Previous Day
The economy at a crossroads
Growth in the Irish economy is finally beginning to flag. But the economy has every chance of achieving a soft landing, where the pace of growth gently slows but does not disappear. The Economic and Social Research Institute's (ESRI) quarterly economic commentary, published today, puts numbers on these trends. The growth rate, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP), reached a cyclical peak at 6 per cent last year. Now, the forecast is that the pace of growth will decelerate to 4.9 per cent in 2007 and 3.7 per cent in 2008. Reflecting the slowing growth rate, the pace of employment expansion is also forecast to slacken. Where additions to the national workforce reached 87,000 in 2006, they are projected at a more modest 25,000 in 2008. p
Hong Kong
How very disappointing that China has not been able to live up to its commitments."One man, one vote!" the banners of Hong Kong's marchers demanded. "One country, two systems," was the formulaic response as expected of China's President Hu Jintao in the former British colony over the weekend to mark the 10th anniversary of the handover. The "two systems" do not include democracy. The territory has evolved, as Chris Patten, its last British governor points out, into a unique form of government - liberal in civil rights terms, but completely undemocratic. p
Opinion
The best of times could do better
Smugness is, after all, justified. If you believe the packaging and interpretation of the new book Best of Times? The Social Impact of the Celtic Tiger, critics of contemporary Ireland have been blown out of the water. Since its multiple authors include many of the most authoritative analysts from the Economic and Social Research Institute and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, the book's apparent removal of the question mark from its own title demands attention. The pity is that few of those who will use it to slay the dragons of political unease will actually read enough of it to see that, were it not for some dextrous spinning, it could just as easily be read as a sharp critique, writes Fintan O'Toole pWhy Europe simply does not get it
Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, a day when citizens of the United States express pride in their country. American writer Steve Coronella wonders why Europeans find that so difficult to understand pGospel preaches social message not socialism
There is no particular reason to assume that people are greedier in a market economy than in a socialist economy, write Philip Booth and Peter Nolan pKeeping faith with defenders of the poor
Rite and Reason: The opposition of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to the liberation theologians is inexplicable, writes Brendan Butler p
An Irishman's Diary
Today marks the traditional start of that dreaded period of summer known as the "dog days": so called because, around now, the dog star Sirius rises just before the sun in the northern hemisphere, making itself visible as the brightest star in the sky, writes Frank McNally p
