Irony In A Modest Proposal

In “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift discusses,using irony, several alternatives he believes will help the audiences situation rather than eating babies. One such alternative is “taxing our absentees at five shillings a pound”(Swift 1204). Some landowners rent out their homes and farms to the poor, have them do all the work, and then keep the profit. Swift suggests that for every pound of profit the landowners make, they should be taxed 5 shillings, so that the country will make more money to feed its people. Another solution he proposes is “of using neither clothes nor household furniture except what is of our own growth and manufacture”(Swift 1204). The best way to boost the economy is by purchasing things that were produced in their country.
That way the money stays in their country, and it keeps flowing. One more proposition is “of putting a spirit of honesty, industry and skill into our shopkeepers”(Swift 1204). Swift knows that if everyone agrees to buying things made in the country, some business owners, who are just looking to make a profit, will raise the prices of said goods. Jonathan Swift gives several good choices to improve the situation in Ireland, all in hopes that they will listen and implement a few.