Deflation, the low paid, and expansion of the tax base

Here are some statistics (taken from the SBP) showing that contrary to assertions that the ‘rich don’t pay enough tax’ that in fact they pay more than anybody else. Half of all tax income is paid by the top 6.5% of workers. So about 1/15th contribute 50%. One third of all tax collected comes from the top 2.5% of workers, thus 1/40th are paying 33%. It means that things such as the new 2% levy are merely punishing those who already contribute the most! I wrote about this before when talking about the Laffer Curve and how Ireland may be driving high earners out of its jurisdiction.

Sources have said that the Irish tax base is too dependent on a small number of people, so what would happen if we were to drive them out? The implications are severe.

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Debt reduction & personal finance weekly blog Aug 25th 2008

Today I will give you a tip about the single best way to reduce and avoid debt, it is perhaps the most effective method known to man. Here it is…

“Don’t borrow any more money”

Simple enough to almost make you feel conned I bet? The fact is that debt begets debt and if you enter into a lifelong debt cycle it is something that is virtually impossible to free yourself from. The very first step towards financial freedom and a life out of debt is to realise this fact and to come up with a solution.

Some people think that if they consolidate loans that they will then have more money, but what do most of them do with this ‘extra money’? Save it? Or do they then get more debt and the extra money thus goes into the debt vortex as well?

All good ideas have an exit plan [one of the very reasons Iraq was such a terrible idea to begin with], and you can make yours. To do this you have to decide how you will …

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Debt reduction & personal finance weekly blog Aug 25th 2008

Today I will give you a tip about the single best way to reduce and avoid debt, it is perhaps the most effective method known to man. Here it is…

“Don’t borrow any more money”

Simple enough to almost make you feel conned I bet? The fact is that debt begets debt and if you enter into a lifelong debt cycle it is something that is virtually impossible to free yourself from. The very first step towards financial freedom and a life out of debt is to realise this fact and to come up with a solution.

Some people think that if they consolidate loans that they will then have more money, but what do most of them do with this ‘extra money’? Save it? Or do they then get more debt and the extra money thus goes into the debt vortex as well?

All good ideas have an exit plan [one of the very reasons Iraq was such a terrible idea to begin with], and you can make yours. To do this you have to decide how you will …

Read More →

How a hacker will help you today, money hacks and life hacks

The word ‘hacker’ generally has a fairly negative connotation, hackers (traditionally) are the people who somehow get your credit card details and then buy lots of things without you knowing, the get into Pentagon missile systems and do all the things that are taboo electronically. Accepted that there are white and black hat hackers, white hat means they hack on the side of good (most of the good ones didn’t start out that way though!), black hat means they are on the side of evil (generally speaking). Damn hackers….

That was until ‘hacking’ became a good and positive thing in the form of ‘lifehacks‘ and ‘moneyhacks‘. This new phrase describes a ‘hack’ in its original meaning, a ‘hack‘ is a clever or quick fix, and it applies to more than square-eyed phreaks who get into your pc and rip-off your identity etc.

Lifehacks or moneyhacks are simple ways of doing everyday things with less effort or quicker, and they have dedicated followers and sites that share that information. …

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