John Hope

The enshittification of Ireland and the hollowing out of our institutions is the single largest threat to Irish civil society and prosperity. In this damning piece, I'm going into more detail about the graph I posted yesterday: why it's happening in Ireland, why the way we're thinking about the protests is entirely wrong, and what this means for our collective governance. Link to the article is below!

@ExCllrRedmond @ciarannugent Left the state this year because taxes are too high. Wasn't available to participate in the survey

@ciarannugent That’s what happens when you overtax a minority of people. The majority think it fine.

The share of Irish people who think taxes are too high is 7th lowest in the EU (a third) As many agree with increases for better services

Their “wealth” is just a scorecard for how much benefit their companies provide to humankind. If they stopped providing benefits, people would stop using their products/services and “wealth” would disappear.

@naomhgallagher I just don't see how this change would incentivise that. I dunno, maybe it's me. I also feel the bar for interfering in free enterprise should require stronger evidence. Anyway thanks for the spirited debate! Was fun

@midhir You would do it because without your team your company wouldn’t be successful enough to pay you £2m (two thirds of the total salary cost). And if you want more employees you have to enable that success to reach them too. Just because you can do something is not a reason to do it.

Completely agree with this. No one person needs that kind of salary. Not football players, not celebrities, not CEOs.

@naomhgallagher Why would I do that though, I can get a senior for 100k?

@midhir If you have a small company that is so successful it can pay you £2m and your team a combined £1m, you can afford to increase their salaries and add a junior role at £100k. At £2m your monthly take home is more than anyone else at your company gets in a year.

@naomhgallagher I don't think the cultural acceptance will happen as long as the evidence favours inequality in overall outcomes. It has to be mandated top-down because, outside of a minority opinion, people don't really care or even believe in it.

@midhir I’m not a Green, although they can have good ideas at times. But I think this is a good conversation starter. It would be better if it wasn’t mandated, more of a cultural acceptance that vast inequality is bad. Adding junior roles would be fine, just pay them appropriately?

@naomhgallagher And I don't know what it's meant to accomplish other than to make a few people feel better. All the direct effects look negative to me. Looked it up & no surprise it's a Green proposal. Looking good is their MO

@naomhgallagher Thanks! I just find it odd that the side effects aren't more obvious. E.g. I can never add junior, apprentice, grad roles without taking a pay cut because I'd bust the ratio? This seems obviously bad for everyone.

@karldeeter It's infuriating. Having completely ruined price signals that create a market for food production, then captured it with subsidies, politicians now openly insult the producers.

It is objectively true that cities provide the jobs and pay all the taxes. But without the farmers we don't eat - and the EU, govt and anybody else can f*** right off trying to curtail the one thing we do excellently (food production). I accept the carbon footprint of farming with open arms.

@naomhgallagher Sorry, have newborn, can barely type

@naomhgallagher C-level is usually 80%+performance related. Of which ~80% is equity (i.e. tracks performance of the company itself). I guess I don't see the issue, nevermind any obscene morality. It matches the extreme level of risk and difficulty of the job

@dieworkwear Pattern Recognition is a magic book. You can tell Gibson really likes clothes, or at least appreciates the heritage

Some will already know this, but William Gibson collaborated with the Japanese workwear brand Buzz Rickson about 20 years ago to create a line of military-inspired garments. As far as I know, the line has stayed totally the same — same material, same details, same cuts — even as fashion trends have moved from full to slim and back to full again. How great is it that you could have saved up and splurged on a really nice garment 20 years ago, and if you went to the same store today, it would be totally the same? There's no pressure to "update" your wardrobe. No feeling like you might miss out on the latest drop. If you lose the jacket, you can go to the store and get the same one, even two decades later. There's something special about having that kind of confidence in your aesthetic. Also, not pressuring people to constantly buy buy buy. They purchase one nice thing and wear it for years. Should they decide the garment is not for them, guess what? They can sell it on the second-hand market for about 50% of what they paid because retailers are still selling the same thing. That fashion model is very inspiring to me. Plus, the stuff looks great. The videos below are from the wonderful London-based shop Son of Stag. You can also find at Self Edge, my favorite retailer for denim. They have locations in the United States and Mexico. Both stores specialize in this kind of clothing. You can find both shops on Instagram at the handles sonofastag and selfedge.

The Irish fuel protests from farmers and hauliers turning into a wider movement against taxation on social media. It's working so well. Martin is on the ropes, hasn't a clue how to handle this

Surprise! The "Supports" in the mystery box are just your own money

Very likely to be brought in sooner also

Cheaper than Dublin Metrolink, a train from the city center to the airport

I realize some people will never really get extreme metal, maybe even think it's childish at times but this Marduk live set is S-Tier. Pacing is brilliant, good mix of cuts from back catalogue. Total pros. youtube.com/watch?v=ifDp7K…

@dieworkwear Can't beat a chelsea boot for versatility and convenience

Cillian Murphy looking great in a Brut Lunar bomber and one pleat pants