DUBLIN -- M'lord, I can see your bald patch.
Hundreds of Ireland's judges abandoned their wigs for the first time in centuries Friday after the Irish Courts Service ended the rule requiring them to wear the British-style headgear.
The move is designed to save the taxpayer money in debt-struck Ireland. Until now, each new judge has received a London-made, white-dyed horsehair wig that costs the state about euro2,200 ($3,000) each.
Ireland is voting Oct. 27 on a constitutional amendment that would give the government new power to cut judges' salaries.
Irish judges have worn wigs since the mid-17th century and kept the policy after Ireland won independence from Britain in 1922.
So, what is the net effect of this action? The wig maker loses business.. has less income.. can't buy other products because they no longer have that income.. and may have to lay people off, which of course then results in those laid off people being unable to buy products.. and on and on and on.
What is going on in Europe and is in progress in the US is that same exact paradigm, but on a much larger scale. It will not improve economic conditions, but obviously have the reverse effect.
Normally, you'd think that doing away with a silly tradition like judges wearing wigs would be a good thing, especially considering they are paid for by tax dollars. The current economic climate isn't "normal" by any means.
Once the economy is humming along, and unemployment is low, a gradual decrease in stupid government spending is obviously a good thing. The timing is what is important. What the Euro governments should be doing is buying MORE wigs.. and more of pretty much everything. They should just be dropping cash into everyone's pockets so they can create much more demand.
Of course, that's not going to happen, and so 10%+ unemployment becomes the new norm, and the corrosive economic climate is going to be the status quo for a very long time. It's not going to change.. and as it's proven that "austerity" is the complete opposite of the proper remedy, the reaction of the politicians is not to reverse course.. it's to dig in deeper and deeper. After all, politicians are not facing any negative consequences for their own policy blunders. On the contrary.. they benefit from them, because of the relative nature of wealth.
If I could snap my fingers and make everyone else poorer, that would make me wealthier without my wealth changing one nickle. That's the whole point of why they are doing this. They're not that stupid - they're that evil. It's a concerted effort to create a much wider gap between the haves and the have nots.
It's working perfectly.
2 comments:
why doesn't Ireland make the judges buy their own wigs?
listen, the wig thing may seem ridiculous to Americans - but Court dress makes people remember where they are - especially the lawyers.
It's also good because it makes the judge and the barristers anonymous. While we know their names, people look different on the street. This is helpful when you've left court and the guy you're trying to send to jail is on the same train as you.
I have no problem with a judge wearing a wig. Tradition is all well and good, and it's really no different than the black robes that some judges in the US wear. In fact, I think it can look pretty hot on the right kind of judge.
Also no problem with having them buy their own. Everyone else has to buy their own attire for business, so why not judges?
The basic idea is that cutting government spending in the face of declining demand is counter productive.
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