That's capitalism WS 101

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Porsche has given a bonus to its entire full-time staff. The 11,000 people who actually build cars got €5,200 each. The six person management board, none of whom has ever built a car, awarded themselves a whopping €113 million.

While Irish government ministers lobby the US Congress for citizenship for 50,000 Irish illegal immigrants, people in the same situation in Ireland are being told by those very same politicians to leave the country.

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On the 17th December, the Institute of Public Health reported that 18% of people in the Republic are living in fuel poverty - literally in the cold. Many thanks to the governments past and present then for giving away €51bn worth of natural gas in the Corrib gas field to corporate giants Shell, Statoil and Marathon.

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In the past few months, nearly 100 Burmese refugees have been resettled in Co. Mayo. At least they’ll have an easy time adjusting to any cultural differences. The Gardaí in Rossport are doing their damnedest to keep up with the good example shown recently by the Burmese military regime.

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Latest report from Stormont assembly claims that more than 100,000 children are living in relative poverty and 44,000 living in severe’ poverty. poverty. According to the latest Housing Council waiting lists for social housing in the north are at their highest in 30 years.

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According to the latest report by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, fine dodgers make up over 59% of people sentenced to prison everyday (Irish News, 12 Dec 2007)


This article is from Workers Solidarity 101 published Jan/Feb 2008

Draft PDF of WS101 - articles will differ from proofread version