COST OF LIVING CRISIS
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Fuel is 52% tax; the government could reduce this if they wished.
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ESB is 95% government owned and increased profits to €679 million in 2021.
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2022 has a record overall poverty rate; increased from 13.3 % to 19 %.
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BlackRock and Vanguard could own almost everything by 2028 giving monopoly on prices and no choices, resist now while you can.
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Irish politicians have raised their own salaries multiple times since 2018
https://www.westmeathexaminer.ie/2021/03/05/tds-hand-back-e17000-each-in-pay-increases
What Can You Do
* Keep money in the local area. Buy local and from independent shops not global corporations and pay with cash.
*Refuse to use automated systems and machines that replace people (checkouts etc). This also keeps money in the local area instead of increasing profits for big corporations. Self-checkout is a step towards even more automation in the form of facial recognition and motion detection. Increased automation means less social interaction
* Refuse to install a smart meter, it will be used to charge extra at peak hours.
*Join any campaign to oppose price increases.
* Do not comply with further lockdowns/restrictions (in the name of climate change perhaps) keep your business open, keep the economy going. Communities have been destroyed economically, socially and mentally do not let it happen again.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2013/06/12/178008/how-technology-is-destroying-jobs/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/automation-job-brookfield-1.3636253
The govt. has led us to believe that the cost-of-living crisis is caused by the war in Ukraine whereas it is really a cost of lockdown, govt. greed and inflation crisis.