Quick Link: Just Another Day in Paradise
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Full-disclosure: I am generally pro-Bono. And as my husband reminded me as I was getting slightly twitchy about this topic, he's a soft target. A rock star who not only sings about justice, he preaches on it from the stage, the pulpit, even the bush, putting himself on the front lines of accountability... and scrutiny. When U2 came under fire over a decade ago for avoiding Irish taxes by having their company based in the Netherlands, the outcry was fierce, but short-lived.
As one friend put it, “I would prefer those who lived out of Kingdom values and know Jesus to have more money, than those who don’t know Him.”
Well, sure. But we’d also expect them to knock down the doors of the Dáil demanding the immediate building of new social housing, homeless accommodation, and long-term relief in the rental sector.
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Every time some sort of cache of documents is released, a new company, politician or celebrity (or even rockstar!) is revealed to be subverting the system. This time it was Bono, our Patron Saint at Large, whom I genuinely love -- but am also genuinely ticked off at. The richest man on this island, surely paying his taxes in due course (and in full) would significantly impact not just our homeless population, but every other social benefit that relies on Irish citizens paying their taxes.
So I wrote about it.
My sister says, "Do you feel full-fledged Irish now? You wrote an article publicly slagging Bono!"
Yeah, I kinda do. :)