existing literature. Our data does not account for the case of the Apple company and the Irish public audit body has recently found ETRs of similar magnitude.</p><p>The audit body also counters the evidence of low taxation in Ireland presented by for example arguing that the <b>United States Bureau of Economic Analysis data used for this approach, includes financial data from MNCs’ operations everywhere, not just in Ireland</b>, and, as such does not necessarily constitute a reflection of MNCs’ operating activities in Ireland or corporation tax paid in Ireland. November 29, 2023. "</p><p><b>This is nonsense — Ireland became the most profitable country on earth between 1999-2002 for American multinationals (MNCs).</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/09/leprechaun-economics-continue-to.html">Leprechaun economics continue to distort Ireland's statisticsLeprechaun economics continue to distort Ireland's statistics</a></b></p><p>The United Kingdom ($565.2bn) and Ireland ($353.0bn) were the fourth - and fifth-largest investing countries in the United States.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/09/fairy-tales-of-irish-economy-obscure.html" target="_blank"><b>Fairytales of the Irish economy obscure the truth </b></a></p><p><b>In 2023 tech giant Apple reported that profits at its main Irish subsidiary, Apple Operations International, rose to $69.3bn (€63.5bn) in the year to September 2022. last year.</b></p><p>Apple Operations International Ltd and its subsidiaries delivered daily pretax profits of $189.87mn over the 12 months ($222.75bn.</p><p>The company acts as a holding company for several Apple subsidiaries. It manufactures and develops everything from the company’s iPhone and iPad products to Mac computers.</p><p>Corporation tax in Ireland has risen by €16bn since 2015, to €23.5bn.</p>
<p><b>"Surely we can see from the activities of these companies in Ireland how much tax they should pay?" Cliff Taylor of The Irish Times asked rhetorically in early December.</b></p><blockquote><p></p><p><b>"Actually, no. A key reason why big firms such as Microsoft, Pfizer, Apple, Google and so on pay so much tax here is that they route most of the profits they make outside the US through international headquarters in Ireland. And the Irish exchequer gets a slice of tax from this. This in turn is not popular in other countries, with leading.</b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p><b> French economist Thomas Piketty accusing Ireland of 'siphoning the tax base of others' – in other words, collecting taxes that should be paid in other countries.</b></p><p>We can get some indication of multinational tax payment trends from the international results companies publish for their investors. But they do not yet break down in these reports what tax they pay in different countries – though new obligations in the years ahead will make them do so to some extent. So Irish tax payments can be altered by, say, the fortunes of the latest iPhone, the success of Microsoft in selling its new AI-based products around the world, or the production schedule of Pfizer’s latest drug."</p><p></p></blockquote>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">5) </span></b>In the past decade, the fictional movement of IP (intellectual property) and fake overseas Contract Manufacturing /merchanting has been a boon for large US tech and drug companies.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.taxobservatory.eu//www-site/uploads/2023/10/global_tax_evasion_report_24.pdf" target="_blank"><b>EU Tax Observatory: 'Global Tax Evasion Report 2024</b></a>'</p><p><b>The report identifies 13 tax havens worldwide which facilitate corporate profit shifting. Ireland and the Netherlands are the largest “with over $140bn shifted to each in recent years.”</b></p><p>The report says "First, the largest profit-shifting destinations appear to be<b> Ireland and the Netherlands,</b> with over $140bn shifted to each in recent years. In 2019, these two countries each accounted for approximately 15% of the total amount of profits shifted globally. Second, while there is some year-to-year fluctuation, the relative importance of the main havens has remained fairly persistent over time."</p><p>The EU Tax Observatory’s “Global Tax Evasion Report” estimated that about $1trn (trillion; €943 billion) of corporate profits were shifted to low-tax countries, including Ireland, in 2022, equivalent to almost 10% of corporate tax revenues collected globally.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOL5McwQ0cqBPYfPZypgIlIguRtU9JFunHLRS5DEw0Kg4C5uo_lFfEHVYHjfEZgnFx5bBOgUNSF9z1ILQGN4R44QQIyBZwprDDhzxLyaOtcRzL4-yjZ6Q-hWO1JtLJWAIcEvbBwxtGB88kotqzR8n0ut0AkaxjpeYruAZCmY8W-WCQIltNx4aVA/s935/Main-profit-shifting_countries.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="935" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOL5McwQ0cqBPYfPZypgIlIguRtU9JFunHLRS5DEw0Kg4C5uo_lFfEHVYHjfEZgnFx5bBOgUNSF9z1ILQGN4R44QQIyBZwprDDhzxLyaOtcRzL4-yjZ6Q-hWO1JtLJWAIcEvbBwxtGB88kotqzR8n0ut0AkaxjpeYruAZCmY8W-WCQIltNx4aVA/w640-h418/Main-profit-shifting_countries.PNG" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>In 2021 the OECD/Group of 20 achieved agreement among almost 140 countries on a road map for international tax reform.</b></p><p><b>According to the 'Global Tax Evasion Report 2024':</b></p><p>"We uncover positive evolution worth celebrating, but also setbacks, and major issues that remain unaddressed.</p><p> • First, offshore tax evasion by wealthy individuals has shrunk. Thanks to the automatic exchange of bank information, we estimate that offshore tax evasion has declined by a factor of about three over the last 10 years. This success shows that rapid progress can be made against tax evasion if there is the political will to do so.</p><p> • Second, the global minimum tax of 15% on multinationals, which raised high hopes in 2021, has been dramatically weakened. Initially expected to increase global corporate tax revenues by close to 10%, a growing list of loopholes has reduced its expected revenues by a factor of 2 (and by a factor of 3 relative to a comprehensive minimum tax of 20%).</p><p> • Third, tax evasion – including grey-zone evasion at the border of legality – is increasingly happening domestically. <b>Global billionaires have effective tax rates equivalent to 0% to 0.5% of their wealth, due to the frequent use of shell companies to avoid income taxation."</b></p><b>The authors of the 'Global Tax Evasion Report 2024' say</b> "Thanks to the automatic exchange of bank information, offshore tax evasion has declined by a factor of about three in less than 10 years. <b>Before 2013, households owned the equivalent of 10% of world GDP in financial wealth in tax havens globally, the bulk of which was undeclared to tax authorities and belonged to high-net-worth individuals.</b><div><br /></div><div>Today there is still the equivalent of 10% of world GDP in offshore household financial wealth, but in our central scenario, only about 25% of it evades taxation. This reduction in noncompliance is a major success that shows that rapid progress can be made against tax evasion if there is the political will to do so (Figure 1)."<p><b>The Irish Times on December 28 published an article on economic prospects in 2024:</b></p><p><b>'Irish economy has stalled and corporation tax is wobbling but what will 2024 bring?'</b></p><p>"The last four years have brought four shocks: Brexit, Covid, inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite the warnings, all the dire forecasts, the Irish economy has motored through each one, growing by 3.4% in GDP (gross domestic product) terms in 2020 at the height of the pandemic when the rest of the world was languishing in recession; by 15% in 2021; and by 9.4% in 2022.[...]"</p><p><b>These GDP data are highly distorted. In 2022 the headline rate was €506,300bn.</b></p><p><b>Adjustments for multinational (MNC) activity that had little impact on the Irish economy:</b></p><p>1) Factor income of Redomiciled Companies 2) depreciation on R&D Service Imports and Trade in Intellectual Property (IP); and 3) depreciation on Aircraft Leasing <b>reduced the GDP to €273bn (Modified GNI*).</b></p> <p><b>Contract Manufacturing/ Merchanting (e.g. Ireland shipping Apple products to China) in total was €143bn (let's generously say about €3bn was real), the real GDP value was €140bn; €27,200 per head or $28,600.</b></p><p>From <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD" target="_blank"><b>World Bank data per capita,</b></a> the UK was at $46,100; Italy $34,800; Euro Area $41,000; EU $37,400; High Income $49,600.<br /></p><p>Ireland $28,600; Austria $52,000; Belgium $52,000; Czechia $27,200; Denmark $67,800; Finland $50,900; Lithuania $25,000; Portugal $24,500; Greece $20,900; Hungary $18,400.</p><p><b>Ireland is among the second-tier advanced countries.</b></p></div><p><b>What happens when the music stops?</b></p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Discussion</span></b></h1><p>Ireland has become one of the two top business tax havens. Yes, legitimate foreign companies operate in Ireland but at some point, the bigger countries are not going to tolerate the stealing of their taxes.</p><p>Check <a href="https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2023-11/omne1123.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Table 3 here with respect to American overseas affiliates in 2021.</b></a> Netherlands and Irelands have the highest net income. Ireland has almost ten times Germany's; Ireland has 160,000 employees; Germany has 644,600; the UK has 1.328mn, in US affiliates, but the productivity is awful!!</p><p><b>Ireland is among the world leaders in R&D which is bullshit.</b></p><p>Exports to the Eurozone by Irish-owned firms were only €7.9bn in 2022. In 2023 the population of the 19 other members is 334mn.</p><p>The rise in the Irish population remains ahead of house building.</p><p><b>In the period 2011-2023, the population rose by about 700,000 while housing completions were about 200,000.</b></p><p></p><p>Employment has been strong at below 5% and in December the overall population rose by more than 100,000 people to more than 5.3mn – the largest 12-month increase since 2008.</p><p>There was a net migration of 77,600 <b>in the year to April 2023</b> – up from a net migration of 51,700 in 2022 and 21,800 in 2021. This rise in net migration has contributed to a 25% increase in population change, rising to 97,600 in 2023 from 77,800 in 2022.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://ireland.representation.ec.europa.eu/strategy-and-priorities/key-eu-policies-ireland/eu-migration-policy-and-ireland_en" target="_blank"><b>European Commission, </b></a>by September 2023, over 93,000 Ukrainians fleeing from war had arrived in Ireland.</p><p>The rate of increase of Ukrainians arriving in Ireland over the past 12 months was 10 times higher than the average increase in numbers fleeing to the EU from Ukraine over the same period.</p><p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/12/foreign-born-in-ireland-overtake-irish.html" target="_blank"><b>Foreign-born in Ireland overtake Irish-born in countries overseas (December 2022)</b></a></p><p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Comparative_price_levels_of_consumer_goods_and_services" target="_blank"><b>Denmark and Ireland had the highest consumer prices in the EU in 2022</b></a> (Comparative price levels of consumer goods and services).</p><p><b> Denmark is one of the world's most innovative economies.</b></p><p><b>Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk overtook LVMH as Europe's most valuable listed company in September following soaring demand for its obesity drug. As of December 29, 2023, Novo Nordisk has a market cap of $466bn.</b></p><p>Nordisk's foundation was in the 1920s and Novo followed in 1951. The foundations merged in 1989. LEO Pharma A/S, the multinational Danish pharmaceutical company, was founded in 1908.</p><p><b>The closest Ireland got to a significant indigenous drugs company was in 2001 when Élan became the 20th most valuable pharmaceutical in the world with a valuation of €20bn.</b></p><p>In January 2002 'The Wall Street Journal' reported the existence of 55 joint ventures that Élan had structured to simultaneously shift R&D costs off its books and bring in revenue before any drugs are developed.</p><p>In 2005 Élan and its US partner had to remove a multiple sclerosis drug from the market.</p><p>Élan was founded in Ireland in 1969 as a drug-delivery business, by American chemist Don Panoz, to facilitate the development of the technology behind the nicotine patch. It became a public limited company in January 1984.</p><p>Following several disposals by 2013, US generic drugmaker Perrigo agreed to buy Élan in a $8.6bn deal.</p><p><b>Absent a strong indigenous sector, Ireland will remain in the second league.</b></p>
<p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/04/success-of-irish-economy-masks-extent.html" target="_blank"><b>The success of Irish economy masks the extent of underlying weakness</b></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: medium;">The Strange, Broken Economics of Ireland</span></b></p>
<center>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J5wrYwFObiI?si=75GPPOToFzoiW_2n" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></center><div>It was <b>Microsoft</b> together with a Dublin law firm that pioneered the 'Double Irish Dutch Sandwich,' not Apple. In 2005 'The Wall Street Journal' broke the story on the use of Irish shell companies in Bermuda.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Apple</b> routed funds in its two key Irish shell companies, Apple Operations International (AOI) and its subsidiary (Apple Sales International), mainly to the United States.</div><div><br /></div><div>A Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations reported in May 2013<b> "For more than thirty years, Apple has taken the position that AOI has no tax residency, and AOI has not filed a corporate tax return in the past 5 years." </b></div><div><br /></div><div><b><a href="https://finfacts.ie/Irish_finance_news/articleDetail.php?How-Apple-found-a-bigger-tax-loophole-than-the-Double-Irish-681" target="_blank">How Apple found a bigger tax loophole than the Double Irish</a></b></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Government data 2021</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Foreign companies in Ireland that are supported by the IDA state agency, had full-time staff at 294,070 in 2022. Enterprise Ireland, which supports Irish-owned companies, had 190,900 full-time staff.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>There were about 2mn full-time employees in the economy at the end of 2022. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Revenue</b> said in respect of 2021 that foreign-owned multinationals had over<b> 850,000</b> employees. It says beyond the FDI sector, "The remaining <b>360,400,</b> of which the largest share was <b>174,800</b> in Wholesale & Retail Trade, are most likely foreign-owned multinationals operating in Ireland to serve the domestic market."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>This was 34% of an estimated 2,505,800 (first quarter 2022 including part-time staff) who were working in foreign-owned companies.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Foreign companies supported by IDA:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Payroll </b>€20.126bn; average €83,000 per employee</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Irish Materials</b> €3.983bn<b> (13.5% of the total)</b>;<b> Services </b>9.530bn <b> (5.39%)</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Irish companies supported by Enterprise Ireland:</b></div><div> </div><div>Payroll €9.530bn average €53,600 per head.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Irish Materials </b> €14.323bn; <b>(62.5% of the total);</b> Services 5,697 <b>(61.2%)</b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><b><a href="https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/publications/publication-files/annual-business-survey-of-economic-impact-2021.pdf" target="_blank">Annual Business Survey of Economic Impact (ABSEI) 2021</a></b></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-73956588040652176322023-11-21T06:20:00.019+00:002023-11-26T01:59:25.506+00:00 Israel a "brutal colonial power"; local rights group calls it "apartheid"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUDewQw8yZ30p5GmT586ghAkFSgKULHb0RIo7-sV_6PlGGxo6-boSTg0ZAsqo4VOnMRDGfD7Nf7OwJ1k1uiAbnDYGBWf3iOzfbA5j61L-O5Ed7wE837cA6pQUo5DK7-zY6U_qrQSYLh-ykdrqNqJwycXUWWxRwY55RI01IR5Z1FVpk61VdKVKOw/s940/Bedouin_by-the-Jordan-River-early-20th-century.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="940" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUDewQw8yZ30p5GmT586ghAkFSgKULHb0RIo7-sV_6PlGGxo6-boSTg0ZAsqo4VOnMRDGfD7Nf7OwJ1k1uiAbnDYGBWf3iOzfbA5j61L-O5Ed7wE837cA6pQUo5DK7-zY6U_qrQSYLh-ykdrqNqJwycXUWWxRwY55RI01IR5Z1FVpk61VdKVKOw/w640-h416/Bedouin_by-the-Jordan-River-early-20th-century.PNG" width="560" /></a></div><p> </p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">A Bedouin by the Jordan River in the early 20th century taken by the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology.</span></b></p>
<p><b>The heinous attack on civilians in Israel, early on October 7th, was a monstrous crime perpetrated by Hamas terrorists. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said this month that Hamas committed war crimes but "The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians is also a war crime, as is unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians."</b></p><p> "An eye for an eye" (Biblical Hebrew: עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, ʿayīn taḥaṯ ʿayīn) is a commandment found in the Book of Exodus 21:23–27 citing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure.</p><p>Jesus in the Christian Bible John 8:7, with Mary Magdalene, a disciple, said to the men who wished to stone her to death, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">SEE also: </span></b><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/11/israel-is-wests-last-settler-colony.html" target="_blank">Israel is the West's last settler colony</a></b></span></p><p><b>Avi Shlaim (born 1945) is an Israeli and British historian of Iraqi Jewish descent. He is an Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford University.</b></p><p>He wrote an essay for The Economist on this year, the 75th anniversary of the declaration of the State of Israel on May 15, 1948.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"The controlling logic of settler-colonialism is to subdue and drive out the natives. Noam Chomsky, an eminent Jewish-American intellectual, <b>has argued that settler colonialism is the most sadistic form of imperialism. In Palestine, the Zionist leaders were not sadistic, but they were ruthless in pursuit of their goal."</b></p><p>"In 1948, following the Arab rejection of the UN partition plan, they exploited the opportunity offered by an Arab military attack to extend the territory of their emerging state beyond the borders drawn by the UN cartographers and to carry out large-scale ethnic cleansing of Palestine. After the war, all the emphasis was on Aliyah or immigration, “the ingathering of the exiles”, nation-building and promoting the welfare of the Jewish population. The Arab minority inside Israel was kept under military government until 1966. During this period the settler-colonial character of the new state became obscured, but it did not fundamentally change."</p></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I experienced the transformation of Israeli society over the past half-century at the personal level. In the mid-1960s I served loyally and proudly in the Israeli army because I felt at that time that the IDF was true to its name: it was the Israeli Defence Forces. <b><span style="color: red;">After the 1967 war, its character gradually changed. It became the repressive police force of a brutal colonial power.</span></b> I for one, therefore, do not regard Israel’s 75th birthday as a cause for celebration but rather as an occasion for critical reflection and soul-searching.</p>
</blockquote>
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<p><b>B’Tselem – the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories "strives for a future in which human rights, liberty and equality are guaranteed to all people, Palestinian and Jewish alike, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Such a future will only be possible when the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime end."</b></p>
<blockquote>
<p>"More than 14 million people, roughly half of them Jews and the other half Palestinians, live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea under a single rule. The common perception in public, political, legal and media discourse is that two separate regimes operate side by side in this area, separated by the Green Line. One regime, inside the borders of the sovereign State of Israel, is a permanent democracy with a population of about nine million, all Israeli citizens. <b>The other regime, in the territories Israel took over in 1967, whose final status is supposed to be determined in future negotiations, is a temporary military occupation imposed on some five million Palestinian subjects.</b></p><p>Over time, the distinction between the two regimes has grown divorced from reality. This state of affairs has existed for more than 50 years – twice as long as the State of Israel existed without it. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish settlers now reside in permanent settlements east of the Green Line, living as though they were west of it. East Jerusalem has been officially annexed to Israel’s sovereign territory, and the West Bank has been annexed in practice<b>. <span style="color: red;">Most importantly, the distinction obfuscates the fact that the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is organized under a single principle: advancing and cementing the supremacy of one group – Jews – over another – Palestinians. </span></b>All this leads to the conclusion that these are not two parallel regimes that simply happen to uphold the same principle. There is one regime governing the entire area and the people living in it, based on a single organizing principle."</p></blockquote>
<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Jews in Europe from 1880</span></b></h1><p>In about 1880, European Jews represented 90% of the world’s Jews according to Sergio Della Pergola (born in Trieste, Italy 1942) who is a renowned Italian-Israeli demographer and statistician at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.</p><p></p><p></p><p>“The percentage of Jews in Europe has returned to the same level as in the Middle Ages,” he has said. After the Holocaust, they accounted for only 35% of the total Jewish population, and by 2020, European Jews made up merely nine per cent of world Jewry.</p><p>In short, the Jewish population of Europe, which still numbered 3.2mn in 1970, can be estimated at only 1.3mn today.</p><p>France is still the largest community in Europe (440,000) and the third largest in the world after Israel (7.2mn) and the United States (7.3mn). The fourth largest Jewish community is in Canada (390,000).</p><p>The population of Jews in 1947 was 650,000 and 1,324,000 were mainly Palestinians — <b><a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-and-non-jewish-population-of-israel-palestine-1517-present" target="_blank">data.</a></b></p><p>Israel did not want to have many more Arabs than Jews in the poulation.</p><p>The semi-nomadic community that historically engaged in animal herding and grazing and agriculture. They mainly identify as Palestinian Arabs. They use the term Bedouin to refer to their nomadic way of life.<b> Out of the 92,000 Bedouin living in the Negev in 1947, only 11,000 remained after the foundation of Israel.</b></p><p><b>World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - <a href="https://www.refworld.org/docid/5ba34aff7.html#:~:text=They%20are%20a%20semi%2Dnomadic,after%20the%20foundation%20of%20Israel." target="_blank">Israel</a>.</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-v23_s9xItmfjF_MvpOHuvArE11CkZAXzF85u7UU-2nRQImOpUWIwqTTyrcind5vAEa1hSuxA85PhcjsabyJhfoRnFfpSUiNsQ2ScO-8snqB_iL0hNb08Hyl9znPjUUPFW7Q2_vWVs-hSL_Oz1552RY3s_8MdMd4pKfnfp8yX9hhR3M3kfRXxw/s794/Beach-at-Jaffa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="794" height="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-v23_s9xItmfjF_MvpOHuvArE11CkZAXzF85u7UU-2nRQImOpUWIwqTTyrcind5vAEa1hSuxA85PhcjsabyJhfoRnFfpSUiNsQ2ScO-8snqB_iL0hNb08Hyl9znPjUUPFW7Q2_vWVs-hSL_Oz1552RY3s_8MdMd4pKfnfp8yX9hhR3M3kfRXxw/w640-h540/Beach-at-Jaffa.jpg" width="560" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The beach at Jaffa in the early 29th century</span></b></p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The Plantation</span></b></h1><p><b><span style="color: red;">The Zionist leaders were middle-class educated Europeans while the Palestinians were mainly tenant farmers.</span></b></p><p><b>In the last decade of the 19th century Baron Edmond James de Rothschild</b>, the youngest son of James Jacob de Rothschild, was a patron of the first settlement in Palestine at Rishon-LeZion, he bought from Ottoman landlords much of the land which now makes up present-day Israel.</p><p>He was a member of the French branch of the wealthy family.</p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>The family owned more than 90,000 acres, or 400,000 dunams, (364 km²) in the Jezreel Valley in Palestine, having purchased it from Ottoman authorities in their dealings with the empire.</b></span></p><div>The Jerrel was viewed as the most fertile in Palestine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jews purchased 200,000 dunams (more than 49,000 acres) from the wealthy family of Christian Arabs from Beirut (the Sursock family). Included in the purchase were 22 villages.</div><p>Because the villagers paid tithes to the Sursock family in Beirut for the right to work the agricultural lands in the villages, they were deemed tenant farmers by the British Mandate authorities in Palestine, and the right of the Sursock family to sell the land to the JNF was upheld by the authorities.</p><p><b>The first colonial fund was the Jewish National Fund (JNF), or Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael in Hebrew, founded in December 1901. Jewish Colonization Association (ICA, which was established in 1891) became an important player in land redemption. De Rothschild had the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA) as a bank.</b></p><p><b>Nahum Sokolow (1859–1936)</b> was a journalist and Zionist leader. He was born in Wyszogród, in Russian-controlled Poland. Sokolow translated a novel written by Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist organisation, into Hebrew, giving it the title Tel Aviv.</p><p>Sir Mark Sykes of the UK and François Georges-Picot of France together with Sergey Dimitriyevich</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_FBNcOrXlf71b8hvULubSbmAZAoAVYDMbmrAEn_HkYk9XUf2ggRPCCsFwJbmdfLg00-b621u3FYtA9dUySRJi3yII8pK8cI5YL6dRvENefH01skh2IoP2daW9t5a_RJ9otFyXwRACQOraMGKjKSURAZoYoIltXKX7QQp4Cci-CjNYWH3OfHrwng/s485/Balfour-New_York_Times_1925.PNG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="189" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_FBNcOrXlf71b8hvULubSbmAZAoAVYDMbmrAEn_HkYk9XUf2ggRPCCsFwJbmdfLg00-b621u3FYtA9dUySRJi3yII8pK8cI5YL6dRvENefH01skh2IoP2daW9t5a_RJ9otFyXwRACQOraMGKjKSURAZoYoIltXKX7QQp4Cci-CjNYWH3OfHrwng/w250-h640/Balfour-New_York_Times_1925.PNG" width="250" /></a></div>Sazonov of the Russian Empire, the third member of the Triple Entente made a secret agreement called the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, to take effect after the armistice. It provided for the Levant to be administered by France and the UK while the Russians would take control of Armenia.<p></p><p>Before the British government would announce the Balfour Declaration, in May 1917 Sokolow went to Rome and Pope Benedict XV described the return of the Jews to Palestine as "providential; God has willed it." The French were on board and US president Wilson who hated black Americans endorsed the Balfour Declaration that viewed with favour “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”</p><p>In November 1917 the Balfour Declaration (“Balfour’s promise” in Arabic) was a public pledge by Britain declaring its aim to establish “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.</p><p>The statement came in the form of a letter from Britain’s then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community.</p><p><b>Foreign Office</b></p><p><b>November 2nd, 1917</b></p><p><b>Dear Lord Rothschild,</b></p><p>I have much pleasure in conveying to you on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by the Cabinet</p><p>His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.</p><p>I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.</p><p><b>Yours,</b></p><p><b>Arthur James Balfour</b></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirv4JWctgj3uhBZTquvcfeVpFZjXe5tmRRe8ZDsxl9TNX1hqWe7Y3uASGCHQxhGjIXyzZIvFaK-ye-6UmeMx-lRb-H_HcsrnA1VXqdv-NEjh4uuZuIjPYx9Gu1Q-KX0FQfjDhzTk-XYaJixUjMaD143jZ8ZD1LRujgxaMLQ8mefwRKQHFStsG37w/s1500/Balfour-in-Jerusalem.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1500" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirv4JWctgj3uhBZTquvcfeVpFZjXe5tmRRe8ZDsxl9TNX1hqWe7Y3uASGCHQxhGjIXyzZIvFaK-ye-6UmeMx-lRb-H_HcsrnA1VXqdv-NEjh4uuZuIjPYx9Gu1Q-KX0FQfjDhzTk-XYaJixUjMaD143jZ8ZD1LRujgxaMLQ8mefwRKQHFStsG37w/w640-h370/Balfour-in-Jerusalem.jpg" width="560" /></a><p></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Earl Balfour visited the Jewish colony in 1925. He was fêted by the colonists and a visit to Damascus triggered rioting. The earl had to be smuggled out of the city.</span></b></p>
<p>
In its Village Statistics, the British estimated the total area of land owned by Jews in 1945 to be 1,491,699 dunams, compared with about 13 million dunams owned by Arabs in Palestine (a dunam is equivalent to roughly 1,000 square meters).
</p>
<p>
In 1947/1948 the European settlers seized 77% of the land and the indigenous 750,000 that fled had their properties, was seized. </p>
<p><b>The West Bank has been under military control since 1967 and according to B'Tselem, more than 42% of the West Bank is under the control of the Israeli settlements, 21% of which were seized from private Palestinian owners, much of it in violation of the 1979 Israeli Supreme Court decision.</b></p><p>Israeli governments from 1947 to the present demolished the houses of the indigenous population to facilitate their own planters on The West Bank and East Jerusalem.<a href="https://icahd.org/2021/04/20/the-demolition-of-palestinian-homes-by-israel-a-fact-sheet/" target="_blank"><b> The number back to 1947 is about 130,000.</b></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRIPs5Bzg1aZeqA-T5NTUO3RMvf1oBdxgdJep7ZqoMsr4W1E3mVzibmU00m6jp8padoic7W6PEBCc7LS8jua1BGaMXIhFEJIYqelkHzOLib4fBrDJhsMRfsRS58rsDvvO7Qhgmu1A-Y6k5glXXCSnzWJm1yA5rlU5xkyhaSQWE1JJ3wC5pryprA/s795/Palastine_1956_hatred_Israelis.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="795" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRIPs5Bzg1aZeqA-T5NTUO3RMvf1oBdxgdJep7ZqoMsr4W1E3mVzibmU00m6jp8padoic7W6PEBCc7LS8jua1BGaMXIhFEJIYqelkHzOLib4fBrDJhsMRfsRS58rsDvvO7Qhgmu1A-Y6k5glXXCSnzWJm1yA5rlU5xkyhaSQWE1JJ3wC5pryprA/w640-h430/Palastine_1956_hatred_Israelis.PNG" width="560" /></a></div>
<p>The New York Times published on November 20, 2023,<b> that eight years after the foundation of the state of Israel, Moshe Dayan, the chief of staff of the Israeli military, stood close to the Gaza border to pronounce a eulogy for a 21-year-old Israeli security officer slain by Palestinian and Egyptian assailants.</b></p><p><b><span style="color: red;">“Let us not today cast blame on his murderers,” he said in 1956:</span></b></p>
<blockquote><p><b><span style="color: red;">“What can we say against their terrible hatred of us? For eight years now, they have sat in the refugee camps of Gaza and have watched how, before their very eyes, we have turned their land and villages, where they and their forefathers previously dwelled, into our home.”</span></b></p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Netanyahu is Finished | Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University</b></span></p>
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<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">"A Land Without a People, For a People Without a Land"</span></b> — Early 20th-century Zionist slogan popularised by Israel Zangwill;</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">"There were no such things as Palestinians . . . It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist"</span></b> — <b>Golda Meir, prime minister of Israel, 1969 (Frank Giles, “Golda Meir: ‘Who Can Blame Israel?” Sunday Times of London, 15 June 1969).</b></p><p>Golda Meir in 1970 in an interview with British TV: "When were Palestinians born? What was all of this area before the First World War when Britain got the Mandate over Palestine? What was Palestine, then? Palestine was then the area between the Mediterranean and the Iraqi border. East and West Bank was Palestine. I am a Palestinian, from 1921 and 1948, I carried a Palestinian passport. There was no such thing in this area as Jews, and Arabs, and Palestinians, There were Jews and Arabs."</p><p>In 1888 Theodore Roosevelt's book <b>'The Winning of the West 1769-1807' </b>was published. The future US president began <b>"During the past three centuries the spread of the English-speaking peoples over the world's waste spaces has been not only the most striking feature in the world's history, but also the event of all others most far-reaching in its effects and its importance."</b></p><p>The reference to the "world's waste spaces" was to non-white people and in particular Native Americans.</p><p><b>When Arthur Balfour promised European Jews a homeland in Palestine, British and Australian troops were poised to eject the Ottoman Empire from Jerusalem.</b></p><p>Just as the Zionists claimed that Palestine was a waste space, the new colonial master could offer the land to European settlers ignoring people who had lived in the area for more than a millennium.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6tYpCE50gEsu3oytH_n9-Jo8ch5EiBw2qp96Bm9WmifjgsE_94Rutn1o3f1CEWeqwfk-k_PeVVxu1kLoGKinXtDADQdp-A8d2shXYHmd37V-qsj-r5L0iFr3jDvODw2s8Q2Ur-5i_qhjBBotvIEAq-LC_p7P-Zcqo-361uDOotaUsZ_sjPqtXw/s640/Golda_Meir.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="560" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6tYpCE50gEsu3oytH_n9-Jo8ch5EiBw2qp96Bm9WmifjgsE_94Rutn1o3f1CEWeqwfk-k_PeVVxu1kLoGKinXtDADQdp-A8d2shXYHmd37V-qsj-r5L0iFr3jDvODw2s8Q2Ur-5i_qhjBBotvIEAq-LC_p7P-Zcqo-361uDOotaUsZ_sjPqtXw/w640-h400/Golda_Meir.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Israeli premier Golda Meir at a press conference in Rome in January 1973.</span></b></div><p>
</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Golda Meir (1898-1978) was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, a province of the Russian Empire, and she lived in the US during her teen years.</span></b></p><p>Behind closed doors in 1970 Meir contemplated allowing Palestinians to have their own state.<b> Last June Israel State Archives declassified top secret transcriptions of a meeting Meir held in October 1970 with senior ministers, including defence minister Moshe Dayan and education minister Yigal Allon, in which the possibility of a Palestinian state was discussed.</b></p><p>“It will be necessary to leave the Arabs of Judea and Samaria an option to earn self-determination at a later stage, if and when it suits us,” Meir said at the start of the meeting. “In other words, there will be another country [alongside Israel].” <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/declassified-protocols-indicate-golda-meir-considered-palestinian-statehood/amp/" target="_blank"><b>Times of Israel newspaper.</b></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-89910016770516159902023-11-10T04:49:00.050+00:002023-11-26T03:28:10.541+00:00Israel is the West's last settler colony <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaDDIGjtwrNMCSddcOdmIlpOOvPiyl0V491Jo8K69q05INTHei2IVLI6H_nPeg3jL_12nJyYR1o7-j38SCcN9Ik8O9aExXKxQvIUzVbd6QqLsdRnSP8pwXBcYoKxHQCYY8ZHMgnFWFH2vh75Mde56fghxfKcGysNME_IPE_IXHe8jK75nS79eqg/s954/Kingdoms_of_Israel_and_Judah_map_830.svg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPaDDIGjtwrNMCSddcOdmIlpOOvPiyl0V491Jo8K69q05INTHei2IVLI6H_nPeg3jL_12nJyYR1o7-j38SCcN9Ik8O9aExXKxQvIUzVbd6QqLsdRnSP8pwXBcYoKxHQCYY8ZHMgnFWFH2vh75Mde56fghxfKcGysNME_IPE_IXHe8jK75nS79eqg/w536-h640/Kingdoms_of_Israel_and_Judah_map_830.svg.png" width="560" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Map of the Southern Levant in the 9th century BC, with Israel in blue</span></b></p>
<p>Mount Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David and later for the Temple Mount, but its meaning has shifted and it is now used as the name of ancient Jerusalem's Western Hill (Wikipedia).</p>
<p><b>Theodor Herzl (1860-1904),</b> a Jewish journalist living in Austria-Hungary, founded the Zionist movement in 1896 and he convened the First Zionist Conference in 1897.</p>
<p>In 1902, <b>Arthur James Balfour, succeeded his uncle, Lord Salisbury, as British prime minister.</b> He established a Royal Commission on Alien Immigration (1902–03). Colonial immigration restriction laws played an important role in the formulation and passing of the <b>1905 Aliens Act.</b></p>
<p><b>In London there were immigration restrictions among the Jewish community who did not wish to see Jewish ‘pauper classes’ descend on England.</b></p>
<p>Herzl asked the colonial secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, to permit Jewish colonisation in British-controlled Egypt near El Arish (the largest settlement of the Sinai Peninsula in the northeastern area by the Mediterranean coast), but he was offered Uganda. The goal was to still to settle in Ottoman Palestine.</p>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">SEE here as well: </span></b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/11/israel-brutal-colonial-power-local.html" target="_blank"><b>Israel a "brutal colonial power"; local rights group calls it "apartheid"</b></a></p>
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<p>Following the death of Herzl, <b>Chaim Weizmann, </b>a Russian-born Jewish immigrant to the UK (who later became the first Israeli president) met the prime minister and Weizmann proposed a new "diagnosis and prognosis" of the "Jewish Problem."</p>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The cure was to give the Jews a land of their own. "They would make Palestine as Jewish as England was English."</span></b></p>
<p>Balfour joined the <b>War Cabinet</b> in 1916 as foreign secretary and in 1917 the <a href="https://balfourproject.org/war-cabinet-minutes-leading-to-the-balfour-declaration-1917/" target="_blank"><b>Balfour Declaration</b></a> in the form of a letter written by Balfour to Lionel Walter Rothschild, in which he expressed <b>the British government's support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.</b></p>
<p>In 1887 Balfour began a four-year tenure as Chief Secretary for Ireland and he had opposed Irish Home Rule.</p>
<p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Besides Weizmann, the other leaders of Zionism were planning to expel the indigenous people from Palestine. It would have been emulating </b><b>Plantations in the 16th and 17th centuries in Ireland, which involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the English Crown and colonising this land with planters /settlers from Great Britain. In the 18th century Irish Catholics were subjected to a system of slavery called the Penal Laws.</b></span></p>
<p><b>David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben Zvi,</b> (later Israel's first prime minister and second president, respectively), in their 1918 book (in Yiddish),<b> 'Eretz* Israel in the Past and in the Present,'</b> published an extensive guide for<b> Jewish colonisation. They wrote that 10 million Jews</b> could be placed in historic<b> Eretz Israel (Palestine) </b>on both sides of the Jordan River.</p>
<p>In their calculations, <b>Palestine was "a country without a people,"</b> and the land could be redeemed and populated by industrious Jews.</p>
<p><b>As of September 14, 2023, Israel’s population stood at 9.795mn with 7.2mn Jews.</b></p>
<p>*The Promised Land from God for Ancient Israel's territory; encompasses modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.</p>
<p><b>David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben Zvi, also in the book acknowledged that the contemporary fellahin (peasants) of Palestine were descended from Ancient Jewish and Samaritan farmers.</b></p>
<p>Roman Emperor Constantine (AD 280– 337) embraced Christianity, a trend that would impact the number of Jews while the Muslim conquest of the Levant in AD 634–638 again would have had Islamic conversions.</p>
<p><b>Ben-Gurion wrote to his son Amos in 1937: <a href="https://www.palestineremembered.com/download/B-G%20LetterTranslation.pdf" target="_blank">Full Translated letter</a></b></p>
<blockquote><p>"Does the establishment of a Jewish state [in only part of Palestine] advance or retard On July 22, 1946, the Irgun Zvai Le'umi (National Military Organization) a Jewish terrorist organization opposed to Britain's continued rule of Palestine, bombed Jerusalem's King David Hotel. Irgun leader Menachem Begin became Isreali prime minister in 1977.the conversion of this country into a Jewish country? My assumption (which is why I am a fervent proponent of a state, even though it is now linked to partition) is that a Jewish state on only part of the land is not the end but the beginning.... This is because this increase in possession is of consequence not only in itself, but because through it we increase our strength, and every increase in strength helps in the possession of the land as a whole.</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"> <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>The establishment of a state, even if only on a portion of the land, is the maximal reinforcement of our strength at the present time and a powerful boost to our historical endeavors to liberate the entire country.</b></span> </p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>"...</b></span><b style="color: #38761d;">Palestine is grossly under populated. It contains vast colonisation potential which the Arabs neither need nor are qualified (because of their lack of need) to exploit."</b></p></blockquote>
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<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The settler-colonists</span></b></h1>
<p><b>Patrick Wolfe (1949-2016),</b> an Australian historian in 2006 said in <a href=" https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14623520601056240" target="_blank"><b>'Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the native'</b></a></p>
<blockquote><p>"Despite Zionism's chronic addiction to territorial expansion, Israel's borders do not preclude the option of removal (in this connection, it is hardly surprising that a nation that has driven so many of its original inhabitants into the sand should express an abiding fear of itself being driven into the sea). As the logic of elimination has taken on a variety of forms in other settler-colonial situations, so, in Israel, the continuing tendency to Palestinian expulsion has not been limited to the unelaborated exercise of force."</p></blockquote>
<p><b>Kristen Alff, an American historian, </b>said in 2021,<b> 'Property disputes in Israel come with a complicated back story – and tend to end with Palestinian dispossession.'</b></p>
<blockquote> <p>"The lands that Zionist organizations targeted for purchase were primarily held by companies headed by families living in the Levant...family companies, whose owners were living in Cairo and Beirut, became major global capitalist enterprises during the 19th century, investing in manufacturing and trade in India, Germany and Britain...<b>The Ottoman state also recognized Palestinian Arab peasants, merchants and Bedouin as owners of olive groves, fruit trees, mills, houses, buildings, and even water and grazing rights on this land</b>...Frustrated by their inability to sell and buy entire villages, the Levantine companies and their Zionist partners took advantage of World War I to dispossess Palestinians of some of their property rights."</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6R5lp_sk2_8g-TAxp74SppWyYjdQxzw79aNsJRX1XNDaq7HuGesekhf-Y9WSemgey8VsC8sdquSBgaIvAZo1q6SHl0GbPkG1l4eCHCTHrw3KFe_CW_Oi8UHZWY0xbeNpFELJ3Yl-1XsZTcWxG5syvfWdSIs2x1XqKPL-QdP5XFtJZn0_mi6Ykw/s600/Jewish_settlement_1918.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6R5lp_sk2_8g-TAxp74SppWyYjdQxzw79aNsJRX1XNDaq7HuGesekhf-Y9WSemgey8VsC8sdquSBgaIvAZo1q6SHl0GbPkG1l4eCHCTHrw3KFe_CW_Oi8UHZWY0xbeNpFELJ3Yl-1XsZTcWxG5syvfWdSIs2x1XqKPL-QdP5XFtJZn0_mi6Ykw/w640-h426/Jewish_settlement_1918.jpg" width="560" /></a></div>
<p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b> The Jewish village of Deiran, on the Philistine Plain, a few miles south of the Jaffa-Jerusalem Road in Palestine. Immediately after its occupation by the Australian Light Horse, Deiran became the headquarters of General Chauvel's Desert Mounted Corps.</b></span></p>
<p> In 1917 Australian troops participated in a British push into Palestine that captured Gaza and Jerusalem; by 1918 they had occupied Lebanon and Syria and were riding into Damascus. On October 30, 1918, Turkey sued for peace.</p>
<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Jewish terrorists</b></span></span></h1>
<p><span>Arabs are often called terrorists but Jewish assassinations, terror attacks and even castration were the hidden actions of Israel's pre-state militia, according to the <b>Haaretz newspaper's Ofer Aderet.</b></span></p>
<p>Last August Haaretz reported, <b>"After years of denial, a growing number of people both in Israel and worldwide have begun to understand that yes, there is such a thing as Jewish terrorism, and even as Jewish terrorists."</b></p>
<p><b>The Times of Israel</b> newspaper reported on Dec 13, 2022, that Defense Minister Benny Gantz said "classified intel shows pair, suspected of anti-Arab crimes, poses ‘high level of danger’ to public safety; notes 1,000 Palestinians held under similar orders."</p>
<p><b>Pre-statehood the Haganah (Defense) group operated by the Jewish Agency</b> "boasts of its heroic acts and looks down on similar right-wing groups, its history also includes dark operations it would prefer not to mention. The Zionist military organization represented the majority of the Jews in Palestine from 1920 to 1948. In the spring of 1947, <b>David Ben-Gurion, who would become prime minister on independence</b> <b>took it upon himself to direct the general policy of the Haganah.</b></p>
<p><b>The chart shows the spike in terrorism.</b></p>
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<p>The British army occupied Jerusalem on December 9, 1917, and withdrew on May 14, 1948, the day before the Israeli Declaration of Independence. While the Irgun and Stern Zionist terrorist gangs were anti-British. The Haaretz newspaper has confirmed that a plan to enlist the support of the Nazis was raised in 1940 by Avraham Stern, the Lehi/ Stern leader at a meeting with a German official in Beruit. Avraham Stern (1907–42), was killed by the British in 1942. </p>
<p>On July 22, 1946, the Irgun Zvai Le'umi (National Military Organization) bombed Jerusalem's King David Hotel. Ninety-one soldiers and civilians lost their lives and 45 were injured.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span>On April 9, 1947, a group of Irgun commandos raided the Arab village of Deir Yassin (modern Kefar Shaʾul), killing about 100 of its inhabitants. There were many more incidents.</span></p>
<p><b style="color: red;">Dublin-born Walter Edward Guinness, a member of the Irish brewing family, known as Lord Moyne, served as British Secretary of State for the Colonies and Minister Resident in the Middle East, until he was assassinated in Cairo on November 6, 1944.</b></p>
<p><span>The Irish Times stated, “The Cairo Government broadcast a formal statement declaring that the assailants were not Egyptians, and it was learned late last night that the Egyptian Premier has called a meeting of his cabinet.”</span></p>
<p>The two assassins, Eliahu Bet-Tsouri and Eliahu Hakim, were young men 23 and 17 years of age respectively.</p>
<p><b>The former terrorist leader of Irgun, Menachem Begin, became Israeli prime minister in 1978. Yitzhak Shamir also of Irgun headed the planning of the assassination of Lord Moyne. Shamir succeeded Begin as Israeli prime minister. The two assassins were hanged.</b></p>
<p><span>It was extraordinary that Zionists would massacre British officials and soldiers when there wouldn't have been any homeland without the British and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.</span></p><p><span style="color: red;"><b>It was also extraordinary that the two of the 3 leading terrorists who had blood on their hands, could become prime ministers.</b></span></p>
<p><span><b>Hannah Dailey, University of New Orleans:</b> "Terrorism is in the eye of the beholder. The Lehi’s (Irgun) decision to assassinate Lord Moyne in 1944 has gone from being seen as an extremist terror tactic<b> to both the assassins being honoured in Israel as two of the twelve Jews executed and hung by the British.</b> Following the Moyne assassination in 1944 to the transfer of the assassins’ bodies to Israel in 1975 and their present standing today, these events become a study in the changing perception of what constitutes "terrorism""</span></p>
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<p><b>The United Nations (UN) in 1949–50 concluded that the real figure for exclusions of Palestinians, called Al-Nakba (catastrophe), was just over 700,000.</b></p><p><b>The Israeli population was 717,000 and 156,000 non-Jews giving a total of 872,700.</b></p>
<p>The population of Jews in 1947 was 650,000 and 1,324,000 were mainly Palestinians — <b><a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-and-non-jewish-population-of-israel-palestine-1517-present" target="_blank">data.</a></b></p>
<p>Israel did not want to have a lot more Arabs than Jews in the poulation.</p>
<h1 style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">God's chosen people</span></b></h1>
<p><b>Benjamin Netanyahu </b>tweeted in 2019 "The Palestinians’ connection to the Land of Israel is nothing compared to the 4,000-year connection that the Jewish people have with the land."</p>
<p><b><a href="https://mondediplo.com/2008/09/07israel" target="_blank">Shlomo Sand</a> (born 1946)</b> is an Israeli emeritus professor of history at Tel Aviv University and he debunks the conventional wisdom. He says "<b>Our political culture insists on seeing the Jews as the direct descendants of the ancient Hebrews. But the Jews never existed as a ‘people’ – still less as a nation."</b></p>
<p>"Every Israeli knows that he or she<b> is the direct and exclusive descendant of a Jewish people</b> which has existed since it received the Torah (scripture) in Sinai. According to this myth, <b>the Jews escaped Egypt and settled in the Promised Land, where they built the glorious kingdom of David and Solomon, </b>which<b> </b>split into the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. They experienced two exiles: after the destruction of the first temple, in the BC 6th century, and of the second temple, in AD 70.</p>
