The Other Hand

Will 2027 see a General Election in the UK? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode covers a wide-ranging macro and geopolitics conversation, starting with Irish residential property prices and the affordability squeeze, then moving into China’s pressure on the European car industry, IMF growth and fiscal warnings, and finally the security risks created by everything being connected to the internet. The discussion closes with the Nobel Prize in Economics and why Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford matter for modern central banking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode:Chris argues the Irish government is spending too much of temporary corporation tax revenue on permanent commitments, citing IFAC’s warning that the state is spending six out of every seven euros from corporation tax.Jim pushes back on the budget politicssaying ministers faced strong departmental pressure and that the six percent spending target, even if imperfect, may be a reasonable outcome in context.Tax policy gets a mixed verdict:both agree the budget was better for taxpayers than last year, but Chris says the increases in thresholds and credits still lag inflation and do not restore real purchasing power.Capital gains tax is singled out as a growth leverwith Jim welcoming the cut from 33 percent to 31 percent but arguing it should eventually return to 20 percent.Irish inflation is still running hotwith Jim noting September CPI at 4.1 percent, driven by mortgage interest, electricity, and home heating oil rather than the domestic economy.Manufacturing output shows a split economy, with overall output up 5.8 percent year on year, but the modern sector down 6.8 percent while the traditional sector edged up 0.8 percent.The conversation turns to youth mental healthafter Chris cites a UK report showing a 50 percent increase in reported autism and ADHD among young people since 1993.They connect mental distress to wider social pressuresincluding long waiting lists, NEET levels, poverty, housing, screen addiction, environmental anxiety, war, and fear of AI-driven job loss.Jim argues intergenerational inequality is worseningsaying many young people expect to be less well off than their parents because they struggle to build assets, especially through housing.Inheritance tax becomes a flashpointwith Jim calling it reprehensible and arguing for a far larger increase or abolition, while Chris notes that only 4% of estates in the UK actually pay any inheritance tax.US politics comes under fireespecially the planned live-streaming of a firing squad execution and restrictions on skilled immigration through H1B and green card sponsorship pathways.A provocative argument about porn and social mediasuggests modern platforms inherited their attention-grabbing mechanics from the porn industry, helping explain addictive scrolling and algorithmic design.The Green Party’s momentum appears to have collapsedwith Chris and Jim noting Zack Polanski’s by-election setback and criticising the party’s shift away from environmental politics toward hard-left activist positions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Minister Jack Chambers says Budget 27 was built around balance - protecting long-term capital investment while responding to cost of living pressures.Chambers says next year’s capital investment will exceed 20 billion euro, and that day-to-day spending growth has been brought down from an average of 9% to about 6%.Jim Power argues the budget is positive overall, especially on personal tax relief, the investment account, and the reduction in capital gains tax from 33% to 31%.Power warns that Ireland’s public finances depend heavily on a small number of multinational firms, pointing to concentration risk in corporation tax receipts and the need for prudent spending.Cormac Fitzgerald says SMEs remain under pressure from labour costs, energy costs, PRSI increases, auto-enrolment, and rising compliance burdens.Fitzgerald welcomes the new investment savings scheme and says SME support should be strengthened in the Finance Bill or Budget 28.Cróna Clohisey says the budget’s administrative simplification measures matter, especially the removal of real-time benefit reporting requirements.Clohisey also stresses that labour costs are the biggest issue for SMEs and says employers’ PRSI relief would have helped.Chambers repeatedly returns to the need for public spending efficiency, saying the state must deliver better outcomes rather than simply spend more.The panel agrees that simplification, predictable regulation, and better delivery from the state are essential if Ireland is to support both business growth and public trust. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.