Important Principles and Figures
Economics
The Economic Cycle
What is 'Boom And Bust Cycle
'Key Terms: Boom ‘During the boom the economy grows, jobs are plentiful and the market brings high returns to investors and property (houses, land etc.) becomes more valuable.’
Key Terms: Bust ‘The economy shrinks, people lose their jobs and investors lose money, property (houses, land etc.) becomes less valuable.’
Key Terms: Steady Economic Growth‘ The economy grows at a sustainable pace, jobs are created in a slower but consistent way, land houses and investments grow in price but more slowly. [This is the model everyone is aiming for]
The main way an economy is controlled is with the money supply. (The printing of and distribution of money by central banks) and/or raising and lowering Interest rates (also by central banks). Both of these tools are in the hands of a Central bank somewhere. If the economy is sluggish or slow (IE it has a low growth rate) a Central bank may lower Interest rates in order to encourage borrowing and spending.
Q) Why would lowering Interest rates encourage borrowing and spending?
A) Low interest rates mean the depositor gets less money when money is saved, in addition inflation will eat up your savings (your money will be worth less and less in real terms over time)*. Also, inflation will mean it’s cheaper to buy something now, even if you have to borrow to buy it, so it encourages people to borrow and spend.
Q) What about if an economy is growing too quickly?
A) When an economy grow too fast 'Overheating' (economists call this) a Central Bank will raise interest rates, because high interest rates mean savers get more money when place money on deposit in the bank. Putting money in the bank, is a much less risky than investing in the stock exchange or buying land or houses (called collectively Property). In addition, borrowing becomes more expensive, and inflation often falls when the interest rate is lowered, so if you borrow, you end up paying more for the present money when it comes to paying it back. So people tend to save and deposit their money in banks or bond government securities like Bonds.
A) It’s a complex issue, but many economists blame the ECB (European Central Bank). in the years 1999 to 2008 Ireland was the fastest growing economy in Europe (this period is sometimes called the 'Celtic Tiger Period' see note below). But the Irish Central Bank could not lower interest rates, because we are part of the Euro area. The interest rates for the Euro area are note set member states but by the ECB (European Central bank) alone. At that time (1999 to 2008) The ECB was worried about high unemployment and low growth in Germany (because of the recent Unification with East Germany) and also poor growth in France, the two the biggest Euro Economy’s. So the ECB left rates low to assist the German and French economies of 150,000,000 people. The Irish Banks who needed money to loan in Ireland because of the high demand for housing and property, were given access to this ‘cheap’ (low interest) money from banks like Dutche bank and Danska bank who could not lend at home, because of low economic growth locally. These banks, with the tacit support of the ECB, gave billions in loans to the Irish banks, who used that money, to pass on those loans to Irish consumers and business to buy homes and expand. This was the last thing the Irish economy needed at that time, and in part led to the crash of 2008.
Q) Could it happen again?
A) Of course, the growth of economies in Europe is always going to vary (for example when Ireland had 16% unemployment in 2012 Germany was booming and had an unemployment rate of just about 5%!) [Data from the website Trading and Economics] If and when it happens again that the big countries Like France/Germany or Spain, need Low Interest Rates when the small ones like Ireland, Cyprus or Denmark need high Interest Rates , or vice-versa. The ECB will look at the population of Germany for example and say, 80 Million Germans matter more to the European Economy than 4 million Irish, and the Irish interests will be sacrificed again..
'Key Terms: Boom ‘During the boom the economy grows, jobs are plentiful and the market brings high returns to investors and property (houses, land etc.) becomes more valuable.’
Key Terms: Bust ‘The economy shrinks, people lose their jobs and investors lose money, property (houses, land etc.) becomes less valuable.’
Key Terms: Steady Economic Growth‘ The economy grows at a sustainable pace, jobs are created in a slower but consistent way, land houses and investments grow in price but more slowly. [This is the model everyone is aiming for]
The main way an economy is controlled is with the money supply. (The printing of and distribution of money by central banks) and/or raising and lowering Interest rates (also by central banks). Both of these tools are in the hands of a Central bank somewhere. If the economy is sluggish or slow (IE it has a low growth rate) a Central bank may lower Interest rates in order to encourage borrowing and spending.
Q) Why would lowering Interest rates encourage borrowing and spending?
