Still drowning in cash, the new Finance Minister is warned by IFAC, yet again, not to spend it.

Are the fiscal giveaways of past budgets really costing each household €1000 a year?

Amidst all the cries of 'they are windfall taxes' it's forgotten that capital investment is - or should be - very different to current spending. We used to argue about borrowing for investment purposes - economists have always pointed that that borrowing for investment is perfectly ok, provided the return on that investment is higher than the cost.

Now, some seem to be arguing that spending money that we already have, windfall or otherwise, still shouldn't be spent, even on high return projects. There's crying wolf and then just being daft.

GDP data is all over the place and has defeated us. Exchequer returns and other data point to an economy still growing although not one that is overheating. Tax revenues are booming and unemployment is down again.

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Rather than put all the spare cash in a 'future proof' fund, should the Finance Minister simply recognise the future is here, right now?

Deviance has been normalised.

Bicycle sheds with golden roofs: a parable about quality versus quantity of government spending

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J D Vance has shot to prominence following his selection by Donald Trump to be, potentially, the next Vice President of the US.

In this podcast special, we focus on Vance's 2016 best-selling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, to try and explain and understand the man who clearly wants, one day, to be the leader of the free world.

We are joined by Professor Shane O'Mara of Trinity College Dublin to discuss all things JDV. And there really is a lot to discuss! Shane is also a best-selling author (of much better books than JDV's memoir) and writes his own Substack called BrainPizza. Do check out any of his works, especially his most recent book, 'Talking Heads: The New Science of How Conversation Shapes Our Worlds'.

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