Although there appears to be green-shoots in Ireland's economy, we're still a long way off anything even close to the good 'oul Celtic Tiger days.
As financial / economist types hash out the details about how best to get the economy up and running, one novel approach has been put forward by a group.
Their plan? Give everyone €175 a month for 19 months.
And yes, Futurama fans, there was an episode based on this idea.
The economists, which include our own Constantin Gurdgiev, believe that a direct approach to stimulate the economy would result in a far better return on investment.
So, we did a bit of digging. What can €175 get you?
- You could spend a night in a decent hotel.
- You could buy a small enough TV.
- You could probably get a decent night out on the tiles.
- You can get a flight in a hot-air balloon. No, really.
Or, y'know, you could save up the €175 and splurge it on something else in time.
The economists believe that €175 for just over a year would allow Euro-citizens a chance to either pay down debt or allow them to spend it on something they usually wouldn't, thus allowing for discretionary spending.
We trailed off when they said €175 and 'free'.
Via FT.com