A) Low interest rates mean the depositor gets less money when money is saved, in addition inflation will eat up your savings (your money will be worth less and less in real terms over time)*. Also, inflation will mean it’s cheaper to buy something now, even if you have to borrow to buy it, so it encourages people to borrow and spend.
- Important economic principle: 'Future money is worth less than current money, due the effects of inflation.'
Q) What about if an economy is growing too quickly?
A) When an economy grow too fast 'Overheating' (economists call this) a Central Bank will raise interest rates, because high interest rates mean savers get more money when place money on deposit in the bank. Putting money in the bank, is a much less risky than investing in the stock exchange or buying land or houses (called collectively Property). In addition, borrowing becomes more expensive, and inflation often falls when the interest rate is lowered, so if you borrow, you end up paying more for the present money when it comes to paying it back. So people tend to save and deposit their money in banks or bond government securities like Bonds.
- Important economic principle: For a short glossary of economic terms like, stocks bonds & securities, see link at the bottom of this page
A) It’s a complex issue, but many economists blame the ECB (European Central Bank). in the years 1999 to 2008 Ireland was the fastest growing economy in Europe (this period is sometimes called the 'Celtic Tiger Period' see note below). But the Irish Central Bank could not lower interest rates, because we are part of the Euro area. The interest rates for the Euro area are note set member states but by the ECB (European Central bank) alone. At that time (1999 to 2008) The ECB was worried about high unemployment and low growth in Germany (because of the recent Unification with East Germany) and also poor growth in France, the two the biggest Euro Economy’s. So the ECB left rates low to assist the German and French economies of 150,000,000 people. The Irish Banks who needed money to loan in Ireland because of the high demand for housing and property, were given access to this ‘cheap’ (low interest) money from banks like Dutche bank and Danska bank who could not lend at home, because of low economic growth locally. These banks, with the tacit support of the ECB, gave billions in loans to the Irish banks, who used that money, to pass on those loans to Irish consumers and business to buy homes and expand. This was the last thing the Irish economy needed at that time, and in part led to the crash of 2008.
Q) Could it happen again?
A) Of course, the growth of economies in Europe is always going to vary (for example when Ireland had 16% unemployment in 2012 Germany was booming and had an unemployment rate of just about 5%!) [Data from the website Trading and Economics] If and when it happens again that the big countries Like France/Germany or Spain, need Low Interest Rates when the small ones like Ireland, Cyprus or Denmark need high Interest Rates , or vice-versa. The ECB will look at the population of Germany for example and say, 80 Million Germans matter more to the European Economy than 4 million Irish, and the Irish interests will be sacrificed again..
political jargon
Campaign
The word 'campaign' comes from the Latin, meaning 'field' but is also related to champion or champagne. The champion element relates to the military exercises Italians carried out while on a 'campagnia' (campaign) and the champagne part refers to the French who grew Champagne grapes on their campagne (campaign) .
Hustings
'Hustings' is an old Norse word and derives from 'hus-things' (House -Meeting), literally meaning house assembly. It referred to the king's staff who convened for meetings and deliberations in the court and later came to mean a council that had been convened by the king or a senior court in Guildhall. Owing to the massive platform later built in Guildhall, 'hustings' came to refer to this physical structure as the mayor (Major Lord) and aldermen (Older Men) would stand upon it while overseeing proceedings.The word 'hustings' is now used to describe both a physical platform and the figurative platform from which candidates campaign. And the whole process of running an election, or 'going on the Hustings'
Vote
The basis of the word 'vote' can be found in the Latin word 'vovere' which means to vow. It also evokes the idea of votive which is a prayer, alluding to the idea that to vote is an act of devotion and sacred.
Candidate
The word 'candidate' derives from Latin and relates to candid, which is synonymous with openness and 'candere' meaning to glow or shine or simply whiteness. In the past, Roman senators vying for office would wear a bleached or chalked toga so they were the most luminous in the forum.
Bellwether
Originally German, the 'bell' in 'bellwether' literally refers to the bell that hung around the neck of a wether (a castrated ram).
The term has come to refer to seats that, from election to election, have been won by the party that forms government.