<p>Two thousand years of wandering brought the Jews to Yemen, Morocco, Spain, Germany, Poland and deep into Russia.<b> But, the story goes, they always managed to preserve blood links between their scattered communities. Their uniqueness was never compromised."</b></p>
<p><b><a href="https://realnoevremya.com/articles/878" target="_blank">Ze'ev Herzog, </a></b>emeritus of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Culture at Tel Aviv University, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comment?id=10.1371/annotation/dc8f5c46-f9c3-49c5-b3ac-29402003f503" target="_blank"><b>with others</b></a> say the archaeological evidence is conclusive: "The Israelites were never in Egypt, did not wander in the desert, did not conquer the land in a military campaign and did not pass it on to the 12 tribes of Israel. <b>Perhaps even harder to swallow is the fact that the united monarchy of David and Solomon, which is described by the Bible as a regional power, was at most a small tribal kingdom."</b></p>
<p>On the 10th anniversary of statehood in 1958, Ben-Gurion used a brutal tale of conquest to unite an immigrant population of Jews of different ethnicities and backgrounds, casting modern Israelis and Palestinians as latter-day Israelites and Canaanites.</p><p><b>Joshua (BC 1355-1245)</b> succeeded Moses and led the Israelites in an invasion across the Jordan River. He took the important city of Jericho and then captured other towns until most of Palestine was brought under Israelite control.</p>
<p>In the Torah (Genesis 15:18), God promises Abraham: <b>"To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt [in the Sinai Peninsula] to the great river, the river Euphrates."</b></p>
<p><b>This was the Promised Land and a founding myth over more than 3,000 years.</b></p><p>The <a href="https://embassies.gov.il/UnGeneva/AboutIsrael/history/Pages/History-Israel-Timeline.aspx" target="_blank"><b>kingdoms of Israel and Judah fell in BC 722 and 587/586.</b></a> Judah was conquered by Babylonia; Jerusalem and the First Temple were destroyed; Alexander the Great reached Jerusalem in 332 BC and Roman general Pompey conquered Palestine in BC 63. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in AD 376. Then there was the rise of Islam.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBVkRzD3gycvtf5HMyY39UiJpEHbtUqem6W7yDj291qyF6pGu9XJie-HOG36aMFS4y2jPSu3X39sjjQHF2nnYcBHgD-BT-QcQadsGlvjCs7Ubdrdva3bzKOK7KWpGHK6ZBf3Cn9nzMVlVFKxZmqDwEzQti7b9XJJSWEdFqsXu2NEHIW5OJRLz_LQ/s765/Turkey_Jews_2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBVkRzD3gycvtf5HMyY39UiJpEHbtUqem6W7yDj291qyF6pGu9XJie-HOG36aMFS4y2jPSu3X39sjjQHF2nnYcBHgD-BT-QcQadsGlvjCs7Ubdrdva3bzKOK7KWpGHK6ZBf3Cn9nzMVlVFKxZmqDwEzQti7b9XJJSWEdFqsXu2NEHIW5OJRLz_LQ/w568-h640/Turkey_Jews_2023.jpg" width="568" /></a></div>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">DNA of most Israelis is European</span></h1><p><b>Dr Michael Avi-Yonah (1904 – 1974)</b> who was an Israeli archaeologist and historian, said Jews constituted 10–15% of Palestine's population by the time of the Persian conquest of Jerusalem in 614, while <b>Moshe Gil (1921-2014),</b> a historian, said that Jews constituted the majority of the population until the 7th-century Muslim conquest in AD 638.</p><p>Jews would have converted to Christianity and some members of both groups would have converted to Islam.</p><p>From the AD 690s onwards, anti-Jewish persecution by the Christian Byzantine Empire seems to have played a part in forcing large numbers of Jews to flee across the Black Sea to a more friendly state – the Turkic-ruled Khazar Empire with its large Slav and other populations.</p><p>According to Israel-born Eran Elhaik, professor at the Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden, DNA analysis of Ashkenazic Jews found that their <b>maternal line is European</b>. It has also been found that their <b>DNA only has 3% ancient ancestry which links them with the Eastern Mediterranean</b> (Near East) – namely Israel, Lebanon, parts of Syria, and western Jordan. This is the part of the world Jewish people are said to have originally come from – according to the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament.</p><p>But 3% is a minuscule amount, and similar to what modern Europeans as a whole share with Neanderthals. So given that the genetic ancestry link is so low, Ashkenazic Jews’ most recent ancestors must be from elsewhere.</p><p>Prof Elhaik said that <b>instead of being primarily the descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel, present-day Jewish populations are primarily the children of a Turkish people</b> who lived in what is now Russia, north of Georgia, east of Ukraine.</p><p>This civilisation, the Khazars, converted from tribal religions to Judaism between the 7th and 9th centuries.</p><p><b>Ashkenazi Jews have lived in Northern Europe and particularly in Eastern Europe including Russia. Sephardic Jews lived in Southern Europe.</b></p><p>There is a story that a family or small group of Jews arrived in Germany around AD 800 crossing the Alps at the invitation of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman emperor, and settled in the German Rhineland.</p><p>The Rhineland hypothesis predicted a Middle Eastern ancestry for European Jews and high genetic similarity among European Jews. It has been argued that at the start of the 15th century, 50,000 Jews left German lands for Eastern Europe. This is now rejected.</p><p>The DNA results from Norwich and Erfurt both confirm that modern Ashkenazim are descended from a small founding population. That mixture of east and west “is exactly what we get from the genetic results. After first branching out from a single, small founding population into small communities across Europe, including medieval Great Britain,<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36455558/" target="_blank"><b> the medieval Ashkenazim apparently mixed back together in places like Erfurt generations later.</b></a></p><p>"The comparisons suggested the Ashkenazi circa 1350 had a mix of ancestry resembling populations from southern Italy or Sicily today, with components found in modern Eastern Europe and the Middle East mixed in."</p><p><b>Eran Elhaik, with Ranajit Das, Mehdi Pirooznia and Paul Wexler of Tel-Aviv University</b> in recent times argue that the geographical origins of Ashkenazic Jews (AJs) and their native language Yiddish were investigated by applying the Geographic Population Structure (GPS) to a cohort of exclusively Yiddish-speaking and multilingual AJs.</p><p><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2017.00087/full" target="_blank"><b>The Origins of Ashkenaz, Ashkenazic Jews, and Yiddish</b></a></p><p>GPS localised most AJs along major ancient trade routes in northeastern Turkey adjacent to primaeval villages with names that resemble the word “Ashkenaz.” These findings were compatible with the hypothesis of an Irano (Persian)-Turko-Slavic origin for AJs and a Slavic origin for Yiddish</p><p>AJs were localised to modern-day Turkey and found to be genetically closest to Turkic, southern Caucasian, and Iranian populations, suggesting a common origin in Iranian “Ashkenaz” lands.</p><p>These findings were more compatible with an Irano (Persian)-Turko-Slavic origin for AJs and a Slavic origin for Yiddish than with the Rhineland hypothesis, which lacks historical, genetic, and linguistic support The findings have also highlighted the strong social-cultural and genetic bonds of Ashkenazic and Iranian Judaism and their shared Iranian origins.</p><p>The inferred ancestry profile for AJs was 5% Western Europe, 10% Eastern Europe, 30% Levant, and 55% Southern Europe.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZ_M7d1PNi6011DWGPoLQIlm4bxpwfvG3nvaC7ZwY_0e-x7rmviEa-A8dyAq-TEX-pwnNXaQkC9aV53y-GpLHr41y3qwrCO_F57WleTlRMFCjl3eIOFrZ9ulyZOA-QUsUuMhqQbNJ50XnZXPIKbg9lrFLQQPssZRjSQy30jFGvQCYNJiuZQhjsg/s735/Global_world_population.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="735" data-original-width="661" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZ_M7d1PNi6011DWGPoLQIlm4bxpwfvG3nvaC7ZwY_0e-x7rmviEa-A8dyAq-TEX-pwnNXaQkC9aV53y-GpLHr41y3qwrCO_F57WleTlRMFCjl3eIOFrZ9ulyZOA-QUsUuMhqQbNJ50XnZXPIKbg9lrFLQQPssZRjSQy30jFGvQCYNJiuZQhjsg/w576-h640/Global_world_population.PNG" width="560" /></a></div>
<p>The estimated global population is 16.1mnin 2023.</p><h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Discussion</span></h1><p>The European Jews were appallingly treated for centuries. For example, Pope Urban II in 1095 called for a Crusade to eject Muslims from the Holy Land. The Pope did not mention Jews but in 1096 crusaders in the Rhineland staged the first pogrom in Western European History</p><p>In 1290, the entire Jewish population of England (about 3,000 people) was expelled from the country on the orders of Edward I. <a href="https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/why-were-the-jews-expelled-from-england-in-1290-0" target="_blank"><b>Jews did not return to England until the 1650s,</b></a> when they were invited to resettle by Oliver Cromwell.</p><p><b>The Puritan is the most hated Englishman in Irish history.</b></p><p>Other countries did the same.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2021/06/deaths-of-60-million-people-in-americas.html" target="_blank"><b>European colonisers of the Americas almost wiped out the native populations.</b></a></p><p>The first African slaves to be brought to the continental United States were brought by the Spanish in 1526 as part of the first attempt at European settlement.</p><p><a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2019/08/beyond-1619/" target="_blank"><b>1619 is the date of the start of organised trade.</b></a></p>
<p>In 1517, the Ottoman Turks invaded and occupied Palestine, an occupation that lasted for 402 years (1516-1918), except for the 9 years between 1831 and 1840, when the Egyptian Governor Muhammad Ali sent his troops to capture Palestine under the command of his son Ibrahim Pasha.</p><p><b>In 1517 there were about 5,000 Jews in Palestine.</b></p><p>The creation of Israel was a colonial enterprise of the British Empire. Today only 26% of the Israeli population are foreign-born. It is a fait accompli.</p><p>The West Bank of the Jordan River was captured in 1967 during the Six-day War. According to international law, it is Palestinian territory.</p><p><b>As of 2022, there are over 450,000 living in 132 Israeli settlements in the West Bank of the Jordan River. There are about 234,000 Israeli settlers in the mainly Arab East Jerusalem. It was annexed by Israel in 1980.</b></p>
<p>The Palestinian territories have a population of about 5.5mn including Gaza's at 2.3mn. About 2.5mn Palestinian Arabs (21%) live within Israel. There are 7.1mn Jews (73.5%) and others at 534,000.</p><p><b>The United Nations Human Rights Council in 2022 heard the presentation of a report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights which stated that the current Israeli plan to double the settler population in the occupied Syrian Golan by 2027 was unprecedented and that 700,000 (including settlers in East Jerusalem) Israeli settlers are living illegally in the occupied West Bank.</b></p><p>The International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard University has said — "While the term “apartheid” was originally coined and applied in the context of South Africa, the crime of apartheid is well-recognized in international law and is understood to apply universally — <b>which is to say, outside the context of apartheid South Africa. International law prohibits the crime of apartheid both as a matter of customary international law and treaty law."</b></p>
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<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The United Nations has recorded 222 settler attacks against Palestinians over the past month. Eight people, including a child, had been killed. Another 64 Palestinians have been injured, more than a quarter by live ammunition.</span></b></p>
<p><b> Israel's National Security Minister, Ben Gvir, is a settler/ planter on the West Bank and he wants it annexed.</b></p><p><span>A former prime minister has called him a "violent criminal."</span></p><p>“A violent criminal who was convicted of supporting terrorism and didn’t serve a single day in the army isn’t going to send our children into battle,” opposition leader Yair Lapid (a previous prime minister) said at an anti-government rally in December 2022, referring to the Israeli army’s rejection of Ben Gvir from mandatory service. His extremist activism made the future security minister a security risk, the army decided.</p><p style="text-align: center;"></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Itamar Ben Gvir has given 10,000+ guns to extremist civilians since Oct 7.</span></b></p>
<p><b>Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, </b>said on October 29, that Netanyahu must “rein in” extremist Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where violence against Palestinians has erupted. “It is totally unacceptable to have extremist settler violence against innocent people in the West Bank,” Sullivan said. Earlier in October, President Biden described the settler attacks as <b>“pouring gasoline on the fire”</b> of the conflict.</p>
<p>Israel is classified as a “flawed democracy” by the Economist.</p><p><b>In the November 2022 general election, Netanyahu's Likud won 32 seats in the 120-seat Knesset and another 32 went to mainly hard-right parties.</b></p><blockquote><p>"The Economist: Part of the motivation for the reforms is personal — Netanyahu is fighting corruption charges and has grown to despise the courts. But Israel’s judicial system also has genuine problems. The country has no formal constitution. Instead, the Knesset has over the years passed “basic laws” that describe institutions and establish rights. In the 1990s, after over 40 years of relative restraint, the Supreme Court suddenly asserted that these laws transcended normal legislation, and arrogated to itself the right to overrule the Knesset if it thought they were contravened. Such judicial activism was not widely envisioned when the basic laws were passed, sometimes with slim majorities. It has fed a sense that the judiciary is a creature of the old left-leaning secular elite, and out of touch with religious and right-wing Israelis."</p></blockquote>
<p> Earlier in 2023 tens of thousands of opponents of the hard-right protested in massive turnouts.</p>
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<p>The Obama administration tried to “force confrontations” with Israel, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in his autobiography, <b>'Bibi: My Story.' </b>Netanyahu was out of office for a brief spell in 2021/2022, when the book was published.</p><p>In their first meeting in the White House in 2009, US President Barack Obama threatened Netanyahu, the latter alleged.</p><p>“You know, people often read me wrong, but I come from Chicago,” Obama said as the meeting was about to end. “I know how to deal with tough rivals.”</p>
<p><b><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/27/magazine/benjamin-netanyahu-israel.html" target="_blank">Benjamin Netanyahu’s Two Decades of Power, Bluster and Ego </a></b> — The nation’s current crisis can be traced back, in ways large and small, to the outsize personality of its longest-serving prime minister.</p><p><b>New York Times Published Sept. 27, 2023 Updated Oct. 6, 2023</b> — This was before the events of October 7 and and their aftermath.</p>
<blockquote><p>"In 1996, when he first moved into the prime minister’s residence, Netanyahu was 46, broad faced, with appealing asymmetrical eyes (one hooded, the other wide open) —<b> the first head of the country to be born after its founding, in 1948, and one who brought an unapologetic outlook toward Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.</b> Now 73, he is besieged on multiple fronts. <b>He stands trial in three cases of corruption that were rolled into one indictment in 2019</b> — charges he denies. Though his wife, Sara, is not a defendant, two of the cases feature her. Reports of their dealings, and those of their elder son, Yair, have the trappings of a royal soap opera: a steady supply of Champagne, cigars and expensive jewelry; demands for fawning press coverage; flagrant interference in matters of appointments and policy. These days, his gait is halting; his shoulders are hunched. His eyes sag. Try as his aides might, they have no way to spin this: The man looks exhausted."</p></blockquote>
<p><b>An extremist group like Hamas fills a void like what happened in the 30 years of war in Northern Ireland.</b></p>
<p>Netanyahu doesn't want peace — the position that Israel will maintain indefinite “overall security responsibility” in Gaza once it removes Hamas from power, is a recipe for permanent war.</p>
<p><b>The Associated Press (AP) noted that after the war in 1967 </b>"The (Israeli) military directly governed the <b>West Bank and Gaza</b> for decades, <b>denying basic rights to millions of Palestinians.</b> Soldiers staffed checkpoints and carried out regular arrest raids targeting militants and other Palestinians opposed to Israeli rule.</p><p>Israel also built Jewish settlements in all three areas <b>— West Bank, Gaza and Golan Heights.</b> Palestinians and most of the international community consider these settlements illegal.</p><p>After <b>two decades of outright military rule, Palestinians rose up in the first intifada,</b> or uprising, in the late 1980s. That was also when <b>Hamas first emerged as a political movement with an armed wing,</b> challenging the secular Palestine Liberation Organization’s leadership of the national struggle."</p>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-29457205442424703592023-10-31T02:13:00.006+00:002023-10-31T12:46:03.492+00:00The ‘Perfect Storm’ metaphor and lame excuses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifg0iOjWwX4mLBO_MpdSiC2airsgtLCDxm2SE9VznbzgsPdYX4W9QDQr5OvMdPlij5BT_u6JYrpFvQhpZsVU95oa3TPDOUDwFM4TxVqUvZgU-rYKQqErm8Tnnn1teoKFiVZ046Bi0uM7bw5yUhbb1sTMLm8o8QZ0fuIwAmDBKsewP6NbzjDAst_g/s830/Perfect_excuses_2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="830" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifg0iOjWwX4mLBO_MpdSiC2airsgtLCDxm2SE9VznbzgsPdYX4W9QDQr5OvMdPlij5BT_u6JYrpFvQhpZsVU95oa3TPDOUDwFM4TxVqUvZgU-rYKQqErm8Tnnn1teoKFiVZ046Bi0uM7bw5yUhbb1sTMLm8o8QZ0fuIwAmDBKsewP6NbzjDAst_g/w640-h424/Perfect_excuses_2023.jpg" width="560" /></a></div>
<p style="text-align: left;">Google Books Ngram Viewer cites 'Perfect Storm' in the early 1700s and the Oxford English Dictionary has published a reference from 1718: <b style="text-align: left;">'and a perfect storm of applause.'</b></p><p>The references peaked in the 1860s and in modern times from the late 1990s. There was an all-time peak in 2018.</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/599/old/vfair12h.htm" target="_blank">Vanity Fair,</a> an 1847 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, has a scene in Naples where "the hat went round, and the bajocchi (a coin, originally copper, later silver, issued by the Papal States from the 15th century to 1865) <b>tumbled into it, in the midst of a perfect storm of sympathy."</b></p><p><b>The first known use of the expression in the meteorological sense is on May 30, 1850, when the Rev. Lloyd of Withington (Manchester, England) describes a perfect storm of thunder and lightning all over England (except London) doing fearful and fatal damage.″</b></p><p>The UK Met Office was founded in 1854 and the Irish Meteorological Service was established in 1936.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPlpw7Icm_4AsQxSaVB4-uCLyIqZAvqPiC38d7A49yhw07G6TnrhQEiYtKa78uQjhBocE9N6b1i0M4ZUZf27SUzMz6p4xTAR1X4gVgSVDj2enSnCluGJOu7onmD4ICs34h8hKbjZ1PKW19UcHDBmdp-o_HdGzIWsLXM4qzDi-qVJHvoslC4OiZA/s1626/Google_Ngram_perfect-storm_2023.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1626" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPlpw7Icm_4AsQxSaVB4-uCLyIqZAvqPiC38d7A49yhw07G6TnrhQEiYtKa78uQjhBocE9N6b1i0M4ZUZf27SUzMz6p4xTAR1X4gVgSVDj2enSnCluGJOu7onmD4ICs34h8hKbjZ1PKW19UcHDBmdp-o_HdGzIWsLXM4qzDi-qVJHvoslC4OiZA/w640-h300/Google_Ngram_perfect-storm_2023.PNG" width="560" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>From Google Books 1720 to 2019 'Perfect Storm'</b></span></span></div></span>
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<p>In the 1997 book <b>'The Perfect Storm,' </b>Sebastian Junger, a journalist and filmmaker, chronicles the havoc caused by a monster gale off the coast of New England in 1991. He said per capita, more people are killed working on fishing boats than in any other job in the United States.</p><p>Six fishermen aboard the <b>'F/V Andrea Gail' were lost at sea.</b></p><p>'The Perfect Storm' movie was issued in 2000, starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Diane Lane. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen.</p><p><b>The centre of the Perfect Storm of 1991 never reached the coast.</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6MNo2p3cCuu_xbgLPmhWxhT2rOBzZRrK42GVp8acxj8hcOyr5fUmDgRJW_l61pRbyLHfc1pfaRCmG-pU9657dNH0NqdPJTkjbX0AoI4gzPmRBCvwTPfujKc9-82QleUwB_ccYixD0VWO76uMWvxCCMQ1gxjM9XX2SiaXlbbftpKffF5dOOylpw/s632/650x366_10261614_halloween-storm-p1-1991-v2015-hd%20(1).webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="632" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6MNo2p3cCuu_xbgLPmhWxhT2rOBzZRrK42GVp8acxj8hcOyr5fUmDgRJW_l61pRbyLHfc1pfaRCmG-pU9657dNH0NqdPJTkjbX0AoI4gzPmRBCvwTPfujKc9-82QleUwB_ccYixD0VWO76uMWvxCCMQ1gxjM9XX2SiaXlbbftpKffF5dOOylpw/w640-h360/650x366_10261614_halloween-storm-p1-1991-v2015-hd%20(1).webp" width="560" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/06/000628101549.htm" target="_blank"><b>"Bottom line: the 'Perfect' storm was strong, but there were plenty of stronger events on record,"</b></a> said meteorology professor <b>Clifford Mass of the University of Washington in Seattle.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Bob Case called the storm a 'Perfect Storm' Sebastian Junger, the author, got a perfect title.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today beyond weather events, a <b>'Perfect Storm'</b> is an unusual combination of events or things that produce an unusually bad or powerful result. The common English idiom is used as a metaphor to describe a worst-case scenario.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Merriam-Webster</b> says "<b>'Perfect'</b> implies the soundness and the excellence of every part, element, or quality of a thing, <b>frequently as an unattainable or theoretical state.</b> The meaning of<b> 'Perfect Storm'</b> is a critical or disastrous situation created by a powerful concurrence of factors."</div>
<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Clichés and stereotypes</span></b></h1><div><b>According to Google in its News category in the past 10 years, 'Perfect Storm' has been used 24,500mn (24,500,000.)</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Google's count in the News category in the last week of October 2023 was 84,700.</b></div> <div><br /></div><div><div><b>Some samples from 2023: </b>A 'perfect storm' is unfolding this summer and it's ' ... <b>(CNN);</b> Labour says the government has created 'perfect storm' in England's teaching workforce<b>(Guardian);</b> Perfect storm: How climate change is making natural hazards ... <b>(FT);</b> Weathering a 'perfect storm' of cascading crises <b>(UNCTAD);</b> The science behind the perfect storm <b>(Economist);</b> 'Perfect storm' prompts dramatic rise in insolvencies<b> (Irish Times);</b> Frontline gardaí fear 'perfect storm' over staffing crisis<b> (Irish Examiner);</b> 'Perfect storm' as no end to rising property prices <b>(Irish Independent); </b>Fishing sector faces 'perfect storm' of falling prices and ... <b>(Irish Independent);</b> Single-parent families in 'perfect storm' financially <b>(Irish Examiner);</b> The coming perfect storm: Diminishing sustainability of ...<b>(Cambridge University);</b> A perfect storm for European construction?<b> (Euroconstruct lobby group);</b> Is there a perfect storm brewing in the offshore wind industry? <b>(Recharge, Dagens Næringsliv [DN] Norway)</b></div><div><br /></div><div>“All that glitters is not gold.” If you’ve heard an expression like this a thousand times, it is probably a cliché. A cliché is a phrase or idea that has been used to the extent that it has lost its original meaning —and its allure.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #38761d;">20 Common Clichés to avoid from MasterClass</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>1. “The wrong side of the bed.”</div><div>2. “Think outside the box.”</div><div>3. “Loose canon.”</div><div>4. <b><span style="color: #38761d;">“A perfect storm.”</span></b></div><div>5. “Can of worms.”</div><div>6. “What goes around comes around.”</div><div>7. “Dead as a doornail.”</div><div>8. “Plenty of fish in the sea.”</div><div>9. “Ignorance is bliss.”</div><div>10. “Like a kid in a candy store.”</div><div>11. “You can’t judge a book by its cover.”</div><div>12. “Take the tiger by the tail.”</div><div>13. “Every rose has its thorn.”</div><div>14. “Good things come to those who wait.”</div><div>15. “In the nick of time.”</div><div>16. “If only walls could talk.”</div><div>17. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”</div><div>18. “The pot calling the kettle black.”</div><div>19. “The grass is always greener on the other side.”</div><div>20. “Beating a dead horse.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Cliché means stéréotype in French. Their original meanings are synonymous, referring to printing blocks from which numerous prints could be made. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://www.typeroom.eu/firmin-didot-10-things-to-know-about" target="_blank"><b>Firmin Didot (1764–1836)</b></a> developed a group of typefaces named Didot after his famous printing family in Paris. The stéréotype was invented by Firmin Didot which in printing refers to the metal printing plate created for the actual printing of pages (as opposed to printing pages directly with movable type), and the process was to produce cheap editions of books.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's said that the casting process apparently made a noise that sounded like “clicher,” and printers called the plates that were produced clichés.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Cliché in English today refers to something hackneyed, such as an overly familiar or commonplace phrase, theme, or expression. A stereotype is most frequently employed to refer to an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic.</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Earlier this year, Kaitlyn Tiffany, a writer at The Atlantic, a venerable magazine founded in Boston in 1857, said that the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, sent an email to the newsroom about clichés.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tiffany said, "ChatGPT, the popular bot released to the public by OpenAI late last year, is obsessed with clichés and uses them all the time."</b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div>ChatGPT, which stands for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a large language model-based chatbot developed by OpenAI.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The bot responded to me, "I apologize if I've used clichés in my responses. Clichés are common phrases or expressions that can sometimes be overused and lack originality. I'll do my best to provide more creative and unique responses in the future."</b></div></div><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Lame excuses</span></b></h1><div><b>Elisabeth Paté-Cornell, professor of engineering at Stanford University, wrote in 2012:</b></div><div><blockquote><div>"Two images,<b> 'Black Swans' and 'Perfect Storms,'</b> have struck the public's imagination and are used — at times indiscriminately — to describe the unthinkable or the extremely unlikely.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>These metaphors have been used as excuses to wait for an accident to happen before taking risk management measures, both in industry and government. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>These two images represent two distinct types of uncertainties (<a href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1811616#:~:text=The%20first%20is%20aleatory%20uncertainty,about%20the%20system%20of%20interest." target="_blank"><b>epistemic and aleatory</b></a>). Existing statistics are often insufficient to support risk management because the sample may be too small and the system may have changed. Rationality as defined by the von Neumann axioms leads to a combination of both types of uncertainties into a single probability measure — Bayesian probability — and accounts only for risk aversion.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Yet, the decisionmaker may also want to be ambiguity-averse. This article presents an engineering risk analysis perspective on the problem, using all available information in support of proactive risk management decisions and considering both types of uncertainty.</b> These measures involve monitoring of signals, precursors, and near-misses, as well as reinforcement of the system and a thoughtful response strategy. It also involves careful examination of organizational factors such as the incentive system, which shape human performance and affect the risk of errors. <b>In all cases, including rare events, risk quantification does not allow 'prediction' of accidents and catastrophes.</b> Instead, it is meant to support effective risk management rather than simply reacting to the latest events and headlines."</div></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN86djftQA8ZLcvwV5usta7X-CAwv2_82HXtytBCUugnBOqG0O_m16kglAt7_vrAELVJdEl-HwmW-IMYaWh2WLX6O09raSTU1IPSegCs38Hxlv080GRvJeWtbrY3WoBJez73rgH5d_SJCbVaMmuvKtgVnzkkWOyN7gulJf32RYSoT_CqKEMToeEQ/s720/Conventional_wisdom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="720" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN86djftQA8ZLcvwV5usta7X-CAwv2_82HXtytBCUugnBOqG0O_m16kglAt7_vrAELVJdEl-HwmW-IMYaWh2WLX6O09raSTU1IPSegCs38Hxlv080GRvJeWtbrY3WoBJez73rgH5d_SJCbVaMmuvKtgVnzkkWOyN7gulJf32RYSoT_CqKEMToeEQ/w640-h250/Conventional_wisdom.jpg" width="560" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: left;">Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006), who had been a professor of economics at Harvard University for over half a century, wrote in 'The Affluent Society' (1958):</b></div><div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">"Ideas come to be organized around what the community as a whole or particular audiences find acceptable. And as the laboratory worker devotes himself to discovering scientific verities, so the ghost writer and the public relations man concern themselves with identifying the acceptable. If their clients are rewarded with applause, these artisans are qualified in their craft. If not they have failed. However, by sampling audience reaction in advance, or by pretesting speeches, articles, and other communications, the risk of failure can now be greatly minimized. [ ] Familiarity may breed contempt in some areas of human behaviour, but in the field of social ideas it is the touchstone of acceptability. <b>Because familiarity is such an important test of acceptability, the acceptable ideas have great stability. They are highly predictable. It will be convenient to have a name for the ideas which are esteemed at any time for their acceptability, and it should be a term that emphasized this predictability. I shall refer to those ideas henceforth as the conventional wisdom."</b></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgALVOuRc65CsUmyrdRYIF1ttlXicf5d6YRAw8p95GHBhNOY9nE2LQ0mskTWi0EH2NctDFWEG8k9G1RfkcC-TnTCTeSMnI3o8uJMdf_HGR2oCsyIcCwmeUg23PQwVu1sSN1vIm8OD8B0qnPQ6hTW3Mc1TSN6FaGQDWP7llMS7JqvZ8uoo4mWTeWbg/s664/Storm_teacup.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="664" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgALVOuRc65CsUmyrdRYIF1ttlXicf5d6YRAw8p95GHBhNOY9nE2LQ0mskTWi0EH2NctDFWEG8k9G1RfkcC-TnTCTeSMnI3o8uJMdf_HGR2oCsyIcCwmeUg23PQwVu1sSN1vIm8OD8B0qnPQ6hTW3Mc1TSN6FaGQDWP7llMS7JqvZ8uoo4mWTeWbg/w640-h506/Storm_teacup.jpg" width="560" /></a></div></div></div>
<p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2019/04/the-blame-game-and-its-irish-connections.html" target="_blank">The Blame Game and its Irish connections</a></b></p>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-51916906220558518742023-10-22T07:57:00.002+01:002023-11-11T04:57:53.117+00:00Secure homelands for Jewish and Palestinian people<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2era_Dx0GtMXQUlqxI7Om8m7yvrBShy02fhMu2DOUEF7ryWhjZ5AcR5Prs4LfWVNvsvw60ZiTI_pQ7_W5Rs3d8Ux9YJ9zl-8jOpk7a1p91sgv_6wKMC5xMQgtAI-NLEFkBenZGRub-w6XRi1NcNiVsNnyZ07lp54eWZm2PufMIr2Tn1UqoHUIw/s640/Jewish_population_1933.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="640" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2era_Dx0GtMXQUlqxI7Om8m7yvrBShy02fhMu2DOUEF7ryWhjZ5AcR5Prs4LfWVNvsvw60ZiTI_pQ7_W5Rs3d8Ux9YJ9zl-8jOpk7a1p91sgv_6wKMC5xMQgtAI-NLEFkBenZGRub-w6XRi1NcNiVsNnyZ07lp54eWZm2PufMIr2Tn1UqoHUIw/w640-h420/Jewish_population_1933.gif" width="560" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #38761d;">November 10, 2023: </span><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/11/israel-is-wests-last-settler-colony.html" target="_blank">Israel is the West's last settler colony</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div><b>In James Joyce's 'Ulysses' the character Mr Deasy says "Ireland, they say, has the honour of being the only country which never persecuted the Jews. Do you know that? No. And do you know why?"</b></div></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">"- Why sir?" Stephen Dedalus asked, beginning to smile.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">"- Because she never let them in," Mr. Deasy said solemnly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Leopold Bloom,</b> the Jewish protagonist is believed to have been modelled on a Jewish friend of Joyce in Trieste, in the then Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city had many nationalities and Jews were more welcome there than in other cities of the empire.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Irish minister in Berlin in 1933-1939, <b>Charles Bewley,</b> was a Nazi admirer and an anti-Semite while <a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2015/03/irelands-postwar-welcome-for-nazi-war.html" target="_blank"><b>Ireland had a postwar welcome for Nazi war criminals.</b></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>It took 50 years for a French president to acknowledge without any equivocation the extent of the French state and citizens' complicity in collaboration with the Nazis in deporting some 76,000 French and foreign Jews.</b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">“France, the homeland of the Enlightenment and of the rights of man, a land of welcome and asylum, on that day committed the irreparable,” <b>President Jacques Chirac (1932-2019) said on July 16, 1995</b>, on the roundup in the Paris area of some 13,000 Jewish men, women and children, on July 16, 1942. “Breaking its word, it handed those who were under its protection over to their executioners.” France owes the victims “an everlasting debt.”</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Chirac's predecessor, <b>François Mitterrand (1916-1996)</b> — socialist president in 1981-1995, who had been a right-wing extremist as a student — had worked for the Vichy government and he was so devoted to its chief, Marshal Pétain, that he was awarded a high decoration attesting to his loyalty.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Jewish populations were mainly concentrated in Eastern Europe including Russia.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Pogrom is a Russian word meaning “to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.” Historically, the term refers to violent attacks by local non-Jewish populations on Jews in the Russian Empire and in other countries.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">"The migration <a href="https://eh.net/eha/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Spitzer.pdf" target="_blank"><b>of one and a half million Jews from the Russian Empire to the United States during the years 1881–1914 is commonly linked to two waves of pogroms, cases of anti-Jewish mob
violence, that mainly took place in two waves in 1881–1882 and in 1903–1906."</b></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Theodor Herzl, </b>an Austrian journalist, viewed assimilation as most desirable but, in view of anti-Semitism, impossible to realise. In 1897 Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress at Basel, Switzerland, which drew up the Basel program of the movement, stating that <b>“Zionism strives to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law.”</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-and-non-jewish-population-of-israel-palestine-1517-present" target="_blank"><b>Jewish population in Palestine was about 94,000</b></a> in 1914 and the region was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In 1917 a statement in the form of a letter from Britain’s then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, addressed to Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community, confirmed that the government supported<b> “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Between <a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/2019452966/" target="_blank"><b>1918 and 1921 an estimated 100,000 Jewish people were killed, maimed or tortured in pogroms in Ukraine.</b></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/38825/chapter-abstract/350460689?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank">Oxford University: </a></b>"Poland’s era of independence between the two world wars was bookended by waves of pogroms. The first section of this chapter concerns the more than 130 pogroms of 1918–1921; many of them initiated by Polish military troops as they entered towns and cities of the new Poland. The second section concerns the pogroms of 1935–1937 instigated by right-wing nationalists, the most infamous being the Przytyk pogrom of March 9, 1936."</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-and-non-jewish-population-of-israel-palestine-1517-present" target="_blank"><b>The Jewish population in 1939 was 449,000 and in 1948 it was 716,700.</b></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCwCup-8EPAsyhtAfx6VTnA_M6dLmL9a6r08AqfgP8bkB7qJ3wKNZupYFNJ8cNL9J-bM-u_Xl_WdDogYqY535jpKYf8zu6nzvaTrnE50EE3ItV_YW7XYElgw-f3_Q5u_8DDDulelABiiUkGLkEPt19NMzitERF4dxx8PQiFtuQMU7PVy1XJmXww/s1055/Harry_truman_Israel_1948.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1055" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCwCup-8EPAsyhtAfx6VTnA_M6dLmL9a6r08AqfgP8bkB7qJ3wKNZupYFNJ8cNL9J-bM-u_Xl_WdDogYqY535jpKYf8zu6nzvaTrnE50EE3ItV_YW7XYElgw-f3_Q5u_8DDDulelABiiUkGLkEPt19NMzitERF4dxx8PQiFtuQMU7PVy1XJmXww/w486-h640/Harry_truman_Israel_1948.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">US president Harry Truman recognises the State of Israel</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfKJeMvSpeeQUjt8-ES0PlQDvkpDpR6stZBxQJN44W-k3h0eciMll2FY7vioDRyEUPZbUB7vodWyK1ZzpYnlq78vjsjLStFu-oPtfG27C7z6ylO71gL90tWGZQSzm9yEMYoPB9CI_5OK6aPzghdirYElwVXS6fQqPCpbAbdl5FyX5U7I00kVZzA/s637/State_Israel_1948.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="468" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXfKJeMvSpeeQUjt8-ES0PlQDvkpDpR6stZBxQJN44W-k3h0eciMll2FY7vioDRyEUPZbUB7vodWyK1ZzpYnlq78vjsjLStFu-oPtfG27C7z6ylO71gL90tWGZQSzm9yEMYoPB9CI_5OK6aPzghdirYElwVXS6fQqPCpbAbdl5FyX5U7I00kVZzA/w470-h640/State_Israel_1948.gif" width="470" /></a></div><p><b>The Jewish people in 15 years had the nadir of the Holocaust and the triumph of nationhood. The Arab states of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria all later declared war on Israel (albeit not to defend the Palestinians). Israeli forces defeated the Palestinian militias and Arab armies.</b></p>
<p><b><a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/history/#:~:text=In%201988%20the%20Palestine%20National,of%20the%20State%20of%20Palestine." target="_blank">According to the UN</a></b> "Over half of the Palestinian Arab population fled or were expelled. Jordan and Egypt controlled the rest of the territory assigned by UN resolution 181 to the Arab State. In the 1967 war, Israel occupied these territories (Gaza Strip and the West Bank) including East Jerusalem, which was subsequently annexed by Israel. The war brought about a second exodus of Palestinians, estimated at half a million. Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) formulated the principles of a just and lasting peace."</p><p>An article published by <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-us-policy-israeli-palestinian-conflict" target="_blank"><b>the US Council on Foreign Relations says </b></a>"The United States has long tried to negotiate a resolution <b>to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,</b> but several factors, including deep divisions between and within the parties and declining US interest in carrying out its traditional honest-broker role, have hurt the chances of a peace deal."</p><p>The US also has paid lip service for decades to building on Arab land on the West Bank of the River Jordan.</p><p><a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/war-gaza-and-death-two-state-solution" target="_blank"><b>The War in Gaza and the Death of the Two-State Solution</b></a></p><p>In the late 1990s, it was hoped the Oslo Accords would get an agreement t<b>o give the Israelis and Palestinians their own territories. But now, various factors have left many believing the prospect of a two-state solution is further away than ever.</b></p><p>Israel's hard-right government triggered massive protests and one politician with a history of inciting racism was appointed national security minister.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-18849624456138226372023-10-08T05:12:00.044+01:002023-12-27T03:26:04.721+00:00Irish Government may have nixed a key remedy for 'Leprechaun economics'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1MRekfey0n8WSgaib2v2ntJM8V9gxZmMX4HzcNIkxSKLKMcG_g5MCkUSZPlULweBt8lWu_hUOi35vF0iv1JoQTUmYReZGZrSrapYJGS7zgYc91wbV6bwJLlv02iwA8tN-Mjqw0-KSl2utsRzbCmyyejopnWdg_jiMG3WPrdB7tuYloRB9fIxKA/s2048/Tourism_Ireland.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1MRekfey0n8WSgaib2v2ntJM8V9gxZmMX4HzcNIkxSKLKMcG_g5MCkUSZPlULweBt8lWu_hUOi35vF0iv1JoQTUmYReZGZrSrapYJGS7zgYc91wbV6bwJLlv02iwA8tN-Mjqw0-KSl2utsRzbCmyyejopnWdg_jiMG3WPrdB7tuYloRB9fIxKA/w640-h400/Tourism_Ireland.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><span><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><span>Tourism Ireland: "Gold" at the end of the rainbow </span><span>County Donegal - Oct 30, 2015</span></b></div>
<p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>[Leprechaun economics triggered über sham Irish economic growth in 2015 and it still endures up to the present. Phantom overseas exports that neither originate in Ireland nor have subsequent contact, trump the value of net custom-tracked Irish merchandise exports...In Irish folklore, the “luchorpán,” which means “little body," was a mischievous elf who hid a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.] </b></span></p>
<p>In July 2016 <b>American economist Paul Krugman</b> dubbed the annual revision of Irish 2015 GDP (Gross Domestic Product) "Leprechaun economics." <b>The 2015 GDP had jumped to a stunning 26.3% on the 2014 data.</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/09/irish-wealthiest-in-world-in-2023-brits.html" target="_blank">IMF April 2023:</a> Ireland at US$145,200 per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was the highest in the world; the UK was at $56,500, but Ireland's true level was $33,500 per capita.😏</b></p><p>In response to the 2015 results, the CSO convened the<b> Economic Statistics Review Group (ESRG),</b> to broaden its deliberations on the challenges to interpreting Ireland’s national accounts due to the impact of globalisation.</p><p><b>Philip Lane, then governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) </b>and now chief economist at the European Central Bank (ECB), chaired the ESRG, and members included representatives from the CSO, ESRI, UCC, Fiscal Council, TCD, Department of Finance, IIEA, IBEC, SIPTU, and the NTMA. The Group also received submissions from former CBI governor Patrick Honohan, the Revenue Commissioners, Eurostat, and the OECD.</p><p>In February 2017 the <b><a href=" https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/newsevents/documents/reportoftheeconomicstatisticsreviewgroup/ESRG_CSO_response_3_Feb_2017.pdf" target="_blank">'Central Statistics Office (CSO) Response to the Main Recommendations of the Economic Statistics Review Group (ESRG')</a></b> were unveiled.</p><p>"An adjusted indicator, <b>Gross National Income* (GNI*) </b>of the size of the economy should be published, appropriately adjusted for the retained earnings of re-domiciled firms and depreciation on foreign-owned domestic capital assets."</p>
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<p>The group said <b>Recommendation 6:</b> "Quarterly publication of underlying investment and underlying domestic demand measures that take account <b>of the impact of IP relocations, Contract Manufacturing, Aircraft Leasing and Re-domiciled firms."</b></p><p><b>Deliverable:</b> The CSO currently publishes a breakdown of investment by tangible and intangible assets on a quarterly basis. We will add to this detail by quantifying the flows of IP relocations and aircraft leasing activity in 2017, at current and constant prices, at the time of the annual National Income and Expenditure results in mid-2017.</p><p>See below the data for 2022, from the Central Bank of Ireland.</p><p><b>Modified GNI* was introduced as an indicator designed specifically to measure the size of the Irish economy by excluding Globalisation effects. There would be adjustments in these four areas:</b></p><p>– Intellectual Property product relocations</p><p>– Aircraft Leasing</p><p>– Re-domiciled Firms</p><p>– Contract Manufacturing in Exports and Imports data</p><p><b>Contract manufacturing, which the CSO calls 'Goods for Processing,' was to be an important part of the adjustments</b> – <b>It's phantom processing!</b></p><p>An April 2018 <a href="https://assets.gov.ie/7746/30220ad9d54748a2b155a9e0a82b73b1.pdf" target="_blank"><b>report from the Department of Finance noted</b></a> that "In July 2017, the CSO published an alternative measure of the size of the economy, so-called ‘modified Gross National Income."</p><p><b>Contract manufacturing was dropped from the GNI* with no explanation.</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGolArRHOhqhcWlbjFndCFQJsFmOAUaBL1D_rD-0vMEteMXpIH_lLpmlyDOB82_ocrqmEy8hrjiUp2OeQ72krpgYQz3G_xtIs-mXit1dvPxEVt2PX5ppCESrfCZamQI4GRdSwNDUiAu7E1zyf6ZTwuvRs2ZwIXhaUOGJXlVF2jwaVCAx8FwVXdJg/s674/Contract_MFG_2017-2018.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="674" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGolArRHOhqhcWlbjFndCFQJsFmOAUaBL1D_rD-0vMEteMXpIH_lLpmlyDOB82_ocrqmEy8hrjiUp2OeQ72krpgYQz3G_xtIs-mXit1dvPxEVt2PX5ppCESrfCZamQI4GRdSwNDUiAu7E1zyf6ZTwuvRs2ZwIXhaUOGJXlVF2jwaVCAx8FwVXdJg/w640-h478/Contract_MFG_2017-2018.JPG" width="560" /></a></div> The Department of Finance has said that "The rise in Contract Manufacturing since 2015<b> has significantly inflated Ireland’s GDP statistics, </b>whilst indirectly inflating the Balance of Payment statistics as it is associated with an increase in the on-shoring of IP (intellectual property.)" <p style="text-align: left;">In April 2018 the IMF's (International Monetary Fund) ‘World Economic Outlook' commented <b>"Ireland, Korea, and Taiwan Province of China are estimated to be the main beneficiaries of the new tech cycle in value-added terms. In Ireland, where the intellectual property of Apple Inc. resides, staff estimate the contribution in value-added terms of iPhone exports to account for one-fourth of the country’s economic expansion in 2017."</b></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsekdOsWSNIavBLCr3652RJsgLrEW2pP_iStQQ9-AweiYl68G4Zo_ZsW7lBHXbyqA0okP5Tdfg_0-08KDSUbFQAiURgksOw2YPAD28GLNjbR4V3QkkhhZDVrabDbqzjBF7IFZe1mfIrQNRj3d62ebLk_FVEHRtYl8ATjAH9IpEig-Ra6Um-criQ/s957/GNI_adjustments-Ireland_2017.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="957" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsekdOsWSNIavBLCr3652RJsgLrEW2pP_iStQQ9-AweiYl68G4Zo_ZsW7lBHXbyqA0okP5Tdfg_0-08KDSUbFQAiURgksOw2YPAD28GLNjbR4V3QkkhhZDVrabDbqzjBF7IFZe1mfIrQNRj3d62ebLk_FVEHRtYl8ATjAH9IpEig-Ra6Um-criQ/w640-h484/GNI_adjustments-Ireland_2017.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/newsevents/documents/reportoftheeconomicstatisticsreviewgroup/ESRG_Presentation_-_Press_Briefing.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">February 3, 2017 'Briefing on Report and CSO (Central Statistics Office) Response'</span></a></b></div>
