(Originally posted on Irish Left Review.)
Following on from the publication of “Towards a New Economic Narrative“, I interviewed Michael Taft about his ideas for the Irish economy. I started off by asking Michael what was actually wrong with the Irish economy, and what was his strategy for getting the economy working in the short-term, with plans for growth in the long-term. I also asked how the Irish government can get the money to pay for future investment, and what indeed this money should be spent on.
The second part of the interview started with how we get money back into people’s pockets, and how we keep the economy ticking over until the recession turns. We then moved onto the current banking crisis, and plans for dealing with it. Finally, I asked Michael about the Fianna Fail/Fine Gael policy of cutting expenditure and laying off civil servants as a way of dealing with the economic downturn.
Michael, who is research officer with the trade union, UNITE, is speaking here in a personal capacity.
Michael Taft’s article is available as a PDF here.
