Today the government has outlined it’s plans for the National Asset Managment Agency – a digusting bailing out of the banks. Here Joe Higgins restates his fundamental opposition to NAMA, and calls on working people to turn out on Saturday’s demonstration against this obscene bail-out.
The banks now being bailed out for their reckless lending to greedy speculators and developers are the same banks who show precious little consideration to ordinary householders who fall behind on mortgage payments on the overpriced houses they were forced into buying
The Green’s may be pleased with the 30% ‘hair cut’ but the fact remains that already 60% of the proposed loans being taken on are not performing and that’s a figure only likely to go up in the years ahead.
No individual in their right mind would buy a house or a second hand car for that matter for anything other than the current market value and yet in this instance we are expected to swallow a concept of ‘Long Term Economic Value’ which in plain language is nothing more than an aspiration by the government and their builder, banker and speculator friends of a return of the property bubble in the not too distant future.
The government makes a great play of the approval their plan has earned from the ECB and IMF, institutions for whom the interests of Irish working people do not figure highly. They are remarkably silent however on the recent judgement of the courts in Ireland on the Carroll case which has essentially rubbished the whole premise of NAMA.
Capitalism we were told rewards the risk takers but without a hint of irony this afternoon Minister Lenihan justifies NAMA as he refers to ‘risk that the private sector is not willing to take on’. I say to the Minister let them take their losses and nationalise the banks under the control and management of the bank staff and working people generally.
Only the pressure of people power can stop NAMA at this stage. I therefore strongly urge people and especially the youth who could be saddled with the consequences of NAMA for their entire working lives to turn out in force at the demonstration against NAMA this Saturday 19th September at 1pm beginning at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin or at any of the other actions planned around the country on that day
CHECK OUT OTHER RELATED ARTICLES:
- NAMA – Bailing out the rich
- EU Commission exposes its true colours with support for NAMA
- Get up, Stand up – Join the Protests on Friday
- Iceland rejections rejects repayment plan – where is the mandate for NAMA?
- The socialist response to the budget
