Jack looks at his watch, it's 15.40. His friends are meeting down the field in 20
minutes to play football. If he does not get there by then, chances are he won't
get picked, and will be out of the game. but Jack ha s a big problem. He still
has to do his Maths homework, and then his homework is complete. So Jack rushes his Maths homework to be in
time for the match. When's he's finished
he quietly puts his book and maths copy away. He knows his sums are bound to be
wrong, but doesn't want his ever watchful Mother to know. So he shouts
"See ya later mam going to the field", and makes a run for the door.
But just as he has his hand on the look a booming voice echoes "Err, where
do yuo think YOU are going? You haven't shown me your Maths homework
yet". his heart sinks, he knows
what's coming next. Having seen all his figures, his mother will make him redo
them til they are right, an will sit at the table beside him to make sure he
takes his time. why couldn't it have been his dad at the door? He'd have mere
asked him had he got his phone with him, and wit an affirmative reply, waved
him on. But no his Mother is a stickler
for these kinds of things. she wants to make sure everything is done correctly.
This in a way describes the various strands
that makes up the economic officialdom, and economic commentators in the EU. Some, like France are like Jack fear the
consequences if the full extent of the problem was uncovered. they are the
child who fears the consequences of not being at the match in time, of having
to explain to his mates exactly why he wasn't there on time. Whereas Germany and Finland would be in the group who wish to see
everything in detail, and often complain
to the teacher in the school about other parents not checking their kids
homework and the like, and in her view dragging her child back with them. "Why won't the school take actions to
force the other parents to properly oversee their kids homework, and general
educational development outside of school hours? She would thunder" It's not as easy as that" the teacher
would explain. the teacher knows some of the other parents are unable to read
or write, while some lack basic skills in arithmetic.
The teacher feels said parent does not need
to know this fact, and would not tell her.
Had she told Jack's mother, she would have caused a right old ruckus,
and who knows where it would all end.
But in the back of the teachers mind, se is half full of dread. A
special extraordinary meeting of the Parents Committee is taking place in a few
weeks, orchestrated by Jack's Mother, and she is determined to raise the issue
once more in front of a myriad of parents, and it's likely some of the parents
present will back her up, and demand straight answers from the principal. The
teachers and principal tried in vain to get her to call a halt to her campaign,
but no matter how many fudges they offered, she was having none of it. Some of the parents on the night will be
found out, as lacking numeracy and literary skills, and this will cause not
just embarrassment, but serious problems all round. Will some parents they seek to pull their
kids out of the school, and home school them?
The banks here are just like Jack. They have put out statements claiming
everything is fine and dandy their end, but refuse to provide any solid
tangible evidence to back these assertions up.
surely if everything was indeed fine and dandy, surely they would go out
of their way to prove just that, opening the books for all to see and so forth. But the more they
divert and spin, the more I, and many economists and the like start top stress. The question here is not whether or not there
will be holes in the banks balance sheets, but how big they will be. If there was found to be enormous holes in
the Irish banks that needed a lot more capital to fill them in, it would have
the capacity to derail and economic upturn that this country is, and could face
in the future. The country is very fragile
as it is, and as we have seen in previous years, it does not take much at all
for freefall to commence.
It's going to be a very nervous 2014 for sure!
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