Puppy Dole

[Rat Catcher]

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40218368.html

Oireachtas committee recommends changes to 'inflexible' PUP

MON, 01 FEB, 2021 - 20:30
NOEL BAKER, SOCIAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

An Oireachtas Committee has said aspects of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment are "too inflexible", particularly with regard to those in the entertainment industry.

In its Report on The Pandemic Unemployment Payment Scheme (PUP), the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands proposed 12 recommendations about the working of the payment and related supports.

The Joint Committee received 69 submissions from various stakeholders as part of its examination of the PUP and in the report foreword Committee Chair Denis Naughten TD said: "The Joint Committee are of the view that there have been clear anomalies in the operation of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment as well as its interaction with other supports such as the Temporary/Employment Wage Subsidy Schemes, since March 2020, with thousands of people and families impacted."

'Serious concerns'

The report makes 12 recommendations, including expressing "serious concerns with regard to the abolition mortgage interest supplement particularly for families who have been forced out of work due Covid-19".

It recommends that a mortgage interest supplement should be re-establish "as a matter of urgency."

It said the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) must immediately review the interaction of the PUP with the wage subsidy schemes operated by the Department of Finance and also said DEASP should review the imposition of a requirement to “genuinely seek work” while in receipt of the Covid PUP.

"At the very least, regulations should be introduced setting out how this criteria is to be applied to claimants for the payment which take into account the fact that many claimants have limited access to childcare and, further, that many claimants for the payment are temporarily laid-off and have every expectation of resuming their previous employment or self-employment," it said.

The Committee also found that the current earnings cap of €480 in a four week period is "too inflexible to meet the needs of the entertainment industry and instead recommends that the €480 threshold would be based on average net earnings over the full period that an applicant is in receipt of the PUP, which would be in line with the treatment of income under Farm Assist etc."

The report and its recommendations been forwarded to the minister.

[john m]

HOW THEY GOING TO PAY FOR IT .

Fluid doesn’t quite describe it. The public-health situation, from which everything else seems to flow, is changing so rapidly from week to week that no one can say for certain where we’ll be in six weeks, let alone six months.

The Department of Finance yesterday jettisoned its tax forecasts for the year, saying they were no longer valid. It produced them in October – for the budget – but on an entirely different set of assumptions, some better, some far worse.

Back then we were facing into a second wave of the virus, one we thought we could snap in time for Christmas with a brief period of Level 5 restrictions. We didn’t bank on starting the new year with the biggest surge in cases since the pandemic began and in another hard lockdown. We didn’t think we’d be rolling out a vaccine this early either.

We also, rightly or wrongly, worked on the cautious basis that the UK would crash out of the European Union without a trade deal.

Hence the department’s forecast for a €60 billion tax haul this year has been shelved, as have the monthly profiles which flow from it. Normally we benchmark the monthly exchequer numbers against these profiles to gauge the health of the public finances and the health of the economy in general.

“The speed at which the public health situation – and both the economic and fiscal fallout of same – is evolving, prevents such an exercise in the very short term,” the department said in a note attached to its January exchequer returns. It has promised to come up with a fresh set of forecasts but not until April when it updates its economic forecasts.

VAT
The most worrying aspect of the last exchequer numbers is VAT. January is the biggest month of the year for the sales tax as it incorporates the traditionally busy festive shopping period and post-Christmas sales. At €2.35 billion, VAT receipts were nearly 13 per cent below January 2020. These are difficult times for retail and hospitality, make no mistake.

     
With the current enhanced Level 5 restrictions, there will be concern that VAT receipts will fall further. However, Peter Vale, tax partner with Grant Thornton, sounds a note of optimism, suggesting that as consumers adjust to the new environment the fall might not be as pronounced as the 50 per cent drop in VAT receipts witnessed at the start of the first lockdown.

[watty]

The ECB is giving away money (buying bonds) like confetti.  The National Treasury Management Agency were recently oversubscribed approx 10x when they did a bond auction.  Internationally, money has never been cheaper and Ireland, as part of the EU, is safe as a safe haven.  There's loads of money out there looking for a home.

Of course, we have to pay it back eventually but interest rates are zero or negative at the moment so worth the risk.