<p>The IP and Contract Manufacturing are mainly virtual. <b>Ireland does not export iPhones to China, which has been claimed!!</b></p><p>The intangible assets related to the iPhone (2015) and iTunes (2016) [this was moved from Luxembourg following a VAT change] virtually reside in<b> Apple Operations Europe </b>which in 2015 became tax resident in Ireland, the country of its incorporation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSMpRNQWmuZFlZBKxoVe8EXMaPyEFWirPpcTPKuppEI9kzNi-TTx5t4I7yX4w_oRHeB5L7Gld9EcLqGr6rGQ2xQaTqPH44rA2hRsoYoPUzrfpdHe2IrBlNre9rZd6kBFX9UlXw0Dez9ioa9PoUl4WjSS30bXX__CocoEikd5XGN0BAOxbxXloKQ/s508/2017-Goods_for_Processing.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSMpRNQWmuZFlZBKxoVe8EXMaPyEFWirPpcTPKuppEI9kzNi-TTx5t4I7yX4w_oRHeB5L7Gld9EcLqGr6rGQ2xQaTqPH44rA2hRsoYoPUzrfpdHe2IrBlNre9rZd6kBFX9UlXw0Dez9ioa9PoUl4WjSS30bXX__CocoEikd5XGN0BAOxbxXloKQ/s16000/2017-Goods_for_Processing.JPG" /></a></div><p><b>CSO International Accounts 2017 and 2018</b></p><p>1) <b>Custom-tracked international merchandise trade 2017 at net €45.862bn;</b></p><p>2) <b>Goods for Processing (Contract Manufacturing) at net €59.093bn plus Merchanting at net €7.593bn. The total was valued at €66.686bn.</b></p><p>The ‘phantom exports’ have more than doubled in value since. Goods for processing are a mirage!</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMo1AX7I5bKtK5GY7uCIH0lSVryNCiK2hVFioqQhGbrxtNugTkvntCpARcZWtvoIcxA5m4-EZ9VKS7MF6u3gzZ-KHL-IfHEDu8UefVvU_S479YWyUKOUp_EbjJEuNnoHQQuSvjLQspLg_P9v7bekepLmGgFVm0fzUTFrxuC8N0hGedNFoubVtVmA/s462/2022_Goods_for_processing.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMo1AX7I5bKtK5GY7uCIH0lSVryNCiK2hVFioqQhGbrxtNugTkvntCpARcZWtvoIcxA5m4-EZ9VKS7MF6u3gzZ-KHL-IfHEDu8UefVvU_S479YWyUKOUp_EbjJEuNnoHQQuSvjLQspLg_P9v7bekepLmGgFVm0fzUTFrxuC8N0hGedNFoubVtVmA/s16000/2022_Goods_for_processing.JPG" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>CSO International Accounts 2021 and 2022</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p div="" style="text-align: left;">1) In 2022 Contract Manufacturing and Merchanting (were valued at — €143.325bn in the Irish National Accounts even though there were no real transactions involving Ireland;</p><p>2) Net custom-tracked goods exports in 2022 were at €75.528bn;</p><p>3) The phantom Goods for Procession/Merchanting are almost double the net value of custom-tracked goods;</p><p>4) The CSO says "Merchanting occurs when goods are purchased and subsequently sold without transformation, by Irish merchants from abroad, without the goods entering or leaving Ireland."</p><p>This is another fiction.</p><p>5) Enterprise Ireland has said that exports by indigenous Irish firms in 2022 were valued at €32bn.</p><p>There are no data for related imports. If there was, most of the mythical Irish merchants from abroad would likely eclipse with a net €17.678bn.</p><p>This makes a joke of the GNI* as the adjustment was to be included.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">It's unlikely that the CSO dropped Contract manufacturing from the GNI* while it is likely that the then Minister of Finance sanctioned the move.</span></b></p><p><b>In late 2021 economists at the Central Bank of Ireland noted: <a href="https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/publications/quarterly-bulletins/boxes/qb4-2021/box-c-the-disconnection-of-gdp-from-economic-activity-carried-out-in-ireland.pdf?sfvrsn=2" target="_blank">"Further increases in exports due to Contract Manufacturing and merchanting will continue to distort Ireland’s trade performance and inflate GDP in the National Accounts."</a></b></p><p>It's unlikely that removing this distortion would imperil windfall corporation tax receipts.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWRNX9eucYYVeIgwbq-MyqJicd_S_gCezEQeplCX4uR68749zKBZL8jJfni0tVQCrFy9D210MufRGUK6lRIDSoSL3nYvrfJwz-RMGDOrsMUn1mon2SgxOlhQoi8S3AesAhyHGPiUWnZCYFHesCy5d2x1DdS33vfk7nUvbTU2m8HE3fomU_hmpLw/s1196/Bloomberg_Fairytale_Ireland.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1196" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWRNX9eucYYVeIgwbq-MyqJicd_S_gCezEQeplCX4uR68749zKBZL8jJfni0tVQCrFy9D210MufRGUK6lRIDSoSL3nYvrfJwz-RMGDOrsMUn1mon2SgxOlhQoi8S3AesAhyHGPiUWnZCYFHesCy5d2x1DdS33vfk7nUvbTU2m8HE3fomU_hmpLw/w640-h384/Bloomberg_Fairytale_Ireland.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20230621-1" target="_blank">Household consumption: price levels in 2022</a> — The highest price levels were recorded in Ireland (146% of the EU average), Denmark (145%) and Luxembourg (137%). Meanwhile, the lowest levels were recorded in Romania (58%), Bulgaria (59%) and Poland (62%). Germany was (109%.)</span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Eurostat <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20230620-2" target="_blank">reported in June 2023</a> that actual individual consumption (AIC) consists of goods and services actually consumed by households, irrespective of whether they were purchased and paid for by households directly, by government, or by nonprofit organizations. It said the AIC per capita is an indicator of the material welfare of households.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Ireland in 2022 fell to (87%), meaning AIC was 13% below the EU average and a gap of 32% with Germany.</span></b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">In 2022, nine EU countries recorded AIC per capita above the EU average. The highest levels were recorded in Luxembourg (38% above the EU average), Germany (19%) and Austria (18%). Meanwhile, 18 EU countries recorded AIC per capita below the EU average, with the lowest levels recorded in Bulgaria (33% below the EU average), Hungary (28%) and Slovakia (27%)</span>. </b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Quarterly Bulletin QB1 of the Central Bank of Ireland – March 2023,</b> the economists wrote "Contract Manufacturing accelerated strongly in the second half of 2022, despite China’s limited business reopening and the increased level of onshoring by MNEs. With the global index of supply chain pressures falling in every month of Q3, the offshore activities of Irish-domiciled businesses surged dramatically in response to improved globalization and trade conditions. <b>This is reflected in Contract Manufacturing growth of 37.6% (nominal) and 31.8% (real) over the full year of 2022. In real terms, the volume of Contract Manufacturing in 2022Q3 was more than double that of any period prior to 2020Q4, and greater than the total volume of Contract Manufacturing recorded in 2015. Real Contract manufacturing volumes for Q4 were 10.4% higher than in Q3 2022, and 46% per cent higher than Q4 2021."</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qgHB6j_9C0Zzg1j3Cf-h1rGf9kEF7GqgzyxrmgLnYBJgeky0NlLza8MgfE7P9lcO20XdO-zA0-RD0FyeVq16mV7XXfXAcfMhQWO19-FX4waPlVBh4xbBlHeIgg9bL4-T1Z1JB5AgmkN70VPmYCqZuWEcHaiS3s5iH4Znrln1bJB2-Ccw26qGYw/s1196/Grossly_overstated_domestic-Product_Ireland.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="1196" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7qgHB6j_9C0Zzg1j3Cf-h1rGf9kEF7GqgzyxrmgLnYBJgeky0NlLza8MgfE7P9lcO20XdO-zA0-RD0FyeVq16mV7XXfXAcfMhQWO19-FX4waPlVBh4xbBlHeIgg9bL4-T1Z1JB5AgmkN70VPmYCqZuWEcHaiS3s5iH4Znrln1bJB2-Ccw26qGYw/w640-h400/Grossly_overstated_domestic-Product_Ireland.png" width="560" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/09/irish-wealthiest-in-world-in-2023-brits.html" target="_blank"><b>Irish wealthiest in the World in 2023! Brits ahead in GDP per capita</b></a></div><p></p><p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/08/facts-irelands-gdp-per-capita-was-25300.html" target="_blank"><b>Facts: Ireland's GDP per capita was €25,300 in 2022</b></a></p><p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/apple-ireland-1.4389313" target="_blank"><b>Apple stashed profits in new tax havens after Irish scheme drew scrutiny</b></a></p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The fiction of Irish affiliates overseas</span></b></h1>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29Vn69SdViOkEwm46Jy0PjoMCqQye-aRdcos3L-ZvoOm4cgcLkQ3E4WHWZnUFJMx-6oSFaa11zMG3fXM2hPfKGFVe_1ro3tDrhAFBN5Ob2n-Qq7sNi2cgKbp4vA1vArB0kQM2whZz8T-7PHQMHNihBQip6gDGP_ucAN4MNrK0y-XqFE__j2PMjA/s1200/Irish-overseas_affiliates_number-of-persons.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29Vn69SdViOkEwm46Jy0PjoMCqQye-aRdcos3L-ZvoOm4cgcLkQ3E4WHWZnUFJMx-6oSFaa11zMG3fXM2hPfKGFVe_1ro3tDrhAFBN5Ob2n-Qq7sNi2cgKbp4vA1vArB0kQM2whZz8T-7PHQMHNihBQip6gDGP_ucAN4MNrK0y-XqFE__j2PMjA/w640-h426/Irish-overseas_affiliates_number-of-persons.jpeg" width="560" /></a>
<p>The Central Statistics Office (CSO) <b><a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-ofats/outwardforeignaffiliatesstatistics2021/" target="_blank">said in August 2023</a></b> "In terms of employment in<b> Irish multinationals abroad by continent in 2021, Asia (441,881), the Americas (410,533), and Europe (including the Russian Federation) (363,433) accounted for 98% of total persons engaged. </b>Employment in the Oceania & Polar regions and Africa accounted for the remaining 2.0%."</p>"Total turnover for Irish-owned foreign affiliates was €263bn in 2021, an increase of almost 11% compared with 2020 and the largest turnover ever reported."<p><b>For example, it's a fairy tale that Asia has Irish affiliates with over 440,00 employed — about 25 mainly American firms that became "Irish" for tax purposes that own the affiliates.</b></p><p>The CSO also supplied data for 2021 to the Organisation<b> of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)</b> that domestically controlled Irish enterprises with own affiliates abroad were at 12,710, up from 9,947 in 2020. The number of foreign enterprises was 2,244 in 2021.</p><p>According to the OECD, there were 278,860 Irish enterprises in 2020; 148,700 had no employees; 108,200 had 1-9 employees and 10+ were at 21,000.</p><p>There were 8,868 exporting enterprises in 2018 <b>(i.e. with goods exports of over €5,000 in the year!).</b> This includes 5,247 micro enterprises (1-9 employees), which exported €6.8 billion of goods. There were 7,024 enterprises exporting goods to the UK in 2018. This represents 79% of all exporting enterprises. <b>Of these 7,024 firms, there were 3,378 who exported exclusively to the UK, which accounted for 16% of the total value of exports to the UK. </b><a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-pte/profileoftradingenterprises2018/exportsbyenterprisesize/" target="_blank"><b>The data were published in 2020.</b></a></p><p><b>The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has said that 4,200 client companies of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta with 10 or more employees in Ireland, show the contrast with other countries. The sectors include Manufacturing and Information, Communication and Other Internationally Traded Services sectors.</b></p><p><b>Irish-owned firms spent €29.8bn in 2021 in the economy. </b>The expenditure breakdown was Irish materials (Energy, Water, Waste & Construction sectors included) €14.3bn; €9.4bn on payroll and €5.9bn on Irish services.</p><p><b>Foreign firms bought less on Irish materials.</b> <b>The direct expenditure by foreign firms amounted to €33.5bn. Spending on payroll was €20.1bn; €8.5bn on services</b></p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Innovation</span></b></h1><p>For the 13th year in a row, Switzerland is the most innovative economy in 2023 according to the <b><a href="https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-2000-2023-section1-en-gii-2023-at-a-glance-global-innovation-index-2023.pdf" target="_blank">Global Innovation Index, followed by Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore.</a></b></p><p>Since 2021, the GII (Global Innovation Index) has been published by WIPO (the UN's World Intellectual Property Organisation based in Geneva) in partnership with the Portulans Institute (Washington DC), various corporate and academic network partners and the GII Advisory Board.</p><p><b>On comparator countries for Ireland, Finland has a 6th ranking and Denmark is at 9th, of 132 countries.</b></p><p>Ireland has a 22nd ranking and the judges said <b><a href="https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-2000-2023/ie.pdf" target="_blank">"Irelandʼs main innovation strengths are GDP/unit of energy use (rank 1), ICT services exports, % total trade (rank 1) and Intellectual property payments, % total trade (rank 1)."</a></b></p><p><b>However, the strengths come mainly from foreign firms while "Ireland ranks lowest in Market sophistication (51st), Human capital and research (28th) and Creative outputs (26th).</b></p><p>The Interactive R&D Scoreboard 2022<b> (top 1000 EU)</b> in the European Union has a minimum spend of €3.1mn and there are 41 Irish entries.</p><p><b>The born-in-Ireland firms are Kerry Group; Bank of Ireland; Allied Irish Banks; Flutter Entertainment; Fineos Corporation; Glanbia; Trinityy Biotech and Smurfit Kappa. (Greencore only has a head office in Dublin).</b></p><p>The global R&D Scoreboard 2022<b> (World 2500)</b> has 24 Irish companies with a minimum spend of €48.5. <b>The born-in-Ireland firms are Kerry Group, the 2 banks </b><b>and Flutter Entertainment.</b></p><p><b><a href="https://iri.jrc.ec.europa.eu/scoreboard/2022-eu-industrial-rd-investment-scoreboard" target="_blank">The 2022 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard</a></b></p><p>World University Rankings 2024: trends in the industry — WUR expands industry pillar to include patents and in-country scores, the greatest gains are by Ireland, Hong Kong and the US.</p><p>Filing a regular patent application may cost between €4-6,000.</p><p>A Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent is international and according to UCC Innovation, the application usually costs €10,000-€12,000. A national application in the USA and Europe costs €12,000 to €15,000 followed by individual national filing costs in each European country (and translations where required) and will continue to increase if protection in further countries (Japan, Canada, Australia, China) is also sought. Also, once a patent is issued in any country, certain maintenance fees are required to keep the patent alive. The full patenting process through the patent's lifetime can easily reach €150,000.</p><p><b>In the last five years, Trinity College, Dublin, has created over 24 campus companies </b>across all the main sectors of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and ICT.</p><p><b>ETH Zürich</b> Alumni and researchers from ETH have created 545 companies — the most of any university in Europe. <b>Einstein was a student there and later a lecturer.</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJeuqUicnLaOTwnR3ZhSm9UrGlb1bHQbb3V_RAJTPRmhXhoh_7NMrsrlzGl8rkDpN9GUzR2lPqUa5tO6FhXdgZIgwFJv368JJt_FcFzsJitc5dDE5Nqbnqc8VW27hQgeAJzxDxTZdgx8onBLM60ah8ribBJcfPF7cpxWAtjUMd12eVTnfNwwrMQ/s710/ETH_Zurich_spin-outs.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="624" data-original-width="710" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJeuqUicnLaOTwnR3ZhSm9UrGlb1bHQbb3V_RAJTPRmhXhoh_7NMrsrlzGl8rkDpN9GUzR2lPqUa5tO6FhXdgZIgwFJv368JJt_FcFzsJitc5dDE5Nqbnqc8VW27hQgeAJzxDxTZdgx8onBLM60ah8ribBJcfPF7cpxWAtjUMd12eVTnfNwwrMQ/w640-h562/ETH_Zurich_spin-outs.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><br /><p><b>A 25% relief on R&D costs for up to 1,700 by 2023 had little impact on real R&D in Ireland. Large firms get the biggest handouts while small firms aided by their accountants, also benefit.</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.oecd.org/sti/rd-tax-stats-ireland.pdf" target="_blank">OECD</a></b> "In Ireland, SMEs accounted for 89% of R&D tax relief recipients in 2019, while the share of R&D tax support accounted <b>for by SMEs amounted to around 28% this year. 71% of R&D tax benefits were allocated to large firms, comprising 11% of the population of R&D tax relief recipients in 2019."</b></p><p><b>I wrote in a previous post "The CSO doesn't say what R&D produces, in particular for 1,635 (89.9%) in small and medium firms."</b></p>
<p><b>In 2019 the OECD noted that less than 10% of small and medium firms in Ireland exported."</b></p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">ESRI still using Modified Gross National Income (GNI*)</span></b></h1><p>The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published its <b><a href="https://www.esri.ie/system/files/publications/QEC2023AUT_0.pdf" target="_blank">Autumn Quarterly Economic Commentary on the Irish economy in early October.</a></b></p><p><b>In 2022 multinational-dominated sectors grew by 19.4% but this year the outlook has changed.</b></p><p>Kieran McQuinn, a research professor, said "Typically, developments in the multinational (MNE) sector tend to overstate underlying domestic growth in the Irish economy. However, at the present time, we believe Modified Domestic Demand (MDD) – a more accurate reflection of domestic activity – is growing at 1.8% in 2023, while GDP is set to decline by 1.6%.</p><p>Modified Domestic Demand refers to Modified Final Domestic Demand, which excludes large transactions of foreign corporations that do not have a large impact on the domestic economy.</p><p><b>However, is the ESRI still using the discredited GNI*?</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-37147397023235117242023-10-04T05:14:00.005+01:002023-11-15T04:57:34.803+00:00European mass inward migration and melting Arctic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3WvXe014lXGzq6efySLvRBqiU4Sf1e6UxJvo8vI56_4WyrIFIDcyhNwnc_fM8vGWHpiihMK70I1AWm3YCXxBTKVCNoy-8W1VU9YPWav_k9XZoRti9Rcy9PE2rObKHVJh3NzPfgRxOeX7PrTi5PsU2PffRs6_dYA4q_ZL5AxEWHjdlEZ2VeM3-w/s900/polar-bears_2050.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3WvXe014lXGzq6efySLvRBqiU4Sf1e6UxJvo8vI56_4WyrIFIDcyhNwnc_fM8vGWHpiihMK70I1AWm3YCXxBTKVCNoy-8W1VU9YPWav_k9XZoRti9Rcy9PE2rObKHVJh3NzPfgRxOeX7PrTi5PsU2PffRs6_dYA4q_ZL5AxEWHjdlEZ2VeM3-w/w640-h426/polar-bears_2050.jpg" width="560" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #38761d;"><div style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b></div>Scientists from the US Geological Survey predict that by 2050, the lack of sea ice will have reduced polar bear numbers by about two-thirds. By 2040, summer sea ice is expected to recede to a band around north-eastern Canada and northern Greenland, taking polar bears with it. This remote area could provide the very last bastion for sea ice-dependent Arctic species, such as polar bears to make their last stand.</span></b> <p>Climate change was likely the catalyst that spurred our early modern humans to leave Africa. Archaeologists speculate that our ancestors left 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, or maybe earlier, following coastlines and islands through Southeast Asia toward Australia. In June 2023 archaeologists uncovered two new bone fragments in a cave in northern Laos, suggesting that <b>Homo Sapiens</b> wandered southeast Asia up to 86,000 years ago. <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2378160-fossils-in-laos-cave-imply-modern-humans-were-in-asia-86000-years-ago/" target="_blank"><b>The findings indicate that humans migrated through the area earlier than previously thought.</b></a></p><p>2.7°C is the median of the combined low and high ends of current policy projections on climate change. <a href="https://climateactiontracker.org/global/temperatures/" target="_blank"><b>This is a global average</b></a>. A heatwave such as the recent one would occur every 2-5 years in a world that is 2°C warmer than the preindustrial climate.</p><p><b>Extreme heat will be regional and before the end of the 21st century, the heat could trigger unprecedented migration. </b></p><p>Ancient hunters stayed in the coldest part of Northern Europe rather than migrating to escape freezing winter conditions, archaeologists have found. Dr Alexander Pryor, from the University of Exeter, who led a study, said: "Our research shows the cold harsh winter climates of the last ice age were no barrier to human activity in the area. Hunters made very specific choices about where and when to kill their prey."</p><p><b>However, with the Arctic ice melted, Northern Europe will be a refuge from extreme heat.</b></p><p>The summer of 2023 was Earth’s hottest since global records began in<b> 1880,</b> according to scientists at <a href="https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14407" target="_blank"><b>NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) in New York.</b></a></p>
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<p>I had the experience of a 52°C / 126°F<span style="white-space: pre;"> temperature </span>in July 1995 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Temperature levels like these have become common, and worse, in summers. </p><p><b>The Washington Post reported on August 9, 2023, "In coastal Iran on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, the heat index leapt as high as 158°F (Fahrenheit) degrees (70°C Celsius), a level so extreme that it can test the ability of humans to survive outside for more than a few hours.</b></p><p>"Heat indexes have <b>regularly surpassed 140 degrees (60 Celsius) in the region in recent weeks,</b> while nights have offered little relief. In populous cities such as Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait City, heat indexes have only fallen to 100 to 120 degrees (37.8 to 48.9 Celsius) after dark."</p><p><b>When temperatures outside are extreme, an air conditioning system can consume more energy and begin to malfunction or fail. In the tropics, the poor do not have that convenience.</b></p><p>NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says <b>that flooding will increase significantly over the next 30 years because of sea level rises</b> according to a 2022 report by an interagency, sea level rise task force, that includes NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other US federal agencies. Titled <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/sealevelrise/sealevelrise-tech-report.html" target="_blank"><b>Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States,</b></a> the Feb. 15 report concludes that sea levels along US coastlines will rise between 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 centimetres) on average above today’s levels by 2050.</p><p><b>One study from 2020 predicts that by 2070, depending on scenarios of population growth and warming, "one to three billion people are projected to be left outside the climate conditions that have served humanity well over the past 6,000 years."</b></p><p>The authors, Chi Xu1, Timothy A Kohler, Timothy M. Lenton, Christian Svenning and Marten Scheffer, say "<b>We show that for thousands of years, humans have concentrated in a surprisingly narrow subset of Earth’s available climates, characterized by mean annual temperatures around ∼13°C.</b> This distribution likely reflects a human temperature niche related to fundamental constraints. We demonstrate that depending on scenarios of population growth and warming, over the coming 50 years, <b>1 to 3 billion people are projected to be left outside the climate conditions that have served humanity well over the past 6,000 years.</b> Absent climate mitigation or migration, a substantial part of humanity will be exposed to mean annual temperatures warmer than nearly anywhere today." <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1910114117" target="_blank"><b>Future of the human climate niche</b></a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2W_S4VPwm612LAwAE4BuwhovLEj5xHqq2XmLudMYDQr2HYJoOH4vzeFuJI-cZEpPbng_IiIXh69Gm4LdsVB5LVynyHex9OLRk9-K_Rlit2K-rXcFUXjroNP7oDm1bltC-TKKl8WGj4f_yn8r3p0wlUJeQ4KNmYMUUU8H6WcoFA-P7dNVWYSj2gg/s900/VC-Alasdair-Rae-World-Population-by-Latitude-1200.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2W_S4VPwm612LAwAE4BuwhovLEj5xHqq2XmLudMYDQr2HYJoOH4vzeFuJI-cZEpPbng_IiIXh69Gm4LdsVB5LVynyHex9OLRk9-K_Rlit2K-rXcFUXjroNP7oDm1bltC-TKKl8WGj4f_yn8r3p0wlUJeQ4KNmYMUUU8H6WcoFA-P7dNVWYSj2gg/w640-h320/VC-Alasdair-Rae-World-Population-by-Latitude-1200.png" width="560" /></a></div><b><div><b><br /></b></div><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25th_parallel_north" target="_blank">25-26° N</a> - Alasdair Rae of Visual Capitalist says "Breaking down the population by latitude, we see the population becomes more concentrated near the equator. In particular, the 25th and 26th parallel north are the most densely populated latitude circles. Around 279mn people reside in these latitude lines, which run through large countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, the United States, Mexico, and others.</span></b><h1><span style="color: #38761d;">A child born today whether in Dublin or Dhaka may live through decades of upheaval</span></h1><p>Some <a href="https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/" target="_blank"><b>60% of the world's population is under the age of 40</b></a><b>,</b> half of these (and growing) under 20, and they will form most of the world's people for the rest of this century. "Many of these young, energetic job seekers are likely to be among those moving as the climate changes – will they add to economic growth to build sustainable societies, or will their talents be wasted?"</p><p><b><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/02/europes-climate-warming-at-twice-rate-of-global-average-says-report" target="_blank">Temperatures in Europe have increased at more than twice the global average in the last 30 years, according to a November 2022, report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).</a></b> From 1991 to 2021, temperatures in Europe have warmed at an average rate of about 0.5<b>°</b>C a decade. This has had physical results: Alpine glaciers lost 30 metres in ice thickness between 1997 and 2021, while the Greenland ice sheet has also been melting, contributing to sea level rise. In the summer of 2021, Greenland had its first-ever recorded rainfall at its highest point, Summit Station.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/why-melting-glaciers-affect-us-all/45810296" target="_blank">Alpine glaciers could disappear by the end of the century. The consequences will be felt not only in Switzerland’s mountains but throughout Europe.</a></b></p><p><b>Higher sea levels and new sea routes from Asia will bring migrants.</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzyDh7Np7bPnCZrTjS-07YSkBOcW6lcnfPiR8pK3srnOsR_ROdmfqM9-EN2uI7z0Piyl-fzHzUm9KkA2pwLdOc61LwPKfCJ155eRgX3jtUJ75_-49ARb3xJkckRe2mZhYORzinCHvGW8fKIy6sIwBKLhLZXso9-AVTerserujHLEtxPAN3Mf5FA/s805/Climate_2070.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="805" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzyDh7Np7bPnCZrTjS-07YSkBOcW6lcnfPiR8pK3srnOsR_ROdmfqM9-EN2uI7z0Piyl-fzHzUm9KkA2pwLdOc61LwPKfCJ155eRgX3jtUJ75_-49ARb3xJkckRe2mZhYORzinCHvGW8fKIy6sIwBKLhLZXso9-AVTerserujHLEtxPAN3Mf5FA/w640-h464/Climate_2070.JPG" width="560" /></a></div> <p><b>Canada, the Nordic countries, Ireland, Britain, Northern France, countries of the North Sea and Russia </b>will be attractive to the citizens of extreme heat countries.</p><p><b>Gaia Vince, the science writer of 'Nomad Century: How to Survive the Climate Upheaval' (2022) following, 'Adventures in the Anthropocene' spells out how a world with a global average by the end of the century, at 3°C to 4°C (global average) hotter than the pre-industrial average would.</b></p><p> She says it could be "a living nightmare marked by “drowned cities; stagnant seas; a crash in biodiversity; intolerable heatwaves; entire countries becoming uninhabitable; widespread hunger . . . ”</p><p><b>Vince says “Whether we will manage the transition through calm preparation or wait until hunger and conflict erupt — an unconscionable outcome that would endanger us all.”</b></p><p>The UN’s <b>International Organization for Migration estimates there could be 1.5bn environmental migrants by 2050. </b></p><p>"The exodus will come not just from poorer countries such as Bangladesh and Sudan; Australia, rapidly turning into the land of drought and fire, is already suffering, along with US cities such as Miami and New Orleans. "</p><p><b>Close to a billion Indians and about 500mn Chinese are at risk of climate displacement, she writes, "along with populations in Latin America and Africa.</b> Most will be fleeing for survival <b>but the middle classes will also see their comfortable existences upended as mortgages, particularly in previously desirable coastal neighbourhoods, become unobtainable and houses uninsurable."</b></p><p><b><a href="https://wanderinggaia.com/" target="_blank">Gaia Vince </a>says</b> "The most densely populated areas of the planet are clustered around the <b>25-26th north parallels</b> which has traditionally been the latitude of most comfortable climate and fertile land. An estimated 279mn people are packed into this thin band of land, which cuts through countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, the United States and Mexico.</p><p>But the conditions here are changing. On average, climate niches<b> – the range of conditions at which species can normally exist – </b>around the world <b>are moving polewards at a pace of 1.15m (3.8ft) per day, although it's far faster in some places.</b></p><p>"Adapting to the changing climate will mean chasing our own shifting niche – which for much of human history has been within the temperature range –<b>11°C to 15°C (12°F to 59°F) – as it migrates north from the equator. True livability limits are the borders we must worry about as the world warms over this century, bringing unbearable heat, drought, floods, fires, storms, and coastal erosion that make agriculture impossible and displace people.</b></p><p>Already record numbers of people are being forced to flee their homes with each passing year. In 2021, there were 89.3mn people, double the number forcibly displayed a decade ago, and in 2022 that number reached 100mn, with climate disasters displacing many more people than conflicts. Floods displaced 33mn people in Pakistan this year, while millions more in Africa have been affected by drought and the threat of famine, from the Horn of Africa to the continent's west coast."</p><p>"Compounding this, <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf" target="_blank"><b>the global population is still growing, particularly in some of the regions worst hit by climate change and poverty.</b></a> Populations in Africa<a href="https://population.un.org/dataportal/data/indicators/49,50/locations/903/start/1990/end/2100/table/pivotbylocation" target="_blank"> <b>are set to almost triple by 2100,</b></a> even as those elsewhere slow in growth. This means there will be a greater number of people in the very areas that are likely to be worst affected by extreme heat, drought and catastrophic storms. A greater number of people will also need food, water, power, housing and resources, just as these become ever harder to supply."</p><p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04132-2" target="_blank"><b>Interview: Gaia Vince on how climate change will shape where people live</b></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPqhoHStnGj56kITO57CUbcivBsiMMSR_W-JdkfG20A2k3ePI5byweXAIyLFv-gHG683pSNmMqVJYtIJFs9nW6kRmZiR-on7oSHOvoE_N0MGhg-xJt9mLaROMw7tXsqCk_HEUpOA-8b8brHV4p9BgHuTeHYGVEBOEQkhSTPJBZ5wFXKGyDUi99g/s4096/Arctic-free_of_ice.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="4096" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPqhoHStnGj56kITO57CUbcivBsiMMSR_W-JdkfG20A2k3ePI5byweXAIyLFv-gHG683pSNmMqVJYtIJFs9nW6kRmZiR-on7oSHOvoE_N0MGhg-xJt9mLaROMw7tXsqCk_HEUpOA-8b8brHV4p9BgHuTeHYGVEBOEQkhSTPJBZ5wFXKGyDUi99g/w640-h320/Arctic-free_of_ice.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><h1><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>European Union asylum seekers came from around 140 countries in 2022</b></span></h1><p>In 2022, asylum seekers came from around 140 countries. 962,200 applications, including 881,200 <b> –</b> first-time applications, were lodged in the EU in 2022, an increase of 52% in comparison to 2021, and of 38% than in 2019, before COVID.</p><p><b><a href="https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/wmr-2022-interactive/" target="_blank">Overall, the UN estimated that the number of international migrants has increased over the past five decades. </a></b>The total estimated 281mn people living in a country other than their countries of birth in 2020 was 128mn more than in 1990 and over three times the estimated number in 1970.</p><p><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">The current global estimate is that there were around 281mn international migrants in the world in 2020, <b>which equates to 3.6% of the global population.</b></span></p><p><span face="Open Sans, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><b>The estimate of "illegal aliens" in the United States was 51mn or 15.5% of the population.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;">In the EU in 2022, around one-fifth (21%) of people living in private households aged 15-74 years were either a descendant of foreign-born persons or themselves foreign-born.</span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;">Among the EU Member States, the share of foreign-born persons among people aged 15-74 years ranged from less than 1.0 % to more than 50 % in 2022. The share was lowest in Romania (0.2 %), Bulgaria (0.4 %) and Poland (0.7 %). It was also below 5.0 % in Slovakia, Hungary and Czechia.</span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Foreign-born_people_and_their_descendants_-_main_characteristics#Overview_by_migration_status" target="_blank"><b>In Western Europe Denmark at 11.2%, Finland at 9.8% and Italy at 12.5%, have the lowest foreign-born numbers.</b></a></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;">Belgium was at 21.4%; Germany 25.2%; France 15.1%; Spain 18.1%; Netherlands 15.4%; Sweden 24.1%; Austria 23.9%; Ireland 25.2% and Luxembourg 55.5%.</span><span style="color: #333333;"></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>There are 47mn foreign-born but the number is likely greater.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;">In <a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/09/european-cities-housing-crises-and-too.html" target="_blank"><b>my previous post</b></a>, I wrote<b> [A paper by Jacques Lévy and others, using phone data, found a “big surprise”: on average, there were about 5mn customers of non-French phone operators in France in 2022-23, compared with just under 2mn foreign visitors measured by “official data.”] </b></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;">420,100 non-EU citizens were ordered to leave the EU in 2022 <b>but 77,500 non-EU citizens were returned to a non-EU country.</b> This corresponds to 18.5% of all return decisions issued during the year, decreasing from 20% in 2021.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc7q2uA0sfQdqqS0FUjiYdtvsmYZMBmCvb58y-uFfYrG1dfBDRoMJG1sb_gut5QjUHjefkUmLn2V2sSUrRyfRom7okDyiaLejoww7IyYVhPsvrHxhPheMpCCDXqg_8MClJaL_lQhqRwvkBYj-Zfeb2CkvBTZVVKI0YyatCCEb_gB6k9khwpwZRNg/s784/Foreign-born-in-European-Union.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="784" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc7q2uA0sfQdqqS0FUjiYdtvsmYZMBmCvb58y-uFfYrG1dfBDRoMJG1sb_gut5QjUHjefkUmLn2V2sSUrRyfRom7okDyiaLejoww7IyYVhPsvrHxhPheMpCCDXqg_8MClJaL_lQhqRwvkBYj-Zfeb2CkvBTZVVKI0YyatCCEb_gB6k9khwpwZRNg/w640-h604/Foreign-born-in-European-Union.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p><span style="color: #333333;">The European Commission says that among the nationalities with at least 5,000 return orders, <b>"the return rate was particularly low for those coming from Afghanistan (1.1%) Syria (1.9%) Côte d'Ivoire (3.6%) Guinea (4.7%) and Bangladesh (5.8%)."</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;">In 2022, the Commission says that nearly 1,700 Member States' consulates received 7.6mn short-stay visa applications from non-EU citizens, up from 2.9mn in 2021 but 55% less than in 2019. In total, 5.9mn short-stay visas were issued and 1.3mn were refused, amounting to an EU-wide refusal rate of 17.9% (up from 13.4% in 2021).</span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Most applications were lodged in: Türkiye (778,400) Russia (687,200) India (671,900) Morocco (423,200) Algeria (392,100). Most visa applications were processed by France (1,918,500) Spain (1,197,500) Germany (1,043,300) Italy (727,500) and Greece</b></span><span style="color: #333333;"><b> (459,100). </b></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;">58% of all visas were issued <b>for multiple entries.</b> Short-stay visas cover travel throughout the 26 Schengen countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.</span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>There are no data on how many people overstay their visas.</b></span></p><iframe frameborder="0" height="600px" scrolling="no" src="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/interactive-publications/demography/2023/12/index.html?lang=en" width="100%"></iframe><h1><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Discussion</b></span></h1><p><span style="color: #333333;">According to the latest population projections issued by Eurostat last March, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20230330-1" target="_blank"><b>the EU’s population will decrease by 6% between 1 January 2022 and 1 January 2100,</b></a> <b>equivalent to 27.3mn fewer people.</b></span></p><p><b><span style="color: #990000;">6% </span></b><span style="color: #333333;">❗❗ <b>A lot will happen in almost 80 years.</b></span></p><p>In recent years in West Africa in particular the bad old days are back with the coup d'état.</p><p>According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODOC), migrant smugglers could earn around $1,400 a month, or 20 times the average income in Burkina Faso. “Lucky smugglers” can earn as much as $15,000 to $20,000 per month, a smuggler in Niger said in a report.</p><p>Human trafficking can take place within the victim’s home country or in another country while migrant smuggling always happens across national borders.</p><p>For the route between North Africa and Europe's closest coasts in Italy and Greece, prices range from €3,000 to €10,000 (up to $10,000), and sometimes more, said Sami Hamdi, director of the London-based global risk and intelligence firm International Interest. <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/migrant-smugglers-who-are-they/a-66069532" target="_blank"><b>"That includes the journey to the North African coast and the boat crossing,"</b></a> he added.</p><p>According to Eurostat, during<b> the period 2001 to 2020</b>, the total population of the EU increased from 429mn to 447mn, a growth of 4%. Seventeen Member States showed increases in their population during this period and ten recorded decreases levels. <b>The largest relative increases were recorded in Luxembourg (43%), Malta (31%), Ireland (30%) and Cyprus (27%), while the largest relative decreases were observed in Lithuania (−20%) and Latvia (−19%).</b></p><p>Over the period 2002-2022, <b>the share of persons aged 65 and over increased</b> in all Member States. At the EU level, the increase was 5<b> percentage points (pp)</b>, from 16% to 21%. <b>The highest increase was in Finland (8pp) and the lowest in Luxembourg (1pp). In 2022, Italy and Portugal (both 24%) and Finland and Greece (both 23%) had the highest shares, while Ireland and Luxembourg (both 15%) had the lowest.</b></p><p>"Looking more specifically <b>at the group aged 80 and over, </b>their share grew in all Member States, at EU level by 2.6pp, <b>from 3.5% in 2002 to 6.1% in 2022.</b> The highest increase was in Greece (+3.5 pp, from 3.7% to 7.2%) and the lowest in Sweden (+0.2 pp., from 5.2% to 5.4%).</p><p><b>A decrease of young people below 20:</b> Over the period 2002-2022, the share of young people (aged 0 to 19 years old) decreased in all Member States. At EU level, the decrease was 3pp, from 23% to 20%. The highest decreases were in Malta (−9pp) and Cyprus (−8 pp) and the lowest in Sweden, Belgium and Spain (all −1pp).<b> In 2022, the highest shares of young people were in Ireland (26%) and France (24%), and the lowest in Malta and Italy (both 18%).</b></p><p>Concerning children (those aged below 15), the decrease in the EU was 2pp, from 17% in 2002 to 15% in 2022. A decrease was observed in all Member States, except Czechia (+0.2 pp), with the highest decreases in Malta (−6pp) and Cyprus (−5pp).<b> In 2022, the share of children and adolescents was highest in Ireland (20%) and Sweden (18%) and lowest in Italy, Portugal and Malta (all 13%)."</b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Among the EU Member States, the highest median age in 2022 was observed in Italy (48.0 years), followed by Portugal (46.8), Greece (46.1) and Germany (45.8), while the lowest were recorded in Cyprus (38.3 years), Ireland (38.8), Luxembourg (39.7) and Malta (40.4). During the period 2002 to 2022, the median age increased most in Portugal (8.6 years), followed by Romania (8.5), Greece and Lithuania (both 7.8).</span></b></p><p><b>Irish Independent newspaper: "Nearly half (49%) of all practising nurses in Ireland in 2022 obtained their first nursing qualification outside the state, new report from the Department of Health shows.</b></p><p>According to the new data, the top three countries for these foreign-trained nurses were India, the United Kingdom and the Philippines respectively.</p><p>In 2022, the number of practising nurses in Ireland stood at 67,808, resulting in a 5.8% increase from the previous year."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6v-ZWf_fSO4plAa1-TD8RK5kbf6QbK2EFDmUqqRDdBEmgxAzML8F5IVbuqsS1jgF4D24Hd8ihCIIut2Qnybco2MXf_mRWVawvLN3piN6rEYTTHnyreszpyVQWZC6NYiusCmg2q9k9YtZGiGyWtKytk1i_OKmcY9Uf1Mj5nC9ynlzV_ktQz_GRQw/s931/Foreign_workers-jobs_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="835" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6v-ZWf_fSO4plAa1-TD8RK5kbf6QbK2EFDmUqqRDdBEmgxAzML8F5IVbuqsS1jgF4D24Hd8ihCIIut2Qnybco2MXf_mRWVawvLN3piN6rEYTTHnyreszpyVQWZC6NYiusCmg2q9k9YtZGiGyWtKytk1i_OKmcY9Uf1Mj5nC9ynlzV_ktQz_GRQw/w574-h640/Foreign_workers-jobs_2023.JPG" width="574" /></a></div>Whether it's Asia or Europe, foreign workers are typically paid lower than natives. At least in Europe, there are limits on hours of work.<p>There's a regional election in<b> Bavaria and Hesse</b> on Sunday, October 8, 2023, and Alternative for Germany <b>(German: Alternative für Deutschland: AfD</b>), a far-right party, has surged in national polls to 21%. The right-wing populist political party is known for its Euroscepticism, as well as for opposing immigration to Germany.</p><p><span style="color: red;"><b>A former chairman, Alexander Gauland, revealingly dismissed the Nazi era as “a speck of birdshit on German history” (The Economist).</b></span></p><p><b>On September 29, 2023, US/South African billionaire, Elon Musk, weighed into a dispute between Germany and Italy concerning illegal migrants' landings. Musk said in apparent support of AfD “Let’s hope AfD wins the elections to stop this European suicide."</b></p><p>Also last week Musk visited the US border with Mexico to meet local politicians and representatives of law enforcement officials in order, as he put it, to build up an “unfiltered” view of the situation. He called for an expansion of legal immigration and restrictions on irregular border crossings.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-Berlins-blunders-impact-hesse-regional-election/a-66961647" target="_blank">The German broadcaster DW says</a></b> <b>"The economic engine of the state [</b><b> Bavaria and Hesse]</b><b> is the Frankfurt metropolitan region, where Germany's largest airport is located. That area alone employs around 81,000 people from 90 nations. Some 17% of Hesse's population of 6.3mn has a non-German passport; in Frankfurt itself, it is as many as 29% of all residents."</b></p><p>In recent decades in Europe, migration has resulted in far-right parties being launched in well-run and prosperous Nordic countries, together with the Netherlands and Switzerland. In some of the former communist countries of Eastern Europe, authoritarianism and corruption have been evident.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">The anti-foreigner European conservative/populist nationalists learned a lesson from the Brexit folly and moved on to remain in the Union. However, they have a new cause célèbre: rubbishing climate change.</span></b></p><p>Last month the AfD headed opposition to a German government push to require people to install expensive heat pumps in their homes. <b>The government had to water down the measures.</b> The heat pumps were priced at around €20,000. The governing coalition had promised to reimburse Germans up to 70% of the cost of newly installed heat pumps, depending on their income level.</p><p>The Economost's calculations show that 15 of the EU’s 27 member countries now have hard-right parties which have support of 20% or more in opinion polls, including every large country bar Spain, where the nationalist Vox did badly in July’s elections.</p><p><b>Almost four-fifths of the EU’s population now live in countries where the hard right commands the loyalty of at least a fifth of the public.</b></p><div>"The war in Ukraine has created a pressing need for the EU to welcome new members in the east, ultimately including Ukraine. In tandem, it will need to streamline decision-making to reduce the veto powers member states wield.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The presence of a larger bloc of anti-immigrant nationalists could make that crucial task far harder. Hungary’s Viktor Orban, a guru to other populist-nationalists, has consistently tried to block EU reform. Imagine if he gains more allies."</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcF5TpddruPho9bCr9CFOx5ngABNL3EgImuZ0FANlTmVsHfYLspm6YjQxv7PzoPtaz_T26qaJCodz-aBXYj3pAFndUX1m9kAylV9QOKizM7IohM3pXEAzUJi6ftGQqe58GJKleUSoA6Y8HY4SeryD4b5H_Lfqcqz1HzLoCqX0r_LWmH7eVg6m_hQ/s800/Northern_lights.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcF5TpddruPho9bCr9CFOx5ngABNL3EgImuZ0FANlTmVsHfYLspm6YjQxv7PzoPtaz_T26qaJCodz-aBXYj3pAFndUX1m9kAylV9QOKizM7IohM3pXEAzUJi6ftGQqe58GJKleUSoA6Y8HY4SeryD4b5H_Lfqcqz1HzLoCqX0r_LWmH7eVg6m_hQ/w640-h360/Northern_lights.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo7Bl6EmKU2h2Id4h1fqUngaBRNchx5oBzNF2Hz37ET0tsMy6hiemUX0wRR2lGekzl6BDgBjoe_8WUDVL0WoOHjtcJVs2X6eznsHMDGQ_yWsLWn10Dro7RayOGc4EAGBv3y8SCcHIE6NufnoCnlBZgsxYg6y3C9xuImESlhCBaF7-UuO6jeBjBtQ/s1280/Polar_2023.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo7Bl6EmKU2h2Id4h1fqUngaBRNchx5oBzNF2Hz37ET0tsMy6hiemUX0wRR2lGekzl6BDgBjoe_8WUDVL0WoOHjtcJVs2X6eznsHMDGQ_yWsLWn10Dro7RayOGc4EAGBv3y8SCcHIE6NufnoCnlBZgsxYg6y3C9xuImESlhCBaF7-UuO6jeBjBtQ/w640-h360/Polar_2023.webp" width="560" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">The Arctic region covers parts of eight countries: Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and the United States.</span></b><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-52046265335796938362023-09-16T10:42:00.034+01:002023-10-04T09:42:06.833+01:00European cities, housing crises, and too much tourism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYHTgTMZHp7GolHalHfqHZKkdbxyc_z3meL6zNS92xmYpg_8Q3JgnOibZp_WLSoc5Wpve7dgohRsqrRuncg6sCeIYnh45o8np0s5dKCiBhd9l1MAj3oAC0iyeJ2x8X9svAuAALHKzsgmDCSofG5JsCKstKPgeuHccIgDs_2N1kJHeF77q2B2Tljw/s930/Langkawi_Four_Seasons-Resort_Michael-Hennigan-2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="700" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYHTgTMZHp7GolHalHfqHZKkdbxyc_z3meL6zNS92xmYpg_8Q3JgnOibZp_WLSoc5Wpve7dgohRsqrRuncg6sCeIYnh45o8np0s5dKCiBhd9l1MAj3oAC0iyeJ2x8X9svAuAALHKzsgmDCSofG5JsCKstKPgeuHccIgDs_2N1kJHeF77q2B2Tljw/w482-h640/Langkawi_Four_Seasons-Resort_Michael-Hennigan-2021.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">'</b><b style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Far from the Madding Crowd' (1874: Thomas Hardy's novel) <br /> Four Seasons Resort, Langkawi, Malaysia</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Credit Michael Hennigan</span></b></div>
<p><b>William Whyte (1917-1999),</b> a Fortune magazine editor, was the author of a famous 1956 book<b> 'The Organization Man.'</b> He argued that corporations and suburbs were turning the American middle class into timid conformists more interested in pleasing their colleagues and neighbours than in thinking or acting for themselves.</p><p>The book challenged claims of entrepreneurial vision and courage in business by describing the ongoing bureaucratisation of white-collar environments including board rooms, offices, and laboratories. Whyte also popularised the word “groupthink.”</p><p><b>His New York Times obituary noted</b> "As an urbanologist he wrote, taught, planned and once spent 16 years watching and filming what people do on the streets of New York. He also conducted a study showing that a large percentage of companies that moved from New York City ended up in locations less than eight miles from the homes of their chief executives."<a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2020/10/cognitive-dissonance-and-flawed.html" target="_blank"><b> Finfacts: Cognitive dissonance and the flawed American democracy</b></a></p>
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<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The triumph of big cities</span></b></h1><p><b>Jacques Lévy, emiritus professor of Geography and Urbanism at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne and Reims University, </b>has said in <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/be4e850e-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/be4e850e-en" target="_blank"><b>an OECD essay,</b></a> that the from the 1950s to the 1990s, certain observers predicted the death of the city...<b>Today's victory of the urban spatial choice is overwhelming, but this triumph raises novel, major political issues.</b></p><p>"It can be argued, as well, that urbanity is giving productive systems and societies new momentum. This is the consequence of the growing part of creativity, which is the non-programmable component of production in social dynamics."</p><p>"Two major consequences of this change can be noticed. First, the size effect has gained a new significance. It used to be a direct function of mass: more inhabitants meant more workers and more consumers. It has become exponential because of the critical value of links: 1mn people can generate 1trn potential human interactions. <b>In innovating sectors, this point turns out to be crucial: 69% of all British scale-up companies localise in London, 72% of the French ones in Paris, 61% of the Swedish ones in Stockholm, and even in such a multipolar country like Germany, 54% in Berlin.</b> The 5,596 European scale-ups are located in 476 cities,<b> but 67% concentrate in 48 cities only, which are, with few exceptions, the largest urban areas on the continent."</b></p><p>He writes [In 27 countries out of 42, one city concentrates more than 70% of these mature start-ups. Promising economy-oriented activities tend to show the same geographical pattern as cultural creativity (science, design, art, media).</p><p>Second, the classic, early 20th-century...concentric model is experiencing a new lease of life. Suburban or peri-urban dwellers clearly remain part of the urban area, but locations matter even inside an urban system.]</p><p>A paper by Jacques Lévy and others, using phone data, found a “big surprise”: <b>on average, there were about 5mn customers of non-French phone operators in France in 2022-23, compared with just under 2mn foreign visitors measured by “official data.”</b></p><p><a href="https://hal.science/hal-04105977/" target="_blank"><b>Who lives where? Counting, Locating, and Observing France’s Real Inhabitants</b></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEonofjN70njyKWpsjESOOUqEeFkW2vpHobfMJkUwTz_o5fXml73ODutmzpORSDoYKtML0NjaMrXPJ1ZqkY-8EKq-BAw5q6eWwfKIBTFm0szOJboticftpvl1sHeFouXyoJGOTflC4AnQhj8zb_KM-hxQCuYKsdkKUTKMe8j2PsDohww8pFoY0LQ/s722/Rents_Europe_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="722" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEonofjN70njyKWpsjESOOUqEeFkW2vpHobfMJkUwTz_o5fXml73ODutmzpORSDoYKtML0NjaMrXPJ1ZqkY-8EKq-BAw5q6eWwfKIBTFm0szOJboticftpvl1sHeFouXyoJGOTflC4AnQhj8zb_KM-hxQCuYKsdkKUTKMe8j2PsDohww8pFoY0LQ/w640-h638/Rents_Europe_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">However, there are housing crises in many of the big European cities</span></b></h1>
<p><b><a href="https://housinganywhere.com/" target="_blank">Housing Anywhere International</a></b> <b>says the ranking of the biggest year-on-year changes varies depending on room type.</b></p><p>When it comes to apartments, Budapest (42.9%), The Hague (27.8%), Utrecht (25.8%), Porto (25%) and Lisbon (15.8%) are the most extreme cases of the 23 analysed cities.</p>
