Election Manifestos now online

People who walked into newsagents shops all over the country on last week might easily have staggered out in a confused and shell shocked state after glancing at the morning newspapers. A plethora of banner headlines would have leapt out at them with horror stories of a raft of new fees, charges and taxes awaiting them in the next few years if government plans are allowed to be implemented.

The first three months of 2012 could turn out to be an historic period in the modern political and social life of this State. It could be when the quiet majority of the population takes a decisive stand against shouldering any more burdens to bail out the major bankers, speculators and bondholders of Europe at the behest of the unholy trinity of the EU/IMF/ECB with the Fine Gael/Labour government as its agent. And the potent weapon they can wield is a boycott of the registration and payment of the newly imposed Household Tax.

From this week the latest bitter austerity pill will be administered to our hard pressed low and middle income earners as letters arrive in every home from the Revenue Commissioners demanding the new property tax.