[john m]

O% interest wont last for long .Wont last for weeks .Watch the FED in America .That fuckology with the Reddit Stocks was caused by free or cheap money .Apple are borrowing Billions @0% and buying US government short bonds and treasuries and taking .0025%interest money for free .Think of the Fucking insanity you borrow 10 billion off the Fed buy  treasuries from the fed with the money you borrowed you give them back the money and they give you money for lending them back the money they charged you nothing to borrow in the first place.

What they are not telling us is what security are they giving the ECB when they borrow .The ECB must have securities to cover the loan Is it future tax or VAT revenues .Like you say Watty it all has to be paid back .All the Puppy Dole has to be paid back and the kids sitting at home getting money in the bank thinking its all free will pay for it over the next 50 years .You probably remember the 1970 even on minimum wage you only took home half of it after tax and insurance .This will all end in tears the recovery will be worse than the fever .

[watty]

Funny you should mention the 70's.  I was only a baba but have been reminded that mortgages were 18%!

We're in a different universe now.  The Feds are gonna give out even more money now that the Dems are in charge.  Even the IMF are saying borrow, borrow, borrow. 

The whole world is fukked, money is not tied to gold anymore so they can print, print, print and the whole world can worry about it over the next 20-30 years.  If you think your country is gonna be ok over that timeframe, you won't be too worried about borrowing money.  And you won't be in power anyway to have to deal with it!

[john m]

Watty my mate bought a house in Clare Hall off the plans put down 3k booking deposit by the time the house was built he couldnt afford the mortgage he sold his option back to the builder for £1500 .Years since I met him last time he was living in Flats in town with his wife and kids .He was doing great in the 80 but then everything went tits up he was a Milkman had two rounds one delivering to Dunnes Stores and one Doorstep both fell apart .

[watty]

Well, he was always on a sticky wicket dealing with Dunnes and being a milkman.  I'd imagine 95% of milkman don't exist anymore.

Edit: probably a bit like a young(er) person getting into the taxi game now with robot cars and electric bikes becoming common in the next 10-20 years.

[Shallowhal]

Still have the highest mortgage rates in Europe even though the ECB rate is 0%....also banks pushing all the new tech,reducing their staff levels and then charging more for quarterly fees...but then again we didn't bail out the banks according to that Mehaul cunt....bring back Dr Leo...Dr Leo was great so he was.

[Cool Boola]

Anyone hear any rumbles about a big market crash building up for April/May..? I know very little about markets and share dealing but I have made some very safe investments through Assurance companies in the past. In the last few years they are offering a negative return ...year on year.. after the broker investor gets his cut. I was talking to this share dealer and he was telling me that if I had any liquid shares in open stocks I shout drop them.? To be honest...never have a clue what he is talking about...also mentioned a possible run on some Banks....I said to him...nothing is going to happen during covid...Its next year or so that all the crashes will start...when Covid finishes...dont really listen to the Lexus Fuckwit but I was wondering if anyone heard any flutters about it??

[john m]

Boola stock BROKERS are big earners .That says it all .They use your money to gamble charging YOU on both sides of the trade when they buy or when they sell .Irish thought buying Gaffs for rent was a safe bet but look how that played out .Irish Forests  were sold as a good investment years ago now they are worthless Government acting the Cunt refusing forestry licences to cut worthless timber .Merc has the right idea but penny shares they are usually in worthless companies you write off the investment the minute you make it .its a gamble .When Facebook or Google or Intel were raising money they sold penny shares (penny shares does not mean they cost a penny it means they exist in a seperate market place other that the main markets .For every one like FB Google Uber that succeeds thousands fail we saw it in our industry with Whistle and Flag taxi apps .If you have a bit of cash put it in the Credit union they are still paying interest you have instant access and in some cases they will give you a bit of a death bonus .

The Stock market will not Crash but it will Correct devalue by about 20% as soon as the Federal reserve in the USA decide that they are real Bankers and need to make a profit .If inflation is 1.5% PA then your buying power is reducing by 1.5% Per Annum so banks need to be charging 1.5% interest just to make nothing about 2% to cover costs and about 2.5% to make a profit .at present the Interest rate to big borrowers is 0% .What is happening is the likes of Apple or Google borrow a billion or two buy back their own shares they go up in value and the Directors who made the decision to buy back increase their wealth then sell off a lot of their shares for Cash .When the correction comes they are cash rich the share price falls .The little guy panics gets burned and Mr Apple then buys back the shares he sold at a 10er for a 5er pockets the difference as a Bonus .