<p><b>In terms of the year-on-year change of a private room, however, it is: Lisbon at (29.4%), The Hague (28.6%), Berlin (22.6%), Amsterdam (18.8%) and Frankfurt am Main (16.9%).</b></p><p>For studios, Lisbon (70.3%) leads, Florence (33.3%), Hamburg (27.4%), The Hague (23.8%) and Porto (23.3%). Notably, both Lisbon and the Hague appear in all three of the top 5 roundups.</p><p>The UK <b>which has strong NIMBY (not in my backyard syndrome) lobbies,</b> have the highest housing constraints and rent increases in Europe. The average rent of a house increased by 9.4% in the first quarter of this year, reaching £1,190 ($1,494). According to data from the British online real estate company Rightmove, the average rent in the capital, London, rose to an all-time high at £2,501 per month, up 14% over the same period.</p><p><b>Robert Shrimsley of The Financial Times</b> has said "In the past, identifying as the party of aspiration helped the Tories surmount such differences. As people progressed financially, got a decent job, bought a home and started a family they found themselves on the blue brick road. This path has been broken by salary stagnation and high house prices. In 1997, two-thirds of 35- to 44-year-olds had a mortgage. By 2017 that figure was down to half. In England, the percentage of private renters in that age group rose from 8.2 to 27.6% over the same period. Small wonder the crossover age is rising."</p><p><b>May 2023:</b> "The number of families in England and Wales with adult children living with their parents rose 13.6% between the 2011 Census and Census 2021 to nearly 3.8mn.</p><p>In 2021, around 1 in every 4.5 families (22.4%) had an adult child, up from around 1 in 5 (21.2%) in 2011.</p><p><a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/articles/moreadultslivingwiththeirparents/2023-05-10" target="_blank"><b>The total number of adult children living with their parents increased 14.7% in the same period from around 4.2mn in the 2011 Census to around 4.9 million in Census 2021."</b></a></p><p><b>For those taking out a new tenancy, the average Irish rent nationwide in the second quarter of 2023 was just under €1,800 a month.</b></p>
<p>The average new rental in Dublin was €2,344, up 8% in a year according to<b> Ronan Lyons of Trinity College, for the DAFT housing service</b>. </p><p>The Irish <b>Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)</b> published a paper, <a href="https://www.esri.ie/system/files/publications/RS164.pdf" target="_blank"><b>'Housing affordability: Ireland in a cross-country context'</b></a> last July.</p><p>"Ireland has one of the biggest gaps in homeownership between younger and older people in Western Europe, a new report has found, even as housing here appears to remain relatively affordable overall compared with elsewhere.</p><p>Close to 80% of people over 40 in Ireland own their home, according to the report published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), yet barely a third of adults younger than 40 are homeowners.</p><p>That gap between young and old is the second-highest out of 15 European countries included in the research. <b>Only Greece has a wider divide.</b> <b>More than a quarter of 25-34-year-olds here still lived with their parents during the period covered by the study, while Ireland had the lowest share of single adults under the age of 40 living outside their parents’ home."</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/housing-shortages-turn-rental-apartments-scarce-commodity-across-europe" target="_blank">Bloomberg in September 2023, noted</a> "The housing shortage is particularly acute in the Dutch capital because the city has become a magnet for foreigners, with 18,000 newcomers moving to the city of about 882,000 in 2022.</b></p><p>Other capitals are in a similar bind. Dublin’s population has grown almost 12% in the past decade as government tax breaks created incentives for global pharmaceutical and tech companies such as Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google and Pfizer to set up their European headquarters there.</p><p>In Zurich, home to Google’s largest research centre outside the US, the vacancy rate for apartment rentals is just 0.07 per cent and lines for apartment viewings regularly stretch to more than 100 people. It’s become the norm for apartment hunters to bring recommendation letters, HR contacts, bank statements and gifts such as wine and chocolates when they are invited to view a property."</p><p><b>Rental prices in Estonia, one of the top destinations for Ukrainian refugees, jumped 22 per cent in 2022, according to Eurostat. </b></p><p><b>The number of available rental properties in Ireland peaked in 2009, with over 23,400 homes listed nationwide. Since then, stock has dwindled, with around 1,200 properties available for a population of over 5 million as of August 1. Housing construction in the Netherlands fell far short of a target set last year to build about 100,000 new homes a year by 2030, with affordable housing meant to account for two-thirds of the total."</b></p><p>On April 30 2023, almost 4m non-EU citizens who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022 were benefitting from temporary protection status in EU countries.</p>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Share of European young adults aged 18-34 living with their parents</span></h1><div><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ILC_LVPS08/default/table?lang=en" target="_blank"><b>Eurostat published the data in July 2023 in respect of 2022.</b></a></div><div><br /></div><div>In 2020 Sweden (17.5 years) recorded the lowest average age of young people leaving their parental home and Croatia (32.4 years) was the highest among the EU countries in 2020. In 2020, young women moved out of their parental home earlier than young men in all EU Member States apart from Sweden.</div><div><br /></div><div>Between 2016 and 2019, the annual number of Swedish young people who moved out of their parental home decreased from 90,200 to 86,200. The downward trend reversed in 2020 when 90,500 persons left home. In 2021, the number of movers increased further to 91,600.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-NHb8H7w1PxKZRCjYGpLbmcsC5t0_2oXIMJdDQkhM2DiA7gCXmo5bOkcxeFXdyGImqoZlJGK6bKVmJnXE-RWINpd6LKXgpjo5s5xGU4DC9ZQjQzMSVqy7HiRu4yzElIN9kK7crIOE8uEoFTPhC9sJmM7o8_1irD5ChWE-6nEpiK29v8JkBAirA/s600/600px-Young_people_leaving_the_parental_household_2020.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="600" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM-NHb8H7w1PxKZRCjYGpLbmcsC5t0_2oXIMJdDQkhM2DiA7gCXmo5bOkcxeFXdyGImqoZlJGK6bKVmJnXE-RWINpd6LKXgpjo5s5xGU4DC9ZQjQzMSVqy7HiRu4yzElIN9kK7crIOE8uEoFTPhC9sJmM7o8_1irD5ChWE-6nEpiK29v8JkBAirA/w640-h454/600px-Young_people_leaving_the_parental_household_2020.png" width="560" /></a></div>
<p><b>EU countries in percentages:</b> Austria 38.6; Belgium 43.5; Bulgaria 59.6; <b><span style="color: red;">Croatia</span></b> <span style="color: red;"><b>78.2</b></span>: Cyprus 53.5; Czechia 44.9; <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Denmark 15.5;</span></b> Estonia 33.4: European Union 49.4; <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Finland 16.7;</span></b> France 43.4; Germany 31.3; <span style="color: red;"><b>Greece 71.5:</b></span> Hungary 51.9; <b><span style="color: red;">Ireland 64.1;</span></b> <b><span style="color: red;">Italy 69.4;</span></b> Latvia 40.6; Lithuania 43.8; Luxembourg 49.3; Malta 59.3; Netherlands 35.5;<span style="color: red;"><b> Poland 65.7;</b></span><b><span style="color: red;"> Portugal 70.7;</span></b> Romania 53.9; <b><span style="color: #38761d;">Slovakia 71.2; </span></b>Slovenia 59.1; <span style="color: red;"><b>Spain 65.9;</b></span> <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Sweden 12.5.</b></span></p><div>Ireland had a rate of 44.1% in 2013.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Other countries:</b> Switzerland 38.5 (2021); Türkiye 56.0 (2021); Iceland 34.4 (2018); <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Norway 22.0</b></span> (2020); UK 36.8 (2018.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Green for under 20% and red for above 60%.</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h51U3mcXTSnFWabLu0YYGFhWU8NWWQ587unmJ_a11LWbIsOdpLKbpSSUCJhGc3Bml9GrVZP1R4L6pQu577ZyiipI0OyvNvwWoDZyhrK5OMTned1OvwHfQNgvoAFTYOKnkFo7MPvR41qJye_O1C9BnFaFHKm8B1blgj4u4ZA_0D1qgsNJiZM5AQ/s731/Young_people_Europe_leaving_home.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="670" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7h51U3mcXTSnFWabLu0YYGFhWU8NWWQ587unmJ_a11LWbIsOdpLKbpSSUCJhGc3Bml9GrVZP1R4L6pQu577ZyiipI0OyvNvwWoDZyhrK5OMTned1OvwHfQNgvoAFTYOKnkFo7MPvR41qJye_O1C9BnFaFHKm8B1blgj4u4ZA_0D1qgsNJiZM5AQ/w586-h640/Young_people_Europe_leaving_home.JPG" width="586" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This year the the Pew Research Center compared US and Europe <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/03/in-the-u-s-and-abroad-more-young-adults-are-living-with-their-parents/" target="_blank"><b>'Young adults in the US are less likely than those in most of Europe to live in their parents’</b></a> home. Serbia and; Türkiy are not members of the EU.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYErwPfjOZpSEgu09WqDhWhBe7MoWaNhIUv7iJJLC0Qspx7qEJUyJI60Qxxb8CdWC4BzYlqBs7GjfnSsnqevKqNmXmCQ-ipxdIeNP_EgvisKXF3eg_Y8FuES-vX6u_wwHgcXjiUDAZD79FbeBwxpHmYrRWsn0BRGbY9DtIrTVGEVBTi5H9_lsGA/s800/800px-What_are_the_largest_metropolitan_regions_in_the_EU_(million_inhabitants,_1_January_2021)_URE2023.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="454" data-original-width="800" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYErwPfjOZpSEgu09WqDhWhBe7MoWaNhIUv7iJJLC0Qspx7qEJUyJI60Qxxb8CdWC4BzYlqBs7GjfnSsnqevKqNmXmCQ-ipxdIeNP_EgvisKXF3eg_Y8FuES-vX6u_wwHgcXjiUDAZD79FbeBwxpHmYrRWsn0BRGbY9DtIrTVGEVBTi5H9_lsGA/w640-h364/800px-What_are_the_largest_metropolitan_regions_in_the_EU_(million_inhabitants,_1_January_2021)_URE2023.png" width="590" /></a></div><div><span face="open_sansregular, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700;">On 1 January 2023, the population of the EU was estimated at 448.4mn inhabitants, 2.792mn more than the previous year.</span></div><div><span face="open_sansregular, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNK73U2TGqWsiB7ocftlG0tsk7_RJTZvJ2-curYRMqghDBzw5xBEVg9ZSzPgKzKUCBnDcl3adN1PPCDQ86qBr_Xkz7meMRKbEvPxNy5fhaToH5XUeu5AcGIzZ4U3bSXu7y4gBQtznpzXujDtOUOZQbse5BvF7HPYItg_z5CksV_8nXteXN-wB6Ow/s582/Functional_urbanareas_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="582" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNK73U2TGqWsiB7ocftlG0tsk7_RJTZvJ2-curYRMqghDBzw5xBEVg9ZSzPgKzKUCBnDcl3adN1PPCDQ86qBr_Xkz7meMRKbEvPxNy5fhaToH5XUeu5AcGIzZ4U3bSXu7y4gBQtznpzXujDtOUOZQbse5BvF7HPYItg_z5CksV_8nXteXN-wB6Ow/w640-h208/Functional_urbanareas_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b>A functional urban area consists of a city and its commuting zone. Functional urban areas therefore consist of a densely inhabited city and a less densely populated commuting zone whose labour market is highly integrated with the city (OECD, 2012). Continuously shrinking cities: representing about half (70) of the shrinking FUA in 2011, mostly in Eastern Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, Romania and Poland.</b></span></div><span face="open_sansregular, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><div>According to Eurostat "Among the 20 EU Member States where the population increased in 2022,<b> six countries (Ireland, France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta and Sweden) recorded both a natural increase and positive net migration contributing to their population growth. In 14 Member States (Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Finland), the positive net migration was the driver of population growth, as natural population change was negative."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Sweden:</b> In 2000, there were nearly 8.9mn people living in the Scandinavian country, and this had increased to 10.52mn in 2022.</div><div><br /></div><div>Stockholm — 1.206mn and 1.700mn.</div><div><br /></div><div>20% of the population in Sweden in 2022 was foreign-born.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Denmark:</b> 5.340mn in 2000 and 5.910mn in 2023</div><div><br /></div><div>Copenhagen — 1.077mn and 1.381mn</div><div><br /></div><div>Foreign-born rate 15%.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Finland:</b> In 2000 the population was 5.176mn and 5.545mn in 2013.</div><div><br /></div><div>Helsinki — 1.019 in 2000 and 1.338mn 2022.</div><div><br /></div><div>Foreign-born rate 8%.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Netherlands: </b>In 2000 the population was at 15.930mn and 17.700 in 2023.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Netherlands, also known informally as Holland, is the most densely populated country in Europe, except for very small city countries like Monaco, Vatican City, etc. <b>The population density is 522 per Km<sup>2</sup>.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Amsterdam — The current metro area population of Amsterdam in 2023 is 1.174mn. It was 1.005mn in 2000.</div><div><br /></div><div>The foreign-born rate is 12%.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ireland:</b> In 2022 the population of the Republic of Ireland was 5.150mn, compared with 3.900 in 2002. Between 2006 and 2007 Ireland's population rose by over 140 thousand, the most significant increase throughout the surveyed period.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dublin Metro — 1.006mn in 2002 and 1.270mn in 2022.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/12/foreign-born-in-ireland-overtake-irish.html" target="_blank"><b>The foreign-born rate is 18%</b></a>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyydWPcAJfbgm3KW3J1mAWAfL_VO7hY5GLHmDG8CAuadaRjLjj9ypettFQDJV_CtgWRroUcK5FcDVrXaq5UqJ1_kBsRZWQeYC9Memzf2fDW47HlcN6QL5ESm_P_Gvg_9mH859RG3DM1KkN3T9GtdUbj1HIsI_6O0JM8_K6bw0W5wo5tre4pXfefw/s611/Housing_tenure_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="611" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyydWPcAJfbgm3KW3J1mAWAfL_VO7hY5GLHmDG8CAuadaRjLjj9ypettFQDJV_CtgWRroUcK5FcDVrXaq5UqJ1_kBsRZWQeYC9Memzf2fDW47HlcN6QL5ESm_P_Gvg_9mH859RG3DM1KkN3T9GtdUbj1HIsI_6O0JM8_K6bw0W5wo5tre4pXfefw/w640-h394/Housing_tenure_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPxYtyaLE4e-adr2r5tMZ6B_s2LWY2Ug1Wexu1OcYXDLFIqg4_mucu26L715vAzzdL8mUW2skEBOUjPKbsNJDh_TD-Rc1Z-1lTobaTPNz62cDvFHXP66AHvHITMFsBZChvoI-Jnd1GfiZ_u4n3gNzftZ1XvkM1Wa5Xf0-r-mDznHr-pz8l4gtWg/s546/Flats_houses_Europe_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="546" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPxYtyaLE4e-adr2r5tMZ6B_s2LWY2Ug1Wexu1OcYXDLFIqg4_mucu26L715vAzzdL8mUW2skEBOUjPKbsNJDh_TD-Rc1Z-1lTobaTPNz62cDvFHXP66AHvHITMFsBZChvoI-Jnd1GfiZ_u4n3gNzftZ1XvkM1Wa5Xf0-r-mDznHr-pz8l4gtWg/w640-h438/Flats_houses_Europe_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<p><b>The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), a unit of the EU that is based in Dublin,</b> published a report on EU housing in May 2023: <b><a href="https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_publication/field_ef_document/ef22024en.pdf" target="_blank">'Unaffordable and inadequate housing in Europe'</a></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHGlAn9wfSRRFxUcd5kRI2HQ8WqaOTulODwsj3UMHrQ9IjjLe7XlMmQIOKTf_ay4qJpQQOKcnVBgaJDs9O8D3Aj70TomDzMh-zkKXziIxZxVACHXymipaKAhvGNLkMbF28OtrQx9iuAyTy_ygWM1wDizHWdzB3KAeAQqnf1eRSdk_XUrdAcQXaA/s756/UBS-Bank_Switzerland-.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="756" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHGlAn9wfSRRFxUcd5kRI2HQ8WqaOTulODwsj3UMHrQ9IjjLe7XlMmQIOKTf_ay4qJpQQOKcnVBgaJDs9O8D3Aj70TomDzMh-zkKXziIxZxVACHXymipaKAhvGNLkMbF28OtrQx9iuAyTy_ygWM1wDizHWdzB3KAeAQqnf1eRSdk_XUrdAcQXaA/w640-h502/UBS-Bank_Switzerland-.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">According to this year’s edition of the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index, imbalances in housing markets declined sharply. Only Zurich and Tokyo remain in the housing bubble risk category. For the study, UBS analyzed residential property prices in 25 major cities around the world. From mid-2022 to mid-2023, real house prices in the cities fell by 5% on average.</span></b></div><p style="text-align: left;">According to data from 2020, over half (53%) of people in the EU live in a house, 46% in a flat and 1% in another type of building.</p><p><b>It is most common to live in a flat in Spain (66%) and least common in Ireland (9%).</b></p><p></p><p>"There has been a steady increase in people living in flats, from 45.4% in 2010 to 46.3% in 2020. This increase has occurred mostly in areas of intermediate population density (towns and suburbs), with a 5 percentage-point increase in people living in apartments in such areas. However, the proportion of people in the EU living in an apartment in sparsely and densely populated areas (rural areas and cities) reduced by 2.3 and 1.8 percentage points respectively."</p><p><b>Ireland has seen an increase in renting overall, especially in (private) unsupported tenancies, up from 4% of households in 2002 to 13% in 2020 (ESRI, 2022a).</b></p><p>According to the report, many mortgage payment tax deduction schemes are being (or have been) reduced or abolished (in Finland from 2023, and in Ireland and the Netherlands). They tend to benefit people with higher incomes more than those with lower incomes.</p><p>"The number of people on social housing waiting lists is considerable.</p><p>In Poland, in 2020, 136,156 households were waiting for municipal housing, including 74,856 for social rental agreements. In Hungary in 2020, 12,245 people were waiting for social housing. In Belgium, 170,000 people are on waiting lists in the Flemish region, 37,500 in the Walloon Region and 49,771 in the Brussels Region (2022). <b><span style="color: red;">In Ireland, 61,880 households are on waiting lists.</span></b> In Slovenia, 6,600 households are on waiting lists, 2,500 in Ljubljana, where only 1 in 10 applicants are granted non-profit housing (Piano, 2017, cited in Stropnik, 2019). The Portuguese Programa de Arrendamento Acessível had 19,000 applicants for tenancies by July 2021, while only 1,010 dwellings had been made available by private lessors at sub-market rents.</p><p>Waiting times have increased in some countries. The Stockholm housing agency’s waiting times have been increasing for many years. In 1997, the waiting time was on average 5.1 years (the longest waiting time was 10 years). By 2017, the average waiting time for an apartment was 12.7 years.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">The maximum, for an apartment in Stockholm city centre, was 22 years (Swedish Union of Tenants, 2018)."</span></b></p>
<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">High-rise taboo in Ireland and Dublin and urban sprawl</span></b></h1><p>In 2006, Dublin's sprawl was cited by the European Environment Agency (EEA) as a "worst-case scenario" of urban planning so that newer EU member states such as Poland might avoid making the same mistakes.</p><p><b>The Ballymun social disaster of the 1960s where public housing for young families with limited or no amenities; with no resident management and where no one had a personal stake in their units; led to what can be termed "Ballymun Syndrome," with high-rise buildings becoming a taboo in Ireland.</b></p><p><the 1960s="" a="" allymun="" amenities="" and="" ballymun="" be="" becoming="" buildings="" can="" disaster="" families="" for="" had="" high-rise="" housing="" in="" ireland.="" led="" limited="" management="" no="" of="" one="" or="" p="" personal="" public="" resident="" social="" stake="" syndrome="" taboo="" termed="" the="" their="" to="" units="" what="" where="" with="" young=""></the></p><p><b><span style="color: red;">It was a gift for NIMBIES (not in my backyard syndrome) over several decades.</span></b></p><p>Also in the 1960s two high-rise commercial buildings were completed. Dublin’s Liberty Hall opened in 1965 and has 16 storeys standing some 59. 4 metres while Cork County Hall in 1968 became Ireland’s tallest building and kept the record for 40 years. It also is a 16-storey building at 64.3 metres high and following a refurbishment in 2006, its height was extended to 67 metres.</p><p>In September 2008 in Cork City Centre, adjacent to the City Hall, the 17-storey Elysian Tower together with connected 6-8 storey buildings on a 3-acre site, was completed for commercial and residential use.</p><p><b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Ireland" target="_blank">There have been a few more added in Dublin.</a></b></p><p>According to a government report published in April 2018, <b>“there is evidence that 6-storeys is an optimum height from a viability perspective at present, for the delivery of apartment schemes at sales prices” within an affordable range specified.</b></p>
<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Population densities in Paris and Dublin</span></b></h1><p>The city of Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements municipaux — administrative districts. The area is <b>105 km²</b> (kilometres) and with a population of 2.2mn, it has a density of about 20,755 [2022] people per km² — one of the highest in Europe.</p><p><b>The 11th arrondissement has the highest density of people at 39,317 in Paris with an area of 3.67 km²</b></p><p>France's capital city is the core of the Paris Region called Île-de-France with an area where about 12,395,148 population [2022] live – an estimated 12,012 km² Area. 1,032/km² population density [2022], and 12mn people living there.</p><p><b><a href="arrondissement" target="_blank">The 20 arrondissements in 2017.</a></b></p><p></p><p><b>The area of the city of Dublin is 115 km² and the 2022 population was 588,233 [2022]. The density is 5,032 inhabitants per km².</b></p><p>The area of County Dublin is 921 km² and its population in 2022 was 1,458,154, giving a density of 1,581.5 per km².</p><p>The Dublin city boundary was extended to some of the new sprawling suburbs of the 20th century and today coincides with the area that is the responsibility of Dublin City Council.</p><p>European Union and three EFTA countries: The <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Population_and_housing_census_2021_-_population_grids&stable=0#Background_information" target="_blank"><b>datasets</b></a> are based on data from the 2021 population and housing census at the level of 1 km² grid cells.</p><p><b>Barcelon</b>a has an area of 104.4 km² and a population of 1,620,343. Density is at 16,000/ km². Within the city, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat has a density of 21,000/km².</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhJNAh7vEArH-s9qm6S6GXEqw93AU0uOmBPO4N17HPhrhJD9EsqrAKrpJ4lfamqpnpn6mcE3xje6DIrzO0KLstkXrdvM-YwYTt15erNisisVEdiBWV6vovJ5MaK0tBT7sv4jIFNn-dk1gr0Xrs_0gmK-_otZPaaa_ahBh9uCm9-CE_ay8ZQv41Q/s800/Wonder_of_the_Seas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhJNAh7vEArH-s9qm6S6GXEqw93AU0uOmBPO4N17HPhrhJD9EsqrAKrpJ4lfamqpnpn6mcE3xje6DIrzO0KLstkXrdvM-YwYTt15erNisisVEdiBWV6vovJ5MaK0tBT7sv4jIFNn-dk1gr0Xrs_0gmK-_otZPaaa_ahBh9uCm9-CE_ay8ZQv41Q/w640-h426/Wonder_of_the_Seas.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">This Royal Caribbean ship can accommodate up to a maximum of 6,988 passengers,</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">and 2,300 crew. Its maiden voyage was in March 2022</span></b></div></div>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;"> Teeming with tourists </span></h1>
<p>In recent decades low-fare airlines, Airbnb and cruise liners have swamped old cities in Europe with tourists.</p><p><b>International travel is generally subject to zero VAT including supplies such as fuel and food.</b></p><p>In April the <b>International Air Transport Association (IATA) renewed its call on the Colombian government to consider a reduction of VAT on tickets and aviation fuel to 5%. </b>VAT increased by 14%. The finance minister said a cut could cost US$1.485bn and about 47,000 jobs.</p><p><b>Strong fortification walls have surrounded the summit of the Acropolis for more than 3,300 years.</b></p><p>The Greek cultural minister, Lina Mendoni, announced in early July <b>“Visits in June and early July alone increased by 80% compared to 2019 (the year before the pandemic).”</b></p><p>A time-slot system, fast-lane entry points for organised tourist groups and electronic ticketing are moves that officials say will help alleviate visitor congestion.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHcuU5FCNiX7r4SHlvNLAC_QQf1iEcl9cbT9lBc9-t7ihhRlvx9BP-wBOh2oan5O3GmRTI062vFTC0ks5yfITPf3s_VQsCL900v1A6ZOCtxWrHtujaUXA52g1Mg_ZM1Ryt89QNSYjVhveE5MrqnrrOqfw_IXO5YD12IXcshBW3YkYzfSECp3lxw/s767/Greece_Acropolis_2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="767" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHcuU5FCNiX7r4SHlvNLAC_QQf1iEcl9cbT9lBc9-t7ihhRlvx9BP-wBOh2oan5O3GmRTI062vFTC0ks5yfITPf3s_VQsCL900v1A6ZOCtxWrHtujaUXA52g1Mg_ZM1Ryt89QNSYjVhveE5MrqnrrOqfw_IXO5YD12IXcshBW3YkYzfSECp3lxw/w640-h358/Greece_Acropolis_2023.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>The Acropolis attracts more than 17,000 people daily during summer time — a reflection of the over-tourism that has affected Greece in recent years.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">In 2022 Greece was the third most-booked country on the planet and 9th most for UK travellers for the period July-August reports The Daily Mail citing stats from Skyscanner.</p><p><b>Venice has plans for a trial of a €5 (£4.30; $5.35) fee for daily visitors, in a bid to control tourism. Visitors over the age of 14 will have to pay the charge and book in advance. The system will be in operation next year.</b></p><p>Simone Venturini, a city council member said "Venice is among the most visited European cities... [and so] suffers the most from excess tourism."</p><p>In 2021 Italy banned cruise ships from the <b>Venice lagoon.</b> <b>Unesco, the UN's cultural body, </b>threatened to put Venice on its endangered list unless Italy permanently banned cruise ships from docking in the world heritage site, the government said.</p><p><a href="https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/venice#:~:text=Situated%20in%20the%20heart%20of,from%20the%20east%20to%20Europe" target="_blank">Unesco</a> says "Situated in the heart of a lagoon on the coast of northeast Italy, Venice was a major power in the medieval and early modern world and a key city in the development of trade routes from the east to Europe."</p><p><b>Venice is 7.6 km<sup>2</sup> and had 13mn tourists in 2019 but that number of visitors is expected to be exceeded in coming years.</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIrMf_MN9q78DT9-5VVqYgaItH5doz1KdOmMkXDZMz81iqx2LPNZrlSp6eUYC_M3U9XOwpP4Q252zmzsZuyOd6pci29ngREX70U8Q8xgfmF7WD4ROptIbtWVp-Q8dALhMp7_mAwrdcV0QWu4XmR8F6cynR_uojYaTLss4FiLszm6-ioYZ2_s3Kzw/s1024/Venice_St-Markss_square-2018.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="1024" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIrMf_MN9q78DT9-5VVqYgaItH5doz1KdOmMkXDZMz81iqx2LPNZrlSp6eUYC_M3U9XOwpP4Q252zmzsZuyOd6pci29ngREX70U8Q8xgfmF7WD4ROptIbtWVp-Q8dALhMp7_mAwrdcV0QWu4XmR8F6cynR_uojYaTLss4FiLszm6-ioYZ2_s3Kzw/w640-h386/Venice_St-Markss_square-2018.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">Tourists in St. Mark's Square, Venice during flooding in October 2018</span></b></div><p>In July Amsterdam's city council said it will bar cruise ships from docking in the city centre as part of a broader effort to curb pollution and reduce the large numbers of tourists who visit the Dutch commercial capital.</p><p><b>Holiday lets can be a lot more lucrative for landlords and this can also push up house prices.</b></p><p>Research from the <a href="https://news-archive.exeter.ac.uk/homepage/title_879425_en.html" target="_blank"><b>University of Exeter</b></a> reveals that passengers on a seven-day voyage around the Antarctic can produce as much CO<sub>2</sub> as the average European does in an entire year.
And that’s not all. The study also found that a large cruiseliner can have a bigger carbon footprint than 12,000 cars, while an overnight stay onboard uses 12 times more energy than a stay in a hotel.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrONClysCmim96W3fF5bOx37d4l6P_WH1HvnsECFlNauOGwhHmGVf5BhNivwpmHxR5Mp2rKB3gYirmsUX0rxPmdatdahM8mzG0ZB0LOK6dnXOJ1FK-geUQyfWzLYZ5Fjv44cGJC9Dopi2kr-NhKebff5wdGziRt6KF5v9FjHM_BG6a7L5uRFVpQ/s1280/Hallstatt_-_Zentrum_.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="883" data-original-width="1280" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjrONClysCmim96W3fF5bOx37d4l6P_WH1HvnsECFlNauOGwhHmGVf5BhNivwpmHxR5Mp2rKB3gYirmsUX0rxPmdatdahM8mzG0ZB0LOK6dnXOJ1FK-geUQyfWzLYZ5Fjv44cGJC9Dopi2kr-NhKebff5wdGziRt6KF5v9FjHM_BG6a7L5uRFVpQ/w640-h442/Hallstatt_-_Zentrum_.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b>Hallstatt, Austria, has just 800 residents but around 10,000 visitors a day</b></span></div>
<p>The Dutch government plans to reduce noise pollution and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions at <b>Amsterdam Schiphol Airport </b>by cutting the number of flights from 500,000 to 452,500 annually from November 2024. That is 9.5% below 2019 levels and lower than a previous proposal of 460,000. </p><p><b>Trentino-Alto Adige is a region in northern Italy bordering Switzerland and Austria. Trento, the region's capital, has Renaissance palaces with frescoed facades and Buonconsiglio Castle, home to art collections.;</b></p><p>Earlier this year <b>Arnold Schuler, the local tourism minister,</b> proposed new regulations and told CNN that the region had hit the limit as to how much it could handle. Last year, the region saw 34mn overnight stays and, <b>“At certain times of the year and in certain areas, it became a lot,” he explained.</b></p><p>“We reached the limit of our resources, we had problems with traffic, and residents have difficulty finding places to live,” Schuler explained, adding that their goal is to, “guarantee the quality [of life] for locals and tourists,” which has become progressively difficult in recent years</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcW1xmZgRnFA-KEcIpf92KhbQ4nerwP3FDGo38i_lZtlEYWCHGJIuIkqHzXafDiwbN7ZvKT0O9gHItBrJgtPhef9ShUfj_mkdPJGU_ZyAV25zxl12yuCY6i8Dv80e5iAcjGxdS5x3RETjNzS_hVJy4n4gkflxvYUsn69W_MjEYvnvGsmL-xmo1w/s684/The-Trentino-Alto-Adige-region-in-South-Tyrol-Ital.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="684" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHcW1xmZgRnFA-KEcIpf92KhbQ4nerwP3FDGo38i_lZtlEYWCHGJIuIkqHzXafDiwbN7ZvKT0O9gHItBrJgtPhef9ShUfj_mkdPJGU_ZyAV25zxl12yuCY6i8Dv80e5iAcjGxdS5x3RETjNzS_hVJy4n4gkflxvYUsn69W_MjEYvnvGsmL-xmo1w/w640-h426/The-Trentino-Alto-Adige-region-in-South-Tyrol-Ital.webp" width="560" /></a></div><b style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">Trento is the main town of Trentino-Alto Adige in Northeast Italy</span> </b></div></b><p></p><p>A new law in effect from September 2022, limits the approved number of overnight stays to what they had been in 2019, prior to the pandemic. It also bans any new traveller accommodations from opening (including private home rentals) without permission from their local authorities.</p><p><b>Schuler said the number of Airbnbs in the area has increased 400% over the past five years and he added. “We always said we want to be a region for tourists, but also a place where the local people live well.”</b></p><p>The number of officially registered and approved guest beds has been capped at under 230,000, which was the count back in 2019. Each town’s “comune” (local authority) will also be allotted a set quantity of extra beds to issue in special circumstances or to aid businesses in town that don’t get a huge amount of tourism. Exceptions can also be made if another lodging establishment closes down, thereby balancing out the equation.</p><p><b>This year the Portuguese government stopped issuing new licences for Airbnbs and other similar holiday lets except in rural areas.</b></p><p>All licences for holiday lets will now be reviewed every five years. A new system to control rental prices is also being introduced. Airbnb owners are also being offered a tax break if they convert their properties back into ordinary homes.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDaeXQ42VNb9trIEsTuaXuctKXn_XzIcaV_DajkoiXKiPCs9J3wynbN0Qhvsl84thU0k5xbzcEl6rYDS3uT6hhX9AYYgE_aWOKLm9GUkrlg3jZ7wj3Yqm-Aj53BdZV9sGSKmTeOI9JOEJ3WusE9vXg_nw2gqwbQNCedLtEt4XuF4Lu2EsxOvgow/s680/Bhutan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDaeXQ42VNb9trIEsTuaXuctKXn_XzIcaV_DajkoiXKiPCs9J3wynbN0Qhvsl84thU0k5xbzcEl6rYDS3uT6hhX9AYYgE_aWOKLm9GUkrlg3jZ7wj3Yqm-Aj53BdZV9sGSKmTeOI9JOEJ3WusE9vXg_nw2gqwbQNCedLtEt4XuF4Lu2EsxOvgow/w640-h480/Bhutan.jpg" width="560" /></a></div> <span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>The minimum daily fee for foreigners in Bhutan is $250 (€228) per person</b></div></span><p style="text-align: left;">Bhutan is a Buddhist kingdom on the Himalayas’ eastern edge and it has a population of about 778,000.</p>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/09/11/tourist-taxes-all-of-the-countries-you-will-have-to-pay-to-enter-in-2022" target="_blank">Tourist taxes: All of the countries you will have to pay to enter in 2023 or 2024</a></span></b> </p><p>For example in 2024, non-EU citizens, including Americans, Australians, Brits and other travellers from outside the Schengen Zone, will need to fill out a €7 application to get in.</p><p>The Schengen Area encompasses most EU countries, except for Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania. However, Bulgaria and Romania are currently in the process of joining the Schengen Area and already applying the Schengen acquis to a large extent. On 1 January 2023, Croatia became the newest member state to join the Schengen area. Additionally, the non-EU states Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein have joined the Schengen Area.</p><p><b>Ireland is not in the Schengen Area as it has a Common Travel Area (CTA) with the UK.</b></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUHTWdig6nnWG-x9LFjIMOrSVCN5hfrGFr3ck3aRjLyVrbKxhjz2-dfBmo93QtyIzOCof1Ko48zAgnV-I8jBwirwsrxz3p_s3B0K3bkSZm4Oy3pksX-9SxCUfUDIEzFuZozZv7suJ7VNpwRRSr1PpINrazkr674TZJmqFgrv2QEFQJ-g3UQoxig/s1939/Updated-The-Countries-Most-Reliant-on-Tourism-in-One-Chart.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1939" data-original-width="1200" height="903" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUHTWdig6nnWG-x9LFjIMOrSVCN5hfrGFr3ck3aRjLyVrbKxhjz2-dfBmo93QtyIzOCof1Ko48zAgnV-I8jBwirwsrxz3p_s3B0K3bkSZm4Oy3pksX-9SxCUfUDIEzFuZozZv7suJ7VNpwRRSr1PpINrazkr674TZJmqFgrv2QEFQJ-g3UQoxig/w558-h903/Updated-The-Countries-Most-Reliant-on-Tourism-in-One-Chart.jpg" width="560" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/countries-reliant-tourism/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Bigger chart and other details</b></span></a></td></tr></tbody></table><div>In France, 80% of tourists visit just 20% of the country, as people flock to iconic attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and the French Riviera.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>“France is the world’s main tourist destination, but we have a serious lack of data,” Olivia Gregoire, the tourism minister, told the Figaro daily.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The French tourism ministry in August projected expenditure by overseas tourists would reach €64bn-€67bn in 2023 after a strong summer season, a much-needed boost for an industry that was hard hit by the pandemic.</div><div><br /></div><div>The number of international arrivals is yet to top the 90mn attained in 2019. Tourism is big business in France, where the industry employed more than 2mn people and generated 8% of the gross domestic product last year according to the Financial Times.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uMmwDEhtEGQJJ1SEo6bFVIZ0AA0EHMQeoSg-G5Uv47FtuBRouJJNo_vYQGOLxwO6zIi6y4ZQw1by2eg2obtT-JFHLfY8XGO8ejBbQeWaQN02G2l6FLbGnRhbx90RrR_0EYCaapfSb3W1Qe91Gg5-pDm57-XtXHGPQj2PkQAYFYV5lv2ZMdYKPQ/s948/Europe_densely_populated.cities.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="948" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uMmwDEhtEGQJJ1SEo6bFVIZ0AA0EHMQeoSg-G5Uv47FtuBRouJJNo_vYQGOLxwO6zIi6y4ZQw1by2eg2obtT-JFHLfY8XGO8ejBbQeWaQN02G2l6FLbGnRhbx90RrR_0EYCaapfSb3W1Qe91Gg5-pDm57-XtXHGPQj2PkQAYFYV5lv2ZMdYKPQ/w640-h392/Europe_densely_populated.cities.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">The top three are in France, Spain and Greece</span></b></div> <p><span style="text-align: left;">Having attracted 66.6mn international visitors in 2022, France is now set to reclaim the title, with the number of international arrivals expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1% between 2022 and 2025.</span></p><p><b>Between 2010 and 2021, France received an average of 77.7mn international overnight tourists per year.</b></p><div>The Republic of Ireland had 9.353mn tourist overnights in 2019. The UK was at 35%, including Northern Ireland.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the EU-27 inbound tourism expenditure was worth €437bn in 2019. Five countries (Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands) accounted for two-thirds (65%) of this expenditure, <b>while Ireland had a 2% share.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Check the chart on Page 6 of a publication of the</b> <a href="https://webunwto.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2023-05/UNWTO_Barom23_02_May_EXCERPT_final.pdf" target="_blank"><b>World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)</b>,</a> <b>the UN agency.</b></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-83391474310654610832023-09-03T07:36:00.025+01:002023-10-11T03:29:56.427+01:00Irish wealthiest in World in 2023! Brits ahead in GDP per capita<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9lwMQFB7i2v2obhIsHyvLagXbzqhNcKccyHao_3hC8hKwa7-I2_pbh-_WhFbYkV--okKG0UAfc-dqtBm16VtLMfbGTQb_8X82A4G1THzD7-7F3ARJwL6xKgYpOEpf6OFFTINkMEh7ibGFTREJgHJ21PnWDGHqcm_ixgvF-Mok18O-jL2JenkUA/s3400/CP_GDP-per-capita-PPP-3000px.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3400" data-original-width="3400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9lwMQFB7i2v2obhIsHyvLagXbzqhNcKccyHao_3hC8hKwa7-I2_pbh-_WhFbYkV--okKG0UAfc-dqtBm16VtLMfbGTQb_8X82A4G1THzD7-7F3ARJwL6xKgYpOEpf6OFFTINkMEh7ibGFTREJgHJ21PnWDGHqcm_ixgvF-Mok18O-jL2JenkUA/w640-h640/CP_GDP-per-capita-PPP-3000px.png" width="560" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">IMF April 2023: Ireland at $145,200 per capita; UK at $56,500; Irish adjusted $33,500</span></b></div><p>The IMF (International Monetary Fund) says that Ireland's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is the highest of 195 countries. This is based on <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Back-to-Basics/Purchasing-Power-Parity-PPP" target="_blank"><b>Purchasing Power Parities (PPP).</b></a></p><p><b>"Not Pygmalion likely!" or better still the original "</b><span face="Overpass, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><b>Walk!</b> </span><b>Not bloody likely" ("bloody" was a contemporary taboo) from the character of Eliza Doolittle in the 1914 'Pygmalion' play by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950).</b></p><p><b>However, the gold at the end of the rainbow is an illusion.</b></p><p>In 2021, the US Treasury named <b>Bermuda, the Caymans, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Switzerland,</b> the top 7 corporate tax havens. Their share of US multinational corporations' foreign profits had risen from almost 30% in 2000 to over 60% in 2019.</p>
<p><b>Almost a quarter of a century ago, Ireland became</b><b> the world's most profitable country for US corporations. </b></p><p>While American companies provide jobs, the distorted headline GDP results in high international rankings whether it's economic or social issues. It fools foreigners and is seldom corrected in Ireland.</p>
<p><b>The reality is that Ireland is in the second tier of Advanced Economies.</b></p>
<a name='more'></a>
<p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2020/12/ireland-is-most-profitable-foreign.htm" target="_blank">Ireland with a population of 5m was the most profitable foreign country for US multinationals in 2018</a>, measured</b> by the net income of US majority-owned affiliates (MOFAs), followed by the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Ireland had the same feat in 2020 as it had 20 years before. With 150,000 employed in US-owned firms in Ireland, the income was double that of the UK where almost 1,500,000 are used.</p><p><b>The quarter century of active corporate tax haven activity began through an inadvertent loophole by the Clinton Treasury to simplify the filing of tax returns. It enabled a “check the box” on a tax form to signal something was irrelevant for tax purposes and should be a “disregarded entity.”</b></p><p>When multinational companies began treating foreign subsidiaries in places like Ireland and Luxembourg as disregarded entities, the Treasury Department tried to reverse the rule in 1998. However, the politicians bowed to the demands of the big companies in Congress to refuse to reverse the loophole.</p><p>Between 1999 to 2002,<b> US multinationals (MNEs) increased profits in countries with no taxes or low rates by 68% while sharply reducing profits recorded in countries where they engage in substantial business activity, a study published in the American journal Tax Notes showed.</b></p><p>According to Tax Notes' <b>Martin Sullivan, chief economist,</b> Ireland <b>was the world's most profitable country for US corporations.</b> A study found that profits made by US companies in Ireland doubled between 1999 and 2002 from $13.4bn to $26.8bn, while profits in most of the rest of Europe fell.</p><p><b>Big American MNEs had an effective rate of tax of 2 to 4% in Ireland.</b> The Double Irish scam transferred billions in profits tax-free via the Netherlands to Irish shell companies in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. Apple transferred directly to the United States while paying a meagre tax rate.</p><p><b>In 2012, the G20 (Group of Twenty of Advanced and Emerging Leaders) called on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to reform the international corporate tax system through the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).</b></p><p>Few expected that almost 140 countries would sign up to the reforms.</p> <p>The <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/blog/global-tax-agreement/" target="_blank"><b>Tax Foundation</b></a> has noted that <b>Pillar One</b> of BEPS contains<b> “Amount A”</b> which would apply to companies with more than €20bn in revenues and a profit margin above 10%. For those companies, a portion of their profits would be taxed in jurisdictions where they have sales; 25% of profits above a 10% margin may be taxed.<b> After a review period of seven years, the €20bn threshold may fall to €10bn</b>.</p><p>Amount A is a limited redistribution of tax revenue from countries where large MNEs operate to countries where they have customers. US companies constitute a large share of these companies.</p><p>Pillar One also contains “Amount B” which provides a more straightforward method for companies to calculate the taxes on foreign operations such as marketing and distribution.</p><p>"After months of negotiations, the European Union (EU) has unanimously agreed to implement <b>Pillar Two. </b>The EU Directive will need to be imposed into each country’s national law by the end of 2023. Companies with an annual turnover of at least €750mn will begin to pay the 15% minimum rate starting in 2024. This includes wholly domestic groups that meet the revenue threshold — <b><a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/beps/news-events/news/" target="_blank">OECD News</a>; <a href="https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/knowledge-centre/Tax/News" target="_blank">Chartered Accounts Ireland.</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/beps/" target="_blank">The OECD says the BEPS practices cost countries $100-240bn in lost revenue annually, which is the equivalent of 4-10% of the global corporate income tax revenue.</a></b>
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBXIKRPwtFiBfRT0qJaLJCCvdUJXzTxvIEOsvb5m22gVpJrMZ63xBlk5n_Q-ivSQw490uraHHibOVcFyKQTy1ZkSkac4t6rPiurlW8mp4MLgad7Cbm3MaHWNt9K1mt11BQo7kNuf1n3xMKrD83yeeAgiGxU33SLD3I0d7-REfZSM-tLPkhyzTYw/s680/Leprechaun-economics-Ireland-2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="481" data-original-width="680" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBXIKRPwtFiBfRT0qJaLJCCvdUJXzTxvIEOsvb5m22gVpJrMZ63xBlk5n_Q-ivSQw490uraHHibOVcFyKQTy1ZkSkac4t6rPiurlW8mp4MLgad7Cbm3MaHWNt9K1mt11BQo7kNuf1n3xMKrD83yeeAgiGxU33SLD3I0d7-REfZSM-tLPkhyzTYw/w640-h452/Leprechaun-economics-Ireland-2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">Paul Krugman, the economics columnist of the New York Times, called this "Leprechaun economics"</span></b></div>
<p><a href="https://www.oecd.org/dev/world-economy-millennial-perspective-historical-statistics.htm" target="_blank"><b>Angus Maddison (1926-2010)</b></a> was a renowned English economic historian who put figures on the distant past including China where he visited. For the new <b>Irish Free State in 1922,</b> which would later become the Republic of Ireland, he estimated that the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita <b>was 56% of the United Kingdom's.</b></p><p><b>The 1820 value was 1,398 in US$2011; 2,829 in 1870; 4,361 in 1913 and 4,141 for the Irish Free State.</b></p><p>The Free State was ahead of Spain, Portugal, Finland, Greece and Italy in Western Europe.</p><p><b>However, by 1970 the gap with the UK had grown to 58%.</b></p>
<p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/01/ireland-in-1922-not-poorest-state-in.html" target="_blank">Ireland joined the European Economic Community in 1973 as the poorest member</a>.</b></p><p><b>In 1997 the Irish and UK per capita GDP were just over £29,000.</b></p><p>In 2022 the UK per capita GDP was 44% of the Irish level.</p><p>In the British census of Ireland in 1841 the population was at 8.175mn. The area that would become the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland had a population of 6.529mn. The area had a population of 5.112mn in 1851 following Potatoe Famine deaths and high emigration.</p><p><b>The population in 2022 was 5.149mn.</b></p><p>In the years 1946-1961 over 500,000 emigrated, mainly to Great Britain. During those years the population remained below 3mn. The first population census was taken in 1926 and 2.972mn were recorded. The count was lower in 1961 at 2.818mn.</p><p>Net emigration was -408,800 in 1951-1961; -134,500 in 1961-1971 and +108,800 in 1971-1979.</p><p>Net immigration returned in the 1980s </p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaatvYB8CvXe_vZu7QoANSE8sEplgd9GcShb3EFJIK1ztkwnchCruHgCsYJ721IWMV9Usfb7LBS89mU9X-ysqrQXRbHBljefg78gwtKtLsjMYL7dlrV2u6mcTOeDexe9_Ot6FjrxUjsnqNRQXzQ0cxshMm8_NIfqx69qFWed_EEV9ZqZ7aIW-yg/s739/Europe_1950_1973.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="455" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaatvYB8CvXe_vZu7QoANSE8sEplgd9GcShb3EFJIK1ztkwnchCruHgCsYJ721IWMV9Usfb7LBS89mU9X-ysqrQXRbHBljefg78gwtKtLsjMYL7dlrV2u6mcTOeDexe9_Ot6FjrxUjsnqNRQXzQ0cxshMm8_NIfqx69qFWed_EEV9ZqZ7aIW-yg/w394-h640/Europe_1950_1973.JPG" width="394" /></a></div>
