According to this report today in the Irish Times, "TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen urged people to face the future with 'renewed fortitude and courage', saying Ireland needs a 'major national effort' to get through the recession. Speaking in Co Offaly yesterday, Mr Cowen said 'every recession provides the opportunity for a restructuring of our economy and that is what we have to do today'. This would involve painful decisions in the short term, he said. 'The purpose of all that is, of course, to adapt to the new circumstances. As business has to do, so must public administration, and in doing that we will provide the most effective response we can for the hard-pressed taxpayer, but also, of course, to prepare ourselves and put ourselves in the position to forge ahead again as we will when this recessions lifts,' said Mr Cowen."

Here's the thing. The recession isn't a head cold. It's not just going to magically "lift" like some random affliction that has inexplicably happened to the country. I don't understand how they expect all this cutting of budgets is going to help "taxpayers," (their word for residents -- seemingly the only residents of the country who matter to them) have more money. Why is there no investing in the economy, job creation instead of job cutting, and well, stimulus to the economy? I don't get it. I keep trying to figure it out and I don't understand it still. I do have American friends who are being laid off, of course -- it isn't all roses in the US -- but there is hope, and there is some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. Here, it's just doom and gloom everywhere you look, day after day.