Rostrum
'Rostrum' has origins in the Latin word for beak, which derived from 'rodere' meaning to gnaw. The beak was a metaphor for the prow of a ship. In the forum of ancient Rome, the prows and bows of conquered ships would function as markers for the dais from which the candidates would speak. 'Rostrum' came to apply to this platform on which the senators and candidates would speak to adress the public outside the senate.
Canvassing
What politicians and their volunteers do to find out how voters are intending to vote. Knocking on doors, calling up in the evenings, that sort of thing. The point of canvassing is to work out who might vote for you so that in the days before an election and on the day itself you can 'knock them up' which is a misleading term for making sure they remembered to vote.
Deposit
Each candidate has to pay £5,000 for the privilege of standing, which is returned if the candidate wins 5 per cent or more of the votes. It's a measure that reduces the number of complete timewasters.
Exit poll
Volunteers and pollsters like to track who has voted and for whom. Campaigns use this information to focus on "knocking up" people who haven't voted. Come poll closing time when the vote closes, the exit polls are the best indication of how it all went.
Ground war
Politicians and activists like to pretend that they are soldiers, and refer to the act of leafleting and knocking on doors as the "ground war" between the parties. Contrasted with TV or print adverts, this is the crucial area in which the number of activists and the level of organisation that each party has matters.
Manifesto
The name given to the set of policies each party promises to enact if elected. Very few voters read these documents, but they can come to hurt politicians who don't stick by the contents. In the age of coalition governments, the manifesto is also a tender document to other parties upon which to form the basis of negotiations.
Popular vote
The number of votes cast for each party, which does not represent who has actually won the election. It is possible to win the most votes without winning the most seats, thanks to the arrangement of the boundaries between constituencies. This impossible however in a PR system .
Proportional Representation [PR]
You indicate your first choice by writing 1 opposite your first choice and 2 opposite your second choice, 3 opposite your third choice and so on. You may stop marking your paper after 1 or any subsequent preference or you may go right down the ballot paper until a preference has been given to all candidates ending with the candidate of your lowest choice. When you vote like this, you are instructing the returning officer to transfer your vote to the second choice candidate if your first choice is either elected with a surplus of votes over the quota or is eliminated. If your second choice is elected or eliminated, your vote may be transferred to your third choice and so on.
Spoiled ballots
Voting slips which have have been filled in incorrectly or deliberately defaced. During the count election officers will argue over what constitutes a spoiled ballot, and what can be interpreted as a vote. In the Irish context, if someone puts number 1 against more than one name, that ballot is spoiled as the returning officer cannot accurately determine who the voter wanted to give his number one vote to really.
Tactical voting
If you are a Irexit voter whose candidate cannot win, you might prefer to vote for a Renua candidate who can win and thus help defeat their Sinn Fein opponent. In practice in Ireland you can always vote for your preferred candidate and using the PR system, (see above) transfer your ballot to Renua later by making them your number 2 or 3 choice. Tactical voting can also mean in Ireland running two candidates in once constituency who will each get a share of the vote less than is needed to get elected. But have different appeals to the voters. Say candidate A) Is a young millennial woman and has 22% support, and candidate B) is a middle aged farmer with 29% support. Neiterh can get the 50% they need to win alone. But if they run on the same ticket (see below), when he is eliminated she can pick up some of his vote, or when she is eliminated he can pick up some of her vote, and may make it to the seat.
Ticket
The term sometimes used to denote candidates from the same party who are running in the same elector area, voting the ticket means voting for all members of the same party, in the order of your choice:
For Example:
The word 'campaign' comes from the Latin, meaning 'field' but is also related to champion or champagne. The champion element relates to the military exercises Italians carried out while on a 'campagnia' (campaign) and the champagne part refers to the French who grew Champagne grapes on their campagne (campaign) .
Hustings
'Hustings' is an old Norse word and derives from 'hus-things' (House -Meeting), literally meaning house assembly. It referred to the king's staff who convened for meetings and deliberations in the court and later came to mean a council that had been convened by the king or a senior court in Guildhall. Owing to the massive platform later built in Guildhall, 'hustings' came to refer to this physical structure as the mayor (Major Lord) and aldermen (Older Men) would stand upon it while overseeing proceedings.The word 'hustings' is now used to describe both a physical platform and the figurative platform from which candidates campaign. And the whole process of running an election, or 'going on the Hustings'
Vote
The basis of the word 'vote' can be found in the Latin word 'vovere' which means to vow. It also evokes the idea of votive which is a prayer, alluding to the idea that to vote is an act of devotion and sacred.