<b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><h1>1950-1989</h1></span></b><p>Globalization came to a shattering halt in 1914 and its second phase began in the 1950s, with Italy and Greece among Europe's star economic performers for almost a quarter of a century, with average real (inflation-adjusted) per capita economic growth of 5.0% and 6.2% respectively in 1950-1973 compared with 5% in West Germany, 4% in France, 3.1% in Ireland and 2.4% in the United States, according to calculations by Prof Angus Maddison.</p><p>The UK's growth rate was the lowest of 16 Western European countries.</p><p>In 1956 the Irish taoiseach/ prime minister, <b>John A. Costello,</b> faced down the forces of conservatism including Ken Whitaker, the secretary of the Department of Finance and his own Fine Gael minister of finance, Gerard Sweetman, to begin the process of attracting foreign direct investment to halt the then haemorrhaging of emigrants.</p><p>The issue of promoting exports and foreign ownership had been first raised in 1945 but Fianna Fáil, the biggest political party opposed it.</p><p><a href="http://www.tara.tcd.ie/bitstream/handle/2262/58446/03%20Barry%20article_ESRI%20Vol%2042-2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank"><b>Economists Frank Barry and Mary Daly commented "Fine Gael and Labour had long advocated liberalising the restrictions on foreign ownership of industry before Fianna Fáil finally yielded."</b></a></p><p>In October 1956 the<b> Export Profits Tax Relief </b>was enacted with a 50% tax remission.</p><p>Costello's speech in Dáil Éireann (the Lower House of Parliament) has been called by <b>Frank Barry and Clare O'Mahoney as</b> <b>"one of the most important economic policy speeches in the history of the state</b><a href="https://arrow.tudublin.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=buschrsmart" target="_blank">" "Regime Change in 1950s Ireland: The New Export-Oriented Foreign Investment Strategy."</a></p><p><b>Éamon de Valera, the 70-year-old leader of </b><a href="http://www.tara.tcd.ie/bitstream/handle/2262/58446/03%20Barry%20article_ESRI%20Vol%2042-2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y" target="_blank"><b>Fianna Fáil</b></a> <b>criticised the Government’s handing over Irish resources to foreigners "festooned with tax reliefs."</b></p><p>In succeeding years the remission was extended to 100%.</p><p>In 1958, Hans Liebherr, a German industrialist, developed a production site in Killarney, Southwestern Ireland in 1958. The crane factory still exists. The Europe Hotel & Resort opened in 1961 and was the first of the three 5-star Irish hotels built by Liebherr. </p><p>Shannon Free Zone at Shannon Airport was established in 1959 and was the world's first free trade zone. It began attracting American firms.</p><p><b>In January 1963 Ireland began cutting trade trade tariffs.</b></p><p>Also in January 1963<b> Charles de Gaulle, president of France,</b> rejected the application of the United Kingdom, for membership of the EEC. Ireland's application was affected because most of the international trade was with the UK.</p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1965-12-14/debates/c5f60000-57bf-4c3f-917b-4a715def1ebf/IrishRepublic(FreeTradeArea) " target="_blank"><b>In 1965 there was an Anglo-Irish free trade agreement.</b></a></p><p>The period 1950-1973 became known as the Golden Age.</p><p><b>However, a commodity boom in the early 1970s and the quadrupling of the price of oil by Arab producers in 1974, put the brakes on the sunny scenario.;</b></p><p>France in 1967 had an unemployment rate of less than 2%. In 1970, the German rate was at 0.5%.</p><p>Overall, between 1945 and 1974, government debt fell by 83% points of GDP.</p><p>Since 1974 France has not had an annual budget surplus.</p><p>Italy has only reported one annual budget surplus (in the 1920s) since 1909/1910.</p><p>Since 1970/71, the UK government has had a surplus (spent less than it received in revenues) in only five years.</p><p>In 1976 Britain faced a financial crisis. The Labour government was forced to apply to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan of nearly $4bn.</p><p>Britain had a 'Winter of Discontent,' losing 4.6mn workdays in 1979. Also in 1979 in Ireland, a total of 1.5mn working days were lost, which was the second-highest figure on record.</p><p>The eighties were grim in Ireland but there was a big boost in 1987 and 1989.</p><p>In 1987 the International Financial Services Centre was established in the former northern dock area, under the Custom House Development Authority.</p><p><b>Intel, the American semiconductor giant decided in 1989 to build its European manufacturing operations in Leixlip, County Kildare, west of Dublin.</b></p><p>Several US multinationals announced plans to open affiliates in Ireland.</p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">1990 to present</span></b></h1><p><b>Dr Garret FitzGerald (1926-2011),</b> a former taoiseach/ prime minister, wrote in the Irish Times that our living standards rose by one-half during the brief Celtic Tiger period from 1993 to 2001. But this was due to two special factors - both of which were essentially temporary in character.</p><p>The first was the impact on our national productivity of an exceptional inflow of new US investment.<b> For a number of years Ireland, with only 1% of Europe's population, attracted up to 25% of all US greenfield industrial investment in our continent. </b>The new technology and skills that this inflow brought contributed to a 4% annual increase in output per worker at the national level i.e. productivity.</p><p>The second factor, which played an even larger role in boosting our living standards during this time, was the huge increase in the total number of people at work, and the corresponding drop in the proportion of dependants in our population. Several factors contributed to this: the exceptional inflows of young workers emerging from the educational system and of women transferring from "home duties" to the labour force, and also the flow of unemployed people returning to work and of recent emigrants coming back to jobs here.</p><p>Within a decade these inflows into our labour force reduced from 230 to 115 the number of dependants that every 100 workers had to support, either directly within their families or indirectly through taxation.</p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The 12.5% tax rate</span></b></h1><p>In 1956-1980 while export profits were exempt, the standard rate of corporation tax applying to all non-manufacturing activities remained at between 40 and 50%.</p><pv>A new tax of 10% was introduced in January 1981 for manufacturing projects and it was extended to services in a few years.</pv><p> In 1996, to comply with EU rules, the Irish government agreed on a rate of 12.5% on corporate profits across all activities from 2003. This meant that the rate of corporation tax applicable to activity in the bulk of the business and financial services sector fell gradually from 40% in 1994 to 32% in 1998 and 12.5% by 2003.</p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Discussion</span></b></h1><p><a href="https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/publications/economic-letters/vol-2021-no-1-is-ireland-really-the-most-prosperous-country-in-europe.pdf" target="_blank"><b>"So, this first-in-class ranking is clearly misleading. Where, then, could Ireland be more accurately ranked?"</b></a> <b>Patrick Honohan, ex-governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and emeritus professor of economics, Trinity College, Dublin.</b></p><p>The days of crazy Irish economic data are coming to an end. It will take time but the penny will drop. We Irish likely fooling people for a laugh but in recent years an Irish ambassador in Washington DC bragged that Irish companies were among the top 10 investors in in the United States.</p><p><b>He was not aware of redomiciled companies.</b></p><p><b>Medtronic, </b>the medical devices firm, has had a facility in Ireland since 1982 but in 2016 the American company became Irish for tax purposes but it's an American firm. Accenture was born in Bermuda and later became Irish but it's also American as it was related to Arthur Andersen, the former accounting firm.</p><div><b>In my last post, I highlighted that the Irish National Accounts had a value of €143,000bn on mythical overseas contract manufacturing and merchanting. That's why it's called Leprechaun economics.</b></div><p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/08/facts-irelands-gdp-per-capita-was-25300.html" target="_blank">Facts: Ireland's GDP per capita was €25,300 in 2022</a></b> — the net value is €33,00 in 2023 as current prices are also changed for <a href="https://www.oecd.org/sdd/prices-ppp/" target="_blank"><b>Purchasing Power Parties</b></a>. The 2022 GDP was only using the current prices.</p><p>The headline data are an embarrassment and it's used by politicians. For example, the nonsense that in 2022 the growth rate was 12.2%.</p><p>Since 2017 the Central Statistics Office has made adjustments to have a Modified Gross National Income (GNI*) on 1) leased global aircraft that may be 20% of the global fleet or 60% according to the main business lobby group 2) redomiciled companies, mainly American that become Irish for tax purposes 3) R&D depreciation.</p><p></p><p><b>I have added €143,000bn to the adjustments - see above.</b></p><p><b>1)</b> Prof Honohan put Ireland at ranking 21 for countries with more than 1mn population. <b><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/ddn-20230620-2#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20AIC%20per%20capita,parities%20published%20by%20Eurostat%20today.">In 2022 Actual individual consumption (AIC) in Ireland fell to 13% below the European Union (EU) average.</a> </b></p><p>Actual individual consumption (AIC): all goods and services consumed by households.</p><p>Germany's AIC is almost a third higher than Ireland's and the apparent highest GDP per capita in the world coincides with an AIC of 87 while both Spain and Portugal are at 85.</p><p><b>2)</b> In 2022, price levels for household final consumption expenditure differed widely across the EU.</p><p><b><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Comparative_price_levels_of_consumer_goods_and_services" target="_blank">The highest price levels were recorded in Ireland (146% of the EU average), </a></b>Denmark (145%) and Luxembourg (137%). Meanwhile, the lowest levels were recorded in Romania (58%), Bulgaria (59%) and Poland (62%). </p><p><b>3)</b> <b>Ireland's household net adjusted disposable income: OECD's: Better Life Index- 19 from 41 countries.</b></p><p><b>4)</b> Government data related to 2021 show that for <b>4,200</b> client companies of Irish public enterprise agencies (engaged in manufacturing and traded services and employing more than 10 people in Ireland). Irish-owned firms spent <b>€29.8bn</b> in 2021 in the economy. The expenditure breakdown was Irish materials (Energy, Water, Waste & Construction sectors included) €14.3bn;<b> €9.4bn on payroll</b> and €5.9bn on Irish services.</p><p>Foreign firms bought less on Irish materials. The direct expenditure by foreign firms amounted to <b>€33.5bn.</b> <b>Spending on payroll was €20.1bn;</b> €8.5bn on services purchased in Ireland and €3.9bon on materials purchased in Ireland.</p><p>The foreign spend was at €6,400 per capita. There are other positives and negatives such as the housing crisis in Dublin.</p><div><b>Fulltime jobs in foreign firms in 2022 (not foreign-owned retail) were at 280,000 with 209,000 in American-owned firms.</b></div><p><b>Fulltime jobs in agency-supported Irish firms were at 190,00O.</b></p><div>Irish employment was at 2.61mn in March 2023.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>5) The population of the 20-country Euro Area is 343mn. In 2022 Irish-owned exports to the other 19 countries, had a value of €8.9bn.</b></div><p>This is an abysmal performance when all the countries use the same currency.</p><p><b>6)</b> The European Patent Office (EPO) listed Ireland's top 10 organisations for patent applications <a href="https://new.epo.org/en/statistics-centre#/countrydashboards?code=IE" target="_blank">in 2022. </a></p><div>There are 5 universities and 5 companies. Four of the 5 have American roots and China has one firm.</div><p>In 2022 there were 1,140 applications and 416 grants.</p><div><a href="https://new.epo.org/en/statistics-centre#/countrydashboards" target="_blank">Denmark</a> was 2,662/ 774 and Finland was at 2140/ 854.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), assists applicants in seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions across the world. It is administered by the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The PCT has 157 contracting states.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>In 2022 there were 804 Irish applications and the grants are about 27%. Denmark had 1,497 applications and Finland had 1,768.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>PCT top applicants (2019-2021) from Ireland were: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited (US) 470; Janssen Sciences Ireland Unlimited Company 74; Depuy Ireland Unlimited Company 65; Connaught Electronics Limited 60; Analog Devices International Unlimited Company 55.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Eaton has a head office in Dublin and is called a redomiciled entity that has become Irish for tax purposes.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Again the universities are the main indiginous filers.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>7) OECD says the share of employer start-ups (0-2-year-old enterprises) among active employer firms is lowest in Belgium (10.8%) and Ireland (11.1%).</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Denmark is 22.9; Finland 26.9; Germany 21.7; France 25.5; Sweden 29.8.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>This is a measure of entrepreneurship.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>8)</b> <a href="https://www.ivca.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IVCA_Datasheet_Q1_23-Companies-final.pdf" target="_blank"><b>The Irish Venture Capital Association</b></a> tracks fundraising quarterly and a lot of the funding is raised overseas for redomiciled firms. </div><p><b>9)</b> The <a href="https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/33/committee_on_budgetary_oversight/reports/2022/2022-09-22_report-on-tax-expenditures-research-and-development_en.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Knowledge Development Box (KDB</b></a>) was introduced in the Finance Act 2015. </p><p>The goal was to attract R&D facilities to Ireland. It has been a failure (too restrictive?) and Beps Pillar 2 will make it redundant.</p><p><b>10)</b> In the <a href="https://iri.jrc.ec.europa.eu/scoreboard/2022-eu-industrial-rd-investment-scoreboard" target="_blank"><b>EU Global 2500 list of Research & Development (R&D)</b></a> there are 24 Irish-related entrants.</p><p><b>There are 21 foreign-owned firms. The Kerry Group is the only Irish-owned industrial company on the list and Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks.</b></p><p>The minimum spend was €48.5mn. Kerry was at €308.6mn.</p><p>In the EU1000 rankings, the addition of the 24 entrants on the 2500 added 10 more foreign firms a<b>nd 7 Irish firms.</b></p><p>The tally was 34 foreign-related firms and 7 Irish firms.</p><p>The minimum spend was€3.1mn in the EU1,000 category.</p><p><b>BIG Tech dominates of course and they are categorised as from the US.</b></p><p>The CSO's <a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-berd/businessexpenditureonresearchanddevelopment2021-2022/" target="_blank"><b>Business Expenditure on Research and Development 2021-2022</b></a> had foreign-owned enterprises spending €2.70bn on R&D in 2021, accounting for 69.6% of all R&D expenditure.</p><p>Small enterprises (<50 persons engaged) had a spend of €635.8m in 2021, accounting for 16.4% of all R&D expenditure. Medium-sized enterprises (50-249 persons engaged) spent €814.7m on R&D during the same period, representing 21.0% of total R&D expenditure.</p><p>In 2019 the R&D intensity rate for Ireland (0.91%) was below the EU27 average of 1.48%. Ireland ranked 13th in the EU27 in 2019, compared with a ranking of 12th in both 2017 and 2015.</p><p>In 2021, of the 1,931 enterprises engaged in R&D activities in Ireland, 1,266 (65.6%) were small enterprises, 469 (24.3%) were medium enterprises and 195 (10.1%) were large enterprises.</p><p><b>The CSO doesn't say what R&D produces, in particular the 1,635 (89.9%) in small and medium firms.</b></p><p>In 2019 the OECD noted that less than 10% of small and medium firms in Ireland exported.</p><p>For example in 2020 the share of Irish small firms exporting goods was 4.6% and 10.5% for medium firms.</p><p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=International_trade_in_goods_by_enterprise_size" target="_blank"><b>In Denmark it was 14.3% and 26.1% and in Finland it was 8.8% and 22.2%.</b></a></p><p><b>11)</b> Ireland's number of exporters in 2020 was 11,600. In 2021 Denmark had 26,800 and Finland had 20,080 exporters.</p><p>The population of Denmark is 5.857mn; Finland 5.541mn and Ireland 5.180mn</p><p><b>Last year Irish-owned goods and services exports amounted to €32bn.</b></p><p><b>Total exports were valued at </b><b>€688bn.</b></p><p><b>12)</b> "There were 6,719 enterprises who exported goods to the UK in 2017, 78% of the total number of exporters.<b> 3,214 enterprises, almost half of the enterprises that exported to the UK, traded with the UK only.</b> The value of this export trade was €2.4 billion, or 15% of total UK exports."</p><p><b>13) Almost half the population has private health insurance as a lot of them haven't confidence in the public system. The average premium in 2022 was €1,466.</b></p><p>Overall, spending on health is high, particularly in light of a relatively young population.<b> <a href="https://www.esri.ie/system/files?file=media/file-uploads/2015-07/OPEA041.pdf" target="_blank">At the same time, health care is expensive in comparison with other European countries</a>.</b></p><p>The Swiss healthcare system ranks 1st overall out of the 32 countries evaluated in the <a href="https://freopp.org/switzerland-1-in-the-2022-world-index-of-healthcare-innovation-619dedce4862" target="_blank"><b>2022 World Index of Healthcare Innovation</b></a>, with a score of 66.49, ahead of <b>Ireland (2nd)</b> and the Netherlands (3rd)!!</p><p><b>14) </b>In the <a href="https://www.longfinance.net/media/documents/GFCI_33_Report_2023.03.23_v1.1.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Global Financial Centres Index published in March 2023</b></a> New York, London and Singapore topped 120 centres.</p><p><b>Dublin's International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) had a 48th ranking and in 2008 it was in single digits.</b></p><p><b>Dublin got a 57th spot in the Fintech Rankings.</b></p><p><b>15)</b> <a href="https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/07/top-30-europes-biggest-startup-hubs-in-2023/" target="_blank"><b>EU-Startups this year gives a 14th rank to Dublin. London, Paris and Berlin lead.</b></a> </p><p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/03/ft-1000-7th-ranking-of-europes-fastest.html" target="_blank">The FT1000 7th ranking of Europe’s fastest-growing companies has 405 tech entrants. Ireland has a poor record.</a></b></p><p><b>16) </b>In 2021, around 38,700 UK VAT-registered businesses exported goods to Ireland.</p><p>Official statistics on Friday added almost 2% to the size of the UK economy, in a surprise move that showed the country recovered much faster from the pandemic than previously reported. <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p>The FT reported on Friday, September 1, <b>"The Office for National Statistics revisions, which also mean that Britain is no longer the worst performing economy in the G7, will come as a relief to the UK government as it struggles with inflation pressures and a cost of living crisis."</b></p><p><b>17) Last month the Central Statistics Office (CS0) issued a report titled <a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-ofats/outwardforeignaffiliatesstatistics2021/" target="_blank">Outward Foreign Affiliates Statistics 2021</a>.</b></p><p>It said <b>"Irish-owned foreign affiliates employed more than 1.24mn people in 2021."</b></p><p>Irish employment in Asia in 2021 was 442,000.</p><p><b>This was partly Leprechaun economics and genuine Irish affiliates overseas, but there was no distinction.</b></p><p>This was my own comment last year: <a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/07/irelands-low-number-of-multinational.html" target="_blank"><b>Ireland's low number of multinational firms and poor exporting record</b></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZdeUYOOLPOHrUZOkWJ5Qt0RIqD-kGb4gnO3gnVIEW1ufyA3pyfDvEBNKZtBDJsharkqlm3K5xKLCHqxYhKVZDOEL7Tp5FqZxrYUsq-RXagVaHtsvnUkyBZBR6ScyEXeEWonxJ0IArS90Xl4lJPTWVD5ckSN3jrGMcy-XGAILYZlJN5TnuYj2pA/s700/Advanced_economies_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="700" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZdeUYOOLPOHrUZOkWJ5Qt0RIqD-kGb4gnO3gnVIEW1ufyA3pyfDvEBNKZtBDJsharkqlm3K5xKLCHqxYhKVZDOEL7Tp5FqZxrYUsq-RXagVaHtsvnUkyBZBR6ScyEXeEWonxJ0IArS90Xl4lJPTWVD5ckSN3jrGMcy-XGAILYZlJN5TnuYj2pA/w640-h300/Advanced_economies_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p><b>18)</b> The IMF <b>World Economic Outlook</b> classifies <b>41 economies</b> as<b> “advanced,”</b> based on such factors as high per capita income, exports of diversified goods and services, and greater integration into the global financial system. The remaining countries are classified as “emerging market and developing” economies.</p><p>This year there are 41 advanced economies, 95 emerging market and middle-income economies, and 59 low-income developing countries.</p><div><b>Without Andorro, Hong Kong, Macao, San Marino and Puerto Rico, the realistic number is 36 here:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyh7WCqgJk-EuhgcxM356A6GtRVrLZE1Bab7aheLfkTkA5QSWJ_NpO5B1XgzvhvLi5yMasaJMxIwRLtJpxv_ld9-JbgoSjGXOx1YF7oZdn9kV7WxYEWednecwgSwVTyhDEIPtPAsbG41T7lC74ytgw8RZcbBb5uESDy8R0_-FywtxbODNP-R2x_Q/s756/Advanced_economies_2022_2023_PPP.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="438" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyh7WCqgJk-EuhgcxM356A6GtRVrLZE1Bab7aheLfkTkA5QSWJ_NpO5B1XgzvhvLi5yMasaJMxIwRLtJpxv_ld9-JbgoSjGXOx1YF7oZdn9kV7WxYEWednecwgSwVTyhDEIPtPAsbG41T7lC74ytgw8RZcbBb5uESDy8R0_-FywtxbODNP-R2x_Q/w370-h640/Advanced_economies_2022_2023_PPP.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<p>The <b>PPP (Purchasing Power Parities)</b> conversion to international US dollars for Ireland was at 0.79 giving <b>an adjusted $33,500 in 2023.</b> Before adjustments, the headline level is $145,200 per capita.<b> </b></p><p>The economist, <b>David O’Rear, who covered the Asia-Pacific region for The Economist Group for 18 years, explained why relatively poor countries see huge jumps from market prices to the PPP, such as Lithuania and Croatia (above):</b> "PPP was designed to reestablish exchange rates between highly similar economies, using a basket of goods. It later was modified to provide an alternative exchange rate, which it was not meant to do. <b>Most particularly, we are poorly served by those who would use it to define the size of an entire economy (rather than just consumer goods). And, as almost all foreign trade is at market exchange rates, economies with very large trade volumes relative to their domestic economies, regularly choose not to artificially manipulate their exchange rates to reach an imaginary PPP level."</b></p><p>The <b>World Bank</b> is responsible for the <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/d508f4dd-1075-579f-843d-cae5631a0a61/content" target="_blank"><b>International Comparisons Program (ICP),</b></a> which is updated every six years. It was established by the United Nations and the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. The last PPPs generated by the ICP was in 2017 and 176 countries participated based on a global survey of prices. National average prices for about 1,000 common items are tracked.</p><p>GDP measures use market exchange rates while the <b>PPP </b>exchange rate — is the rate at which the currency of one country would have to be converted into that of another country to buy the same basket of goods and services in each country.</p><p><b>It's not a very reliable system. </b></p><p>Advanced Countries opt for gathering data from urban areas or capital cities. Poorer countries tend to track both. </p><p>Within an urban area,<b> there can be different prices for the same goods and services.</b> For example in food, some people shop at supermarkets, and others in market stalls. Broken rice was once the meal of poor farmers who picked up what was left after the rice milling process but it has become a popular dish in Vietnam.</p><p>This also applies to transportation costs. International trade and tariffs are also ignored.</p><p>In real life, foreign machinery may contribute to the making of some of the items in the basket. </p><p><b>Again taxes are also ignored. For example in the EU, Luxembourg levies the lowest standard VAT (Value Added Tax) rate at 16%, followed by Malta (18%), Cyprus, Germany, and Romania (all at 19%). The EU's average standard VAT rate is 21%, six percentage points higher than the minimum standard VAT rate required by EU regulation</b>.</p><p><b>China</b> has standard VAT rates which are 13%, 9%, and 6% while reduced rates of 5%, 2%, 3%, 1.5% and 0.5% also apply. <b>Thailand</b> has a standard VAT rate of 7% (reduced from the standard 10% until 30 September 2023).</p><p>Market competition is not considered. Price levels between different goods in different financial markets may differ due to the competitiveness of that country’s demand for that commodity.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2021/10/two-thirds-of-developing-countries.html" target="_blank">Finfacts: Two-thirds of developing countries are dependent on commodities</a></b></p><p>The 12 main countries of South America are in that category and thus exporters are key for them.</p><p>An estimated 1.6bn people in Asia and the Pacific lack effective access to social health protection, according to a 2021 report issued by the <b>International Labour Organization (ILO).</b> Less than half the region’s workforce has their income security legally guaranteed when sick while just 45.9% of women are protected in case of loss of income during maternity.</p><p>In Asia also, long work hours are common and statutory hours are mainly ignored by rich and poor countries.</p><p>The South Korean government was forced in March 2023 to rethink a plan that would have raised its cap on working hours to 69 per week, up from the current limit of 52.</p><p>Eurostat and the OECD have calculated PPPs and price level indexes for GDP and some 50 product groups, including health and hospitals, on a regular and timely basis.</p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Related</span></b></h1><p><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #516c24; font-size: 14px;"><b>October 08, 2023: </b></span><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/10/irish-government-may-have-nixed-key.html" target="_blank"><b>Irish Government may have nixed a key remedy for 'Leprechaun economics'</b></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-40840628760286565672023-08-13T08:26:00.036+01:002023-09-03T13:56:51.980+01:00Facts: Ireland's GDP per capita was €25,300 in 2022<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3d7OzHg04Y0Sf9sM9XIgjzTRsKJN7RlDy1QfwRr74KmJIsPGiGa9V6AfxASJuv_K7nYMAPZM6bVm6LRFo5nuigdtm1VF_KMsSGrqFmy4o-GlIAYkhXQeFxAuWLpTl51RlVaLX3swGQCNhghDRfb0quy97I4yUVSVo465FYIrtY9PMj2AlPAxURA/s800/AIC_2022-Ireland.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3d7OzHg04Y0Sf9sM9XIgjzTRsKJN7RlDy1QfwRr74KmJIsPGiGa9V6AfxASJuv_K7nYMAPZM6bVm6LRFo5nuigdtm1VF_KMsSGrqFmy4o-GlIAYkhXQeFxAuWLpTl51RlVaLX3swGQCNhghDRfb0quy97I4yUVSVo465FYIrtY9PMj2AlPAxURA/w640-h360/AIC_2022-Ireland.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20230620-2" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Eurostat: Actual individual consumption per capita in 2022</b></span></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Last April the International Monetary Fund (IMF) <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPDPC@WEO/USA/DEU/IRL/GBR/SAU/SWE" target="_blank"><b>published gross domestic product (GDP) data</b></a> for countries across the globe, in current US dollars.</p><p>The Irish level adjusted by me for overseas multinational data in the National Accounts was<b> at $26,600 (€25,300) in 2022 with Lithuania and Portugal just behind and Estonia and Czech Republic ahead.</b></p><p>If the polluted Modified GNI* metric was used the GDP per capita would be <b>€53,600.</b></p><p>Irish public debt rose more than 11% to €226bn at the end of 2022. The <b>Department of Finance</b> announced in March 2023 that the per capita debt was at <b>€44,000</b>. It said, <b>"Ireland has one the highest per capita debt burdens in the world." </b> </p><p>Last February The Financial Times ran a story titled <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>"Irish central banker defends runaway economic growth as ‘real.’"</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/09/irish-wealthiest-in-world-in-2023-brits.html" target="_blank">Sept 2023: Irish wealthiest in the World in 2023! Brits ahead in GDP per capita</a></b></span></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;"></span></b></p><p><b>However, the governor was economical with the truth.</b></p><p><b>Gabriel Makhlouf</b> told the Financial Times that much of Ireland’s growth —<b> forecast to be 12.2% last year, more than treble growth in the overall EU </b>— comes from “real factories with real people” even if a lot of activity stems from big technology and pharmaceutical groups.</p><p>“Too many people think or jump to the conclusion that this is all about intellectual property that’s sort of moving around and it’s not real, and that’s wrong,” Makhlouf said.</p><p><b>In late 2021 economists at the Central Bank of Ireland noted:</b> <a href="https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/publications/quarterly-bulletins/boxes/qb4-2021/box-c-the-disconnection-of-gdp-from-economic-activity-carried-out-in-ireland.pdf?sfvrsn=2" target="_blank"><b>"Further increases in exports due to contract manufacturing and merchanting will continue to distort Ireland’s trade performance and inflate GDP in the National Accounts."</b></a></p>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Ireland is not among the wealthy countries.</span></b></p><p>Last June Eurostat reported that actual individual consumption (AIC) consists of goods and services actually consumed by households, irrespective of whether they were purchased and paid for by households directly, by government, or by nonprofit organizations. <b>It said the AIC per capita is an indicator of the material welfare of households.</b></p><p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20230620-2" target="_blank"><b>Ireland in 2022 fell to 87, meaning AIC was 13% below the EU average and a gap of 32% with Germany.</b></a></p><p><b>Ireland was at 115% in 2006-7!</b></p><p><b>Patrick Honohan,</b> a former governor of the Central Bank and emeritus professor of economics at Trinity College, Dublin, has written a piece <a href="https://www.centralbank.ie/docs/default-source/publications/economic-letters/vol-2021-no-1-is-ireland-really-the-most-prosperous-country-in-europe.pdf" target="_blank"><b>"Is Ireland really the most prosperous country in Europe?"</b></a></p><p>Ireland’s average per capita consumption ranked 21 in the world in 2017 (ignoring countries with less than a million population).</p><p>The <b>OECD</b> club of mainly advanced economies, ranked Ireland 19 of 38 countries for household net adjusted disposable income.</p><p>The 2022 edition of the European Commission's Scoreboard of 2,500 business companies, outlines spending on R&D (research and development) worldwide in 2021.</p><p>Ireland has 24 companies on the global listing led by <b>Medtronic of the US</b> having a spend of €2.4bn (the redomiciled firms are mainly American). However, <b>the only Irish-born companies are Kerry Group and both Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks.</b></p><p><b>Irish SMEs (small and medium-sized firms) </b><b>also export less than their European counterparts.</b> <a href="https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-05/IE_SWD_2023_607_en.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Survey data shows the percentage of SMEs that do not export fluctuated between 58% and 65% over the past 5 years – well above the Euro Area (single currency area) average</b></a>. In 2022 Irish companies exported to the other 19 other member countries, were at a paltry <b>€8.9bn. </b>The Euro Area has a population of 347mn including Ireland's 5.057mn.</p>
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<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Return of Leprechaun economics</span></h1><p>
In July 2016 Paul Krugman, the economics columnist for The New York Times, wrote in a tweet when he saw that Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) had upgraded 2015 economic growth to a stunning level<b> "Leprechaun economics: Ireland reports 26% growth!"</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsyhnOwCpNNpSBOMGoh_Gjc5nH546e6y7ghmKXOXdd4OAum5Jx5gLAJpVy1GZS99NjaLz8tpi1aBLJDPbclR0zyllc3jv36LsIn1wY7ykWxgiqZzru0Fvia0xfwWrdy100EH6sDd1xufFXl8UgHt_sRY5gGp7g0S-2oA_lW2rKQ8b2sm_Mvocww/s734/GNI_Multinationals..JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="734" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsyhnOwCpNNpSBOMGoh_Gjc5nH546e6y7ghmKXOXdd4OAum5Jx5gLAJpVy1GZS99NjaLz8tpi1aBLJDPbclR0zyllc3jv36LsIn1wY7ykWxgiqZzru0Fvia0xfwWrdy100EH6sDd1xufFXl8UgHt_sRY5gGp7g0S-2oA_lW2rKQ8b2sm_Mvocww/w640-h428/GNI_Multinationals..JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p>Following the exceptional growth rate recorded in 2015, as well as the growing disconnect between GDP/GNI <b>and actual income levels,</b> the CSO developed an alternative measure of Irish economic activity.</p>
<p><b>The Central Statistics Office (CSO) produced a modified gross national income or GNI* in 2017</b>.</p>
<blockquote>It excluded:retained earnings of firms that have re-domiciled their HQ to Ireland (for tax reductions purposes);<p>the depreciation of intellectual property assets located in Ireland and R&D service imports; and,</p><p>the depreciation of aircraft owned by aircraft-leasing companies.</p></blockquote>
<p>However the GNI* was stillborn as the Irish Government wanted to facilitate Apple's fake (virtual) contract manufacturing (goods for processing). Apple chief Tim Cook had said that the firm was the biggest taxpayer in Ireland.</p><p><b>In 2018 it was reported that Ireland’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 7.8% in 2017. According to the IMF’s ‘World Economic Outlook,’ fake exports from Ireland to China of Apple’s smartphones accounted for about a quarter of that increase. However, the International Monetary Fund said that the income generated from iPhone sales “does not fully contribute to the Irish economy.”</b></p><p>The Department of Finance noted<b> "GDP, for instance, has overstated the income of those living in Ireland since the 1980s.</b> This is a result of the significant multinational footprint in Ireland, which has grown as the pace of globalisation accelerated and Ireland became more embedded in global supply chains. An important consequence of this is that a significant part of the income arising from the production of goods and services in Ireland – or in the case of ‘contract manufacturing’ outside of Ireland – accrues to the foreign owners of these firms. Hence, the GDP aggregate overstates the living standards of Irish residents...<b>This was driven by inter alia a massive rebound in ‘contract manufacturing’. While this activity inflates Ireland’s exports, it has almost no impact on Irish living standards as it generates little or no domestic activity/employment."</b></p><p>There is additional Corporation Tax for the Exchequer (see below).</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Modified GNI* is now redundant. It jumped 17% in current terms in 2022.</span></b></p><p>The net value of virtual "contract manufacturing /goods for processing" and overseas merchanting has more than doubled in recent years. Apple for example has the fiction that Ireland sells its merchandise to China as some intellectual property has been allocated to Ireland.</p><p><b><span style="color: red;">The net additional value of the virtual activity of Apple and big pharmaceutical firms was at €143bn in 2022 and it was added to the Irish National Accounts.</span></b></p><p>Of course, the Irish Government through the Department of Finance knew that the GNI* would become a joke.</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Irish-born companies' value of merchandise/ services exports in 2022 was €32bn.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq2ENd-0xa1zhKvGU8OyhzBbPZSQchXKqcUPeCLzHu7A7-OFO7eiOgea8b9gO02DiWNsddPALQA-nS1j-tceaYfkkcHkxLUQ_IB0xu3ZuFBvzrC4gpWsbzCCAmjOKIck41yKpgdR4v9PFi8mz0zMfRMXEjrNiHTC0FUtt443VnGw_2sEPYBbAzw/s756/Euro_GFP_first-quarter_20213.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="756" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSq2ENd-0xa1zhKvGU8OyhzBbPZSQchXKqcUPeCLzHu7A7-OFO7eiOgea8b9gO02DiWNsddPALQA-nS1j-tceaYfkkcHkxLUQ_IB0xu3ZuFBvzrC4gpWsbzCCAmjOKIck41yKpgdR4v9PFi8mz0zMfRMXEjrNiHTC0FUtt443VnGw_2sEPYBbAzw/w640-h442/Euro_GFP_first-quarter_20213.JPG" width="560" /></a></b></div><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b>Leprechaun economics: The craziness is shown in this graph with Ireland having 18% of cumulative Euro Area GDP from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2023. What nonsense when the current real per capita GDP is among the levels of Portugal and the Baltic Republics. European Central Bank (ECB) economists </b><a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/economic-bulletin/focus/2023/html/ecb.ebbox202303_02~3404c284d0.en.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">said this year</a><b> "In contract manufacturing, a firm hires a foreign company to produce a good but retains ownership of the inputs, including IPP (Intellectual Property Protection). Exports from Ireland produced via contract manufacturing were usually offset by associated imports (particularly royalty payments for the use of intellectual property). However, with the onshoring of some IPP, fewer such payments need to be made and hence services imports no longer increase in line with the exports produced by contract manufacturers" — the IPP is not actually in Ireland and again the "exports/imports" booked by the CSO are virtual transactions while multinationals also post corresponding accounting entries. </b></span><div><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b>The Irish overseas contract manufacturing and merchanting is fiction. </b></span><p></p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">A sample of GDP per capita in 2022</span></b></h1><p><a href=" https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPDPC@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD" target="_blank"><b>IMF:</b></a> Luxembourg 127.58 thousand <b>(exaggerated: about 47% of the workforce of 510,00 live in neighbouring countries)</b>; United States 76.35 thousand; Norway 106.33 thousand; <span style="color: red;"><b>Ireland 103.18 thousand X*;</b> </span>Switzerland 92.37 thousand; Qatar 84.42 thousand; Singapore 82.81 thousand;</p><p>Denmark 66.52 thousand; Australia 65.53 thousand; Netherlands 56.49 thousand; Sweden 55.69 thousand; Canada 55.09 thousand; Austria 52.26 thousand; Finland 50.66 thousand; Belgium 50.11 thousand; Germany 48.64 thousand; New Zealand 47.21 thousand; United Kingdom 45.29 thousand; France 42.41 thousand; France 42.41 thousand;</p><p>Italy 34.11 thousand; Japan 33.82 thousand; Taiwan (Province of China) 32.64 thousand; South Korea 32.25 thousand; Saudi Arabia 31.85 thousand;</p><p><b>Spain 29.42 thousand; Estonia 28.63 thousand; Czech Republic 27.61 thousand; Lithuania 25.04 thousand; Portugal 24.52 thousand; Latvia 22.35 thousand; Greece 20.62 thousand.</b></p><p>China, People's Republic of 12.81 thousand; Russian Federation 15.44 thousand.</p><p>*The Irish level here is before adjustments and is usually used by overseas people who do not understand the Irish distortions.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8LChgp1WGlhl7_yB795nhnahWGqnMgJ9DZ9VwIqJqcfQT7kEBWoGkuWUUtm-2xsYdeSFYs_jOQipTo-vqksKg34HJsOiLoUx64lziqzpz5FcGIHleZKfX7gL1Eh-MbB1oGIPnuP6CRvVWbW_5MBFrmDjyS5zGjy_6oIYREVroVYVWQfwqKmYxQ/s750/Ireland_world_competitiveness_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="750" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8LChgp1WGlhl7_yB795nhnahWGqnMgJ9DZ9VwIqJqcfQT7kEBWoGkuWUUtm-2xsYdeSFYs_jOQipTo-vqksKg34HJsOiLoUx64lziqzpz5FcGIHleZKfX7gL1Eh-MbB1oGIPnuP6CRvVWbW_5MBFrmDjyS5zGjy_6oIYREVroVYVWQfwqKmYxQ/w640-h362/Ireland_world_competitiveness_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">An example of a regular distortion internationally was in June 2023 when <b>Denmark, Ireland and Switzerland</b> were named the top three among 64 economies measured for their <b>global competitiveness</b> in the <a href="https://www.imd.org/centers/wcc/world-competitiveness-center/rankings/world-competitiveness-ranking/2023/" target="_blank"><b>2023 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking.</b></a></p><p><b>"Ireland made a remarkable leap from 11th to take second place."</b></p><p>Of course, the GDP was the headline one while the Irish Partner Institute was IDA Ireland, the state's foreign direct investment agency.</p><p><b>Simon Coveney, </b>minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, crowed about the strong Irish ranking in the 2023 IMD World Competitive Rankings. <b>It didn't matter that it was bullshit!</b></p><p>For example, the <a href="https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf" target="_blank"><b>UN's Human Development Index for 2001/2022</b></a> has an 8th ranking for Ireland among 191 countries. <b>However, there are 4 main criteria and the Gross National Income category has Ireland at $76,000 per capita.</b></p>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Corporation tax bonanza</span></h1>
<p>This year the<b> Irish Fiscal Council</b> published <a href="https://www.fiscalcouncil.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Understanding-Irelands-Top-Corporation-Taxpayers-Brian-Cronin-Fiscal-Council-2023.pdf" target="_blank"><b>a paper</b></a> on the corporation tax payments made by mainly American multinationals. <b>In 2022 Ireland raised €22.6bn in corporation tax, 182% more than the €8bn </b>it took just five years ago.</p><p><b>In 2022, just ten corporate groups accounted for three-fifths of all corporation tax receipts. While just three groups accounted for around a third of all corporation tax revenues in 2021.</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0qpsAONdZi4qd7YpnL3u2CX5PKcuWd0oRaNxqluOmaBmti7Zqlsf-wAXMimRTFuh_8FTVfRuofiQ1NhYURG-nlo46kte-UptGVWtYMSB10j69Wnblz49ZBPs0XXU8JUGENT1CcvG94UTYxXSkgh8nOKv6-_0hZGY5eJvv3Wpl-26frxVPg2KZg/s858/Irish_corporation_tax_MNC_Apple.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="858" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0qpsAONdZi4qd7YpnL3u2CX5PKcuWd0oRaNxqluOmaBmti7Zqlsf-wAXMimRTFuh_8FTVfRuofiQ1NhYURG-nlo46kte-UptGVWtYMSB10j69Wnblz49ZBPs0XXU8JUGENT1CcvG94UTYxXSkgh8nOKv6-_0hZGY5eJvv3Wpl-26frxVPg2KZg/w640-h438/Irish_corporation_tax_MNC_Apple.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p><b>These American firms led by Apple, pay more than a quarter of all taxes in Ireland and the Fiscal Council is worried that the Leprechaun's crock of gold under the rainbow will not always be full.</b></p><p>In 2023, corporation tax revenues are projected to increase by a further 7% year-on-year and reach €24.3bn by year-end (Department of Finance).</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFugGvk-HQrycKdrnbGGjKydenwF6QKwPMGZDavjO8mWdtZH_iGx8L343TBpJC76FX1LD_RX7xr9huUKjjD58rf3T0dMia0vav-BzUssJyoqMSSX_baM0nkKkr9AjDA_8lrYsEEdzGxQGTFdePcdDO1LiOxpQrQLQY_cw8vKpiihN2NmHqQsvEFQ/s462/Contract_manufacturing_2022.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="462" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFugGvk-HQrycKdrnbGGjKydenwF6QKwPMGZDavjO8mWdtZH_iGx8L343TBpJC76FX1LD_RX7xr9huUKjjD58rf3T0dMia0vav-BzUssJyoqMSSX_baM0nkKkr9AjDA_8lrYsEEdzGxQGTFdePcdDO1LiOxpQrQLQY_cw8vKpiihN2NmHqQsvEFQ/w327-h237/Contract_manufacturing_2022.JPG" width="327" /></a><b></b></p><p><b><b>In effect, Ireland is again facilitating massive international tax avoidance by mainly American</b><b> multinationals.</b></b></p><p></p><p><b>Apple</b> reported this year that profits at its main Irish subsidiary rose to $69.3bn (€63.5bn) in 2022. The tax charge was $11.08bn but it's not clear how much was paid in Ireland.</p><p><b>The fake contract manufacturing (goods for processing) and overseas merchanting which had a net value of €143bn in 2022, were called 'exports' in Irish National Accounts. That was after a small charge of €9bn called 'imports.'</b></p><p><b><span style="color: red;">The net value of this virtual trade more than doubled between 2017 and 2022. This is why the corporation tax has jumped.</span></b></p><p>It's obvious in plain sight that international tax avoidance is in play. </p><p></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-44252302745443713882023-07-30T12:07:00.010+01:002023-08-15T04:26:27.551+01:00American business firms global champions for now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mjK4mHRMk0LKqOcn0FSMbP4SpEj6pfw9an6ZgYLh0YLKZR9R5mVkW7ODxbdwUxVaZXdk_lJDasnq_d2dYoVC34m1_K8DYGGQvSNdNR4VKB2oNQkgJnmxdPSkx0mCR4iEHbqPqIs7WpenbK9WjOhtcErpC8sncb6y9guOdIY3WWBPPIl9RRIZWg/s720/US_MNEs_Sales_destination_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="720" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3mjK4mHRMk0LKqOcn0FSMbP4SpEj6pfw9an6ZgYLh0YLKZR9R5mVkW7ODxbdwUxVaZXdk_lJDasnq_d2dYoVC34m1_K8DYGGQvSNdNR4VKB2oNQkgJnmxdPSkx0mCR4iEHbqPqIs7WpenbK9WjOhtcErpC8sncb6y9guOdIY3WWBPPIl9RRIZWg/w640-h462/US_MNEs_Sales_destination_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p>The genesis of multinational enterprises (MNEs) dates from the early 160Os when the state trading companies, the English East India Company, and Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC: 1602-1799) — United East India Company in English, but commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, adopted the shareholder model. China in particular preferred silver rather than European-produced goods in exchange for spices and tea, and the trading companies became leading Asian traders in opium — in effect drug cartels. <a href="https://finfacts.ie/Irish_finance_news/articleDetail.php?First-Modern-Economy-Myths-on-tulips-most-valuable-firm-in-history-831" target="_blank"><b>Finfacts: First Modern Economy: Myths on tulips & most valuable firm in history.</b></a></p>
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<p>Today, multinational enterprises control facilities — other than those exclusively devoted to sales — in two or more countries.</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Most of the output of US foreign affiliates is not sold to US parent companies.</span></b></p><p>In 2021 the <b>Congressional Research Service</b> noted "In 2018 US multinationals <b>12% </b>of the sales of US foreign affiliates went to US parent companies, <b>while 58% of sales went to the local market of the host country and 30% went to other foreign countries</b> (see Figure 3 above). However, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) says some firms may also establish operations abroad to replace exports or production, or to gain access to raw materials or less expensive labor abroad. Foreign firms may invest in the United States to access the US consumer market, high-skilled labour, and other resources.</p>In a September 2022 paper <a href="https://www2.census.gov/ces/wp/2022/CES-WP-22-39.pdf" target="_blank"><b>'Multinational Firms in the U.S. Economy: Insights from Newly Integrated Microdata,'</b></a> economists using data from 1997 to 2017 on average noted, although "MNEs represent less than 1% of all firms in the US economy, they account for disproportionate shares of US economic activity: employment (22%), payroll (30%), sales (40%), goods exports (65%), and goods imports (60%). Within manufacturing, MNEs account for over 40% of total employment and payroll and over 60% of sales. MNEs’ shares of employment, payroll, and sales are quite similar across the 50 states."<blockquote><p>"We find that among multinational firms, <b>US-owned MNEs are significantly larger than foreign-owned MNEs with respect to domestic US operations:</b> on average, <b>they employ 8 times as many workers and have 5 times more sales. US-owned MNEs own more establishments; operate in more broad sectors and detailed industries; have activities in more states and counties; and export and import higher number of products to a larger number of countries. </b>Average pay per worker and sales per worker tend to be similar among both types of MNEs within broadly defined sectors and regions; however, there is a robust MNE premia compared to non-MNEs."</p></blockquote>
<p>Majority-owned US affiliates (MOUSAs) of<b> foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) employed 7.86mn workers in the United States in 2020</b> according to the BEA. MOUSAs accounted for 6.4% of total private-industry employment. <a href="https://www.investmentmonitor.ai/uncategorized/where-are-the-global-hotspots-for-mnc-subsidiaries/" target="_blank">US parents accounted for 67.0% of worldwide employment by US MNEs.</a> <b>Employment abroad by majority-owned foreign affiliates (MOFAs) of US MNEs was 14.0mn workers and accounted for 33.0% of employment by US MNEs worldwide.</b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Business R&D spending was at $420.2bn in 2020 and 86% was carried out in the United States.</span></b></p><p><a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w27985/w27985.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Some Facts about Dominant Firms (2020):</b></a> "We measure the evolution of dominant firms in the U.S. economy since 1960, and globally since 1990. Contrary to common wisdom, dominant firms have not become larger, have not become more productive, and their contribution to aggregate productivity growth has fallen by more than one third since 2000."</p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Biggest global companies by revenue</span></b></h1><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAP-s0HU4sVn7k9EVDnybP7EwGSKUugxHXxaMuwLfo9l_XpxBUPbhH5oXiBdJ5Du93Fs97GGtl7W0m_VtetMQrpUqGUeuhzXdsaXuVBfXDcx6rr0qq0ZEdQoH34M9HG4RmPfht5xD7QBJ6RJA9ZakgpprNzRIlwQ28RrJxIxehZm1lWzz4cBgdA/s707/Fortune-Global_500_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="707" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAP-s0HU4sVn7k9EVDnybP7EwGSKUugxHXxaMuwLfo9l_XpxBUPbhH5oXiBdJ5Du93Fs97GGtl7W0m_VtetMQrpUqGUeuhzXdsaXuVBfXDcx6rr0qq0ZEdQoH34M9HG4RmPfht5xD7QBJ6RJA9ZakgpprNzRIlwQ28RrJxIxehZm1lWzz4cBgdA/w640-h380/Fortune-Global_500_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">Number of Fortune 500 companies in selected countries worldwide from 2000 to 2022</span></b></div></b>
<p><b>Chinese companies that are mainly unlisted state enterprises (some subsidiaries are listed) have topped the Fortune Global 500 companies since 2020. The ranking is based on revenue and in 2022 China had 145 firms compared with 124 for the US. </b></p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.csis.org/blogs/trustee-china-hand/fortune-favors-state-owned-three-years-chinese-dominance-global-500-list" target="_blank"><b>Center for Strategic and International Studies</b></a> in Washington DC says that in 2020, Chinese companies’ average profit margin and return on assets were 4.5% and 1.9% respectively. In 2022, Chinese firms performed similarly; what has changed is that most firms from other countries have improved significantly.</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">So now China has the lowest average profit margin and return on assets among all countries that have more than 10 companies on the 2022 list.</span></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiskS3n0uXIMjti0-kYMslKMEUTxJOxTWHJz1v5ql63wHZhEwY6UGk1Mp4pfj6lgiyrJrGDto7bMxzg0LPqUiBixILC-UbYG5YkPzyBWcu1MfKJsBokKACp4NPTM_0ikiH9YRKTaahB71OMErIn4u9nBvJZqnIymui38xk-3utev1Os-LiN3Pj4w/s992/221011_Mei_Fig3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="992" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiskS3n0uXIMjti0-kYMslKMEUTxJOxTWHJz1v5ql63wHZhEwY6UGk1Mp4pfj6lgiyrJrGDto7bMxzg0LPqUiBixILC-UbYG5YkPzyBWcu1MfKJsBokKACp4NPTM_0ikiH9YRKTaahB71OMErIn4u9nBvJZqnIymui38xk-3utev1Os-LiN3Pj4w/w640-h486/221011_Mei_Fig3.jpg" width="560" /></a></p>
<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKJFOX8ILFh5025Dbq4D3wlw-0S3So78UC43wE7XGz_Cjftz9Br9p43Xja8TM_I18Vf0OcGd-hrH4kzZyOb7d21mW2oPU3CByW6yrl0Ev4-aYTw86g9jrzwlf71Mzj2aWmVCEHIdMf7l8-wG0KyNTXuQXKez1u3BNKddJkzdHuViWph7XsXNZvQ/s343/Fortune_countries_2022.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikKJFOX8ILFh5025Dbq4D3wlw-0S3So78UC43wE7XGz_Cjftz9Br9p43Xja8TM_I18Vf0OcGd-hrH4kzZyOb7d21mW2oPU3CByW6yrl0Ev4-aYTw86g9jrzwlf71Mzj2aWmVCEHIdMf7l8-wG0KyNTXuQXKez1u3BNKddJkzdHuViWph7XsXNZvQ/s320/Fortune_countries_2022.JPG" width="290" /></a></b></div><b>Fortune Global 500</b> companies in 2022 generated revenues totalling $37.8trn — more than one-third of the world's GDP — for an increase of 19% over the 2021 year, marking the highest annual growth rate in the list's 33-year history. Cumulative profits were up 88% over the previous year, for a record $3.1trn. Companies on the 2022 list employ 69.6mn people worldwide and are based in 229 cities and 33 countries and regions around the world. The number of women CEOs of Fortune Global 500 companies rose to 24 in 2012 from 23 the previous year.
<p></p><p>In 2021, the <b>Fortune 500 tracker of domestic companies</b> earned $1.84trn in profits on $16.1trn revenue. But in 2022 while revenues rose to $18.1trn, profits dropped roughly 15% to $1.56 trn.</p>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;"> Apple was the most profitable company in America in 2022, just below $100bn in profits. Its net profit margin stood at almost 25%.</span></b></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjSkUSSLxrtWR7Cut0lnLWlgAvBIeRsuajk8SnCIVuVMo95TLSX_AwvEWh5JXac6rv7hsR1938tQ2r6kOM6SHBafgfMz5be5kH4cgoMt1xeaztpC46HIXGXHbYxPYpTnTzvCKAu0fma-3cGI-COFUgoAZwBnbvqSDIP6Smui-G45hYH6vR2ybpA/s1081/U.S.-Most-Profitable-Companies-by-Sector_Jun-27.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="800" height="759" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjSkUSSLxrtWR7Cut0lnLWlgAvBIeRsuajk8SnCIVuVMo95TLSX_AwvEWh5JXac6rv7hsR1938tQ2r6kOM6SHBafgfMz5be5kH4cgoMt1xeaztpC46HIXGXHbYxPYpTnTzvCKAu0fma-3cGI-COFUgoAZwBnbvqSDIP6Smui-G45hYH6vR2ybpA/w562-h759/U.S.-Most-Profitable-Companies-by-Sector_Jun-27.jpg" width="562" /></a></div>
<p>The <b><a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/global2000/?sh=c725c875ac04" target="_blank">Forbes 2000 published in June 2023 tracks profits, assets and market value.</a></b> Total revenue has surpassed $50trn and there are 58 countries represented by the publicly traded companies on the list.</p><p>
</p><p>The US leads the way with 611 companies on the ranking, and China comes in second with 346 Global 2000 companies. Japan is third at 192 firms; the UK has a fourth ranking and 67* companies (. South Korea has 59 companies and Germany has a sixth ranking with 53 companies while France is seventh with 52 companies.</p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Just as Ireland has 21 mainly US firms (re-domiciled for tax purposes) from 24 firms in its R&D listing, the UK government is enticing foreign firms to become British. In recent years,<b> Unilever, </b>the consumer goods firm, which was a merger in 1929 between the Dutch Margarine Unie and British Lever Brothers, has become fully British. The <b>Shell</b> oil company has ditched "Royal Dutch," which had been part of its identity since 1907.
However, the Astra AB pharmaceutical company which was founded in 1913 in Södertälje, Sweden, merged with the British Zeneca Group in 1999 to form <b>AstraZeneca</b>. It is still called British-Swedish.
