Budget 2024
John Walsh: Forget schmoozing the voters, budget must protect economy against future shocks
The government must have an eye to international developments that will impact our tax take and indigenous business, and move to protect them
If budgets were prepared solely by economists, the only factors that would be considered are the state of the domestic economy and the international backdrop.
But budgets are one of the biggest set-pieces every year of the political calendar. They provide an opportunity for governments to assert their authority and for opposition parties to lay down a marker. That is why there are always tensions between policies that are in the best interests of the ...
