Rip Off Republic - Episode #2 - review

Its ludicrous to attempt to link relative quality of life to relative house prices in any 2 locations. Is Dublin really twice or 2.5 times a better place to live in than Longford. Is Ailesbury Road 10 times a better place to live in than Blanchardstown. Or is it 20 times?

daltonr,

As I mentioned above, I am intrigued by your admission that you intend to campaign for FF and for a change of government, at the next election. Do you want to explain this apparent contradiction?
 
ubiquitous said:
As I mentioned above, I am intrigued by your admission that you intend to campaign for FF and for a change of government, at the next election. Do you want to explain this apparent contradiction?
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In theory, if FF were to achieve an outright majority and could form a government without having to get back into bed with the PDs, then this would constitue a change in government? (and of course if FF were in government on their own all our problems would be solved ;) )
 
ubiquitous said:
Is Dublin really twice or 2.5 times a better place to live in than Longford.
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Bad example - the answer is most definitely yes! 10 months in living in Longford were the longest 10 months of my life!!
 
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CCOVICH said:
In theory, if FF were to achieve an outright majority and could form a government without having to get back into bed with the PDs, then this would constitue a change in government? (and of course if FF were in government on their own all our problems would be solved ;) )
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Cunning analysis ;) - except that it doesn't explain daltonr's contradictory comments here about getting FF out of Government while also canvassing on behalf of one of their candidates whom "he likes".
 
This is ridiculous! How can you have a quantitative comparative multiplier on a qualitative factor?
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Is Dublin really twice or 2.5 times a better place to live in than Longford. Is Ailesbury Road 10 times a better place to live in than Blanchardstown. Or is it 20 times?
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I don't see what's ridiculous about this at all. Given the choice of paying 2.5 times as much to live in one place than another there must be some reason why somone would choose to do so. For some it will be a forced decision based on family issues or whatever. For others it will simply be that there are things about one place they like that justify the higher cost of living.

I was just curious if someone who had experience of both felt that Dublin warranted the higher prices. In other words is it worth it. It's subjective of course, but the subjective opinion of someone who has lived in both places is of interest to me.

I've made the subjective judgement that it's not worth 300K to 400K for the kind of house and the kind of local ameneties, and infrastructure, that dublin provides when you can have better for less elsewhere.

The Poster from Perth might have had a contrary view that indeed Dublin did justify the higher costs than Perth.

Cunning analysis ;) - except that it doesn't explain daltonr's contradictory comments [broken link removed] about getting FF out of Government while also canvassing on behalf of one of their candidates whom "he likes".
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I've already explained this non-contradiction Here:
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showpost.php?p=106456&postcount=212

If you choose to ignore my explaination then I can't really help you.

I'd like to see FF out of governement. It would be a step in the right direction. But more importantly I'd like to see good TD's in the Dail. I don't think FG or Labour will be sufficient better that it's FF out at ALL COSTS.

As I've said, FF out with the better FF TD's keeping their seats would be the best result. I'll be voting for the FG candidate in my constituency as well as Mr McGuinness. In which order I haven't decided yet. He will certainly be the ONLY FF condidate getting a vote from me and it may be a transfer from FG or Labour, or they may get a transfer from him. Who knows? I'll probably throw a vote to an independant if they impress me.

If my previous voting patterns are repeated I'll start by giving a vote to the individuals I like, followed by the parties I dislike least (FG, Labour, Green). And I won't vote at all for the remainder (SF and remaining FF condidates).

-Rd
 
If somebody says that the quality of life in one place is X times better than in another place then what does that really mean? Nothing other than gut feeling as far as I can see.

Your earlier explanation of how you want to get FF out but will still canvass on behalf of and vote for one of their candidates simply does not add up and this is why people continue to question you on it. I guess that there simple is no reasonable explanation so?