Candidate
The word 'candidate' derives from Latin and relates to candid, which is synonymous with openness and 'candere' meaning to glow or shine or simply whiteness. In the past, Roman senators vying for office would wear a bleached or chalked toga so they were the most luminous in the forum.
Bellwether
Originally German, the 'bell' in 'bellwether' literally refers to the bell that hung around the neck of a wether (a castrated ram).
The term has come to refer to seats that, from election to election, have been won by the party that forms government.
Rostrum
'Rostrum' has origins in the Latin word for beak, which derived from 'rodere' meaning to gnaw. The beak was a metaphor for the prow of a ship. In the forum of ancient Rome, the prows and bows of conquered ships would function as markers for the dais from which the candidates would speak. 'Rostrum' came to apply to this platform on which the senators and candidates would speak to adress the public outside the senate.
Canvassing
What politicians and their volunteers do to find out how voters are intending to vote. Knocking on doors, calling up in the evenings, that sort of thing. The point of canvassing is to work out who might vote for you so that in the days before an election and on the day itself you can 'knock them up' which is a misleading term for making sure they remembered to vote.
Deposit
Each candidate has to pay £5,000 for the privilege of standing, which is returned if the candidate wins 5 per cent or more of the votes. It's a measure that reduces the number of complete timewasters.
Exit poll
Volunteers and pollsters like to track who has voted and for whom. Campaigns use this information to focus on "knocking up" people who haven't voted. Come poll closing time when the vote closes, the exit polls are the best indication of how it all went.
Ground war
Politicians and activists like to pretend that they are soldiers, and refer to the act of leafleting and knocking on doors as the "ground war" between the parties. Contrasted with TV or print adverts, this is the crucial area in which the number of activists and the level of organisation that each party has matters.
Manifesto
The name given to the set of policies each party promises to enact if elected. Very few voters read these documents, but they can come to hurt politicians who don't stick by the contents. In the age of coalition governments, the manifesto is also a tender document to other parties upon which to form the basis of negotiations.
Popular vote
The number of votes cast for each party, which does not represent who has actually won the election. It is possible to win the most votes without winning the most seats, thanks to the arrangement of the boundaries between constituencies. This impossible however in a PR system .
Proportional Representation [PR]
You indicate your first choice by writing 1 opposite your first choice and 2 opposite your second choice, 3 opposite your third choice and so on. You may stop marking your paper after 1 or any subsequent preference or you may go right down the ballot paper until a preference has been given to all candidates ending with the candidate of your lowest choice. When you vote like this, you are instructing the returning officer to transfer your vote to the second choice candidate if your first choice is either elected with a surplus of votes over the quota or is eliminated. If your second choice is elected or eliminated, your vote may be transferred to your third choice and so on.
Spoiled ballots
Voting slips which have have been filled in incorrectly or deliberately defaced. During the count election officers will argue over what constitutes a spoiled ballot, and what can be interpreted as a vote. In the Irish context, if someone puts number 1 against more than one name, that ballot is spoiled as the returning officer cannot accurately determine who the voter wanted to give his number one vote to really.
Tactical voting
If you are a Irexit voter whose candidate cannot win, you might prefer to vote for a Renua candidate who can win and thus help defeat their Sinn Fein opponent. In practice in Ireland you can always vote for your preferred candidate and using the PR system, (see above) transfer your ballot to Renua later by making them your number 2 or 3 choice. Tactical voting can also mean in Ireland running two candidates in once constituency who will each get a share of the vote less than is needed to get elected. But have different appeals to the voters. Say candidate A) Is a young millennial woman and has 22% support, and candidate B) is a middle aged farmer with 29% support. Neiterh can get the 50% they need to win alone. But if they run on the same ticket (see below), when he is eliminated she can pick up some of his vote, or when she is eliminated he can pick up some of her vote, and may make it to the seat.