</span></p><h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Innovation</span></h1>
<p><b>The 2022 edition of the <a href="https://iri.jrc.ec.europa.eu/scoreboard/2022-eu-industrial-rd-investment-scoreboard" target="_blank">European Commission's Scoreboard of 2,500 business companies that invested the largest sums in R&D (research and development) worldwide</a> in 2021.</b></p><p>The firms have headquarters in 41 countries, and more than 900k subsidiaries all over the world, each invested over €48.5mn in R&D in 2021.</p><p>The total investment across all 2,500 companies was €1093.9bn — €1.1trn — an amount equivalent to 86% of the world’s business-funded R&D and passing the trillion Euro mark for the first time.</p>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">
The Commission said that the top 2,500 includes 361 companies based in the EU, accounting for 17.6% of total R&D investment; 822 US companies (40.2%), 678 Chinese companies (17.9%), 233 Japanese companies (10.4%) and 406 from the rest of the world (RoW, 13.9% of R&D). The RoW group comprises companies from South Korea (53), Switzerland (55), the UK (95), Taiwan (84) and companies based in a further 18 countries.</span></b></p><p>With the addition of Amazon and mainly American companies that have headquarters in Europe, the US ratio would rise close to the 50% level.</p><p><b>Ireland has 24 companies on the global listing led by Medtronic of the US having a spend of €2.4bn. However, the only Irish companies are Kerry Group and both Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks.</b></p>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>The coming long-run fall in profits and stock returns.</b></span></h1><p>In 2017 a team from France's University Sciences Po produced a publication called <a href="https://espace-mondial-atlas.sciencespo.fr/en/topic-strategies-of-transnational-actors/article-3A11-EN-multinational-corporations.html" target="_blank"><b>'The World Atlas of Global Issues.'</b></a> "On the map of the stock market capitalization of the 2,000 major multinational companies in 2017, the size of the circles is proportional to their weight in terms of stock market capitalization. The weight of United States firms can be seen (44%, compared with 22% for all European firms). The range of colours indicates the progress made over the last decade: in addition to the growth of United States companies, an increase in those of emerging Asian countries is visible, at a time when some European, Japanese, and Latin-American firms are stagnating."</p><p>Last month (June 2023) <b>the Federal Reserve in Washington DC</b> published a paper,<a href=" 'End of an era: The coming long-run slowdown in corporate profit growth and stock returns' " target="_blank"><b> 'End of an era: The coming long-run slowdown in corporate profit growth and stock returns' </b></a>by Michael Smolyansky, one of its economists.</p><p>Smolyansky says that the decline in interest rates and corporate tax rates over the past three decades accounts for the majority of the period’s exceptional stock market performance. "Lower interest expenses and corporate tax rates mechanically explain over 40% of the real growth in corporate profits from 1989 to 2019. In addition, the decline in risk-free rates alone accounts for all of the expansion in price-to-earnings multiples. <b>I argue, however, that the boost to profits and valuations from ever-declining interest and corporate tax rates is unlikely to continue, indicating significantly lower profit growth and stock returns in the future."</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWr5ry3FszoC9g0NP1Vr8QQ5IzWm-PxdnMAnhZN88it5JmJ1v8jRWapCUhHVnAYSo7S3N8Wu_S--_L6DOd0GC42TgWOymi9hVoqM5Vw1yvQgHsKGXjjuLoD2kkUNO4nmouLPu21gaAL7mA4u-Gok_PmJzSwvSgi5rXJM14548uYH0avAyU2KSkWw/s705/World_R&D_China_US.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="705" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWr5ry3FszoC9g0NP1Vr8QQ5IzWm-PxdnMAnhZN88it5JmJ1v8jRWapCUhHVnAYSo7S3N8Wu_S--_L6DOd0GC42TgWOymi9hVoqM5Vw1yvQgHsKGXjjuLoD2kkUNO4nmouLPu21gaAL7mA4u-Gok_PmJzSwvSgi5rXJM14548uYH0avAyU2KSkWw/w640-h268/World_R&D_China_US.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">This figure shows the total annual R&D spending by countries</span></b></div>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">The two superpowers have their home challenges</span></h1>
<p><b>Jim O'Neill, the then British chief economist of US bank Goldman Sachs, in 2001 coined the acronym "BRIC” for Brazil, Russia, India and China. He predicted that the four could eclipse the world’s biggest economies in a decade.</b></p><p>South Africa joined the group in 2011 and BRIC became BRICS. Next month (August 2023) the country will host a meeting in Johannesburg. Putin, the Russian dictator, will be missing as he would risk being arrested for his war crimes in Ukraine.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JMJWHBLxHs8SecU8KDg8Ff3IrASOmcHjtehucJ5FsV1sPfF-8_scM_FzqKEVJn-c1w8e0Iy0VWImRfn6JWyK2fZg2lz3B_jq6eHRe7sYJ87hi6W0XPMURIydnfsEQcnnYPhy0jJpKFjXBi-w2TLs7UI_y1F_xirkn4OK2gwySwIoJ68hCSVmCw/s1187/BRICS_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1187" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JMJWHBLxHs8SecU8KDg8Ff3IrASOmcHjtehucJ5FsV1sPfF-8_scM_FzqKEVJn-c1w8e0Iy0VWImRfn6JWyK2fZg2lz3B_jq6eHRe7sYJ87hi6W0XPMURIydnfsEQcnnYPhy0jJpKFjXBi-w2TLs7UI_y1F_xirkn4OK2gwySwIoJ68hCSVmCw/w640-h314/BRICS_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4492261" target="_blank">The BRICS as an Alternative Anchor for Global Economic Governance: A Comment from Dan Ciuriak</a></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">China is the only BRICS country to have had a spectacular economic leap forward since 2001.</span></b></p><p><b>It typically takes many years or not at all, to move from the developing status of a developed or advanced country.</b></p><p>The United Nations agency <b>UNCTAD</b> (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) says a country with more than 60% of its total merchandise exports comprising commodities, is dependent. <b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2021/10/two-thirds-of-developing-countries.html" target="_blank">Two-thirds of developing countries — over 100 — are dependent.</a></b></p><p><b>In South America, all 12 independent countries have a level of commodity dependence greater than 60% and for three-quarters of them, the share of commodity exports out of merchandise exports exceeded 80%.</b></p><p>Commodity dependence is also synonymous with kleptocracy and Russia is one of the worst.</p><p><b>China's rate is 7%; India 37%; South Africa 57%; Brazil 67%; Russia 68%.</b></p>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Convergence of developing countries to developed countries can take a long period or convergence does not happen.</span></b></p><p>Dominik Paprotny of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany in 2020 divided countries of the world <b>into 21 developed “benchmark” countries and 156 developing countries.</b></p><p><b>These benchmark countries in the period 1920-2020 were Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg (except indicator “GDP per capita”), the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.</b></p><p>In <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-020-02488-4" target="_blank"><b>Convergence Between Developed and Developing Countries: A Centennial Perspective</b></a> he says "The study finds that a majority of developing countries, and the population-weighted developing world as a whole, has reduced its lag in most indicators between 1920 and 2020. <b>Progress was unevenly distributed, with East Asian and European countries converging the most with the benchmark, while most African countries have diverged along with some American ones."</b></p><p>The IMF (International Monetary Fund) has a list of 41 advanced economies - excluding Andorra; Puerto Rico; San Marino; Hong Kong and Macao, leaving 36, in Asia: Japan; Australia; South Korea; New Zealand; Singapore and Taiwan.</p><p><b>The Euro Area has 20 members as a sub-bloc. Members such as the 3 Baltic republics; Slovak Republic; Slovenia and Croatia could be classified as emerging.</b></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>This would mean that since 1920 only 9 countries ascended to "advanced" status.</b></span></p>
<p><b>The IMF has suggested that BRICS countries will constitute more of the world economy in 2023 ($56trn) than the G7 (US; Japan; Germany; UK; France; Italy and Canada ($52trn) <a href="https://www.oecd.org/sdd/prices-ppp/purchasingpowerparities-frequentlyaskedquestionsfaqs.htm" target="_blank">using PPP-adjusted GDPs.</a></b></p><p>However, this flatters! GDP per person or income per inhabitant may not be absolutely correct but it is a useful tool.</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The typical Global South country has two economies:</span> a first-world economy for business and political elites with international schools followed by enrollments in foreign universities, good health services, and pricey restaurants. The rest of a population can comprise a local developing population (second world), and both internal migrants or foreign workers in a sub-category that is less-developed (third world).</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Mu2jv9W1_1KigaKMsEmzxVtPA8co8MQQBGkasWr7_hRkhWZJL0OJP9jrDU4ye-jQe69rUv9uceeYXYq8dPJLU7dASjBqm3PfFNZf8DCn2PdPqteUdZCUpAhv7qRA9DIPylQQKbGYMjcuC3qBiM6w4-4X2WH2dGGPvuyZ-AA1b7wezoGR8pe1iA/s792/india_migrant_workers.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="792" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Mu2jv9W1_1KigaKMsEmzxVtPA8co8MQQBGkasWr7_hRkhWZJL0OJP9jrDU4ye-jQe69rUv9uceeYXYq8dPJLU7dASjBqm3PfFNZf8DCn2PdPqteUdZCUpAhv7qRA9DIPylQQKbGYMjcuC3qBiM6w4-4X2WH2dGGPvuyZ-AA1b7wezoGR8pe1iA/w640-h352/india_migrant_workers.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Indian officials spray a chemical on unemployed migrant workers in 2020 to kill the Covid virus?</span></span></b></div></b><p style="text-align: left;"><b style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d;">China is the only country in the Global South that will have significant gains in the years ahead.</span></b></p><p><b>India's annual GDP (gross domestic product) per inhabitant is $2,601 in 2023 according to the IMF; Brazil is at 9,673; South Africa 6,485; Russia is at 14,409 and Credit Suisse, the Swiss bank, in 2022 had the top 1% of the Russian population owning 58.6% of the wealth.</b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">China is at $13,721 compared with Argentina at 13,709 and Malaysia 13,382.</span></b></p><p>The Economist wrote in 2003 "SOME comparisons are stark enough to generate a national inferiority complex. <b>In 1980, India had about 687m people, 300m fewer than China. Living standards, as measured by purchasing power (PPP) per head, were roughly the same.</b> Then, as China embraced modernity with a sometimes ugly but burning passion, it left India behind. In the next 21 years, India outperformed its neighbour in almost nothing but population growth.</p><p>By 2001, India had 1,033mn people against China's 1,272mn. <b>But China's national income per head, according to the World Bank, was $890, nearly double India's $450.</b> Adjusted for purchasing power, the Chinese were still 70% wealthier than the Indians were. In the ten years from 1992, India's GDP per head grew at 4.3% a year, China's twice as fast. Some 5% of Chinese now live below the national poverty line, compared with 29% of Indians."</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">China will continue to lead the Global South and while great strides have been made in eliminating extreme poverty, claims that poverty has been vanquished have been disputed.</span></b></p><p>The former <b>Chinese premier Li Keqiang</b> at the end of the National People’s Congress in May 2020 released data on household incomes. It showed that the bottom 40% of households ranked by annual income and accounting for about 600mn people from a population of 1.4bn, had an average annual per capita disposable income of CN¥ 11,485 yuan (US$1,621) — an average of CN¥ 957 yuan (US$135) per month — according to an annual household survey produced by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">United States</span></b></p><p>The US fiscal outlook is on an unsustainable path. Debt held by the public is on track to exceed GDP in 2024 and climb to 119% in 2033.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNNT9Q0oxHMCT5tJA_7OCB7Ih3n2PxZsgAmiuBfDvoAdCIdB6rpB1m5AcWgf9H-dgE8MImdJ3Mn-bv1_zOQWoTyKp0FmhAMDhrtI5G1_wbxwp7aX6PGdFj9vQpDarHk6txEyYLo6vcEQtyoamsXT8A2UskGA_CEAQA-Z574LDcMvtPE0XJ-6slw/s720/what-makes-up-gross-federal-debt.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipNNT9Q0oxHMCT5tJA_7OCB7Ih3n2PxZsgAmiuBfDvoAdCIdB6rpB1m5AcWgf9H-dgE8MImdJ3Mn-bv1_zOQWoTyKp0FmhAMDhrtI5G1_wbxwp7aX6PGdFj9vQpDarHk6txEyYLo6vcEQtyoamsXT8A2UskGA_CEAQA-Z574LDcMvtPE0XJ-6slw/w640-h480/what-makes-up-gross-federal-debt.jpeg" width="560" /></a></div><p>At the end of January 2023 (the most recent data available), domestic creditors held 70% of the outstanding debt held by the public. <b>Foreign creditors held the remaining 30%.</b></p><p>Gross federal debt is 119% of GDP.</p><p>The <a href="https://ticdata.treasury.gov/Publish/mfh.txt" target="_blank"><b>foreign holders at $7.4trn are headed by Japan at $1.1trn followed by China at $859bn and the UK at $668bn.</b></a> Data for Luxembourg and Ireland likely are US company holdings.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8bD0Y0KjRBHmpYxciHgy4rfzMUdjTOs2plBHIcAXNgTnOJoLaw3dUuzJVHrAen8RxdH0rfS6B-f0s2NddMyhrmG1QlTLGwbVOdDcAAo_huUY0fo8WMdhL_9uWbze0eLDqCbgQ2BXxazSRclnTmtDfnL_7SW2VCdcZvhQBCNcBT6SFQQA1csm8g/s747/US_inequality_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="747" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8bD0Y0KjRBHmpYxciHgy4rfzMUdjTOs2plBHIcAXNgTnOJoLaw3dUuzJVHrAen8RxdH0rfS6B-f0s2NddMyhrmG1QlTLGwbVOdDcAAo_huUY0fo8WMdhL_9uWbze0eLDqCbgQ2BXxazSRclnTmtDfnL_7SW2VCdcZvhQBCNcBT6SFQQA1csm8g/w640-h382/US_inequality_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-inequality-is-growing-in-the-us-and-around-the-world-191642" target="_blank"><b>Gini index in the US in 2021 was 0.494.</b></a> In 2021, social transfers reduced income inequality as measured by Gini coefficient among the EU population from 0.52 to 0.30.1</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In 2021<a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/revenue-statistics-united-states.pdf" target="_blank"><b> the OECD estimated the US tax take relative to GDP was 26.6%. Denmark was 46.9%.</b></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhUOqlj8D6aVtQZUiFIX0a7wIfC9wj6a9Ual5td3gQf0bTZ6dIvJ-oATQN-45nY9D24PTAsDYaNPrJydu3X5veQmliv39GaApGKdrPCfSxbHR2AIuh2boKYv-Ubl9rJuWo3PzY0KR2GBzWv4TD_6hIktOQW7dtmCqV7XBfQrt0_yagwBFYHfF3g/s863/Current_account_G7.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="863" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhUOqlj8D6aVtQZUiFIX0a7wIfC9wj6a9Ual5td3gQf0bTZ6dIvJ-oATQN-45nY9D24PTAsDYaNPrJydu3X5veQmliv39GaApGKdrPCfSxbHR2AIuh2boKYv-Ubl9rJuWo3PzY0KR2GBzWv4TD_6hIktOQW7dtmCqV7XBfQrt0_yagwBFYHfF3g/w640-h482/Current_account_G7.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>
<p>The US and UK, in particular, have poor <b><a href="https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/trans422-annual-current-account-balance.pdf" target="_blank">Current Account</a> </b>records which record a nation's transactions with the rest of the world — specifically its net trade in goods and services, its net earnings on cross-border investments, and its net transfer payments — over a defined period, such as a year or a quarter.</p>
<p>
For example (see the chart on top) the large overseas activity of US MNEs results in funds being returned to the US but still since 1975 the red ink remains!</p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Clayton Christensen (1952-2020) was an American academic based at Harvard Business School and a business consultant, who developed the theory of "disruptive innovation," which has been called the most influential business idea of the early 21st century. It was first announced in 1995.</span></b></p><p><a href="https://hbr.org/2015/12/what-is-disruptive-innovation" target="_blank"><b>What Is Disruptive Innovation?:</b></a> Disruptive innovation, describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up the market, eventually displacing established competitors.</p><p><b>The biggest companies generally post fatter margins and pay less in taxes than they did in decades past, the Bloomberg Economics study showed in 2021. </b>"Their median effective tax rate of 35% in 1990 had dwindled to only 17% last year — while profit margins headed in the opposite direction, soaring from 7% to 18% over the same period. <b>They also devote a smaller portion of their earnings to job-creating investments:</b> In 1990, <b>IBM</b> — one of the world's biggest publicly listed companies — devoted 9% of its revenue to capital expenditures. Fast-forward to 2020, when <b>Apple</b> — its replacement in the top spot—spent just 3%."</p><p>The Biden administration succeeded in introducing a 15% corporate minimum tax for big US corporations, effective for taxable years beginning after 31 December 2022.</p><p><b>Ruchir Sharma in The Financial Times writes "What’s wrong with tech giants riding the AI wave; It is dysfunctional for the same companies to dominate another innovation surge."</b></p><p>"He says that the average age of the tech top five is edging back up towards 40, with no newcomers. And their size is unprecedented.</p><p>"Earlier waves of the digital age brought new names to the top of the tech stock charts. But following the crash of 2000, a few huge companies began to entrench themselves, staying on top through the rise of the mobile internet in the 2010s, and flourishing anew in this year’s AI mania. <b>Disruption is fading in the industry where it should be most powerful.</b></p><p><b>Sharma writes that the bigger a firm becomes, the harder it is to grow rapidly. However, since late last year, Apple and Microsoft are both up about 50% to a combined value of nearly $5.7trn — more than the entire listed tech sector in 2000, when it had 1,850 companies.</b>"</p>
<p><b>General Motors</b> had over 618,000 employed in the US in 1979 in union jobs.<b> IBM</b> underestimated the changes in the world of computers in the 1980s. Nicknamed Big Blue, the company's dominance rested on mainframe computers and by 1990 US employment was down to 216,000. The number of US IBM employees in 2023 is about 105,000.</p><p></p><p><b>Apple</b> has about 80,000 employees in the United States — 65,000 in retail and customer support.</p>The Washington Post said last year that "Employees say Apple’s hourly rates are usually in line with what other retail jobs pay in the regions where they’re employed. <b>But most other retailers do not earn so much in revenue, nor are they valued at near $3trn.</b><p></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Apple Store employees interviewed by The Post believe their knowledge and passion for the products help drive sales and that they should share more fully in the company’s success." </b></span></p>
<p>
The US has the lowest life expectancy among large, wealthy countries while it far outspends its peers on healthcare.</p>
<p><b>
In 2021 the life expectancy in the United States was 76.1 years compared with <a href="https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/chart-collection/u-s-life-expectancy-compare-countries/#Life%20expectancy%20at%20birth%20in%20years,%201980-2021" target="_blank">the average of comparable countries at 82.4 years.</a></b></p>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-64290754321668683712023-06-24T09:09:00.053+01:002023-07-04T03:25:04.631+01:00The misplaced fascination with the RMS Titanic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPXNwflSnil3UOyz91QIZM0TPpSJnRamy03wpd8STzOggbbxhfIQ1yLNu8duLqqKWeUssWtRzpH57N2Kqz4yiEGB6PtMXeRVISJrLivZeW8mourLA4JwZNy3vGkeoA2j327l7r8N6R8YdphEGOD-_1GAHsQWG9H0mtUfYBdWqpvFYWR30xPjQ0w/s960/titanic-fact-file.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPXNwflSnil3UOyz91QIZM0TPpSJnRamy03wpd8STzOggbbxhfIQ1yLNu8duLqqKWeUssWtRzpH57N2Kqz4yiEGB6PtMXeRVISJrLivZeW8mourLA4JwZNy3vGkeoA2j327l7r8N6R8YdphEGOD-_1GAHsQWG9H0mtUfYBdWqpvFYWR30xPjQ0w/w640-h400/titanic-fact-file.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">The Titanic leaving Belfast on April 2, 1912</span></b></div><p style="text-align: left;">The sinking of the <b>RMS Titanic in April 1912</b> has been in the news again and the US Coast Guard has announced that a “catastrophic implosion” of the submersible, known as “Titan,” killed the 5 people on board. The front cone and other debris were located by a remotely operated vehicle 1,600 feet (487 metres) from the bow of the Titanic, which rests in 13,000 feet (4 kilometres) deep in the North Atlantic Ocean. It was about 400 miles (348 knots; 644 km) off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.</p><p>In 1985, it took<b> Robert Ballard (born 1942),</b> a former US naval officer, eight days to be the first person to locate the wreck of the RMS (Royal Mail Steamer) Titanic.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/3Io1fEmlviI" target="_blank">“A Night to Remember”</a> (1958), a British film directed by<b> Roy Ward Baker,</b> was acclaimed for its accuracy on the sinking of the Titanic and had been based on <b>Walter Lord’s 1955 book</b>. <a href=" https://youtu.be/kVrqfYjkTdQ" target="_blank">"Titanic"</a> (1997) which was directed by Hollywood film director <b>James Cameron,</b> brought the story to another generation. It's reported that Cameron has completed 33 dives to the wreck of the Titanic.</p><p><b>Harland and Wolff Ltd</b> was founded in Belfast, north-east Ireland, in 1861. It had in the first decade of the 20th century won orders for 3 giant 'Olympic Class' liners from the <b>White Star Line.</b> Employing about 15,000 people on a 300-acre site, the nearby Belfast College of Technology provided vocational education for the firm's apprentices.</p><p>Catholics comprised 24% of Belfast's population in 1911 and a small number worked at the shipyard in East Belfast. There was a myth that the Titanic's hull number "3909 04" flipped over, read "No Pope."</p><p>The chairman of Harland and Wolff in 1895-1924 was a leading Liberal peer, Lord Pirrie, and on April 11 1912, the British Liberal Party government introduced the Third Home Rule Bill <b>which would grant Ireland self-government.</b></p><p>Research by Andy Bielenberg, senior lecturer at University College Cork (UCC), shows that by 1907, the 6 counties of the north-east accounted for two-thirds of Irish industrial output and two-thirds of industrial exports originated in Belfast, Ireland's biggest city in 1911.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge7Dul8CyF2yUemDe-_v0paHOXitFtK-VSh4Vgi3T5zr1j9SlOcsD7cDAC8BNFspnGw1jlesxGUv0nzvY7q3QFW_Kw2vUXHVd1fbfqRTrb6ByrXEOjYcrD7gA9-biSq5TFUdWKvrereoapH-se9fmkW7oWWazdJVFNJmVkcSkGfyTXqVxDYZrRlA/s678/Titanic-maiden=voyage.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="678" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge7Dul8CyF2yUemDe-_v0paHOXitFtK-VSh4Vgi3T5zr1j9SlOcsD7cDAC8BNFspnGw1jlesxGUv0nzvY7q3QFW_Kw2vUXHVd1fbfqRTrb6ByrXEOjYcrD7gA9-biSq5TFUdWKvrereoapH-se9fmkW7oWWazdJVFNJmVkcSkGfyTXqVxDYZrRlA/w640-h364/Titanic-maiden=voyage.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">The <b>"practically unsinkable"</b> RMS Titanic — then the largest ship in the world — was launched in May 1911 from one of the Queen's Island slipways, as about 100,000 people cheered.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It was assumed that the ship had 16 major watertight compartments in the lower section that could easily be sealed off in the event of a punctured hull.</p><p>However, the ship <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwone/titanic_01.shtml " target="_blank">had significant design flaws.</a></p><blockquote><p>"Titanic's hull and upper works were also enlarged versions of designs refined over several decades. Her stern, with its high graceful counter<b> and long thin rudder, was an exact copy of an 18th-century sailing ship,</b> wrought in steel, a perfect example of the lack of technical development. Compared with the rudder design of the Cunarders, Titanic's was a fraction of the size. <b>No account was made for advances in scale and little thought was given to how a ship, 852 feet (260 metres) in length, might turn in an emergency or avoid collision with an iceberg. </b>This was Titanic's Achilles heel."</p></blockquote><p>The capacity of the ship was 3,320 people but there were only 20 lifeboats on board, which would have held a capacity of 1,178 people.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgxPFp4OOLC3PLbQesJH10hhOt5iuMYjR8fyeVJXJYdYbGuIHnNuEgmuxZxZNglv8VRsqQGImbE7uSV3upU4ksItzyzH8tmnS2bT3H20Xdc88V-xfkVIHfv8Zqyv9EEMPSa3lkzp9xUrsc8rtp1WTvuSmMXWGzUjmITn54B2Z3evy4bcc8S4rKA/s868/Bow_Titanic.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="868" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgxPFp4OOLC3PLbQesJH10hhOt5iuMYjR8fyeVJXJYdYbGuIHnNuEgmuxZxZNglv8VRsqQGImbE7uSV3upU4ksItzyzH8tmnS2bT3H20Xdc88V-xfkVIHfv8Zqyv9EEMPSa3lkzp9xUrsc8rtp1WTvuSmMXWGzUjmITn54B2Z3evy4bcc8S4rKA/w640-h480/Bow_Titanic.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b>The remains of the Titanic are shown at the bottom of the North Atlantic (Image: © NOAA/Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island)</b></span><p style="text-align: left;">The maiden voyage left <b>Southhampton, England,</b> on April 10, 1912, and its destination was New York City. Passengers were picked up in Cherbourg, France, including <b>John Jacob Astor IV (1864–1912,</b>) who was one of the richest passengers aboard the RMS Titanic. On April 11, 1912, at 11.30 AM RMS Titanic dropped anchor by Roches Point, near Queenstown (the name was changed to Cobh in 1920: Cobh is Gaelic for Cove) in Cork Harbour <b>on the south coast of Ireland. </b>The population of the town was 8,209 according to the 1911 British census.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Passengers boarding from Queenstown comprised only 7 in Second Class and 113 were Third Class ticket-holders.</b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">There were 2,229 on board as the ship headed to New York City from Ireland: 1316 passengers and 913 crew.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;">The total number of passengers who survived was 498 and crew 215 = 713; deaths were at 1,516</span></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>National Geographic says multiple mistakes and miscalculations led to the sinking of the 'unsinkable' RMS Titanic.</b></p><p><span style="color: #38761d; font-weight: bold;">Sunday, April 14, 1912:</span> "By 7:30 PM, the Titanic had received five warnings (on icebergs) from nearby ships. Marconi wireless operator Jack Phillips took down a detailed ship’s message pinpointing the location of “heavy pack ice and a great number of bergs,”<span style="color: #38761d; font-weight: bold;"> but Phillips, busy sending First Class passengers’ personal messages, apparently did not show it to any officer.</span></p><p>At 10:55 PM, another ship, the British steamer, SS Californian, radioed to say it had stopped amidst dense field ice. <b>Neither of these messages began with the crucial code that would have required Phillips to show it to Captain Edward J Smith, and Phillips was not in the mood for interruptions.</b></p><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The Californian’s electric signal was so close it nearly deafened Phillips. “Shut up, shut up!” he radioed back. “I am busy!” A while later, the Californian’s radio operator shut down for the night."</span></b></p><p>Phillips, the Chief Telegraphist, was 25 on Sunday, April 14.</p><p>According to the <b>Smithsonian Institution,</b> the ship struck a North Atlantic iceberg at 11:40 PM on the evening of 14 April 1912 at 20.5 knots (23.6 MPH). The berg scraped along the starboard or right side of the hull below the waterline, slicing open the hull between five of the adjacent watertight compartments. <b><span style="color: #38761d;">If only one or two of the compartments had been opened, Titanic might have stayed afloat,</span></b> but when so many were sliced open, the watertight integrity of the entire forward section of the hull was fatally breached. Titanic slipped below the waves at 2:20 AM on 15 April."</p><p><b>Senan Molony, an Irish journalist, </b>who has written about the Titanic over the years, contributed to a Smithsonian.com documentary, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/coal-fire-may-have-helped-sink-titanic-180961699/" target="_blank"><b>"Titanic: The New Evidence,"</b></a> in 2017. Molony called a set of photographs that had been with the family of a director of Harland and Wolff <span style="color: red;"><b>“the Titanic equivalent of Tutankhamen’s tomb,”</b></span> because of the richness of historical detail they conveyed, including a smudge mark on the hull which apparently highlighted <b>the extent of the damage caused by a fire in a coal bunker before the Titanic left Belfast for Southampton on April 2, 1912.</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggg-DGcMt-TF2vPWNMRbC7AKfjCAva1sJPoADvfguGvBIUJTPLJ2qMkIZt3fzznSHtQK6HJY2fXcoCd8nTIbifrwCi8I67XjxHZ2N3wkC-LvyQ_NtxdeY1EyU0VKtFdaASKPHxYlmC68MEc8IWqOs5mzcNBEL6YNvC9g1u6JecRh6WAfH32HyShw/s1002/Titanic_Belfast-April_1912.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="1002" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggg-DGcMt-TF2vPWNMRbC7AKfjCAva1sJPoADvfguGvBIUJTPLJ2qMkIZt3fzznSHtQK6HJY2fXcoCd8nTIbifrwCi8I67XjxHZ2N3wkC-LvyQ_NtxdeY1EyU0VKtFdaASKPHxYlmC68MEc8IWqOs5mzcNBEL6YNvC9g1u6JecRh6WAfH32HyShw/w640-h370/Titanic_Belfast-April_1912.JPG" width="560" /></a></div>Other evidence shows that photographs taken from different angles at the same time do not show smudge marks. <a href="TITANIC FIRE & ICE (Or What You Will)." target="_blank"><b>TITANIC FIRE & ICE (Or What You Will).</b></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W1iduWy8J-M-9bzIF7CzsviLoyHugg-jyoeqRFDcaUAdM44-m7fr_2eUr4hyfz2W0pfCSYmJ-42bI-2TKv8IMBvgMit4brv9cgfqizmO1R0D0GN-UQMecm5unC3pTSc1EorpFT-_u87M95EwvhUjTVFgjwmC8DnaBoqAupqh_Iq-xFuo7viGkA/s871/Titantic_Southhampton_April_10_1912.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="871" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W1iduWy8J-M-9bzIF7CzsviLoyHugg-jyoeqRFDcaUAdM44-m7fr_2eUr4hyfz2W0pfCSYmJ-42bI-2TKv8IMBvgMit4brv9cgfqizmO1R0D0GN-UQMecm5unC3pTSc1EorpFT-_u87M95EwvhUjTVFgjwmC8DnaBoqAupqh_Iq-xFuo7viGkA/w640-h344/Titantic_Southhampton_April_10_1912.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">The Titanic at Southhampton on April 10, 1912</span></b></div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB00L6DFLC3bxmsm1BgOtwP3BDeH4N7c4XV6H4sz_rE3be_HqB60XJE8LXgE_VNmA9EhAkv1li_1iwdN3kcOaU9regwlKeqeTggolPk06TQnYL6KRQbEwX3Ra8xAvCLEua74kkKn5twNmNQIpnooIr9N0t5pHcYrKkept1tK17VFzGwOiZ2rWNUQ/s633/titanic-third_class-fared_worst.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="633" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB00L6DFLC3bxmsm1BgOtwP3BDeH4N7c4XV6H4sz_rE3be_HqB60XJE8LXgE_VNmA9EhAkv1li_1iwdN3kcOaU9regwlKeqeTggolPk06TQnYL6KRQbEwX3Ra8xAvCLEua74kkKn5twNmNQIpnooIr9N0t5pHcYrKkept1tK17VFzGwOiZ2rWNUQ/w640-h502/titanic-third_class-fared_worst.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Discussion</span></b></h1><p>The sinking of the Titanic resulted from colossal human failures. Seven <b><span style="color: red;">warnings from other ships about icebergs across ice fields were ignored and the senior wireless operato </span><span style="color: red;">Jack Phillips</span><span style="color: red;"> was busy sending messages from First Class passengers. </span></b>Captain Edward Smith, on his last voyage before retirement, kept full speed and believed the crew could react in time if icebergs were sighted. Just before 11:40 PM, a lookout phoned the bridge <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2022/04/despite-the-warning-iceberg-right-ahead-the-titanic-was-doomed" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">“What did you see?” came the voice through the receiver, “Iceberg, right ahead,” was the response.</a></p><p>The iceberg was about 500 metres away and despite swift efforts to slow the ship and turn to port, the bulky ship tore into 105 metres (350ft) of the stern below the waterline.</p><p><a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/titanic/stories/john-george-phillips.htm" target="_blank">British National Archives</a>:"Just before midnight on; April 14,<b> Harold Bride (he survived the disaster)</b> had woken up to take over from Phillips when<b> Captain Smith came into the wireless room and told Phillips to send out a distress signal. </b>Shortly after midnight he told them to send out the call for assistance and gave them Titanic's estimated position."</p><p>Phillips went down with the ship.</p><p>Arthur Henry Rostron, the captain of the RMS Carpathia ordered it to the Titanic's position, which was about 58 miles (107 km) away. Despite the many icebergs, it arrived at approximately 3:30 AM, just over one hour from the sinking. </p><p>All of the Titanic's 713 survivors were in 13 lifeboats, that left the stricken ship, picked up. </p><div><b><span style="color: red;">An epic failure of leadership resulted in the Titanic disaster. Why is it an obsession in particular for Americans?</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinzLsQK0PEl4QA7u2GTjneDDhdL56FC643IS9RTTNPyIIdrN-Xd_5L7hh0xBrbxcl8EU4DVoSLLMJOXPLYXRyoa1lkbKFdk_LWkQqNJeeqGqwTx2u98M-wiQYOHp9nFpO3syDxHocF4_y3Dzyyfm8JJjtZXUVuik6ZZ553ODH3EYHCPUevRRPeFQ/s802/Captain_Smith_Titanic_Cobh_Queenstown_Ireland_April_11_1912.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="802" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinzLsQK0PEl4QA7u2GTjneDDhdL56FC643IS9RTTNPyIIdrN-Xd_5L7hh0xBrbxcl8EU4DVoSLLMJOXPLYXRyoa1lkbKFdk_LWkQqNJeeqGqwTx2u98M-wiQYOHp9nFpO3syDxHocF4_y3Dzyyfm8JJjtZXUVuik6ZZ553ODH3EYHCPUevRRPeFQ/w640-h470/Captain_Smith_Titanic_Cobh_Queenstown_Ireland_April_11_1912.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold;">Captain Edward J Smith (1850-1912) with Chief Purser Hugh W McElroy (1874-1912) outside the door to the Officer Quarters while the Titanic lay at anchor off Roches Point, near Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland, on April 11, 1912. This is the last known photograph of Smith.</span><p>First Class accounted for 25% of the 1,317 paying customers on the Titanic and Americans seem to be obsessed with the story. The Titanic had 39 suites in the First Class area that cost £870 in 1912 and in 2023 <b>would be £82,650 according to the Bank of England.</b></p><p>The term "American Dream" was coined by <b>James Truslow Adams in 1931</b>, saying that "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone." In practice for the mass of people, it was an aspiration. It still survives as the adulation that the corrupt Donald Trump can get from a significant number.</p><p>The Gilded Age was the name for the era in the US that gave this remarkable era its name. Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, in their 1873 novel which includes unscrupulous politicians, colourful plutocrats, and blindly optimistic speculators caught up in a frenzy of romance, murder, and surefire deals gone bust.</p><p>The Gilded Age ended soon after the sinking of the Titanic.</p><p><b>According to the US committee investigating the sinking, 1,517 lives were lost, and its British counterpart put the number at 1,503 died. </b></p><p><b><span style="color: red;">The Crew and Third Class passengers had similar survival rates at 24% and 25%.</span></b></p><p>“It’s one of the few disasters that had time to develop the full drama of human choices,” said Stephen Cox, a retired professor of literature at the University of California at San Diego and author of “The Titanic Story: Hard Choices, Dangerous Decisions.” <b>“Usually if a ship is going to sink, it sinks pretty quickly. Titanic lasted for two hours and 40 minutes, which is as long as a Shakespeare play,” he said to The Washington Post.</b></p><p>He says in a CNN piece that <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/06/opinion/cox-titanic/index.html" target="_blank"><b>"the Titanic disaster has never faded from the world’s imagination."</b></a></p><p><b>That is not true: </b>Northern Ireland; the US and Britain yes but not the world. For example, the people of the Netherlands in every generation since the devastating floods of 1953, know that 1,836 people died as sea dykes in the south of the country broke, and large parts of Zeeland, the Zuid-Holland islands and western Brabant were overwhelmed. The Titanic would not be an obsession.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaT_L51YEn1f06fZNkAiWahDfGErkvrtdE-GNQ96GyfzRvbFIIeMITkQF1ccNltvR5UeGlINuPg2PXjkMFWbZxCbf35P87e5IyKnwWgdoEwtOYCkSDPajmOg8xN63HzmmV-uIdOPaHWKPIF2zatt0YHpQO9Z_gwQIKFMzd1iFr-ubkDt0_LwnBvw/s917/Lusitania_N.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="491" data-original-width="917" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaT_L51YEn1f06fZNkAiWahDfGErkvrtdE-GNQ96GyfzRvbFIIeMITkQF1ccNltvR5UeGlINuPg2PXjkMFWbZxCbf35P87e5IyKnwWgdoEwtOYCkSDPajmOg8xN63HzmmV-uIdOPaHWKPIF2zatt0YHpQO9Z_gwQIKFMzd1iFr-ubkDt0_LwnBvw/w640-h342/Lusitania_N.jpg" width="560" /></a></div>
<p>Three years after the sinking of the Titanic, on May 7, 1915, the <b>RMS Lusitania,</b> a Cunard liner, was torpedoed by a German U-boat 21 km off the Old Head of Kinsale, west of Cork Harbour on the south coast of Ireland. The liner, once the largest passenger ship in the world, was making one of its regular transatlantic cruises from New York to Liverpool.</p><p>Almost 1,200 people were killed. The ship sank within 18 minutes. Most of the 764 people who were saved landed in Queenstown (Cobh.) Only 289 bodies were recovered and 169 of these are buried in the Old Church Cemetery in Cobh in three mass graves and 20 individual plots. There were more than 100 Americans on board and President Wilson came under pressure to send troops to Europe.</p><p><b>Gregg Bemis, the American businessman who has owned the salvage rights to the wreck since 1982, signed the donation agreement with the Old Head of Kinsale Museum on May 7, 2015 — the anniversary of the tragedy.</b></p><p><b><span style="color: red;">The greatest number of deaths on one ship in maritime history was on the German MV Wilhelm Gustloff, in the icy Baltic Sea.</span></b></p><p>The ship was to be known as MV Adolf Hitler but he had it named for the head of the Swiss Nazi Party, who had been assassinated in Davos in 1936, by a Croatian Jewish medical student. On May 17, 1945 — shortly after V-E Day — David Frankfurter (1909–1982) was pardoned by a Swiss court.</p><p>MV Wilhelm Gustloff was launched in 1937 as a cruise liner and could accommodate about 1,900 people, including some 400 crew members.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WMYCxQINMBjXyy1u6HthrExHDQXt93OitjANOzpN4j7RaDpcf-Z5XF53iHjaNpewVdu2DoBvIS6KMWuGQPsequcQnX3W--VeMQ4e5IkrIHOK2mVLGvnIWxIC7J8mcrWXe7LNQJ6cBl32mgX16vBUKTGoBZKtusSExz_mu61T_1Ax7kgArBA1xw/s800/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H27992,_Lazarettschiff__Wilhelm_Gustloff__in_Danzig.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="800" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WMYCxQINMBjXyy1u6HthrExHDQXt93OitjANOzpN4j7RaDpcf-Z5XF53iHjaNpewVdu2DoBvIS6KMWuGQPsequcQnX3W--VeMQ4e5IkrIHOK2mVLGvnIWxIC7J8mcrWXe7LNQJ6cBl32mgX16vBUKTGoBZKtusSExz_mu61T_1Ax7kgArBA1xw/w640-h408/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H27992,_Lazarettschiff__Wilhelm_Gustloff__in_Danzig.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>In January 1945, as the Third Reich was imploding, Admiral Karl Dönitz began preparations for the evacuation of military personnel and civilian refugees from ports in East Prussia as the Red Army was moving west. The port of Pillau for example was crammed with up to 100,000 refugees.</b></p><p>On January 29 there was a count of 7,956 on the MV Wilhelm Gustloff. There were thousands of children on board in Gotenhafen (Gdynia, in occupied Poland). About 2,000 more people packed onto the ship on Tuesday, January 30, 1945.</p><p>On board were about 1,000 naval personnel, along with a number of anti-aircraft guns.</p><p><b>At about 9 PM, a Soviet submarine fired four torpedoes. Three of them hit the ship and it sank in 70 minutes. There were about 1,200 survivors and likely over 9,000 deaths.</b></p><p>Paying $250,000 for viewing a shipwreck may be a risk to take <a href="https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/artists/worlds-most-important-archaeological-sites-1234636277/" target="_blank"><b>after seeing the world's most important archaeological finds such as Pompeii; the Terracotta Army and more.</b></a></p><p>According to court documents, at least 28 people visited the wreck on the Titan last year.</p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Titan</span></b></h1><p>OceanGate the owner of the Titan submersible, said that <b>dives lasted about eight hours, including the estimated 2.5 hours each way it took to descend and ascend.</b> There was one porthole on the craft and a rudimentary toilet, shielded by a curtain, for the 5 people on board. The Titan’s passengers were required to sign a waiver that lists “physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death.”</p><p>The United States, Canada and France were involved in the Titan disaster and the cost may exceed $10m.</p><div><b>The super-rich can engage in extreme tourism while status and race can make a difference.</b></div><p>"Right now we have 24-hour coverage — and I understand it — of this submarine, the submersible that tragically is right now lost at the bottom of the sea," <b>former President Barack Obama </b>said in an interview in Athens conducted hours before the US Coast Guard confirmed the deaths of the 5 passengers.<b>"At the same time, right here, just off the coast of Greece we had 700 people dead, 700 migrants who were apparently being smuggled."</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ4AWVMNEU3dKOgd8rC1jQb0tPNWpGhB4hlGT0Ru1q8EyVJZ5M2NVjx1zLBWTocCDxdGbAwKh76YFaxMow_yCBf2M_i9bMeZQlAacGFVcQoYg4kqp15A9CDxnn52-DSlMaHU2vQZfnA1C-aXLbw8t09W-yg4bYZBX2j6nEW9YA3Pu2yp26r9sgg/s1072/jun2019_f05_submarine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="1072" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ4AWVMNEU3dKOgd8rC1jQb0tPNWpGhB4hlGT0Ru1q8EyVJZ5M2NVjx1zLBWTocCDxdGbAwKh76YFaxMow_yCBf2M_i9bMeZQlAacGFVcQoYg4kqp15A9CDxnn52-DSlMaHU2vQZfnA1C-aXLbw8t09W-yg4bYZBX2j6nEW9YA3Pu2yp26r9sgg/w640-h426/jun2019_f05_submarine.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">The Titan's nose cone and other debris including evidence of "presumed human remains," were recovered from the sea floor on June 28, 2023, according to the US Coast Guard. Stockton Rush co-founder and CEO of OceanGate was piloting the Titan when it imploded. Rush told Smithsonian Magazine in 2019 "I'd like to be remembered as an innovator. I think it was General [Douglas] MacArthur who said, 'You're remembered for the rules you break,'" Rush said. "And I've broken some rules to make this. I think I've broken them with logic and good engineering behind me." </span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_E2FC-cpP20u81z2Siu4BV51j9yPb9mGY02icG5zO3YF7V7g3PTRykkzZbnGCyA0MDB2P6vYnVgu9dw9JO45UPYZ4_bviFnSJPr53B1kZCis9RvIj8Z7iDalh6f1RJ3EgQ6NLmLhJb7PLlCDOXmFuVYaqDl0J1zx2Dd2PcoGiSnGHhwGx0DL9Ug/s755/OceanGate_implosion-2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="645" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_E2FC-cpP20u81z2Siu4BV51j9yPb9mGY02icG5zO3YF7V7g3PTRykkzZbnGCyA0MDB2P6vYnVgu9dw9JO45UPYZ4_bviFnSJPr53B1kZCis9RvIj8Z7iDalh6f1RJ3EgQ6NLmLhJb7PLlCDOXmFuVYaqDl0J1zx2Dd2PcoGiSnGHhwGx0DL9Ug/w546-h640/OceanGate_implosion-2023.JPG" width="546" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b>Five hours to and from the wreck, and 3 hours viewing the wreck</b></span></div>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Aftermath </span></h1>
<p>Patrick Ryan, the 29-year-old son of a County Limerick farmer, had a steerage ticket on the Titanic and there was a job waiting for him in the New York Police Department, but he died as he couldn't get on a lifeboat and his body was never recovered. He and two friends had travelled to Queenstown to get on the ship on April 11, 1912.</p><p><b>Patrick's dad sued the White Star Line for damages over the death of his son, claiming that the company was negligent.</b></p><p>According to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-17612629" target="_blank">the BBC</a> for seven days, in June 1913, Thomas Ryan went to the Royal Courts of Justice in London in an attempt to bring the White Star Line to account for the tragedy. The judge found that the wording on the ticket was in contravention of British Board of Trade regulations, which meant that the White Star Line's blanket disclaimer for negligence was now worthless.</p><p><b>Thomas Ryan was awarded £100 for his son's death </b>—<b> the equivalent of one year's wages (£9,483 today according to the Bank of England). In addition to bringing the White Star Line to account for the death of his son, Thomas Ryan achieved another far-reaching victory, setting a precedent in consumer contract law that protected the rights of passengers.</b></p><p>Disgraced and publicly shunned, <b>Bruce Ismay (1862-1937)</b> resigned from White Star Line in late June 1913. Ismay's father Thomas Ismay had acquired the bankrupt White Star Line in 1868.</p><p><span style="color: red;"><b>The chairman had been on the Titanic and had of course got a place in a lifeboat. </b><b>He had reduced the number of lifeboats from 48 to 16 (plus 4 smaller ‘Collapsible’ Engelhardt boats), the minimum standard required by the British Board of Trade. The capacity was 3,320 people compared with the lifeboat capacity of 1,178 (even though only 713 people could get on the lifeboats). After all, the ship was </b></span><b><span style="color: red;">"practically unsinkable!."</span></b></p><p></p><p>It was 2 hours and 40 minutes from the time of the collision with the iceberg to the time of the sinking.</p><p>Ismay denied reports that he had encouraged Captain Smith to increase the ship’s speed — despite the iceberg warnings — in order to get positive press coverage by arriving in New York earlier than scheduled.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnwPWSyzeVKCfDQ6jPNRWWqPXXxeZoEkpXUHMsMqi9MvM0M7PTHcv4YZXJI65VuZH-IHVNAy9nfLoTJF1S6sJ5hraIWD86ubEWdFyRJF7ub20B07b08lDltmRNoW-BQWNo1KVZkALY43yR6adG8XTEH4Zh9gZ3iKgRaZeAcRinOmDVLm2uw28Eg/s801/Titanic_iceberg_after_sinking.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="801" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnwPWSyzeVKCfDQ6jPNRWWqPXXxeZoEkpXUHMsMqi9MvM0M7PTHcv4YZXJI65VuZH-IHVNAy9nfLoTJF1S6sJ5hraIWD86ubEWdFyRJF7ub20B07b08lDltmRNoW-BQWNo1KVZkALY43yR6adG8XTEH4Zh9gZ3iKgRaZeAcRinOmDVLm2uw28Eg/w640-h382/Titanic_iceberg_after_sinking.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p>This melting iceberg had a streak of red paint when it was photographed by <b>Captain William Squares DeCarteret</b> of the CS Minia, a ship that joined the search for bodies and wreckage at the site of the disaster. DeCarteret's ship arrived on April 26, 1912. The RMS Titanic’s antifouling paint was mainly made of red oxide and below the water line. Red oxide is an anticorrosive material, and when used directly in the paint it has a red colour. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKNudU36JV5Z1DocvitquSGySlFlDLRJEhDJpWdTY2D0q8WNNJZyDK0d8EMOt7ULb9QcY-IlEna3vBnG3Kk3uXk_2Ew3yHA0lCWy0BiVlsnmYVnxAFONZP71TWtwlfNEczjprzj6WGE97cWePrghPWbojodsVCp68lgzEs0aHd21w9virzK8x9A/s1286/Black_paint-antfouling_paint_Titanic.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="718" data-original-width="1286" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUKNudU36JV5Z1DocvitquSGySlFlDLRJEhDJpWdTY2D0q8WNNJZyDK0d8EMOt7ULb9QcY-IlEna3vBnG3Kk3uXk_2Ew3yHA0lCWy0BiVlsnmYVnxAFONZP71TWtwlfNEczjprzj6WGE97cWePrghPWbojodsVCp68lgzEs0aHd21w9virzK8x9A/w640-h358/Black_paint-antfouling_paint_Titanic.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://buildingthetitanic.com/">https://buildingthetitanic.com/</a></p><p></p><p>A <a href="https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wea.2238" target="_blank">research paper</a> has the question <b>"Iceberg risk in the Titanic year of 1912: was it exceptional?"</b></p><p><a href="http://www.paullee.com/titanic/Adalbert/index.php" target="_blank"><b>There is a picture of an iceberg that was said to have been taken by the chief steward of the ocean liner SS Prinz Adalbert on the morning of April 15, 1912.</b></a> However, the route of the vessel suggests that the picture is of another iceberg.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Irish short film on a son of a farmer who arrives in Queenstown (Cobh) on the eve of leaving Ireland for America, on the Titanic:</span></b></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Uisce Beatha ('Whiskey / Water Of Life')</span></b></p>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-30799301141831492502023-06-14T04:14:00.009+01:002023-06-14T10:18:50.300+01:00"Dear dirty Dublin" — Air pollution low among Europe's capitals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxArQriOzAq9NkPxsL3--EIOuO1B1X79dCRpRuHgI2ePbb4oWNoxsMlpqGr-nekeQIwNZgrZKeODdKB7Pgu0g6mKoE-RP7cSbvPTLWG9zru7AuTD_kVWeutfG0ln5Tt_OQVJT2CYi7l-D55u9vYVx7JMQw5WwFuk0TzYqZvUWvjcrN6GuUP1A/s1075/Dublin_twilight_2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1075" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxArQriOzAq9NkPxsL3--EIOuO1B1X79dCRpRuHgI2ePbb4oWNoxsMlpqGr-nekeQIwNZgrZKeODdKB7Pgu0g6mKoE-RP7cSbvPTLWG9zru7AuTD_kVWeutfG0ln5Tt_OQVJT2CYi7l-D55u9vYVx7JMQw5WwFuk0TzYqZvUWvjcrN6GuUP1A/w640-h432/Dublin_twilight_2023.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><p><b>Una Mullally</b> of the Irish Times said this week that <b>"Dublin is a dirty, smelly, sticky old town once again."</b> I was back in Ireland in May and I stayed in the city centre south of the River Liffey for more than a week. It looked clean to me; the sun was shining and people were using the recently installed outdoor furniture.</p><p><a href="https://www.iqair.com" target="_blank">IQAir is a Swiss tech firm - IQAir World Air Quality Report 2022 Finds Only 5% of Countries Meet WHO PM2.5 Air Pollution</a>. For example, it collects data from Ireland's <b>Environmental Protection Agency.</b> There are 30,000 air quality monitoring stations across 7,323 locations in 131 countries.</p><p>Dublin's north inner city has been named Ireland's "litter blackspot'" in a survey. The country's latest litter league, compiled by the <a href="https://ibal.ie/news/" target="_blank">Irish Business Against Litter</a><b>,</b> lists the north inner city bottom of 40 areas across Ireland for rubbish.</p><p>The Irish Times reported last week that members of the public have been urged to treat outdoor spaces with care and protect fragile ecosystems as part of a new campaign launched by <b>Leave No Trace Ireland,</b> an organisation that campaigns for “outdoor ethics”.</p><p><b>“The lowest awareness of the impact of irresponsible behaviour was shown to be among those below 35 years of age and the 2023 Love This Place Campaign is focused on this demographic to increase education around the simple actions people can take to protect and enhance our experience of the outdoors countryside, and recreational spaces.”</b></p>
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<p>It's always easy to blame the "Corpo" ( the local city council) but a percentage of Irish and foreign residents inevitably behave like pigs (let's call them <b>Litter Pigs</b> — sorry pigs, you may be cleaner than some of these folk!). It may not be an income issue as dog owners can allow their pets to shit on pathways and paths.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2J-U96JUlYtcM97ntLddOtnf_Iyw3LsvqGf0OhvBxfPqPa_3fjqLEjoCuY-ijK1rJZ6w3tqNTi_hiLzyMxBmTKmN4Gl0l7oRuFaT4cGkvdQFZ3QdeIYep4Kqkp9-qIIdu4H2qREL8IvFye3yZMNMYp5DEKAg5qgCLDZPmZWkwHVDYr7BW_Wk/s680/Litter_Dublin_2022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="680" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2J-U96JUlYtcM97ntLddOtnf_Iyw3LsvqGf0OhvBxfPqPa_3fjqLEjoCuY-ijK1rJZ6w3tqNTi_hiLzyMxBmTKmN4Gl0l7oRuFaT4cGkvdQFZ3QdeIYep4Kqkp9-qIIdu4H2qREL8IvFye3yZMNMYp5DEKAg5qgCLDZPmZWkwHVDYr7BW_Wk/w640-h426/Litter_Dublin_2022.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><p><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b>In July 2022 The Irish Independent reported that more than 10 tonnes of litter was left by the Litter Pigs on Burrow Beach, Sutton, County Dublin, ON ONE DAY. It took 6 hours for workers from Fingal Council to clear up the mess.</b></span></p><p>A colleague once said that <a href="https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-market/article/15469165/spain-leads-european-pet-dog-ownership-per-capita-2021" target="_blank">Copenhagen was the dog-shit capital of Europe.</a> Apparently, Denmark gave a subsidy to elderly old dog owners. In more recent times <a href="https://www.petfoodindustry.com/pet-food-market/article/15469165/spain-leads-european-pet-dog-ownership-per-capita-2021" target="_blank">Spain has the largest per capita dog ownership in Europe.</a></p><p><b>Dublin has a ranking of 5,398 from 7,323 among world cities.</b></p><p> Ireland has a ranking of 8 in Europe for country pollution. In the top 116 cities Dublin has a 102 ranking which is 'Good' Oslo at 104; 'Stockholm is 106 and Helsinki at 108." Ireland has a ranking of 8 in Europe for country pollution. In the top 116 cities Dublin has a 102 ranking which is 'Good"; Oslo at 104; 'Stockholm is 106 and Helsinki at 108.</p><p>In June (2023) so far Dublin has kept its 'Good' category for air pollution.</p><p></p><p></p><h1><span style="color: green;">"Dear dirty Dublin"</span></h1><p>"Does a fellow good a bit of a holiday. I feel a ton better since I landed again in dear dirty Dublin ..." is a quote from 'A Little Cloud,' one of the short stories in <strong>James Joyce's 'Dubliners' (1914).</strong> "DEAR DIRTY DUBLIN" also appears in <strong>'Ulysses'</strong> in all caps (1922).</p><p>
</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxDzeE1vDM8uuOVMHYmldK3yYPCXF8LnmMe-iWfrVwq-Wk6zBIHgr4Hi0zCXGUCATnsFhDUOIWsEUFHnw4u1vy5q7IXnlTvp0jyiXGxlU4EmIt6EdGTrLSIvZYyajBkTAAasEAg/s450/Dear_dirty_Dublin_2021.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="285" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFxDzeE1vDM8uuOVMHYmldK3yYPCXF8LnmMe-iWfrVwq-Wk6zBIHgr4Hi0zCXGUCATnsFhDUOIWsEUFHnw4u1vy5q7IXnlTvp0jyiXGxlU4EmIt6EdGTrLSIvZYyajBkTAAasEAg/s16000/Dear_dirty_Dublin_2021.JPG" /></a></div>It was an apt description of Dublin in Joyce's youth and the expression had been quoted in <b>'The Dublin University Magazine' in 1846 </b>and in 1887 the Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society noted that it was the use of the Donnybrook Calp (limestone quarried in South Dublin) in repairing the streets that got for Dublin the soubriquet of “dear, dirty Dublin.”<div><br /></div><div>The expression has also been ascribed to novelist Sydney Owenson, <b>Lady Morgan</b> (c1781-1859).<br /><p></p><p><b>In 1988 Dublin celebrated its Millenium but it was a publicity stunt </b>and a spokesperson for the then Dublin Corporation reacted to the scepticism of historians saying “You can never get these people to agree anyway. After all, there are some who say St. Patrick never existed, but that doesn’t get rid of March 17th. And who picked December 25th as Christ’s birthday? Nobody was sure what the real day was, so they had to pick something.”</p><p>Centuries before 988 there was an Irish settlement at the confluence of the River Poddle and the main River Liffey, known in Gaelic as Áth Cliath (Hurdled Fort) and the name related to the hurdles which provided a makeshift bridge across the rivers at low tide.</p><p>The Vikings arrived in 841 but they were ejected in 902 and they returned in 917. The settlement was re-established and developed into the town of <strong>Dubh Linn (black pool).</strong> It was reputed to be the most important trading town in the western Viking world. In 1169/1170 Normans arrived from Wales and captured the town. A Danish fort on high ground was developed into Dublin Castle from 1204 and it became the seat of Norman/ English rule until 1922. The River Poddle (now underground) provided defence and later a moat.</p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-34022347894980978552023-06-11T06:50:00.002+01:002023-06-13T08:47:30.108+01:00Irish Celts are as real as Leprechauns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFYd1GIWDjHOm53Debatjv-x7btXdGJymwUrxn2RhxL_b3NrPpwmmUZjyz_KMHzKmxXlBXtyyGhck8ebNKiPh_DOOpADLSCST_-kWBdkYEfOH0Nazz8DzKit65o9NPm7yhGhQ4i4Cccqq3mvefQWI9SJdxT586TpAxCcqmBnBGnk-XGX2f-I/s697/Celts_ancient_times_Ireland.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="697" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFYd1GIWDjHOm53Debatjv-x7btXdGJymwUrxn2RhxL_b3NrPpwmmUZjyz_KMHzKmxXlBXtyyGhck8ebNKiPh_DOOpADLSCST_-kWBdkYEfOH0Nazz8DzKit65o9NPm7yhGhQ4i4Cccqq3mvefQWI9SJdxT586TpAxCcqmBnBGnk-XGX2f-I/w640-h398/Celts_ancient_times_Ireland.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p>In Ancient Greece Κελτοί (Keltoí) was the word used for "Barbarian" (non-Greek-speaking people, including Egyptians, Persians, Medes, Phoenicians, and tribes in Europe, emphasised their otherness. According to Greek writers, this was because the language they spoke sounded to Greeks like gibberish represented by the sounds "bar...bar")." While viewing foreigners as inferior, they were also often treated as candidates for conquest and enslavement.</p><p><b>The mainly independent tribes collectively Keltoí had their own names </b><b>during the Iron Age, between about 600 BC and 43 AD.</b><b> It would be about 2,000 years, in the early 18th century, for the words "Celt "or "Celtish" to enter the English language.</b></p><p><b></b></p><p>Greeks established a colony in Southern Gaul around Masallia, or modern-day Marseille in 600 BC. There were about 60 tribes in the area of the Gauls in Western Europe.</p><p><b>There was no invasion of Ireland by these tribes that settled in land stretching from the Atlantic coast to Asia Minor (see map above). </b>What tribes invaded Ireland?</p>