I'd like to see FF out of governement. It would be a step in the right direction. But more importantly I'd like to see good TD's in the Dail. I don't think FG or Labour will be sufficient better that it's FF out at ALL COSTS.
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Moving the goalposts yet again, eh? :rolleyes:
 
I really don't know, QoL is very subjective, but your question, as I understand it, is interesting. I hesitate to go further as this is rather off topic - I simply wanted to indicate that perhaps rip-off and expensive are not the same things. For instance, Western Australia in recent years has enjoyed remarkable royalty windfalls from the exploitation of iron ore and natural gas reserves. This income enables solid infrastructural investment and decreases the degree to which the central authority must rely on (all varieties of) taxation.
 
balga - do many Australians moan about high prices and/or rip-offs in your experience?
 
I think I get the message. The Rip off Ireland brigade seems to be comprised of...

1. FF voters who will continue to vote for their favourite FF candidate next time around.

2. Fine Gael, the value for money and pro-consumer party that slated the arrival of Lidl and Aldi to our shores and haven't cut a single local tax or levy in 14 months.

3. Companies such as Irish Ferries who have ripped off the public for decades but who claim in their adverts that even at €99 each way to Holyhead they are still cheaper to get to Britain than Ryanair or other airlines (Go figure)

4. RTE, who had nothing to do with the 50% increase in the TV licence fee increase a couple of years ago...

Bizarre, eh???
 
Moving the goalposts yet again, eh?
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For goodness sake clubman will you get over it. There hasn't been movement of goal posts or anything else. This is exactly what I was saying earlier on this thread, and what I've consistently said for as long as I've been posting on AAM.

Your earlier explanation of how you want to get FF out but will still canvass on behalf of and vote for one of their candidates simply does not add up and this is why people continue to question you on it. I guess that there simple is no reasonable explanation so?
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And there was me thinking PR allowed for such strategies.
Tell you what If FF get kicked out of government, but John McGuinness keeps his seat. Then we'll agree I had a right to vote any way I pleased.
If John McGuinness get's elected and FF Stay in by holding 1 seat. Then I'll agree you were right.

Ubiquitous, I'm not sure I understand the point you're making in your post.
But since you have used the phrase "ripped off the public for decades" perhaps you could elaborate on how in your opinion that was the case, since as far as I can see it's the first time a mod has acknowledged the valididy of claiming there was any sort of Rip-off in Ireland.

And please don't anyone claim I'm defending Irish Ferries. I'm not. Given the amount of misinterpretation going on I'd hate for that accusation to be leveled at me. IF this is the same company that rebadged it ship to Barbados recently then I'm certainly no fan.

-Rd
 
RainyDay said:
They will only continue to drive into the city centre or park in residential areas if they refuse to accept the revolutionary option of walking to/from the bus stop.
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Rainyday that is a very broad generalisation of those who have to drive to meet the infrastructure we call 'public transport'. Not all of us live within walking distance of an adequate bus service.
 
daltonr said:
For goodness sake clubman will you get over it. There hasn't been movement of goal posts or anything else. This is exactly what I was saying earlier on this thread, and what I've consistently said for as long as I've been posting on AAM.
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You keep adding qualifiers and caveats to your explanations as to why you will support a representative of a party whom you think need to be removed from Government so it does seem like you are shifting the goalposts to me. There is nothing for me to get over other than your ability to contradict yourself without being able to accept that you are doing so.

And there was me thinking PR allowed for such strategies.
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Even with PR is makes no sense to give even a low preference vote to somebody that you do not support. Your ongoing vilification of the current Government and, in particular, FF, and attribution of most or all of the blame for the causes/symptoms of so called "rip-off Ireland" to them simply does not make any sense in the context of your stated intention to canvass on behalf of and vote for one of their representatives. This is not a misprepresentation of your comments by the way.
 
to canvass on behalf of and vote for one of their representatives. This is not a misprepresentation of your comments by the way.
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I never said I'd join his canvassing team. I will CAMPAIGN for him, i.e. in the run up to the election I'll certainly offer my services to help out. And I'll ask people I know to give him a vote. I certainly won't ask people to continue their preference for other FF candidates and I'm sure Mr McGuinness would be asking them to do.

FF will only be out of government for one term regardless. FG Labour are at best a protest government. I'd like to think that by supporting the good candidates in a bad party that by the tiem FF regains power they may have made some slight move in the direction advocated by a few in their ranks.