You might notice Paddy Powers or Ladbrokes dont have Shops on 5th Avenue or Mainstreet USA .Stock market is Americas version of Britain and Irelands Bookies industry .Its just gambling in a Pin Stripe suite and fellas advising Stocks are the same as Newspaper tipsters .People lumping on to Tesla to be the worlds biggest Car maker are no different than people betting that Liverpool will win the League or Aiden O Brien will win the Derby .

[john m]

Well, he was always on a sticky wicket dealing with Dunnes and being a milkman.  I'd imagine 95% of milkman don't exist anymore.

Edit: probably a bit like a young(er) person getting into the taxi game now with robot cars and electric bikes becoming common in the next 10-20 years.

Premier use to pay delivery by the pint so lads that were well in and could afford a refrigerated truck could make good coin delivering to supermarkets .Then Dunnes wanted a deal they probably took quarter of a million pints a day so the Dairies cut the coin they paid for bulk deliveries and a lot of lads were using the Bulk delivery money to subsidise their kid on the House rounds so the whole lot collapsed same with the Bread Man big supermarkets had a huge knock on effect .When I was a Kid the Milkman and the taximan were lords of the Manor always had cash Milkman use to sit inside the door of the Pub lending drink money that he would collect on Friday night with the Milk money .

[Punter]

I was born into the retail trade --original corner shop --20 bottles of milk in a crate and profit was one bottle a crate--most friendly milkmen took one if not two bottles from each crate only full one was the top one !
That was 60s and 70s, by the time I gave up in 90s there was 40% discount on milk !

JMOB bread carried an 11% margin and one extra nice van man used to leave in a cream cake for staff a few times a week while charging for at least an extra board of pans or loafs 3/4 days a week--cost the bakery at least 15/20 K compensation to me alone as they went bang and before they could pry any payment for me as I had 3 months CCTV of the operation but had gone on for years--and don't you know the culprit was head of the Pioneers and no one up to the MD of bakery could believe it --
By the time I gave up you could arm wrestle up to 45/50% from the big fellas !

My parents would do handstands if they managed 16/18 %margin by year end --now your local Spar or Centra want at least 35/38% !
 

[john m]

As I said on here Punter there is always somebody wants what you have from Supermarket's killing the corner shop, to Me taxi wanting your customers .But it gets ridiculous when I was doing Decorative Ironwork those Black and gold fancy gates .Then a few lads from Wheatfield or Mountjoy are given a Workshop in the Local Enterprise Center plus thousands of Euro worth of stock and equipment and a business advisor and an advertising budget from another reformed Charity .You cant compete in that market and when you complain you are asked do you want to continue to Victimise these lads they have served their time and Reformed .Wasent long before Me and mine were eating the porridge .The day of the Small family run business is numbered .

[silverbullet]

Watty my mate bought a house in Clare Hall off the plans put down 3k booking deposit by the time the house was built he couldnt afford the mortgage he sold his option back to the builder for £1500 .Years since I met him last time he was living in Flats in town with his wife and kids .He was doing great in the 80 but then everything went tits up he was a Milkman had two rounds one delivering to Dunnes Stores and one Doorstep both fell apart .

As they say " No use crying over spilt milk"

[Belker]

I was born into the retail trade --original corner shop --20 bottles of milk in a crate and profit was one bottle a crate--most friendly milkmen took one if not two bottles from each crate only full one was the top one !
That was 60s and 70s, by the time I gave up in 90s there was 40% discount on milk !

JMOB bread carried an 11% margin and one extra nice van man used to leave in a cream cake for staff a few times a week while charging for at least an extra board of pans or loafs 3/4 days a week--cost the bakery at least 15/20 K compensation to me alone as they went bang and before they could pry any payment for me as I had 3 months CCTV of the operation but had gone on for years--and don't you know the culprit was head of the Pioneers and no one up to the MD of bakery could believe it --
By the time I gave up you could arm wrestle up to 45/50% from the big fellas !

My parents would do handstands if they managed 16/18 %margin by year end --now your local Spar or Centra want at least 35/38% !

Interesting story Punter.