"Hey, let's redo that whole Potato famine thing...that was fun"

Via Thers writing at Eschaton this is a depressing, holy shit! moment:

IRISH PEOPLE’S finances are continuing to deteriorate with the number who say they have less than €25 to spend each week once all essential bills have been paid increasing sharply over the last three months, according to research published by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU).

Its second What’s Left tracker survey of the year found that 1.82 million adults say they have less than €100 a month to spend after bills are paid. This compares with a figure of 1.64 million it recorded in April.

Among the most bleak findings in the report are those that suggest 17 per cent of adults – which equates to 602,000 people – say they have absolutely nothing left for discretionary spending once all bills are paid.

Oh austerity, cutting spending and making sure the people cannot spend...and soon may start to go hungry. What a tremendously short-sighted policy...except of course in the short-term it sucks too.