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<p><b>Barry Raftery (1944-2010), </b>professor of <b>Celtic archaeology at University College Dublin,</b> argued that there had been no Celtic invasion of Ireland.</p><p>Raftery said there was no Celtic pottery or pottery of any kind until the Christian period. About up to 50 swords had been found in Ireland compared to the hundreds of thousands excavated in western France alone, for example. He also noted that there had not been any two-wheeled chariots found at Irish burial sites.</p><p>Prof Raftery said that La Tène artefacts* were the portable trappings of a rising aristocratic élite, which expressed its power by building highly visible monuments. He also referred to the advances that took place in travel and transport; the lives of common Celtic people; technology and art, including gold and stoneworking; and the complex religious beliefs exemplified by standing stones and offerings in rivers and lakes. In his book <b>'Pagan Celtic Ireland: The Enigma of the Irish Iron Age'</b> (1994) he said it included "the latest material concerning Ireland's contacts with the Roman world, and a review of the question whether La Tène culture spread to Ireland through invasion or peaceful diffusion."</p><p><b>Barry Cunliffe (born 1939) is a leading British archaeologist and academic.</b> He was a professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007 and in <b>'The Celts, A Very Short Introduction' (2003</b>) he wrote that "despite the extreme paucity of evidence from the pre-Roman period "most philologists (relating to the study of languages) agree that early versions of Celtic were being spoken over much of western Europe by the sixth century BC from Iberia to Ireland to the Italian lakes."</p><p><b>However, he wrote that there were "two comfortable old myths." The first was that there was a "coming of the Celts" — </b><b> in either Britain or Ireland; the second myth was that there was a pan-Celtic Europe counterposed to the dominant Mediterranean Greek and Roman cultures at the time.</b></p><p><b>Edward Lhuyd (1660-1709)</b> of Wales following visits to Ireland and Scotland <b>coined the words "Celt" and "Celtic" in his 1707</b> comparative study of the Irish, Welsh, Cornish and Breton languages. However, Prof Cunliffe and others now argue that the Atlantic elites from Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Britain, up to the Orkney Islands, may have developed a lingua franca that was spread from the Atlantic coastal countries in the West to the European Centre, not from the East to the West which had been the conventional wisdom.</p><p>Indigenous people may have developed their own language not taking it from invaders.</p><p><b>For over 1,000 years, following the collapse of the Roman world in the West, the history of the Celts disappeared. Lhuyd led the reinvention of the Celts in the early eighteenth century. Prof Cunliffe wrote that "they were presented as noble ancestors living in a heroic age: the Celtic-speaking communities, and to a lesser extent the English and French, were seen as their successors. In the nineteenth century, as archaeology matured and the old romantic accretions were stripped away, the Celts emerged as a symbol of nascent nationalism."</b></p><p>In Ireland, in 1882 the poet <b>William Butler Yeats</b>, together with the former <b>Fenian John O’Leary and Douglas Hyde, </b>who promoted the revival of the Gaelic language, founded the National Literary Society which aimed at publicising the literature, legends and folklore of Ireland.</p><p>Yeats (1865-1939) belonged to the Protestant — Anglo-Irish minority — but much of his childhood had been spent in County Sligo with his mother’s family where he developed a lifelong interest in Irish folklore. <b>'The Celtic Twilight: Faerie and Folklore'</b> was published in 1893. "This handful of dreams," as the author referred to it, includes Druids performing their rituals and stories recounted to the poet by his friends, neighbours, and acquaintances. His grandfather had been the Church of Ireland rector of Drumcliff in Sligo.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;">Gaul, (French Gaule, Latin Gallia0), comprised the area of modern-day France and parts of Belgium, western Germany, and northern Italy. It covered an area of 494,000 KM<sup>2</sup></b><b style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;">.</b><b style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;"> Julius Ceaser conquered Gaul in 58-50 BC and he invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvznWY5iXeQbkg2boEC1ZITPyk_9N5A2C83PwhqjcRA-ISphUsMaacbag3fm5z5_DU4kK9fBwLOkzOGtCX6jBl8My_8wbisiH8Dq1gpkfdgobaCzSuvP0zJGTmVt5uUUzE-jYFnbY0bKViCughUlbISL2xyMGgNX1KpPtJZm1-PaNtjB6-XU/s850/galatia-gaul_Celts.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="850" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvznWY5iXeQbkg2boEC1ZITPyk_9N5A2C83PwhqjcRA-ISphUsMaacbag3fm5z5_DU4kK9fBwLOkzOGtCX6jBl8My_8wbisiH8Dq1gpkfdgobaCzSuvP0zJGTmVt5uUUzE-jYFnbY0bKViCughUlbISL2xyMGgNX1KpPtJZm1-PaNtjB6-XU/w640-h548/galatia-gaul_Celts.gif" width="560" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>From ‘The Celts‘ (Γαλάτες), Athens 2008, (only in Greek.) Shortly before the Roman conquest of Gaul (or Galatia in ancient Greek) by Julius Caesar, about sixty tribes shared its territory. The largest of these tribes (the Arverni, Aedui, Pictones etc.) occupied each a territory of about 15-20,000 </b></span></span><b style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;">KM<sup>2</sup></b><b style="color: #38761d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;"> with a population of up to 250,000 inhabitants. The Celtic tribes were divided into sub-tribes called pagi. The 60 Celtic peoples of Gaul included a total of 300 sub-tribes. Many of these pagi were originally independent tribes which were gradually incorporated into the largest ones, either by conquest or by conciliation.</b></div><p><i>*According to the British Museum, "The term La Tène is used to describe the material culture of the latter half of the Iron Age across much of northern and western Europe, from 450 BC to the Roman conquest. The name is derived from a site of the same name, on Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where the first 'La Tène' type objects were excavated in the late 19th century."</i></p>
<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Discussion</span></b></h1><p>Irish DNA results from <b>a Trinity College Dublin</b> team have been stunning:<b><a href=""We also observe a strong signal of continuity between modern day Irish populations and the Bronze Age individuals, one of whom is a carrier for the C282Y hemochromatosis mutation, which has its highest frequencies in Ireland today."" target="_blank">"We... observe a strong signal of continuity between modern-day Irish populations and the Bronze Age individuals, one of whom is a carrier for the C282Y hemochromatosis mutation, which has its highest frequencies in Ireland today."</a></b></p><blockquote><p>"A Neolithic woman (3343–3020 cal BC) from a megalithic burial (10.3× coverage) possessed a genome of predominantly Near Eastern origin. She had some hunter–gatherer ancestry but belonged to a population of large effective size, suggesting a substantial influx of early farmers to the island. <b>Three Bronze Age individuals from Rathlin Island (2026–1534 cal BC), including one high coverage (10.5×) genome, showed substantial Steppe genetic heritage indicating that the European population upheavals of the third millennium manifested all of the way from southern Siberia to the western ocean. </b>This turnover invites the possibility of accompanying introduction of Indo-European, perhaps early Celtic, language. <b>Irish Bronze Age haplotypic similarity is strongest within modern Irish, Scottish, and Welsh populations, and several important genetic variants that today show maximal or very high frequencies in Ireland appear at this horizon.</b></p><p>These include those coding for lactase persistence, blue eye color, Y chromosome R1b haplotypes, and the hemochromatosis C282Y allele; to our knowledge, the first detection of a known Mendelian disease variant in prehistory. These findings together suggest the establishment of central attributes of the Irish genome 4,000 y ago."</p></blockquote>
</div><b>
<p>The Irish Bronze Age dates from approximately 2500 BC to 500 BC and the Iron Age continues to the Christain era (when ages begin and end depends on the particular regions).</p></b><p>In July 1934, a Celtic congress was held in Dublin with representatives from the six "Celtic" countries to meet and discuss matters of common interest. The opening address was delivered by Éamon de Valera, the Irish taoiseach. <b>De Valera stressed the necessity of preserving Irish as a community language in the Gaeltacht and extending it throughout the country. He said that the Irish people “had before them the heroic and successful efforts of a neighbouring Celtic people, in particular the Welsh."</b></p><p>Data for 2021 show that 15.0% (458,800) of people aged 3 or older reported that they spoke Welsh daily. In Ireland, it was 1.6% for the Irish language.</p><p>Irish data comes from the Census 2016 (data for Census 2022 will be published in December 2023). Some 40% said that they have some Irish but the <b>'cúpla focal'(few words)</b> is the default for most. In the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament) typically former teachers are fluent in Irish. The rest are an embarrassment.</p><p><b>In the Census 1926 the first since independence, 18.3% of the population said they could speak Irish. The Irish-speaking rate in the Dublin County Borough was 8%.</b></p><p>In 2021 the Irish Government said there was a <b>"Bright future in store for the Irish language as it gains full official and working status in the institutions of the European Union."</b></p><p>In 2022 over 200 people were translating EU documents into Irish <b>for a tiny audience.</b></p><p><b>But the language is dying!</b></p><div><div>In 2021 The Irish Independent reported that "Irish is one of 12 languages in the EU at most risk of extinction, according to language learning platform Busuu. The study, which was collated using data from UNESCO’s Atlas of World Languages in Danger, <b>lists Irish as “definitely endangered.”</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Busuu ranked the 12 languages in one of four categories used in the Atlas: vulnerable, definitely endangered, severely endangered or critically endangered. Rather than being decided by the number of speakers worldwide, this risk factor to a language is determined by its ‘intergenerational transmission’ - whether older generations pass on the language to younger generations. Linguists predict that at least 43% of languages currently spoken in the world today <b>will likely disappear in the next century, including Irish.</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2-2aze9K8cQUmSF9syYkL-MjGCqrMQwl0NlIi3M-zYNuh9M3cVXQs0IMuCSYcs2Pv6wtzq9ukc_0z9alkhmyL2zm7iDt8DzeQ5608JvLm5ecrIpwyP0SRxuPtQw3poU1VWuupXpoFzgoi_HdW6lF_lBmDv93xJrBkxEI5MYo2lTMGmp7DVc/s1000/surprising-endangered-european-laguages-1024x643.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="1000" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2-2aze9K8cQUmSF9syYkL-MjGCqrMQwl0NlIi3M-zYNuh9M3cVXQs0IMuCSYcs2Pv6wtzq9ukc_0z9alkhmyL2zm7iDt8DzeQ5608JvLm5ecrIpwyP0SRxuPtQw3poU1VWuupXpoFzgoi_HdW6lF_lBmDv93xJrBkxEI5MYo2lTMGmp7DVc/w640-h402/surprising-endangered-european-laguages-1024x643.jpeg" width="560" /></a></div><p><b>Eoin Mac Néill (1867-1945) </b>an Irish scholar, Irish language enthusiast, nationalist activist and politician, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48952/48952-h/48952-h.htm" target="_blank">delivered lectures in 1913/14 on Irish history</a> as a professor of history at University College Dublin. He said "<b>Probably the Celts came into Ireland in small separate bodies, each colony having its own government, and so no tradition of centralisation ever grew up.</b> In Scotland, on the contrary, from the fifth century onward there was but one kingdom of the Scots, and this one kingdom effected a gradual conquest of the whole country. Thus the Irish system of petty states was not transplanted to Scotland."</p><p>In effect, he concluded that there was no Celtic invasion.</p><p>The Modern Celts are an Irish fairytale — a debunked Celtic invasion and a dying language that makes a mockery of the common use of "Celtic" and "Celts."</p><p><b>The real ones sacked and burned Rome in 390 BC while the Greeks defeated a large Celtic army in 279 BC.</b></p><p>Rome would eventually destroy Carthage, overwhelm Greece and conquer the Ancient Celts.</p><p>The Leprechaun <a href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Leprechaun/ " target="_blank">is said to have emerged in Irish folklore in the 8th century AD.</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-52209953516452408812023-04-26T08:05:00.048+01:002023-04-26T15:45:22.363+01:00Putin critic gets 25 years evoking Gulags and useful idiots <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYWfVLCbMBwX6Lus7YXFGljAwUjX8wA5hP8Vgpx1FbvGy9CTEx63SMtvFQztUfKgXs5yWPQBb4iHMkkFHRuZQM3ZkCwNArGLlbkjN1v82hg69kpGqvS5UKYGbrB6kH60bFNRUJPYXBC9ZSz18pA7hymfWKC_TxDAcjeqkkO4hRJdnEWQlmZI/s800/Vladimir-Kara-Murza_Gulag_2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYWfVLCbMBwX6Lus7YXFGljAwUjX8wA5hP8Vgpx1FbvGy9CTEx63SMtvFQztUfKgXs5yWPQBb4iHMkkFHRuZQM3ZkCwNArGLlbkjN1v82hg69kpGqvS5UKYGbrB6kH60bFNRUJPYXBC9ZSz18pA7hymfWKC_TxDAcjeqkkO4hRJdnEWQlmZI/w640-h480/Vladimir-Kara-Murza_Gulag_2023.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was accused of treason and spreading "false" information about the Russian army, stands inside a defendant's cage during his sentencing at the Moscow City Court on April 17, 2023. Handout/Moscow City Court Press Service</span></b></div><div 25="" a="" about="" affiliated="" an="" and="" army="" being="" class="bBSt IzgM VcHI GpQC lZur uhSz YGNM" colony.="" correctional="" false="" his="" in="" information="" judge="" kara-murza="" of="" organisation.="" p="" regime="" russian="" said="" sentence="" serve="" strict="" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; box-sizing: border- <p><b>Vladimir Kara-Murza (41), </b>one of Russia’s most high-profile Kremlin critics, was convicted on charges of treason and spreading;" the="" undesirable="" with="" would="" years=""><p>The Russian Putic critic <b>Vladimir Kara-Murza (41)</b> has been sentenced to 25 years in jail in Russia for charges linked to his criticism of the war in Ukraine. He was found guilty of treason, spreading "false" information about the Russian army and being affiliated with an "undesirable organisation."</p><p>The "outrageously harsh court decision clearly demonstrates yet again the political misuse of the judiciary <b>in order to pressure activists, human rights defenders and any voices opposing Russia's illegitimate war of aggression against Ukraine,"</b> the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said in a statement.</p><p><b>Putin's Federal Security Service, or FSB (the successor to Putin's KGB), tried to kill Kara-Murza by</b><b> poisoning in</b><b> 2015 and 2017.</b></p><p>Russian opposition leader<b> Alexei Navalny (46)</b> was poisoned with novichok by FSB agents in August 2020. <a href=" https://www.bellingcat.com/" target="_blank"><b>Bellingcat,</b></a> the investigations group, <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2020/12/14/fsb-team-of-chemical-weapon-experts-implicated-in-alexey-navalny-novichok-poisoning/" target="_blank"><b>identified the team that was authorised by Putin to kill Navalny.</b></a></p><p>After treatment in Germany, Navalny returned to Russia and is now serving 11-1/2 years in the IK-6 penal colony, and may also face another charge with a sentence of 5 years.</p><p>Navalny <a href="https://amnesty.ca/human-rights-news/russia-prison-administration-imposes-harsh-conditions-on-aleksei-navalny/" target="_blank"><b>is allowed only four visits by relatives per year</b></a> instead of the usual six visits and there can be no communication with other prisoners. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/14/alexei-navalny-in-critical-situation-after-possible-poisoning-says-ally" target="_blank"><b>His lawyers believe that he is being slowly poisoned.</b></a> “Our theory is that they are gradually killing him, using slow-acting poison which is applied through food."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrV-qzgpHci9x3UlBSfIB0N1hSdTM5jL_q792b9Jlo52MI4MFoiUAEETQy1z-AiE4iytl5ZxaAM8GcykNUoGmjv6LWko3RDQU_hV7VYw9EX18ReD89kavOIp_N7pUosyiLJpQffFDlCbF4Zw_WmH_pp7HQgwKRG6ym8SsxUtruKBs1ELz-7g/s1600/skynews-alexei-navalny-court_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrV-qzgpHci9x3UlBSfIB0N1hSdTM5jL_q792b9Jlo52MI4MFoiUAEETQy1z-AiE4iytl5ZxaAM8GcykNUoGmjv6LWko3RDQU_hV7VYw9EX18ReD89kavOIp_N7pUosyiLJpQffFDlCbF4Zw_WmH_pp7HQgwKRG6ym8SsxUtruKBs1ELz-7g/w640-h360/skynews-alexei-navalny-court_.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b>Today April 26, 2023, Alexei Navalny (46), the jailed critic of the Russian dictator who is 70, has said he is being investigated on terrorism charges that could see him sentenced to 30 years in prison. Putin couldn't kill him by poisoning and now he wants to have Navalny in jail indefinitely.</b></span></div>
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<p><b>Kara-Murza</b> wrote this for The Washington Post before the court hearing: "There is hardly a practice of the Soviet repression of dissent that has not been revived by Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia. A host of draconian new laws has criminalized public criticism of the government and of its actions — especially regarding the war on Ukraine. Political opposition is now officially equated with treason. <b>Opponents of the Kremlin have been murdered, poisoned and imprisoned.</b> Today’s Russia counts more known political prisoners than the Soviet Union did in its later years. Even the forced psychiatric “treatment” of dissenters has made a comeback — in only a few cases, so far. None of this is surprising. <b>After all, Putin not only served in the Soviet KGB but, according to new archival research, personally participated in searches and interrogations of dissidents in 1970s Leningrad."</b></p><p>But there is one repressive Soviet practice that is yet to return — and it looks like this oversight will soon be corrected. <b>One after another, senior Russian lawmakers have called for stripping those they deem traitors — that is, Russians who oppose Putin and the war — of their citizenship. The speaker of Russia’s parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, recently lamented the lack of a procedure for doing this. “But I think there ought to be one,” he added.</b></p></blockquote>
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<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">What Putin fears most</span></h1>
In a paper,<b> Robert Person,</b> associate professor of international relations at the US Military Academy, and <b>Michael McFaul,</b> former US ambassador to Russia (2012-2014) and White House aide, and now professor of political science at Stanford University, said in an abstract <a href="https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/what-putin-fears-most/#:~:text=He%20cannot%20tolerate%20a%20successful,rationale%20for%20autocratic%20state%20leadership." target="_blank"><b>of their 2022 paper:</b></a><blockquote><p></p><p>
Russian president Vladimir Putin wants you to believe that NATO is responsible for his February 24 invasion of Ukraine — that rounds of NATO enlargement made Russia insecure, forcing Putin to lash out. This argument has two key flaws. <b>First,</b> NATO has been a variable and not a constant source of tension between Russia and the West. Moscow has in the past acknowledged Ukraine’s right to join NATO; the Kremlin’s complaints about the alliance spike in a clear pattern after democratic breakthroughs in the post-Soviet space. This highlights <b>a second flaw:</b> Since <b>Putin fears democracy and the threat that it poses to his regime, and not expanded NATO membership, taking the latter off the table will not quell his insecurity. His declared goal of the invasion, the “denazification” of Ukraine, is a code for his real aim: antidemocratic regime change.</b></p></blockquote>
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<p><b><span>
Putin has a docile lapdog in Lukashenko, the dictator of Belarus, and the authors' case is that the Russian dictator wanted to install another lapdog in an annexed Ukraine.</span></b></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Finland, the 31st member of NATO in 2023, shares a 1,340 km (832-mile) eastern frontier with Russia. After the war in Ukraine began Helsinki opted for the protection of NATO's Article Five, which says an attack on one member is an attack on all.</b></span><b style="color: #38761d;"> </b></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Finnish public opinion towards joining NATO was at 78% last November.</b></span></p>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">The Gulags returns</span></h1>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b>Vladimir Lenin</b> began the slave labour camps in 1919 and in the 1930s they were filled with victims of Stalin's reign of terror.</p> <div>The word <b>Gulag is an acronym (used from 1930) for Glavnoye Upravleniye LAGerey, or Main Camp Administration.</b> The majority of Gulag prisoners were political prisoners locked up for a broad variety of political reasons. These prisoners not only had to endure brutal hard labour conditions but also terrorism from guards and criminal prisoners. Historians estimate the total number of Gulag prisoners at 15-18mn, of whom at least 1.5mn did not survive their incarceration.<div><br /></div><div><b>Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)</b> fought in World War II, achieving the rank of captain of artillery; in 1945, however, he was arrested for writing a letter in which he criticized <b>Joseph Stalin</b> (although the friends referred to him in disguised terms) and he spent eight years in prisons and labour camps. <b>After the completion of the sentence in 1953, he wrote, that he was "EXILED FOR LIFE to Kok-Terek (southern Kazakhstan). This measure was not directed especially against me, but was a very usual procedure at that time."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Josef Stalin</b> died in 1953 and in 1956, at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party,<b> Nikita Khrushchev, the new leader,</b> made a "secret speech," when he denounced the excesses of the Stalin era and Stalin's personality cult, for six hours.</div><div><br /></div><div>T<b>he Gulags were wound down and Solzhenitsyn was able to get his novel 'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich' published in 1961. Solzhenitsyn said "The printing of my work was, however, stopped almost immediately and the authorities stopped both my plays and (in 1964) the novel, 'The First Circle,' which, in 1965, was seized together with my papers from the past years. During these months it seemed to me that I had committed an unpardonable mistake by revealing my work prematurely and that because of this I should not be able to carry it to a conclusion."</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>Nobel Prize in Literature 1970</b> was awarded to Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn "for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature." </div><div><br /></div><div>'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,' 'The First Circle' and 'The Cancer Ward' (the latter novels had been published outside Russia) were cited by the Swedish Academy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Solzhenitsyn was refused permission to go to Stockholm to accept the prize. In 1965<b> Mikhail Sholokhov,</b> author of 'And Quiet Flows the Don' made the trip to Sweden as he enjoyed official favour. In 1958, <b>Boris Pasternak,</b> a poet, won the prize mainly for his novel 'Doctor Zhivago,' but he was forced by Krushchev to refuse the award.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The 'Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation' in three volumes, was written between 1958 and 1968 by Solzhenitsyn. It was first published in 1973 in French and later in English.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The writer was arrested and charged with treason on February 12, 1974. He released the text of <b>'Live Not by Lies'</b> that day. He was stripped of his citizenship and then exiled from the Soviet Union.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Later in the day, a Russian aircraft arrived in Frankfurt, West Germany with Solzhenitsyn on board.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The New York Times noted that the <b>"action against the Nobel Prize author was the first forced expulsion of a major political dissident since 1929, when Stalin ordered Leon Trotsky exiled to Turkey."</b></div><p>Solzhenitsyn returned home from the United States in 1994.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqbRZXu91zL1RelCuUgnYWgtymqfCJpD6bhRQxAgPpBkv6LaNxnix4-gUgc8poXfEH354dZ7KiQd63nFqk7wVA8woQPJpLHV_sVXv9NTGpy2M14IUo1LgWzb0cP_tbPV3qXkAD-Q7pGYXHIU1ErA50SN4SJjDIUJ0LQr-s-HdPD28va2WB8c/s1280/maria-ponomarenko-Russian_Journalist_2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqbRZXu91zL1RelCuUgnYWgtymqfCJpD6bhRQxAgPpBkv6LaNxnix4-gUgc8poXfEH354dZ7KiQd63nFqk7wVA8woQPJpLHV_sVXv9NTGpy2M14IUo1LgWzb0cP_tbPV3qXkAD-Q7pGYXHIU1ErA50SN4SJjDIUJ0LQr-s-HdPD28va2WB8c/w640-h360/maria-ponomarenko-Russian_Journalist_2023.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">Journalist Maria Ponomarenko (44) is pictured in Leninsky District Court on Tuesday, February 14, 2023. A Russian court has sentenced journalist Maria Ponomarenko to six years in prison for a Telegram post that the court said spread “false information,” state news agency TASS said. Ponomarenko was detained last April and charged with publishing “false information” on her Telegram channel about a Russian airstrike on a theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine, that killed hundreds, and for which Russian authorities deny responsibility. A court in Russia’s city of Barnaul in Western Siberia sentenced Ponomarenko to “six years of jail time in a general regime correctional colony,” the press service of the court said in a statement according to TASS. Maria has two young children.</span></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>“First and foremost it is worth acknowledging that the demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” Putin said in 2005. “As for the Russian people, it became a genuine tragedy. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens and countrymen found themselves beyond the fringes of Russian territory."</b></div><div><div><br /></div><div>Putin was in his first term and in an apparent response to foreign allegations that Russia has been backtracking on democracy, he said <b>"Russia’s main political task was to develop as a free, democratic nation with European ideals."</b> He stressed that individual freedoms would not be compromised by strengthening the state.<b> However, the seeds were being sown: restrictions had been placed on independent media and ending the direct election of governors which ensured a compliant federal parliament.</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The Russian commentator, Dmitri Trenin, who supports the war said last year <b>“Putin is a pre-communist leader . . . He is a tsar.”</b></div><p><b>Since the dictator's war started in February 2022 at least 500,000 Russians have fled and 20,000 people have been detained for political and antiwar protests last year, according to human rights group OVD-Info. A second arrest risks being in prison for at least 5 years.</b></p>
<p>In 2021 alone, the country’s population dropped by 693,000, or about 0.5% according to The Economist.</p><p><b>
It's a crime in the Putin dictatorship to mention the 1939-41 Nazi-Soviet pact when Stalin and Hitler agreed to carve up Eastern Europe. Stalin invaded six independent countries — Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania — compared to Hitler’s conquest of nine (or 10 if one counts the Channel Islands.)</b></p><p>The Financial Times reports "that at least 440 people — artists, priests, teachers, students and doctors — have had criminal cases opened against them, according to OVD-Info. Many are awaiting trial in jail, and some face sentences of up to 15 years. Others have fled the country."</p><div><b>The dictatorship also is similar to what Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn experienced in the 1960s.</b></div><p>Today there is no independent press and Putin, the war criminal and killer of his own people, can bask in public polls that apparently show support for the invasion of Ukraine. The dictator of course is popular!</p><p><b>In 2021 The Moscow Times reported that "Around 500 super-rich Russians control more wealth than the poorest 99.8% of Russians, according to a new report into Russia’s inequality problem.</b></p><p>The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that Russia’s financial elite — the approximately 500 individuals with a net worth of more than $100mn — controlled 40% of the country’s entire household wealth."</p><p><b>Putin's Kleptocracy has the 1% controlling 58% of the wealth according to a Swiss bank.</b></p><p>Last year the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) told Reuters that the country's banks held between 150bn and 200bn Swiss francs ($160bon to $214bn) of Russian money.</p><p><a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/04/01/russians-are-fewer-poorer-and-more-miserable-than-a-decade-ago" target="_blank"><b>Russians are fewer, poorer and more miserable than a decade ago</b></a></p><p>The average nominal household income of a Russian in 2021 was 57,000 roubles or $700 per month.</p><p><b>World Bank data for 2021 show that GDP (gross domestic product) per capita for Russia was at $12,200 (US current $). It coincided with the average for the World. In 2013 the level was $16,000.</b></p><p><b>$48,200 (High Income countries); Ireland $47,000; Denmark $68,000; Italy 35,700; Germany $51,200; Poland $18,000; Euro Area $42,450; EU $38,400 and Central Europe + the Baltics $18,700.</b></p><p><b>President Barack Obama,</b> explaining in December 2016 why he didn’t do more to stop Kremlin-directed hacks of US political institutions, mocked Russia as a sad, declining power:</p><blockquote><p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">“They are a smaller country, they are a weaker country, their economy doesn’t produce anything that anybody wants to buy except oil and gas and arms,” he said. “They don’t innovate.”</span></b></p></blockquote>
<h1><b style="color: #38761d;">The useful idiots</b></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbMlMYic8zLlpcDW_fR4g0mj9eRfZo_JxC9kLrEY4tudhcqk1A9Bs6kbI68hmEjcczH5zVZ55VkSMFtyJRKrSROF5csjghjA1l235DEDFrTKSyqhCxei1laQaCLsGWvbeuBXJqQrGkxyd_nGpFivjKYA8wwDmNIdEMuRuYNkp1Z-HuEISnFk/s976/Russian_spy_ship.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbMlMYic8zLlpcDW_fR4g0mj9eRfZo_JxC9kLrEY4tudhcqk1A9Bs6kbI68hmEjcczH5zVZ55VkSMFtyJRKrSROF5csjghjA1l235DEDFrTKSyqhCxei1laQaCLsGWvbeuBXJqQrGkxyd_nGpFivjKYA8wwDmNIdEMuRuYNkp1Z-HuEISnFk/w640-h360/Russian_spy_ship.webp" width="560" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7W2qPzq9ivcFPzHRRG5hXrGklhfyaEFoUVm2Z5cJfvj_dFVNq_CqE-axyP5fNmL3LdC2FH0zkA3wJVwo7P7hsDSWXavPYaej7ZT4eXNkdqNJHWvD-Q95Mm2VoVsJ81-nPYRlMMcOwf26Kk6sCf0yjoe17zJa6cFW1t4PBx9HybOSuyDpC9s/s850/Russian_spy_ship-Denmark.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="850" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH7W2qPzq9ivcFPzHRRG5hXrGklhfyaEFoUVm2Z5cJfvj_dFVNq_CqE-axyP5fNmL3LdC2FH0zkA3wJVwo7P7hsDSWXavPYaej7ZT4eXNkdqNJHWvD-Q95Mm2VoVsJ81-nPYRlMMcOwf26Kk6sCf0yjoe17zJa6cFW1t4PBx9HybOSuyDpC9s/w640-h360/Russian_spy_ship-Denmark.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #38761d; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Russia has a programme to sabotage wind farms and communication cables in the North Sea, according to new allegations. The details come from a joint investigation by public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland in April 2023. It says Russia has a fleet of vessels disguised as fishing trawlers and research vessels in the North Sea.</span></b></div>
<p><b>Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, each consisting of two pipes, were built by Russia's state-controlled Gazprom to pump 110bn cubic metres (bcm), while close to the Danish economic zone, were blown up last September. It's not known which country or countries were involved.</b></p><p>I have previously noted that the term <b><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/10/putins-irish-useful-idiots-vote-down.html" target="_blank">"useful idiot," for a naive or unwitting person, was believed to be first recorded in 1864 in 'The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art,' a London periodical. The context was politics in France.</a></b></p><p>In the 20th century, it was linked to Vladimir Lenin, the father of the Bolshevik Revolution but in the West the useful idiot expected Soviet communism to usher in a system of government that would outlast capitalism.</p><p>In 1917 <b>Bertrand Russell (1872–1970),</b> the British philosopher, logician, essayist and social critic, saw it as “one of the great heroic events of the world’s history.” However by 1920, he understood that the new rulers were facing huge challenges but the problem was not communism in itself, he questioned the wisdom of holding a creed such as Marxism so firmly that for its sake men are willing to inflict widespread misery.</p><p><b>George Bernard Shaw, the Anglo-Irish writer, excused mass murder as others did.</b></p><p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2021/06/useful-idiots-from-bernard-shaw-to.html" target="_blank"><b>Useful idiots from Bernard Shaw to President Michael D Higgins</b></a></p><p><b>What has been extraordinary in the past decade is that Putin has won admirers in the West from contemporary useful idiots of the far right and far left.</b></p><p>The Kremlin has also bankrolled European populist parties.</p><p>Trump has been an admirer including his followers and Fox News presenters.</p><p><b>Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was travelling over conflict-hit Ukraine on 17 July 2014 when it disappeared from radar. A total of 298 were on board. There are “strong indications” the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, personally signed off on a decision to supply the missile that downed flight MH17 in 2014, a team of international investigators has said. The Netherlands and Australia said in 2018 that Russia was responsible for the disaster.</b></p><p>In France, the radical right-wing leader Marine Le Pen and the wealthy radical-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon both support Putin.</p><p><b>Mélenchon wants to destroy the EU, lead France out of NATO and deprive Europe of its own defence capabilities. The craven politician confirmed his useful idiot status when he commented on Putin’s barbaric war in Syria “I congratulate Russia on its actions in Syria.”</b><b>He was also an admirer of the late Hugo Chávez, the populist leader of Venezuela.</b></p><p>The recent US intelligence leak showed that Kremlin documents recorded meetings between its officials and Russian political strategists about how to unite elements in <b>the German Left Party and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), behind a common, pro-Moscow cause.</b> "The documents basically show that Kremlin officials gave orders to a group of political strategists working with the Kremlin to focus on Germany as the base for efforts to weaken support in Europe for Ukraine and to try and sap support for weapons deliveries," according to The Washington Post.</p><p><b>Der Spiegel,</b> the German news magazine, said in March, that <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/dubious-alliance-how-present-is-the-far-right-in-germany-s-new-peace-movement-a-d6604351-fc06-49af-ac4c-b9a52220d167" target="_blank">"Putin’s war in Ukraine is unsettling many in Germany. A new peace movement is forming in the country, but it is stirring up the ghosts of German history – and has an open flank to the extreme right."</a></p><p>"I can fully understand the emotional response. Everyone wants peace," says Jamila Schäfer, a 29-year-old Green Party member of parliament. "But some people confuse the pacifist objective with the pacifist method." Schäfer also considers herself to be a pacifist. "But I am not going to resign myself to falling into a state of desperate helplessness as soon as an aggressor starts a war."</p><p><b>Sinn Féin, the Irish political party, had a love affair with the Kremlin tyrant. The funny thing was that when Crimea was annexed, SF would not criticise the dictator.</b></p><p>In 2015, Sinn Féin abstained from a European Parliament resolution which condemned human rights abuses in Russia and slammed the dictator's annexation of Crimea in Ukraine. When Putin in 2018 sent his goons to the UK to kill a former intelligence and his daughter, <b>Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Féin, criticised the condemnation of Leo Varadker, the taoiseach, as “a flagrant disregard for Irish neutrality.”</b></p><div>In the second world war<b> <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/news/co-opting-nazi-germany-neutrality-europe-during-world-war-ii" target="_blank">in Europe, there was no state totally neutral.</a></b> </div><div><br /></div><div><b>On May 2, 1945, Éamon de Valera, the taoiseach, visited the German Embassy in Dublin to offer his personal condolences over the death of Adolf Hitler, who had committed suicide in the Führerbunker two days earlier. Maybe he thought it was in line with neutrality!?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Douglas Hyde, Ireland's president during the second world war, also offered condolences to Germany's representative in Dublin over the death of Adolf Hitler. The secretary to the president was said to have called on "His Excellency, the German minister, Dr Hempel" on May 3rd, 1945.</div><p>McDonald suggested that any abuse of human rights should be ignored by an Irish leader.</p><p><b>In 2019, then Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan accused the EU of being “overly confrontational” towards Russia and defended voting against plans to block a Russian gas line.</b></p><p>In December 2021 the party’s MEP, Chris MacManus, <b>voted against a landmark resolution that supported Ukraine’s independence,</b> which stressed that Putin’s military build-up at Ukraine’s borders represented a threat to Europe’s peace, and called on Russia to respect its international obligations.</p><p><b>Three other Irish MEPs (members of the European Parliament), Clare Daly, Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, and Mick Wallace, gave speeches in the European Parliament condemning the EU, the US and NATO while praising the regimes in Russia, China, Syria and elsewhere.</b></p><div>Daly and Wallace love dictators. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Naomi O'Leary of The Irish Times<a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/how-clare-daly-and-mick-wallace-became-stars-of-authoritarian-state-media-1.4854028" target="_blank"> wrote last September</a></b> [When Dublin MEP Clare Daly stood up to denounce sanctions on Russia last week in the European Parliament and say <b>that the EU’s response makes her “absolutely sick”, within a day the clip was being played on Russian state television.</b></div><div><div><br /></div><div>The speech was broadcast on the country's two most popular channels, the state-controlled Rossiya-1 and Channel One, where a presenter and a guest discussed it as evidence that Western politicians were coming around to the Kremlin's point of view on the Ukraine invasion.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>"This is a very important precedent which suggests that many politicians in Europe don't want to participate in this information campaign which demonises our country,"</b> remarked the guest, Nikita Danyuk of a Russian strategic studies institute.] More here:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/10/putins-irish-useful-idiots-vote-down.html" target="_blank"><b>Putin's Irish useful idiots vote down European Parliament resolution on Russia</b></a></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>The other prominent Irish useful idiot is Chay Bowes, who has become a correspondent of the Kremlin's propaganda broadcasting service Russia Today.</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rCp1yScI_Bw0bQRKFO1pK6keiwZpznBBtjEkJ-XLfTCCiEtih-52O6qcAU-jWsXS9AnMgvIKT3uud4kC_lBMHyVrCjk4AoEPs_M5P4c1wdMOUdLvdOyXlL39mMf_xAiLZCZxL1VCC50nsS8yJf1DcPeA13JCeGfyXlzn9lBDY-AZ3Vg-yfE/s645/Russia_Bowes_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="578" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rCp1yScI_Bw0bQRKFO1pK6keiwZpznBBtjEkJ-XLfTCCiEtih-52O6qcAU-jWsXS9AnMgvIKT3uud4kC_lBMHyVrCjk4AoEPs_M5P4c1wdMOUdLvdOyXlL39mMf_xAiLZCZxL1VCC50nsS8yJf1DcPeA13JCeGfyXlzn9lBDY-AZ3Vg-yfE/w574-h640/Russia_Bowes_2023.JPG" width="574" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>In a Twitter post, he was compared with William Joyce (1906-1946), better known to the British public as “Lord Haw-Haw,” who broadcasted anti-British propaganda on behalf of Nazi Germany during World War II.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>In Dublin Bowes had an investment in The Ditch, a political news service<b> that is effectively controlled by Paddy Cosgrave of the Web Summit.</b></div><div><div><br /></div><div><b>Bowes will be safe on his trips to Moscow while real journalists have been silenced.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPG) <b><a href="https://cpj.org/data/killed/europe/russia/?status=Killed&motiveConfirmed%5B%5D=Confirmed&motiveUnconfirmed%5B%5D=Unconfirmed&type%5B%5D=Journalist&type%5B%5D=Media%20Worker&cc_fips%5B%5D=RS&start_year=1992&end_year=2023&group_by=location" target="_blank">says that 82 journalists and media workers have been murdered in Russia in 1992-2023.</a></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The useful idiots say <b>the <i>casus belli</i> was the expansion of NATO</b> but as pointed out above before Putin became a full dictator he had no problem with NATO.</div><div><br /></div><div>Three decades ago, the newly independent country of Ukraine was briefly the third-largest nuclear power in the world.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Thousands of nuclear arms had been left on Ukraine's soil after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, Ukraine made the decision to completely denuclearize. In exchange, in 1994 the US, the UK and Russia gave a guarantee that Ukraine's security would be upheld in an agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Putin reneged on it.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>While the US can be criticised for military adventures, the useful idiots lick the boots of the dictators.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The useful idiots also can harshly criticise their own leaders at home but similar criticism of Putin would risk a treason charge and 25 years in the Gulag. </b></div><div><br /></div><div>Bowes <a href="http://theislander.eu/" target="_blank"><b>has written</b></a> "...your author and many others like me are essentially anti-war advocates, who earnestly seek to challenge the profit fuelled neoliberal hegemony that has led Europe, blindly, to the brink of a third world war. As the Russian army crossed the Ukrainian border in the early hours of February 24th, not only did it spell the end of decades of Russian warnings about NATO's eastward expansion onto its borders, it may also have marked the end of a global world order dominated by the US and its dollar."</div><div><br /></div><div>He appends a commentary by a Swiss businessman who had lived in North Korea for 7 years (it's much better than portrayed) while the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Northwest China are not mistreated.</div>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">United Nations: </span></b>The assessment finds that the scale of the arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. 31 Oct 2022</p>
<p><b>Some foreign Kremlin apologists may be gobshites but it’s likely that most of them know what's going on. These despicable heartless people trade on getting the proverbial 15 minutes of fame while the dictator murders Ukrainian civilians in their homes.</b></p><p>Serhii Plokhy author of the book<b> 'Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation'</b> noted in 2017 <b>"When Putin pushes the idea that Russians and Ukrainians are the same people, he doesn't mean that Russians are Ukrainians. The underlying argument is that Ukrainians are really Russians."</b></p>
<p><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The Kremlin website in English July 12, 2021:</span></b> <a href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/66181" target="_blank"><b>Article by Vladimir Putin "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians"</b></a></p><blockquote><p>Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians are all descendants of Ancient Rus, which was the largest state in Europe...The throne of Kiev held a dominant position in Ancient Rus. <b>This had been the custom since the late 9th century.</b></p><p>...Our kinship has been transmitted from generation to generation. It is in the hearts and the memory of people living in modern Russia and Ukraine, in the blood ties that unite millions of our families. Together we have always been and will be many times stronger and more successful. For we are one people.</p><p>Today, these words may be perceived by some people with hostility. They can be interpreted in many possible ways. Yet, many people will hear me. And I will say one thing – Russia has never been and will never be ”anti-Ukraine." And what Ukraine will be – it is up to its citizens to decide.</p></blockquote><p><b>In 2014 Russia seized control of Eastern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, followed by a limited international backlash.</b></p><p>In 2022 Putin assumed that the capture of the rest of Ukraine would be easy and the whole of the country would have been annexed. Last September Putin unilaterally declared the annexation of areas in and around four Ukrainian oblasts – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.</p><p>The Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires annexed Ukraine in the late 1700s while Poland disappeared from the map.</p><p><b>A referendum on the Act of Declaration of Independence was held in Ukraine on December 1, 1991. An overwhelming majority of 92.3% of voters approved it. International observers attended and over 84% of eligible voters turned out.</b></p><p> The day after the referendum was held, Poland and Canada recognised Ukraine’s independence. By the end of December 1991, the number of such countries increased to 74 – 25 days after the Ukrainian independence referendum was held, the Soviet Union collapsed.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/03/putins-versions-of-history-are-myths.html" target="_blank"><b>Putin's versions of history are myths</b></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2021/02/the-big-lies-of-adolph-hitler-and.html" target="_blank"><b>The Big Lie from Hitler to Putin and Versailles</b></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/03/ukraine-george-orwell-and-emergence-of.html" target="_blank"><b>Ukraine, George Orwell and emergence of state sovereignty</b></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/02/putin-follows-peter-great-as-russias-1.html" target="_blank"><b>Putin follows Peter the Great as Russia's 1% own 59% of the wealth</b></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/10/putins-irish-useful-idiots-vote-down.html" target="_blank"><b>Putin's Irish useful idiots vote down the European Parliament resolution on Russia</b></a></p></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-7351450348792510832023-04-11T07:26:00.010+01:002023-08-11T05:35:20.910+01:00Success of Irish economy masks the extent of underlying weakness <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHswzGzFfJlw1euyxVhypsqdCmKOWbgKOgf-6QiZJR38OV6SObu-ERICkZM9ct2LnZwwQIoc5blU0RtMD3uV1DT90oSidsIiRPKr7PujVk4Mf-j3IknNbFiMUI7NwmE8oeXID6AYCLdSIPv9ys_HeJBqR4WneWWpcVyerBbeniohiIDdisqs0/s784/Oecd_energy_2022.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="784" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHswzGzFfJlw1euyxVhypsqdCmKOWbgKOgf-6QiZJR38OV6SObu-ERICkZM9ct2LnZwwQIoc5blU0RtMD3uV1DT90oSidsIiRPKr7PujVk4Mf-j3IknNbFiMUI7NwmE8oeXID6AYCLdSIPv9ys_HeJBqR4WneWWpcVyerBbeniohiIDdisqs0/w640-h520/Oecd_energy_2022.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The International Energy Agency was set up in the wake of the 1973-1974 oil crisis to help industrialised countries to respond to major oil shocks — this year the head has warned that the “energy battle” between Europe and Russia is not over, despite a sharp drop in wholesale gas prices that has eased concerns over high bills and blackouts. Fatih Birol said Europe’s efforts to replace Russian gas supplies this winter had been a “big success” but cautioned there were lingering fears over next winter.</span></b> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/23/energy-battle-europe-russia-international-energy-agency"><b>IEA</b></a></span></p><p>Indigenous Irish exports were <b>4.7% of total merchandise and services exports in 2021,</b> dominated by FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) firms.</p><p><b>In 2021, the highest price level for consumer goods and services among the EU member states was observed in Ireland (44 % above the EU average) and the lowest in Romania (45 % below the average).</b></p><p>The USA was Ireland’s largest merchandise export market in 2021, with over €52bn in exports. This accounted for 32% of the total value of exports. Medical & Pharmaceutical Products and Organic Chemicals comprised €37bn, or 71% of the total exports to the USA in 2021, according to the CSO (Central Statistics Office). The second biggest export partner was the UK with over €18bn of exports, closely followed by Germany with over €17.7bn.</p><p>China and Belgium (for onward flights to other destinations) complete the list of the remaining top 5 export markets.</p><p>The UK was the biggest source of imports in 2021, with imports of €19.5bn.</p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Ireland remains an important UK trading partner</span></b></h1><p>The UK’s trade surplus with Ireland was the UK’s second highest, after the surplus with the United States. Ireland was one of seven EU countries the UK had a trade surplus in 2021 — the remaining six were with Malta, Luxembourg, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Denmark and Estonia. Overall, Ireland was the UK's fourth-largest export market and tenth-largest source of imports.</p><p>A UK Department of Business & Trade <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1142147/ireland-trade-and-investment-factsheet-2023-03-17.pdf" target="_blank">factsheet</a> issued on March 17, 2023, noted that total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Ireland was £82.0bn in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, an increase of 25.2% or £16.5bn from the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021.</p><p>Ireland was the UK’s 6th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022 accounting for 5.0% of total UK trade.</p><p>In 2021, 40% of Northern Ireland's goods exports were to the Republic of Ireland (compared to 7% for the UK as a whole) while 36% of Northern Ireland's goods imports were from the Republic of Ireland (compared to 3% for the UK as a whole).</p><p>UK exports to Ireland were worth £41.6bn; imports from Ireland were £20.4bn, resulting in a trade surplus of £21.3bn. The UK had a surplus with Ireland in both goods and services.</p><p>Ireland was<b> <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8173/CBP-8173.pdf" target="_blank">the UK’s 4th largest export market and the 10th largest source of imports.</a></b></p>
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<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Euro Area </span></b></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VdRFGE9N7toyCXvgEelPfm2D8TgsCdV03MxFuvEq_gDql35KHopyjhbMwXa0Qi8JsprO-Xra0qLGfx7tCkWcLfl4HlNZf5DBSZDXAjdZpYx_Xu8EC0UHTQ7f8eeOMh3B-P1hv3x9cGi7mNv1kgebPJw2YOgX11gDaHKrQuRkYQsYcEcMWKw/s759/Euro_area_population_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="759" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VdRFGE9N7toyCXvgEelPfm2D8TgsCdV03MxFuvEq_gDql35KHopyjhbMwXa0Qi8JsprO-Xra0qLGfx7tCkWcLfl4HlNZf5DBSZDXAjdZpYx_Xu8EC0UHTQ7f8eeOMh3B-P1hv3x9cGi7mNv1kgebPJw2YOgX11gDaHKrQuRkYQsYcEcMWKw/w640-h308/Euro_area_population_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The 20 member countries of the Euro Area have a population of 346mn in 2023<b> and a market of 341mn for Irish indigenous firms.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Enterprise Ireland, the public agency for the support of indigenous firms, <b>reported in 2022 that exports were valued at 27.3bn in 2021.</b> Exports to the UK were valued at €8.4bn or 31% of the total <b>and the Euro Area was at €6.0bn or 22% of the total — €6.0bn is a paltry sum. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Food and Construction accounted for 58% of the total.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Single currency coins and banknotes were launched on January 2002 in 12 EU countries and they could trade in the bloc <b>without the hassle of different currencies.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Economists <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0176268023000137" target="_blank">in a paper</a> published in February 2023, suggest that Ireland and Greece may not have got an optimum benefit because they were periphery countries.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Income </span></h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">See the <b>CSO's definition</b> of <a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/interactivezone/statisticsexplained/nationalaccountsexplained/householdgrossdisposableincome/" target="_blank"><b>Household Gross Disposable Income per capita in Ireland.</b></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In February 2023 the CSO (Central Statistics Office) <a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cirgdp/countyincomesandregionalgdp2020/disposableincomebycounty/" target="_blank"><b>reported that the average disposable income per person in the state in 2020 was €23,471.</b></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Dublin City and County are the only regions where disposable income per person is significantly above the state average. It has the largest disposable income amounting to €27,686 per person according to the agency. Income has risen to 18% above average. Disposable income in Limerick is estimated at €26,248 per person, the next highest after Dublin.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Midlands region is the poorest at 18.7% below the state average per person while the Border and West regions also have per capita income significantly below the national average.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>The rankings below are from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Ireland has an 18th ranking among 38 Advanced and Emerging economies.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This indicator is in US dollars per capita at current prices and PPPs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The OECD says "<a href="https://www.oecd.org/sdd/purchasingpowerparities-frequentlyaskedquestionsfaqs.htm" target="_blank"><b>Purchasing Power Parities</b></a> are the rates of currency conversion that equalize the purchasing power of different currencies by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries. In their simplest form, PPPs are simply price relatives that show the ratio of the prices in national currencies of the same good or service in different countries. PPPs are also calculated for product groups and for each of the various levels of aggregation up to and including GDP."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" height="420" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://data.oecd.org/chart/71Ov" style="border: 0;" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="560"><a href="https://data.oecd.org/chart/71Ov" target="_blank">OECD Chart: Household disposable income, Gross, incl. social transfers in kind, US dollars/capita, Annual, 2018 – 2021</a></iframe>
