Stephen Kinsella: Tax take fuels unrealistic expectations

The worry is that we will begin to repeat history

"It would be better if the government moderated their promises"

The State's finances work the exact same way as, say, a tennis club.

Money comes in via taxes and goes out via expenditure. The way the government knows it’s doing better is if more money comes in.

That's what happened this month: more money than expected came in. And because more money came in, there’s more money to spend. But it doesn't necessarily follow that you have to spend it.

And it doesn’t ...