Troika call for ‘fairer’ austerity won’t work

Responding to the Troika’s call for fairer austerity, following the opposition to the household charge, Cllr Ruth Coppinger of the CAHWT, said:

“The Troika comments about the ‘difficulties experienced in the implementation of the new household charge’ confirm the huge impact this campaign is having. The mass boycott of the household charge is proving a major barrier to imposing austerity in this country.”

“However, the call by the Troika to try to win ‘popular support’ for austerity by imposing it ‘fairly’ is a pipedream. By its very nature, austerity means taking away the income and services of ordinary people in order to bail out the super rich. There is no popular way to sell this totally unfair agenda and no way to sell property and water taxes which will hit low and middle income householders,” said Cllr Coppinger.

“Over 50% of home-owners are participating in non-registration of the household tax because they know it’s the first step towards property and water taxes of around €1,000. They see this as inherently unfair when wealthy bankers and speculators are being supported. The failure of the government and Troika to break with this policy will only strengthen the resolve of those refusing to pay.”