With the upcoming referendum the mountain bikers of Ireland are pondering on how to vote. Here’s my handy guide to help you make up your mind.
What is it then? The treaty amends the constitution so that governments of the future must adhere to budget deficits levels set by the EU.
How does this affect Mountain Bikers then? Well this is a tricky question as no one can predict the future. I have compiled an economic model to try assess the impact of various scenarios. For simplistic purposes I’m assuming Ireland is sticking with the Euro and that the government of the day are as idiotic as all previous governments, two reasonable assumptions.
No vote scenario: The government will cut spending due to lack of credit. The reduction in expenditure will lead to job losses and falls in the price of non exportable goods and services. As bikes are imported from Taiwan these will become relative more expensive to other items such as houses and haircuts. Fortunately cuts in spending will lead to less state backed trail manufacture and cuts in enforcement of EU conservation rules. More unemployment may also lead to bums living in the mountains creating cool naturals trails however my economic model is vague in the numbers of people who will go completely mad.
Yes vote scenario: The government will continue spending like there is no tomorrow. Bikes will remain at relatively the same cost. Tomorrow will arrive and the no vote scenario will play out for even longer.
So my recommendation is buy a bike now and vote yes, that way you can afford the bike and you’ll get to ride some great trails later when the country runs out of money!
