Jim Power

Dec 1, 2024 | irishexaminer.com | Jim Power

The 2024 general election campaign has been unusual on a lot of different counts, not least due to the contrasting campaign performance of Fine Gael on one side and Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil on the other. The three parties went into election day neck and neck and voter volatility created massive uncertainty. However, it was clear that the three main parties had a strong desire to attain power, just as Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats and Fine Gael had back in 2007.

Nov 5, 2024 | player.fm | Jim Power |Chris Johns

<% _(superChannels).chain().sortBy(function(c) { return } ).each(function(superchan) { %> <% inclusion = superchan.findInclusion(subChannel.id) %> <% }); %>

Nov 3, 2024 | irishexaminer.com | Jim Power

The British budget last week represented a real return to old-fashioned ‘old-Labour’ big government. Faced with a yawning gap in the public finances and the reality of many promises made during the recent general election campaign, chancellor Rachel Reeves managed to deliver a significant package of tax increases, largely levied on people who would not ever be likely to vote Labour, and significant spending increases directed at people who would always be likely to vote the party.

Oct 20, 2024 | irishexaminer.com | Jim Power

Over the past couple of years, the sudden sharp surge in inflation and the resultant response from global central banks has been the dominant theme in the world of economics. After a couple of decades of the ‘great moderation’, the sudden escalation in prices came as quite a shock to everybody and naturally central bankers responded in the only way they know, by increasing interest rates. I have had deep reservations in relation to the aggressive response by the ECB.

Oct 1, 2024 | irishexaminer.com | Jim Power

The Taoiseach said on the morning of the budget that he had no apologies to make for giving people back some of their own money, and this is certainly what his Government did in Budget 2025. Never were the two relevant ministers faced with such an array of riches. These include €14.1bn from the Apple tax ruling; €3.1bn from the sales of AIB shares; and a surplus of €1.5bn in the national training fund.