16 August 2001 Edition
IMF contradictions
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) came, saw and left a 55-page report behind them. The people who manage to bring privatisation and poverty to the less developed regions of the world have been giving their assessment of the 26-County economy.
The IMF report is predictable fare. It tells us the economy is still growing but totally dependent on circumstances in the US and Europe. House prices could crash. Wage increases are bad and there should be no more income tax cuts.
Fianna Fáil finance minister Charlie McCreevy thinks the report is ``commending'', while Fine Gael agree with the analysis that wages are growing too fast and public sector spending increases should be curtailed.
Interestingly, the real detail of the IMF report is much less simplistic than initial media reports would lead you to believe. For example, on wages, the IMF notes that wages are being driven by inflation and that labour costs have been falling for most of the last ten years, even with recent rises. Many in the mainstream media ignored this simple fact.
Finally, why has no one asked the question not whether they agree or disagree with the IMF analysis, but whether the IMF were really competent to make an analysis in the first place.
The IMF report is predictable fare. It tells us the economy is still growing but totally dependent on circumstances in the US and Europe. House prices could crash. Wage increases are bad and there should be no more income tax cuts.
Fianna Fáil finance minister Charlie McCreevy thinks the report is ``commending'', while Fine Gael agree with the analysis that wages are growing too fast and public sector spending increases should be curtailed.
Interestingly, the real detail of the IMF report is much less simplistic than initial media reports would lead you to believe. For example, on wages, the IMF notes that wages are being driven by inflation and that labour costs have been falling for most of the last ten years, even with recent rises. Many in the mainstream media ignored this simple fact.
Finally, why has no one asked the question not whether they agree or disagree with the IMF analysis, but whether the IMF were really competent to make an analysis in the first place.