The Irish economy is in need of a $100 billion bailout, thanks in large part to the bursting of its housing bubble. But for years the Irish model was lionized by U.S. pundits. ThinkProgress blogger Matthew Yglesias digs up a 2005 piece by New York Times columnist Tom Friedman that said:
There is a huge debate roiling in Europe today over which economic model to follow: the Franco-German shorter-workweek-six-weeks’-vacation-never-fire-anyone-but-high-unemployment social model or the less protected but more innovative, high-employment Anglo-Saxon model preferred by Britain, Ireland and Eastern Europe. It is obvious to me that the Irish-British model is the way of the future, and the only question is when Germany and France will face reality: either they become Ireland or they become museums. That is their real choice over the next few years; it’s either the leprechaun way or the Louvre.
Because I am convinced of that, I am also convinced that the German and French political systems will experience real shocks in the coming years as both nations are asked to work harder and embrace either more outsourcing or more young Muslim and Eastern European immigrants to remain competitive.
As an Irish public relations executive in Dublin remarked to me: ‘How would you like to be the French leader who tells the French people they have to follow Ireland? Or even worse, Tony Blair!
Luckily for Tom Friedman, his job doesn’t seem to rest on whether or not he’s right about anything.
Ireland “needs” to bail out its banks just as much as we did: not at all. Just like working people go through bankruptcy and come out alive, so can banks — that is, unless we let them milk us for all we’re worth.
Don’t just take my word for it. Mark Weisbrot’s take is here. And you can read a comparison of Ireland to Iceland, which did let its banks go bust, here.
I fail to understand why totally irrelevant comments pitching other sites are allowed here.
Here’s an even better piece from Dean Baker: http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/baker231110.html
even more on how the irish model failed the irish people
http://www.alternet.org/story/148993/right-wing_think_tank_praised_irelands_economic_freedom_…_and_then_its_economy_crashed?page=entire