Ticket
The term sometimes used to denote candidates from the same party who are running in the same elector area, voting the ticket means voting for all members of the same party, in the order of your choice:
For Example:
- Smith J : Irexit 1
- Brown B: Irexit 2
- Collins C: Irexit 3
important dates ireland and eec
main political figures in the eu
European Parliament president – Antonio Tajani
Term: January 2017 - July 2019
Elected by: Members of the European Parliament
Elected by: Members of the European Parliament
Role:
- Ensures parliamentary procedures are properly followed
- Oversees Parliament's various activities and committees
- Represents Parliament in all legal matters and in its international relations
- Gives final assent to the EU budget
European Council president – Donald Tusk
Term: June 2017 - November 2019
Appointed by: national leaders (heads of state or government of EU countries).
Appointed by: national leaders (heads of state or government of EU countries).
Role:
- Leads the European Council's work in setting the EU's general political direction and priorities – in cooperation with the Commission
- Promotes cohesion and consensus within the European Council
- Represents the EU externally on foreign and security issues
European Commission president – Jean-Claude Juncker
Term: November 2014 - October 2019
Appointed by: national leaders (heads of state or government of EU countries), with the approval of the European Parliament.
Appointed by: national leaders (heads of state or government of EU countries), with the approval of the European Parliament.
Role:
- Gives political guidance to the Commission
- Calls and chairs meetings of the college of the Commissioners
- Leads the Commission's work in implementing EU policies
- Takes part in G7 meetings
- Contributes to major debates both in the European Parliament and between EU governments in the Council of the European Union
Presidency of the Council of the EU - Rotating currently Austria
The Council of the EU - where national ministers discuss EU legislation - doesn't have a permanent, single-person president. Its work is led by the country holding the Council presidency, which rotates every 6 months. For example, representatives from the presidency country chair its meetings.
Main political figures in NI irish politics
main political figures in Irish politics
Leo Varadkar TD
Party Fine Gael (in English 'Clan of Gaels')
TD Since 2007 | Taoiseach Since June 2017
Dail Seats 49 | Seanad Seats 20 | European Parliament Seats 4 | Local Council Seats 233
Michael Martin TD
Party Fianna Fail (in English 'Soldiers of Destiny')
TD Since 1989 | Leader of Fianna Fail Since March 2011
Dail Seats 44 | Seanad Seats 13 | European Parliament Seats 1 | Local Council Seats 262
Mary Lou McDonald TD
Party Sinn Fein (in English 'We Ourselves')
TD Since 2011 | Leader of Sinn Fein Since February 2018
Dail Seats 21 | Seanad Seats 6| European Parliament Seats 3 | Local Council Seats 146
Brendan Howlin TD
Party Labour (in Iirish 'Páirtí an Lucht Oibre')
TD Since 1987 | Leader of the Labour party Since May 2016
Dail Seats 7 | Seanad Seats 4| European Parliament Seats 0 | Local Council Seats 48
Others
- Solidarity–People Before Profit | Dail Seats 6 | Seanad Seats 0| European Parliament Seats 0 | Local Council Seats 23
- Independent Alliance | Dail Seats 4 | Seanad Seats 0| European Parliament Seats 0 | Local Council Seats 11
- Independents 4 Change | Dail Seats 3 | Seanad Seats 0| European Parliament Seats 0 | Local Council Seats 1
- Green Party | Dail Seats 1 | Seanad Seats 1| European Parliament Seats 0 | Local Council Seats 12
- Social Democrats | Dail Seats 2| Seanad Seats 0| European Parliament Seats 0 | Local Council Seats 7
- Workers & Unemployed Action | Dail Seats 1| Seanad Seats 0| European Parliament Seats 0 | Local Council Seats 1
important financial numbers in irelands realtionship with eu
Main Figures in uk politics
leaders of euro-SKEPTIC PARTIES in europe
GLOSSARY of ECONOMIC terms
Term
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Definition
Capital is a term for financial assets or their financial value (such as funds held in deposit accounts), as well as the tangible factors of production including equipment used in environments such as factories and other manufacturing facilities.
A stock (also known as "shares" and "equity) is a type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation's assets and earnings.
Quantitative easing is an unconventional monetary policy in which a central bank purchases government securities or other securities from the market in order to lower interest rates and increase the money supply.
The money supply is the entire stock of currency and other liquid instruments circulating in a country's economy as of a particular time.
Gross national product (GNP) is an estimate of total value of all the final products and services turned out in a given period by the means of production owned by a country's residents.
A guarantee to deposits that the state would refund any deposits [See here]
Before in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest bank in the United States one of the triggers that caused the global crash [See Here]
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