A second stream of income

Over the last decade and more, Fianna Fail-led governments reduced much of that population to a pathetic state of infantilism. We were encouraged to think that good things would fall upon us from above, like coconuts in the South Seas. Can we take cold reality? Maybe we can. It was a Fianna Fail Finance Minister Ray MacSharry who pulled us out of a somewhat similar crisis two decades ago. At first he was derided as Mac the Knife, but quite soon he achieved the status of a hero.

Our position now is worse in a number of ways.

Since independence, we have seldom, if ever, lived under a government so lacking in authority.

We will find out soon enough whether it has the courage to face down the coming protests and threats of social unrest. A firm stand would work wonders. Capitulation would be calamitous for the Government and the country.

But even the best-case scenario -- an orderly, determined and trouble-free implementation of the Government's policies -- would hardly suffice to save Fianna Fail or the Greens at the General Election, which, most likely, will come within a year.

Assuming that the Government then falls, Brian Cowen will have to resign. Lenihan's prospects of succeeding him as Taoiseach will depend in large part on the public reaction to Budget 2010.

He may get little thanks for his plain speaking from voters who have grown too comfortable with political oratory of the opposite kind. At the same time, he may have alienated people of a different mindset with the "inspirational" parts of his speech.

Yesterday he told us that "the worst is over".

How can he be right? At one level, every observer expects more pain in Budgets yet to come. At another, he talked about signs of economic recovery in a manner both overly optimistic and evidently based on figures collected over a very short period -- and ignored the troubles, very similar to our own, in our most important export market, Britain.

At the end of the day, it is time to realise that we can not rely on the government, unions and employers. If we wish to prosper we need to take control of our futures. One such way is starting our own second stream of income.We need to think and work outside the box "One persons recession is another's opportunity".One solution is to start a part time Home based business.

Millions of people worldwide are making secondary incomes on ebay,youtube,blogs and Kleeneze