</div></div><h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Prices</span></h1><div><br /></div><div>In 2021, the highest price level for consumer goods and services among the 27 EU member states was observed in Ireland <b><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Comparative_price_levels_of_consumer_goods_and_services" target="_blank">(44 % above the EU average) </a></b>and the lowest was in Romania (45 % below the average).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ireland had overtaken Denmark. In 2021 Germany was at 8% above the EU average of 100, while the then 19-country Euro Area was at 6%.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Irish food + Non-alcoholic beverages were 19.5% above average; Germany was at 4.6%; IE Alcohol was 107.8% above while DE (Germany) was -3.6; Clothing and Footwear were similar.</div><div><br /></div><div>IE Energy 13% above; DE 19%; IE Housing Appliances 15%; DE -1%; IE Consumer Electronics 9%; DE -7%; IE Personal Transport 13%; 1%; IE Transport Services 44%; DE 22.4%; IE Communication 50%%; DE 15.4%; IE Restaurants + Hotels 29%; DE 5%.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Last year Irish housing and energy costs were 84% higher than the EU average.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Why is Ireland so expensive?</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>Lack of competition, a periphery position, reliance on imports and high service costs, are factors.</div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>National Competitiveness Council (NCC)</b> in<b><a href="http://www.competitiveness.ie/publications/2022/irelands%20competitiveness%20challenge%202022.pdf" target="_blank">'Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2022'</a></b> noted "Reducing costs to business on the longstanding issues of credit costs, insurance costs and legal costs is vital to boosting the competitive position of Irish firms. Greater competition is needed in the lending market to reduce interest rates and direct costs to business and businesses also need to be made aware of affordable financing options as the tapering of Government COVID-19 supports to businesses continues. Relatively high legal costs may be placing businesses at a competitive disadvantage compared to other jurisdictions and it is important to understand the drivers of such costs in order to best identify any appropriate policy actions that could address them. It is also important to protect competitiveness by tackling issues that have a strong indirect impact on business costs. High housing and childcare costs can have a knock-on effect on wage demands, and the potential creation of inflationary cycles. It remains vital, therefore, that we continue to act to address high costs in housing and childcare."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Daragh Cassidy of the price comparison website Bonkers.ie, told the Irish Times last year [that one of the factors driving Ireland’s relatively high cost of living is cultural, namely our awkwardness around complaining, demanding a better service or shopping around to seek out better value.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>“Irish people have a morbid fear of being seen as tight-fisted,” he said. “If we were like the Germans, prices here would be lower...Would they be as low as Germany? No, because there are other reasons why prices are high but that cultural thing of not wanting to make a fuss when money is concerned, not wanting to complain when the service is bad, has an impact.”</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Irish imports of fruits and vegetable amount to about €1bn and in 2020 the Environmental Protection Agency noted that domestic production amounted to 61,800 tonnes, a 73% reduction since 1961 and a 14% reduction since 2010.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Tesco, the British grocer, has 164 outlets in Ireland and a typical Irish farmer is more likely to rely on Tesco for vegetables than himself or another farmer.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ireland produces about 360,000 tonnes of potatoes annually and it imports up to 100,000.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Ireland's production is similar to Norway and compares with 7mn in the Netherlands; 2.8mn in Denmark; 880,000 in Sweden and 620,000 in Finland.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Economist <b><a href="https://www.tasc.ie/blog/2022/06/30/why-is-ireland-such-a-highcost-country/" target="_blank">Rory O'Farrell</a></b> has said, "The price of goods in Ireland is largely in line with other European countries, except for alcohol and tobacco. Since 2003, goods prices have improved significantly relative to our European neighbours due to the arrival of large European retailers, improved logistics linked with our better motorways, larger shop sizes, and greater competition from online retailers."</div><div><br /></div><div>Dr O'Farrell said "The main category driving up the cost of services is housing, as renting is considered a service. <b>It is well known that renting a home in the open market is extremely expensive. It can be argued that the weighting given to rent is too high.</b> When compiling the statistics, buying a home is considered an investment rather than a consumer expense, so mortgage costs are not included. To make up for this, owner-occupiers are treated as renters. This can give an exaggerated figure for housing costs if renting is more expensive than owning a home."</div><div><br /></div><div>He added "Ireland does not subsidise services as much as in other countries. This can clearly be seen with transport services costing 40% above the EU average. In Paris, public transport is heavily subsidised, and €75.20 will allow you to use all public transport in the city for a month. In contrast, a Dublin Rambler ticket is €132 and only covers the bus.</div><div><br /></div> Other services like childcare tend to receive higher subsidies abroad, as does healthcare. <b>There is no such thing as a free lunch, and the flip side of this is that Irish workers keep a greater share of what employers pay them as cash.</b> Irish VAT is also a little bit higher than in most other countries, which pushes up our price level by a small amount."<div><div><b><span style="color: #38761d;"></span></b></div><h1><span style="color: #38761d;">The low number of exporters</span></h1><div></div><div>In 2019, the CSO reported that there were 4,096 enterprises in 2017 which exported exclusively to the UK. A total of 8,685 included foreign-owned firms.</div><div><br /></div><div>There were 39,550 persons engaged in enterprises exporting solely to the UK while 44.8% of their turnover was attributed to UK exports. There were 10,516 enterprises exporting goods and/or services to markets abroad.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The CSO reported to the OECD that the number in 2020 was 10,550.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Of 31 OECD member countries <b>Ireland, Costa Rica, Iceland, and Luxembourg</b> had the lowest number of exporters. <b>Denmark was at 25,370; Finland 18,230; Austria 36,500; Switzerland 48,500.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The 3 Baltic republics exceeded Ireland (population 5.1mn): Lithuania 17,140 (population 2.8mn); Latvia 11,900 (pop 1.9mn) and Estonia 13,300 (pop 1.3mn).</b></div><div><br /></div><div>There were just 298 large exporting enterprises (with over 250 employees) but they accounted for 69% (€96bn) of all goods exports in 2018. These large enterprises comprised only 3% of all enterprises.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Ireland had 278,860 enterprises in 2020 but 149,000 of them had no employees.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Since 2008 solo contractors and self-employed workers have risen by 62,600. In Denmark, there was no change from 2009-2020.</b></div>
<h1><span style="color: #38761d;">Poor entrepreneurship</span></h1><div><b>The share of employer start-ups (0-2-year-old enterprises) among active employer enterprises in 2020 for Ireland was 11%; Denmark 25.5%; the Netherlands 24%; Sweden 30%; Finland 27%; Norway 19%.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Ireland was at 10% in 2014 and Denmark was at 23.4%; Finland at 24%; Sweden at 29% and the Netherlands was 23%.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The Irish data include foreign-owned firms.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>In most OECD economies, for example, SMEs account for upwards of 95% of all firms, around two-thirds of total employment and over half of the business sector value-added, but their contribution to overall exports is significantly lower – <b>between 20% to 40% for most OECD economies.</b></div></div><div><div><br /></div><div>The OECD <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/85afe106-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/85afe106-en" target="_blank">noted</a> in 2019 that "Ireland’s direct SME export levels are very low by international standards, <b>with only about 6% of Irish SMEs directly trading across borders.</b> Furthermore, a high share of existing SME exporting trade only is with the neighbouring UK market. Although SMEs may also contribute to exports indirectly, for example by providing multinational firms with components and services, the share of SMEs in total domestic value added in exports is also relatively low."</div><div><br /></div><div><b>In 2020 the exporting ratio for SMEs was 8% [Micro firms (1-9 employees); small firms </b><b>10-49 and medium firms 50 -249).</b></div><br /></div><div><div>Ireland and Belgium<b> have the worst data on employer enterprise births and while death rates are low, it suggests poor business dynamism</b>.</div><div><br /></div><div>In 2020 the Irish birth rate was 3.8% and the death rate was (1.3%). Ireland's birth rate was 3.9% in 2018 and the death rate was 2.8%. Data include foreign-owned firms. Belgium's rates in 2020 were 3.5% (3.2%).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>In 2020 Denmark's rates were 15.5% (1.7%); Finland's 12% (10%); Germany's (was 7.6% (8.2%); the Netherlands at 8.2% (8.3%); Sweden was at 11.3% (10.20%).</b></div><div><div><br /></div><div>In November 2015, <b>Catherine Mann, then chief economist of the OECD, </b>said in Dublin that Ireland would have to sell itself as more than just a low-tax destination in the new era of global tax transparency.</div><div><br /></div><div>She also highlighted <b>the poor links between the foreign-owned sector and the rest of the economy,</b> with Ireland having one of the lowest EU spends on research and development (R&D), despite housing some of the most innovative firms in the world.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>"Global capital has come into Ireland...but somehow it hasn't translated into Irish-owned firms," said Dr Mann. "The patents are here, but they're not being linked into the domestic economy, not being levered up by domestic firms or married to domestic workers."</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2GvExypOYZPtlMlca7zLvMoZ45D6WnUrMy9Qx2ohIgzCnP5HCMyJzf5zKBHf39OMrrJuySKgCa2n23FjG6le887hIAVlt1hNB8J4xPTxUQJr1jY9dj4WuyB2ox5_hDwrxvM0Wyhfzg5OLLhX2IYKUl0lRYYx7oO4c5KfdHXruxTSYEovsPI/s1146/Kerry_Global_innovation_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="1146" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO2GvExypOYZPtlMlca7zLvMoZ45D6WnUrMy9Qx2ohIgzCnP5HCMyJzf5zKBHf39OMrrJuySKgCa2n23FjG6le887hIAVlt1hNB8J4xPTxUQJr1jY9dj4WuyB2ox5_hDwrxvM0Wyhfzg5OLLhX2IYKUl0lRYYx7oO4c5KfdHXruxTSYEovsPI/w640-h422/Kerry_Global_innovation_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div></div></div><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Innovation</span></b></h1><div><div><div><b>The Irish food company, Kerry Group, has the biggest research and development (R&D) facility in Ireland. The Global Technology and Innovation Centre in Naas, Co. Kildare, has a 28-acre campus serving the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region. It employs over 900 people (with almost 40 different nationalities represented).</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Kerry's 2021 global expenditure was €310mn and it had a 567 rank among the top 2,500 business firm R&D spenders in the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>The <b>Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) </b>administered by the <a href="https://www.wipo.int/pct/en/faqs/faqs.html" target="_blank"><b>World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)</b></a> has 157 contracting countries. The WIPO says "The PCT makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in a large number of countries by filing a single international patent application instead of filing several separate national or regional patent applications. The granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional patent offices in what is called the "national phase." In Europe, it's the European Patent Office.”"</div><div><br /></div><div><b>In 2021 Ireland had 840 applications (in reality at least a third were fake) compared with Denmark at 1,540; the Netherlands at 4,132; Sweden at 4,453, Switzerland at 5,386; Germany 17,322; China 69,540 and US 59,570.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The top 5 PCT applicants (2019-2021) were all foreign-owned: <b>Eaton</b> <b>Intelligent Power Limited,</b> which is a US firm that is Irish for tax purposes, had 470 applications; Janssen Sciences Ireland Unlimited Company 74; Depuy Ireland Unlimited Company 65; Connaught Electronics Limited, has been owned by Valeo of France since 2007, has 60 and Analog Devices International Unlimited Company 55.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eaton was founded in 1911 in New Jersey. <b>The power generation manufacturer has no production in Ireland, which means that 29% of the Irish PCT patents in 2019-2021 were fake Irish.</b></div><div><br /></div><div> There are more of these redomiciled companies however, most of these firms, led by <b>Medtronic Medical Devices of the US</b> — are Irish for tax avoidance purposes but they are controlled outside Ireland. The CSO does not disclose the number but it said that employment in Ireland in 2018 was 11,000. For example, before Medtronic became "Irish," it already had an Irish medical devices plant in Galway, Ireland.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.wipo.int/edocs/statistics-country-profile/en/ie.pdf" target="_blank"><b>Medical Technology headed the individual sectors while the share of Irish university applications (2019-2021) was 10.2%.</b></a></div><div><br /></div><div>In 2021 the CSO reported<b> that foreign-owned firms accounted for 70% of the expenditure €3.4bn of Business R&D (BERD) in 2019.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Small enterprises with less than 50 persons engaged spent, over €465.1mn on R&D in 2019 which accounted for over 14.3% of the overall spend. Medium-sized enterprises employing between 50 and 249 persons spent €637.8mn in the same period which represented 19.6% of total spending while large enterprises which employed 250 persons accounted for 66.1% of all expenditure.</div><div><br /></div><div>The small enterprises accounted for 1242 firms or 69.1%; 371 medium firms or 20.6%, and large totalled 185 and 10.3%.</div><div><br /></div><div>The CSO reported that 657 or 36.5% of R&D active firms had a spend of under €100,000 in 2019. This was closely followed by the spend category €100,000-€499,999, with 32.8% of firms.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>A spend of less than €100,000 in the context of R&D is not serious.</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Among the SMEs are over 3,000 foreign-owned firms (Eurostat has reported on High-Growth Irish SMEs but these foreign affiliates can earn the moniker from the start of operations.</b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>In 2020 the number of large firms (250+) was 602 and 185 of them were involved in R&D.</div><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Exaggeration?</span></b></h1><div><b>Enterprise Ireland</b> says the "Research and Development (R&D) tax credit, administered by the Irish Revenue Commissioners is open to all companies in Ireland that are undertaking qualifying research and development activities in Ireland or within the European Economic Area. Qualifying R&D expenditure will generate a 25% tax credit offset against corporate taxes in addition to a tax deduction of 12.5%.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>This means that companies undertaking qualifying R&D can claim a refund from the Revenue of €37.50 for every €100 worth of R&D expenditure. So, effectively, the R&D tax credit reduces the real cost of R&D by up to 37.5%."</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the most generous R&D subsidy among the OECD countries.</div><div><br /></div><div>In Britain, <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/230/finance-bill-subcommittee/news/185805/lords-committee-publishes-report-on-research-and-development-tax-relief-and-expenditure-credit/" target="_blank">a Sub-Committee of the House of Lords</a> has "heard evidence that in recent years there has been an escalation in the abuse of R&D tax relief which has led to a loss of revenue. The relief was subject to large-scale organised criminal attacks and the activities of rogue advisers which involve targeting small companies, often persuading them to make invalid claims. In its most recent accounts, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimated the amount of error and fraud in its two R&D schemes at £469mn." </div><div><br /></div><div>In Ireland what was called a patent box was introduced as the<b> Knowledge Development Box (KDB) in the Finance Act 2015.</b> The KDB offered to reduce the rate of corporation tax (6.25% down from 12.5%) payable on such profits arising from qualifying IP assets. <b>However, it has been a flop. The take-up has been (12 in 2016, 13 in 2017, and ‘less than 10’ in 2020).</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The goal was to encourage foreign firms to carry out R&D in Ireland.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Just as the location of intellectual property (IP) assets can be shifted by making an accounting entry, patents can be shifted to take advantage of low-tax locations.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The New York Times reported in 2014: "Take the case of Gilead Sciences, which has come under severe criticism for the high cost of its in-demand new hepatitis C drug, Sovaldi, which sells for $1,000 a pill, or $84,000 for a typical course of treatment.</div><div><br /></div><div>Although Gilead, the developer of Sovaldi, is an American company based in Foster City, Calif., the patent rights have been transferred to an Irish subsidiary. So Gilead’s profits from the booming sales of Sovaldi are taxed at Ireland’s rate, which is well below the American one.</div><div><br /></div><div>Big pharmaceutical companies have done this for decades, as have some technology companies. Now biotechnology companies are following suit."</div><div><br /></div><div>Gilead gets approval for €45m expansion of Carrigtwohill site</div><div><br /></div><div>Gilead's Ireland operations in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork are responsible for manufacturing, quality control, packaging, and the release and distribution of the company's products in the European Union and other international locations. Last month an additional 500 people were employed.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited</b> operates as a software development company. The company says it provides Windows, Internet Explorer, and Skype software, as well as offers computers, laptops, and video game systems.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Business R&D is typically opaque: but this government data from 2022 on the category Computer Programming (software) is clear cut. Full-time employment in foreign-owned firms was at 41,600 and very poor at 2,400 in indigenous firms.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>It is likely that some of the foreign-owned R&D reported in Ireland also includes data from other affiliates. The 37.5% inducement is too generous to ignore the opportunity.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Exaggeration here is a euphemism as an Irish government would not wish to know!</div><div><br /></div><div>For example in 2022 the Chemicals + medical devices category in custom-tracked merchandise showed €133.8bn in exports minus imports €38.4bn) with a surplus of €95.4bn. Deducting €9bn for spending in the Irish economy on pay (€5.1bn); Irish sourced materials and services at (€3.8bn),<b> leaves a very large surplus of €86.5bn.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Then there are the fictions of overseas manufacturing which are called overseas contract manufacturing or goods for processing by the CSO. <a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-ia/internationalaccountsq42022/goodsandservices/" target="_blank">In 2022 €134.7bn less imports of €9bn resulting in another bonanza of €125.bn. This is where the fiction of Apple shipping merchandise from Ireland to China</a>.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Merchanting<b> <a href="https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-ia/internationalaccountsq42022/goodsandservices/" target="_blank">is another issue that relates to goods.</a> </b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div><br /></div><div>Services also provide dodgy opportunities for multinational firms.</div><div><br /></div><div>Proposed reforms will take time and the MNCs will always find loopholes. See <b><a href="https://taxjustice.net/2023/04/06/the-global-tax-rate-is-now-a-tax-haven-rewards-programme-and-switzerland-wants-in-first/" target="_blank">here,</a> <a href="https://www.oecd.org/tax/beps/international-tax-reform-oecd-releases-technical-guidance-for-implementation-of-the-global-minimum-tax.htm" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0512/how-large-corporations-get-around-paying-less-in-taxes.aspx." target="_blank">here.</a></b></div><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Discussion</span></b></h1><div><b>Housing completions </b>in 2011-2022 were at 163,000 while new jobs in the economy from the end of 2011 to the end of 2022 were at 710,000.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/12/foreign-born-in-ireland-overtake-irish.html" target="_blank"><b>Foreign-born in Ireland overtake Irish-born in countries overseas</b></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The Irish national debt is about €226bn which means it's above 100% based on Modified Gross National Income* of </b><b>€202bn</b><b> (further modified as I adjusted for a net additional €32bn to 'goods for processing').</b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>The debt now is 111% and the per capita burden is over €44,000.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The windfall for Ireland in FDI (foreign direct investment) <a href="https://www.fiscalcouncil.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/FAR-May-2022-Box-G-Exchequer-has-benefited-from-some-E22-billion-excess-corporation-tax-.pdf" target="_blank">corporation tax payments from 2015-2023</a> is about €45bn. If it had not been available </b><b> it would have been back to banjaxed time again</b><b>[companies such as Apple and Big Pharma in 2015 put Ireland as the virtual location of its IP (intellectual property) and other shenanigans].</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Public debt would be about 134%.</div><div><br /></div><div>The business firm's number of 529,000 employees was 21% of 2.55mn. <b>FDI firms in 2022 had 294,100 full-time employees while local firms had 191,000.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Temporary and part-time staff was 41,000.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>In 2021 FDI firms spent €33.5bn in the Irish economy (Pay: €20.1bn; €4.1 on Irish materials and €9.3 on local services). Irish firms spent €29.8bn (Pay: €9.5bn; €14.3bn on Irish materials and €6.0 on local services.) </b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCTA9Frqc0sJT_3-EfC7X9_jNXnwAtxRn2TOO_jEHUc1eBgxo06j5JfOAWHbLKyRsusRui95AA6tbNCJHfESJbC_rQC6rLTUgILMsddMo3A6PFwK_VhiAFE0M49AVDVaL49vKKr_iPybJ6XGVyMLUPp-8QfO6dSOc0jX4I-MrkmhUzeuRWLQ/s777/Ireland_innovation_2030.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCTA9Frqc0sJT_3-EfC7X9_jNXnwAtxRn2TOO_jEHUc1eBgxo06j5JfOAWHbLKyRsusRui95AA6tbNCJHfESJbC_rQC6rLTUgILMsddMo3A6PFwK_VhiAFE0M49AVDVaL49vKKr_iPybJ6XGVyMLUPp-8QfO6dSOc0jX4I-MrkmhUzeuRWLQ/s16000/Ireland_innovation_2030.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In May 2022 the Government launched a third aspirational report in 16 years for Ireland to be a "world-class" innovation economy.<b> <a href="https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/27c78-impact-2030-irelands-new-research-and-innovation-strategy/" target="_blank">'Impact 2030 Ireland’s Research and Innovation Strategy</a>'</b><b>has 73 mentions of 'strengthen' and variants, but no reference to weak or weakness. A reader has to do a puzzle to get in! </b></div></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>There were interdepartmental reports previously <a href="https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/publications/publication-files/consultation-for-successor-to-strategy-for-science-technology-innovation.pdf" target="_blank"><b>and one of them published in 2015 provided useful information.</b></a></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Based on 2012 data, the civil servants noted that 1) </b>Ireland's enterprise R&D expenditure is dominated by a relatively small number of firms.<b> 2) </b>Around 300 firms accounted for almost 70% of total R&D expenditure in 2012. <b>3) 13% of foreign-owned firms (107 firms), each spending over €2m, accounted for 88% of R&D spending in the foreign-owned sector in 2012. 4) There was c</b>omparatively lower absorptive capacity of indigenous SMEs. 5) A large proportion of foreign-owned firms (54%) were not R&D active.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Finally to Irish digital competence: in 2019 a report commissioned by the Irish Government (Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation) from the European Investment Bank noted, "Unbalanced digitalisation across firms: <a href="https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/publications/publication-files/the-digitalisation-of-small-and-medium-enterprises-in-ireland-%E2%80%93-executive-summary.pdf" target="_blank">40% of companies (mainly indigenous SMEs) in Ireland completely lack digital technologies,</a> with an additional 30% of businesses having few (from 4 to 6) digital assets" — that is 70% in total.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Trinity College is still promoting Dublin or Ireland as the <b>Digital Capital of Europe or the Silicon Valley of Europe.</b> If data matters, <b>London is the Digital Capital of Europe.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Estonia can claim the mantle of the Silicon Valley of Europe. With a population of 1.3mn, it ranks among the most digitally advanced societies in the world.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Brian Cowen, in office as taoiseach in 2008-2011,</b> and in the aftermath of the economic collapse, he promoted a project to develop a <b>European Silicon Valley in Dublin.</b> The 28-strong <b>Innovation Taskforce</b> reported in March 2010 and said "Were Ireland to achieve levels of employment in high-tech firms comparable with Silicon Valley, the numbers would increase substantially. More realistically, Ireland might aspire to be a leader in Europe and aim to have 15% of employment concentrated in high-tech firms.<b> This would result in almost 346,000 people being employed in high-tech firms by 2020 — a net increase of 215,000 jobs over the period."</b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>2010 was the bleakest year of the economic meltdown. There was a diaspora summit to seek help and weeks before the the IMF, the ECB and Britain lent a helping hand, Paddy Cosgrave and the other two co-founders of the Web Summit staged its inaugural event. It was good timing to get IDA Ireland staff in the US to lure big name techies to Dublin, while also getting some public funding.</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdM9UbmpKmsSO4n3i3H7ovWO-U6tupyUsn3H33nwo1g4yHW7Tt4IWXu2Fia5v5TbyskwY9alJNseMqnGTLhvtmyFoWkNgSTXWI24bdDgHTN2qTlFHq72cT7PVWoOx3s1K79VRyK-0iXYmy5l1Iiri7gzXfUKHvR_Dpg1qPW_TxJgssK0vBaA/s886/Irish-owned_computer_services.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="886" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdM9UbmpKmsSO4n3i3H7ovWO-U6tupyUsn3H33nwo1g4yHW7Tt4IWXu2Fia5v5TbyskwY9alJNseMqnGTLhvtmyFoWkNgSTXWI24bdDgHTN2qTlFHq72cT7PVWoOx3s1K79VRyK-0iXYmy5l1Iiri7gzXfUKHvR_Dpg1qPW_TxJgssK0vBaA/w640-h422/Irish-owned_computer_services.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">Other information technology and computer service activities: This class includes other information technology and computer related activities not elsewhere classified, such as:- computer disaster recovery services- installation (setting-up) of personal computers- software installation services</span></b></div></div><div><br /></div><div>At December 2022 the labour category<b> '<a href="https://www.openriskmanual.org/wiki/NACE_Section_J_-_Information_and_Communication" target="_blank">Information and communication</a>'</b> was at 6.4% of total employment — it includes newspapers, broadcasting and books.</div><div><br /></div><div>Above, I highligted the 41,600 Comuter Programming (software) in FDI firms and very poor 2,400 in indigenous firms.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The big firms also hire people for their languauge skills, admiistration and call centeres.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I also said that in Ireland since 2008 solo contractors and self-employed workers, have risen by 62,600.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for Irish startups, at an event in January 2022, it was stated <a href="https://irishtechnews.ie/scale-ireland-survey-shows-issues-for-start-ups/" target="_blank"><b>"There are currently more than 2,000 indigenous tech start-up and scale-up companies, employing more than 47,000 people in Ireland."</b></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>That would put the average number employed as 23, which doesn't make sense.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Irish venture capital data are not reliable as<b> foreign transactions are included, when foreign firms have become Irish for tax purposes.</b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2023/03/ft-1000-7th-ranking-of-europes-fastest.html" target="_blank"><b>FT 1000: 7th ranking of Europe’s fastest-growing companies 2023</b></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Ing Media, a unit of the Dutch Bank, last month ranked <a href="https://www.ing-media.com/insights/europes-most-talked-about-cities-2023" target="_blank"><b>Dublin</b></a> at 22 of 60 European cites on digital visibility. London, Paris and Madrid are on top.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcvgu5A76Mp-ZNv75NZx3P_8Hqzs-RlhAaIu2rBZ-j0y1wRYrFqvhG4DMNMiqKVc3WOfwfQXxakQi4fSjEWqQOa-477BsdOAUq7vWwOX5KApjTRHKF8WJ-EnCZGqPBrAesQxr9ppOikVR1SkPJPwqMEu8p5ehgal31LTrisyhsuwZtA9sDcE/s3323/AIC%20map%20final.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3323" data-original-width="3323" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcvgu5A76Mp-ZNv75NZx3P_8Hqzs-RlhAaIu2rBZ-j0y1wRYrFqvhG4DMNMiqKVc3WOfwfQXxakQi4fSjEWqQOa-477BsdOAUq7vWwOX5KApjTRHKF8WJ-EnCZGqPBrAesQxr9ppOikVR1SkPJPwqMEu8p5ehgal31LTrisyhsuwZtA9sDcE/w640-h640/AIC%20map%20final.png" width="560" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><b>Actual individual consumption (AIC) is a measure of the material welfare of households and in 2021 Ireland slipped again from the 100 EU average to 90, while Italy was almost close to the EU average. Ireland’s AIC per capita average is down from 115% in 2006-7. AIC includes about two-thirds of GDP.</b></span></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-59554170598489664502023-03-26T05:20:00.005+01:002023-03-26T08:59:27.041+01:00FT 1000: 7th ranking of Europe’s fastest-growing companies 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9abLIPCwAvmQ7lRjVc2z8e4rOeB92HJ_dPcwuqsmHjLA5H8Szm0X4tVAeEgt1zu6VVjoScyHUkAmmHQUbWc5_h-sqByFpnb18mPM3E2ZbBD4bLQ5GHfKmmmseNKboHAkFh7mvvuEClFkmIfRsbto-X9h8Q_2TTNlMlswwkHpCAcfPEtdL5FQ/s847/FT_Fast_growing_companies_Europe_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="847" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9abLIPCwAvmQ7lRjVc2z8e4rOeB92HJ_dPcwuqsmHjLA5H8Szm0X4tVAeEgt1zu6VVjoScyHUkAmmHQUbWc5_h-sqByFpnb18mPM3E2ZbBD4bLQ5GHfKmmmseNKboHAkFh7mvvuEClFkmIfRsbto-X9h8Q_2TTNlMlswwkHpCAcfPEtdL5FQ/w640-h426/FT_Fast_growing_companies_Europe_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Ireland has no native-born firms in the tech categories. The only entry is in the Food & Beverage category: <b>Bevcraft Group (181)</b>, a specialist process and packaging business. Last December it merged with a Norwegian firm — Cubicle 7 Entertainment (192); System.I0 (271); Zoosh Digital (423) — these 3 Irish firms were founded by foreign nationals.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The <b>Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA)</b> last month <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2023/02/12/venture-capital-investment-fell-sharply-in-fourth-quarter-of-2022/" target="_blank">reported</a> an estimate that venture capital investment "in Irish tech firms and SMEs in 2022 totalled €1.33bn, no change on the previous year." The <a href="https://www.ivca.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IVCA_VP_Datasheet_Q3_22.pdf " target="_blank">data</a> are not reliable as it includes foreign firms, mainly American, that become Irish for tax purposes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The <b>Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)</b> says <b>"Ireland has a large population of very low-productive SMEs that co-exist with high-productive large firms (mainly foreign firms)."</b> Employer firm births are low (even including foreign firms) and the number of firms that export is also low (separate article pending). </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>The Financial Times's FT 1000 published in March 2023 with Statista, a research company, data on the European companies with the highest compound annual growth rate in revenue between 2018 and 2021.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The minimum CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) required to be included on the rankings, was 36.2% — slightly below the 35.5% in last year’s ranking.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>The Big 4 countries Italy (260); Germany (217); the UK (155) and France (140) accounted for 772 of the 1,000 firms or 77%.</b></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">However, London has retained its position as the city with the most significant number of fast-growing companies, for the seventh consecutive year,<b> with 83 businesses listed, followed by Paris (34) and Milan (33).</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The FT 1000: </span></b><span><b><a href="http://on.ft.com/3Z9fBzJ" target="_blank">on.ft.com/3Z9fBzJ</a></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In this year’s FT1000 ranking, 356 of the companies featured were also ranked last year, and 125 have been on the list for three consecutive years.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>The tech categories: IT & Software (176); Ecommerce (96); Fintech (67); Technical Services (41); Media & Telecommunications (18) and Leisure & Entertainment (7) total 405 firms.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Poland has 48 entries; Spain 37; Sweden 17; Hungary 15; the Netherlands 14; Lithuania 11; Czechia and Norway 10 each; Denmark and Belgium 7; Switzerland, Finland and Portugal 6; Croatia 5; Greece and Romania 4; Cyprus, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria 3 each; Latvia and Iceland 1.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">UK firms have the first, second and fourth positions.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The FT says [<b>London-based Tripledot Studios, has turned this seemingly commoditised property into the foundation of a highly profitable business with more than 400 staff, about 50mn monthly active users and “several hundred million dollars”</b> in revenue last year, according to its founders. As a result, Tripledot tops the FT-Statista ranking of the fastest-growing companies in Europe.]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1M2dX4-k5rjgVPIk4XlroeyrZFeWo93hpkKXKkmvPXo6VhMoflGAAseHU_c8qRLQhgOd9QsEInUz1xw027OPZCMfacCNoib75-N2v43sBOQ58eCScvaKAmewI4cs8iB9_Pw79BGwqbkJ5jJT1HPHMzIadKLqS6KA71H1Qr2JLuu8vK3hXE-o/s1500/UK_Tripledot%20Studios-2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1500" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1M2dX4-k5rjgVPIk4XlroeyrZFeWo93hpkKXKkmvPXo6VhMoflGAAseHU_c8qRLQhgOd9QsEInUz1xw027OPZCMfacCNoib75-N2v43sBOQ58eCScvaKAmewI4cs8iB9_Pw79BGwqbkJ5jJT1HPHMzIadKLqS6KA71H1Qr2JLuu8vK3hXE-o/w640-h360/UK_Tripledot%20Studios-2023.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>In the Leisure & Entertainment category, Tripledot Studios had a compound annual growth rate of 794.7.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Criteria for inclusion:</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>1)</b> At least €100,000 in revenue was generated in 2018 Revenue of at least €1.5 million in 2021;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>2) </b>It is an independent company, not a subsidiary or branch office;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>3)</b> Between 2018 and 2021, revenue growth was primarily organic, i.e., “internally” stimulated;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>4)</b> Since 2021, a company’s share price has not fallen by 75% or more on a stock exchange;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) was calculated as follows: </span></b>(revenue2021 / revenue2018)^(1/3)) — 1 = CAGR The absolute growth between 2018 and 2021 was calculated as follows: (revenue2021 / revenue2018) — 1 = Growth rate.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Companies with headquarters in these countries were eligible to participate:</span></b> Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria<b>, </b>Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-45490731752462658742023-03-15T06:24:00.011+00:002023-03-15T07:46:47.829+00:00Children of 1960s refugees/asylum seekers to UK push for migrants to return to Africa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19oSwj6820v8x-NUd0efEDIEReyudueUgMeR8e9ij3snxW3w_5hHogLeuXNgF7p5or93Nh1rVl-HO35Zl692-_Ql7nw9bDEuhYI3cS_HO1Q7_bOzXbTRdAUPOu2o6610FiskqaMvcQqQe9OvGmAWKqgbGZfIZDRGodeMa-YIo61yDN7jBgzA/s820/Sunak-Braverman-Patel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="820" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19oSwj6820v8x-NUd0efEDIEReyudueUgMeR8e9ij3snxW3w_5hHogLeuXNgF7p5or93Nh1rVl-HO35Zl692-_Ql7nw9bDEuhYI3cS_HO1Q7_bOzXbTRdAUPOu2o6610FiskqaMvcQqQe9OvGmAWKqgbGZfIZDRGodeMa-YIo61yDN7jBgzA/w640-h352/Sunak-Braverman-Patel.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Their parents fled Africa as refugees in the 1960s. Now they want to ship migrants to Rwanda</b></div></span><p><b>Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, </b><b>Priti Patel, </b><b>the former Home Secretary in the Johnson administration, and Suella Braverman, the current Home Secretary, all support sending refugees to the African country of Rwanda, even if they had no family ties in that East African country. In the 1960s their parents fled Africa and likely broke the then-British laws.</b></p><p><b>Last year Suella Braverman said, “I would love to have a front page of The Telegraph with a plane taking off to Rwanda, that’s my dream, it’s my obsession.”</b></p><p>Britain abolished slavery in 1807 but existing slavery remained in the British Empire until 1834-1838. In effect for Indians a form of slavery remained called an indenture. Many Indians agreed to become indentured labourers to escape British-controlled India's widespread poverty and famines. Some travelled alone; others brought their families to settle in the colonies they worked in. </p><p>Between 1834 and 1917, Britain took more than 1mn Indian indentured labourers <b>to 19 British colonies, including Malaya, with its tin mining and rubber plantations.</b></p><p>In Africa, they settled in South and East Africa. Mauritius was successively a French and a British Colony during the period 1715-1968 and under British rule, Mauritius became a sugar-producing island.</p><p>White South Africa got its independence from Britain in 1961; Tanzania / Tanganyika in 1961-1964; Uganda in 1962; Keyna in 1963 and Mauritius in 1968.</p><p><b>Both the newly independent states in East Africa and the Republic of India did not want the Indo-African populations. Free Indian migrations in the 20th century had become elites in the countries.</b></p>
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<p>The Indo-Africans were British subjects but immigration from the Commonwealth countries was becoming a political issue.</p><p><b>The Commonwealth Immigrants Act became law in 1962 and it imposed stringent restrictions on the entry of Commonwealth citizens into the United Kingdom. Only those with work permits (typically only for high-skilled workers, such as doctors) were permitted entry.</b></p><p>On April 20, 1968, in what came to be called his <b>“Rivers of Blood” speech,</b> Enoch Powell, a member of the Tory front bench in the House of Commons, evoked the British race question. The nationality acts, he argued, were flooding London and Midlands ghettos with Indian, Pakistani, African, and West Indian immigrants, who could claim British citizenship because of their Commonwealth status. In time the influx, he charged, would cause a bloody race war. He also called for the voluntary repatriation of these immigrants.</p><p><b>The 1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act restricted entry only to those with a father or grandfather born in the UK. It got the Royal Assent on March 1, 1968.</b></p><p>In 1968 there was an estimated 345,000 Asian resident in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, and Uganda.</p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Exceptions?</span></b></h1><p><b>Rishi Sunak’s paternal grandfather, Ramdas Sunak,</b> emigrated from Punjab province (now part of Pakistan) in 1935. He became an official of the colonial administration in Keyna. His maternal grandfather, Raghubir Sain Berry MBE, also from Punjaj, worked as a tax official in Tanganyika. Yashvir and Usha Sunak, parents of Sunak were born in Kenya and Tanganyika respectively. The family fled Africa in 1966.</p><p>Yashvir, born in 1949, was enrolled in the school of medicine at the University of Liverpool.</p><p><b>Ramdas Sunak funded a Hindu temple in Southampton that opened in 1971.</b></p><p>The Sunak family was able to escape Africa, likely through connections with British officials in Nairobi and the fact that money was not a problem.</p><p><b>Priti Patel’s parents left Uganda in the 1960s, a few years before Idi Amin’s murderous regime.</b></p><p>The dictator’s brutal government waged war on ethnic minorities – killing Acholi people and Lango people; expelling 50,000 Asians who were British passport holders and seizing their property, the UK opened our borders and gave a safe home to thousands of people.</p><p>In 1972 Edward Heath, British prime minister allowed about 28,000 Ugandan Asians into the UK.</p><p><b>Patel's parents were well off and when she was Home Secretary she admitted that her own parents might not have been allowed into the UK under her new immigration laws.</b></p><p><b>Suella Braverman</b> said in her maiden speech in the House of Commons in 2015, about her father, “On a cold February morning in 1968, a young man, not yet 21, stepped off a plane at Heathrow airport, nervously folding away his one-way ticket from Kenya. He had no family, no friends, and was clutching only his most valuable possession, his British passport. His homeland was in political turmoil. Kenya had kicked him out for being British. My father never returned. He made his life here in Britain, starting on the shop floor of a paint factory,” she said.</p><p><b>This was bullshit!</b></p><p>Of course, a British passport wasn't enough. The House of Commons and the House of Lords had recently passed the <b>1968 Commonwealth Immigrants Act</b> which restricted entry only to those with a father or grandfather born in the UK.</p><p><b>Braverman’s father's family must have had some influence and money payment may have been involved.</b></p><p>Her mum was from Mauritius and she got work as a nurse in the NHS, while her father was from Kenya and he got work in a housing association. Her slogan is<b> "Aspiration is my inspiration."</b></p>
<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Discussion</span></b></h1><p>The Ukraine war has pushed the number of people forced to flee conflict, violence and persecution to over 100mn, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced last May.</p><p><b>This population of people represents 1% of the global population and is equivalent to the 14th most populous country in the world (Egypt: Ireland is at 122). The number includes refugees and asylum seekers as well as the 53.2mn people displaced inside their own country.</b></p><p>The UNHCR says a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her home and cross an international border because of war, violence or persecution, often without warning. They are unable to return home unless and until conditions in their native lands are safe for them again. While an asylum seeker is someone who is also seeking international protection from dangers in his or her home country, but whose claim for refugee status hasn’t yet been determined legally.</p><p>It cites many families "escaping violence and persecution in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and other countries in crisis have undertaken a dangerous journey to seek safety at the US-Mexico border. In the Central Mediterranean, many people from North Africa and the Sahel have undertaken a similarly perilous journey to reach Europe."</p><p>The UNHCR <a href="https://eu.rescue.org/article/100-million-people-displaced-around-world-what-you-need-know" target="_blank">says</a> "It is important to know <b>that crossing a border to seek asylum is legal and protected by international law.</b> People asking for asylum have often already tried to find safety in their country, but have encountered conditions similar to those they fled."</p><p><b>The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford notes that Ireland (23 months) and UK (20 months) have the highest number of months to wait for an application to get an initial decision from an official.</b></p>
<div class="tableauPlaceholder" id="viz1678863765016" style="position: relative;"><noscript><a href='#'><img alt='3 ' src='https://public.tableau.com/static/images/As/AsylumbacklogFeb2023/3/1_rss.png' style='border: none' /></a></noscript><object class="tableauViz" style="display: none;"><param name="host_url" value="https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.tableau.com%2F" /> <param name="embed_code_version" value="3" /> <param name="site_root" value="" /><param name="name" value="AsylumbacklogFeb2023/3" /><param name="tabs" value="no" /><param name="toolbar" value="yes" /><param name="static_image" value="https://public.tableau.com/static/images/As/AsylumbacklogFeb2023/3/1.png" /> <param name="animate_transition" value="yes" /><param name="display_static_image" value="yes" /><param name="display_spinner" value="yes" /><param name="display_overlay" value="yes" /><param name="display_count" value="yes" /><param name="language" value="en-GB" /></object></div> <script type="text/javascript"> var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1678863765016'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 800 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height='727px';} else if ( divElement.offsetWidth > 500 ) { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px';} else { vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height='677px';} var scriptElement = document.createElement('script'); scriptElement.src = 'https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js'; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement); </script>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-small;">Use the side bars to get the data</span></b></p>
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<p><b>According to the European Commission, in 2021, 8.84mn non-EU citizens were employed in the EU labour market, out of 189.7mn persons aged from 20 to 64, corresponding to 4.7% of the total.</b></p><p>The employment rate in the EU in the working-age population is higher for EU citizens (74%), than for non-EU citizens (59.1%) in 2021.</p><p><b>Of course, there are issues like housing and education which suggest that economic immigration has to be monitored.</b></p><p><a href="https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/promoting-our-european-way-life/statistics-migration-europe_en" target="_blank">Jobs tend to be overrepresented in certain sectors.</a></p><p>It's also not easy <a href="https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/vilification-albanian-migrants-refugee-asylum-crime-trafficking/147925/" target="_blank">to make judgements on asylum e.g. on Albanian migrants.</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"> <CENTER>
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</div>Michael Henniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03062396678696624597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33387204.post-57020613516923831242023-03-12T05:19:00.010+00:002023-03-15T07:19:15.308+00:00Plunge in Irish rental residential properties raises prices<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-cU4GNfRQD2S7jPjYyjalQEiA6neLGE867VCNXRQFdfHoZ5qnxsb2U-NgbW4S_ed9JxyXXHOgA93Mhgr1br-W5IeIiE5DmHerBA3xldVqjcHwfYrTXGMgxTeckwMkMCSSCoxY8qP1y_qOnKFV8UkxNAQU9WVSGgm-kKxLIAB6NRKS27WnHo/s703/Residential_rentals_Ireland.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="703" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-cU4GNfRQD2S7jPjYyjalQEiA6neLGE867VCNXRQFdfHoZ5qnxsb2U-NgbW4S_ed9JxyXXHOgA93Mhgr1br-
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<p style="text-align: left;">On February 1, 2023, it was estimated that the number of housing units for rent in Ireland was just over 1,000. This plunge in the market has resulted in pushing up the rents of the existing stock of rental properties.</p><p></p><p><b>Until land reforms in Ireland by the British administration, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, the Anglo-Irish "absentee landlord" was a hated figure in Ireland. Today the term "landlord" is still a pejorative for some of the population.</b></p><p>There is a misleading notion that most landlords are making a lot of money, squeezing poorer people.</p><p>However, in 2021 the CSO (Central Statistics Office) <b>reported that landlords (86%) owned only one or two properties. Most of them owned one.</b> It added that half of all landlords earn less than €10,000 on these investments after allowable expenses — such as mortgage interest, depreciation on fittings and furniture, repair and maintenance costs and letting costs.</p><p><b>If an individual was taxed at a higher rate the net annual income from their investment was €5,150 or less. If the lower tax rate was applied it could be as high as €7,150.</b></p><p>The median price of a dwelling purchased in the 12 months to July 2022 was €295,000.</p><p><b>The return of 1.75% is not extortion.</b></p><p>The lowest median price for a house in the 12 months to July 2022 was €145,000 in Longford, while the highest median price was €610,000 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.</p><p>According to <b>Ronan Lyons of Trinity and producer of the Daft rental report,</b> "Fewer than 1,100 homes were available to rent on February 1, 2023. This is largely unchanged from the number three months ago, at the time of the last report, and down almost 22% on the figure available on the same date a year ago.</p><p>But that figure from 2022 was itself a complete outlier in a series that stretches back to 2006. Between 2015 and 2019, a time when supply was very weak relative to demand — pulling up rents — <b>there were typically 3,800 homes available to rent at the start of February. The average for February 1st over the full period 2006-2021 was 8,500."</b></p>
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<h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Related statistics</span></b></h1><p>The Irish populatio<b>n grew by 11.7% in 2011-2022 (535,000: 362,000 in 2016-2022) while net housing units were at 130,000 at Census 2022 in April (new completions from 2011 were at 163,000 in December 2022; 29,000 in 2011-2015). However, employment (15 years +) in 2011-2022 (Q3) jumped by 668,000 or 35% (the unemployment rate was above 15% in 2011 and at 4.5% in 2022). Non-Irish nationals (excluding naturalised) were at 13.8% of the population. Inward migration in 2016-2022 was 190,330 and almost 47,000 settled in the Dublin area in the 6-year period.</b></p><p>2013-2023 employment grew by 590, 000 while the population expanded by 468,000.</p><p><b>In the first two decades of the current century, the populations of the Netherlands and Denmark grew by 8 and 9% respectively; Sweden's population grew by 14% and Switzerland's expanded by 23%. The Irish population jumped by 29%.</b></p><p>According to the CSO the two counties, Dublin and Cork, account for 50% of inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) employment. The agency noted "It is important to highlight again that these figures refer to how many employees are residing in these counties. Dublin and Cork may have additional FDI employees residing in neighbouring counties and commuting into the cities."</p><p><b>In April 2022 the foreign rate in the total population was 18.5% compared with 14% for expatriates. The rates compared with the native-born population were 23% and 17%.</b></p><p><a href="https://www.finfacts-blog.com/2022/12/foreign-born-in-ireland-overtake-irish.html" target="_blank"><b>Foreign-born in Ireland overtake Irish-born in countries overseas</b></a></p><p><b>The latest <a href="https://ww1.daft.ie/report?d_rd=1" target="_blank">Daft Rental Report</a> by Ronan Lyons was published in February and it shows once again an extraordinary shortage of rental homes available across the country. This is a Twitter summary:</b></p><p><b>"</b>A quick thread on what it shows, the implications and how some commentators seem to be misinterpreting some of the headline stats. <b>(1/)</b></p><p>Firstly, on rents. The Daft Report's headline figures refer to open-market rents and are based on an analysis of tens of thousands of rental listings over the last 12 months. In short, mkt rents are increasing by 14% on average and at very similar rates across the country.<b> (2/)</b></p><p>This leaves open-market rents on average 125% higher than their lowest point just over a decade ago and almost 70% higher than their previous Celtic Tiger peak. There are regional differences but they are second-order to the national scale of the problem. <b>(3/)</b></p><p>Remember, these are not all-in average rents, they are only capturing open-market rents. Thanks to a bespoke survey of tenants, though, a supplementary series in the report captures rents paid by sitting tenants, who are more likely to be protected by <b>RPZs (Rent Pressure Zone).</b> <b>(4/)</b></p><p>And indeed there is evidence that RPZs help sitting tenants by hurting those unfortunate enough to have to move on the open market: 'stayer' rents increased 3% in 2022 while 'mover' rents rose 14%. And since RPZs came in, stayer rents are up 18% vs mover rents up 75%. <b>(5/)</b></p><p>More specifically, over the last 15-20 years and looking at the national level, when about 10,000 rental listings came onto the market each month, there was on average no upward or downward pressure on market rents.<b> (7/)</b></p><p>When there were as many as 15,000 rental listings per month (as in 2008/09), rents fell. But when there have been fewer than 10,000, typically rents have been pulled up due to a lack of supply.<b> (8/)</b></p><p>During 2015-2019, the market was tight, with just 5,500 listings coming on each month on average. Unsurprisingly with supply that tight, rents rose steadily. However, since early 2021, the flow of rental listings has fallen further - to just 2,700 per month in 2022.<b> (9/)</b></p><p>In other words, the rental market in Ireland is missing something like 7,000 homes coming on to the market each month. Bringing the market back into balance would require 7,000 new rental homes each month - for how many months? For the length of the typical tenancy.<b> (10/)</b></p><p>The typical tenancy has gone from ~1.5 yrs to about 4 yrs over the last decade. Significantly more supply would change that - but even in benign scenario, those 7k new homes would be needed *every month* for 2.5-3 years. <b>(11/)</b></p><p>But what about Dublin's new rental stock? One problem is that it's solely in Dublin - the whole country is short rental homes. But the second is that it's just a start: maybe 6,000 new rental homes were completed last year, less than 10% of Dublin's shortfall.<b> (12/)</b></p><p>Over the past 10-15 years, Ireland should have been steadily adding to its rental stock. But a combination of high costs and a policy/tax system unsure of whether it wanted smaller-scale or larger-scale investors (if any) meant there is a lost decade of rental supply. <b>(13/)</b></p><p>Make no mistake: adding 400-500 new rental homes per month in Dublin over the past 18 months has definitely helped, relative to a scenario where they hadn't got built. But tens of thousands more are needed - and all across the country. <b>(14/)</b></p><p>That is why it is so disheartening so see public policy and local authorities try to limit the construction of new rental homes. It shows that policymakers simply do not understand the scale, causes and solutions to Ireland's 10+ year-old rental crisis. <b>(15/)</b></p><p>To be clear, the solution to Ireland's housing shortage will involve building new owner-occupier homes, social housing and market rental homes. It's not either/or, it's all three. Something like 50,000 new homes are required each and every year to mid-century. <b>(end/)"</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DpV8ObqXn_7vb1N5GOh_ml27kIhPNVtHCqW2vDxb5ASVhnFkmMOel7AaRXNQaAdvUMyETER5PJv-tye7rcHl7c3yCNnwI27mLyXKHQGti2Mm5Pl6Ehye74SHOPbxf1YCrGBzpim4rP8IEWwGJyVb46QXBnTyXqu9ee9V4uE7z_OmYtrwF_U/s1459/graphic1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1459" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DpV8ObqXn_7vb1N5GOh_ml27kIhPNVtHCqW2vDxb5ASVhnFkmMOel7AaRXNQaAdvUMyETER5PJv-tye7rcHl7c3yCNnwI27mLyXKHQGti2Mm5Pl6Ehye74SHOPbxf1YCrGBzpim4rP8IEWwGJyVb46QXBnTyXqu9ee9V4uE7z_OmYtrwF_U/w640-h336/graphic1.jpeg" width="560" /></a>
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<p><b>Leo Varadkar, an taoiseach, said this week that 40,000 landlords had sold up and left the rental market in the last five years.</b></p><p>“We need to get them back into the market,” Varadkar said. “I do think that there has been a demonisation of landlords, by our political system and by wider society over the past number of years."</p><p><b>He disclosed that he is now a landlord and renting out his former home.</b></p><h1><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Vacancy rates</span></b></h1><p>At a national level according to Census 2022 vacant properties amounted to 166,753; 35,380 of vacant properties were rental; Deceased 27,489; Renovation 27,438; For sale 17,826; Farmhouse 12,334; Nursing Home/ Hospital 11,130; New build 6,752; With relatives 5,138; Emigrated 2,478; Other reason / Not Stated 24,477 (e.g. travel, properties owned by people who are working overseas etc</p><p><b>The census vacancy rate was 7.8% in 2022.</b></p><p>Census vacancy rates vary between counties with urban populations and more rural counties. In<b> Meath,</b> the Census vacancy rate fell by less than 1 percentage point from under 7% in 2016 to 5.8% in 2022. In <b>Roscommon,</b> the Census vacancy rate fell by 4 percentage points from 17% in 2016 to 13% in 2022. <b>County Dublin was 5.5% </b>and <b>South Dublin</b> <b>was 4%.</b></p><p><b>The CSO noted that of the 166,753 vacant dwellings in 2022, almost one in three of the dwellings that could be linked were also vacant in 2016 (48,387). Of the 48,387 dwellings linked over the two census periods, nearly half (23,483) were also vacant in Census 2011.</b></p>
<p><b>OECD data for 2020 show that </b>"Malta, Japan, Cyprus and Hungary record the largest share of vacant dwellings, at over 12%. By contrast, vacancy rates are lowest in Iceland, Switzerland and England (United Kingdom) at less than 3%. Moreover, the share of vacant dwellings is larger in rural areas, compared to urban areas, in all countries except Portugal (though the difference is very small). The biggest differences in vacancy rates between rural and urban areas are recorded in Chile (over 15 percentage points) and the Czech Republic (nearly 12 percentage points)."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5aXrqSw5xYiixjfEk5OH3lAL69_xns33kBM0555JmesZv2HM4O42SXhc5YxLLaxY1JqTFL7jQTg7IhhBJvMkA-_bJECGfdnsIjC-67IthZNleUaGoZtLohw16ws7trEXPuNNOwuRehq0Cn8dFt8vNPSlmhNIspqDskKWBDNLn3JU06uYXuM/s985/EU_home-ownership_2023.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="985" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5aXrqSw5xYiixjfEk5OH3lAL69_xns33kBM0555JmesZv2HM4O42SXhc5YxLLaxY1JqTFL7jQTg7IhhBJvMkA-_bJECGfdnsIjC-67IthZNleUaGoZtLohw16ws7trEXPuNNOwuRehq0Cn8dFt8vNPSlmhNIspqDskKWBDNLn3JU06uYXuM/w640-h446/EU_home-ownership_2023.JPG" width="560" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/digpub/housing/bloc-1a.html" target="_blank">Eurostat: House or flat – owning or renting</a></div></div>
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