Economics

John Walsh: Policy missteps could send us back in time to the dark 1980s

Amid widespread distrust of the government among young people, it’s important to note that as a country we have come a long way, but that progress cannot be taken for granted

Leinster House: according to a recent OECD survey, 80 per cent of Irish people between the ages of 18 and 29 do not trust the government, among the highest rate in the developed world. Picture: Getty

“You’ve never had it so good.” That was the immortal line uttered by Harold Macmillan, the British prime minister, in a speech he gave in 1957. He was imploring the public to take stock of the progress their country had made since World War II, while at the same time urging restraint amid growing demands for wage increases at a time of spiralling inflation.

The phrase is usually deployed now in the context of political ...