If you don't agree with my analysis that's fine. If FF get kicked out of government, but one or two of their members that I'd consider good manage to hold their seats, that will be the best election result I could hope for. And I think we all have the right to vote for the election result we'd like.

You keep adding qualifiers and caveats to your explanations
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I'm sorry. In future when I offer an opinion I'll provide a few pages of background to ensure that every possible detail relating to the opinion is fully thrashed out so there are no suprises for you.

-Rd
 
Perhaps, Clubman, once an economy reaches a certain level, this behaviour becomes (somewhat reasonably) commonplace. Let me explain. I was at college in Dublin in 1988 and, as I recall, complained bitterly about the price of nearly everything, lamenting how people could live here. My only solace was to play football in places such as Ballybofey, Abbeycarton, the Carlisle Grounds and United Park. As I recall, programmes such as ROI did not exist. Yet such programmes were (and, I believe remain) regularly scheduled on Australian TV.
So, Clubman, some Australians do moan about prices, some (perhaps a lot) moan about rip offs, but programmes like ROI have been common place for a long time.
I believe the programme has had good ratings. I hope that the type of consumer response it evokes continues, because I believe that there are several other areas where the consumer is ill-served. I will probably watch ROI3.
 
daltonr said:
I never said I'd join his canvassing team. I will CAMPAIGN for him, i.e. in the run up to the election I'll certainly offer my services to help out. And I'll ask people I know to give him a vote. I certainly won't ask people to continue their preference for other FF candidates and I'm sure Mr McGuinness would be asking them to do.
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For somebody who regularly accuses me of engaging in semantics you're doing a good job of doing the same thing in attempting to draw some subtle distinction between "campaigning on behalf of" and "campaigning for" and not joining a team but offering your services...
FF will only be out of government for one term regardless. FG Labour are at best a protest government. I'd like to think that by supporting the good candidates in a bad party that by the tiem FF regains power they may have made some slight move in the direction advocated by a few in their ranks.

If you don't agree with my analysis that's fine. If FF get kicked out of government, but one or two of their members that I'd consider good manage to hold their seats, that will be the best election result I could hope for. And I think we all have the right to vote for the election result we'd like.
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I don't agree with your analysis because it is still the case that none of this in any way makes sense of campaigning and voting for a member of a party whom you have stated need to be removed from Government.
I'm sorry. In future when I offer an opinion I'll provide a few pages of background to ensure that every possible detail relating to the opinion is fully thrashed out so there are no suprises for you.
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No - just making a logical, consistent and non contradictory argument will do rather than trying to cover your tracks with incremental caveats and disclaimers when you have been found out making contradictory claims.
 
But since you have used the phrase "ripped off the public for decades" perhaps you could elaborate on how in your opinion that was the case, since as far as I can see it's the first time a mod has acknowledged the valididy of claiming there was any sort of Rip-off in Ireland.
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Ah come on. Just because one believes that the term "Rip Off Ireland" is unjustified doesn't mean that one is so naive or stupid to believe that every business operator in the country is honest and acts altruistically in all their business transactions. Do you believe, hand on heart, that there is no profiteering, overcharging or dishonesty in the UK, in the US or in Malaysia?
 
I haven't said anything like that. I just asked you to elaborate on an example of a Rip-Off that you believed genuinely was a Rip-Off. So that at least we can agree on what constitutes a Rip-Off.

So far whenever anyone dares to suggest that something is a Rip-Off they are told it isn't. Let me give you the standard response....

Did Irish Ferries make the consumer aware of the charges before the person travelled with them? If yes then it's not a Rip-Off. That's the kind of response that annoys people and it's very common here.

If you have an example of something that's a Rip-Off of the Consumer then let's hear about it so that when future Rip-Offs are discussed this one can be the benchmark.

E.g. I think PC World selling a Web Cam for €120 that I can buy in the states for less than $30 is a Rip-Off. But is it? PC World have the prices plainly visible. No one is forcing anyone to buy it. I'd claim that many of PC World's customers are at a disadvantage of having no clue how much such a device is worth and as such are being Ripped Off. But perhaps I'm wrong.

I'm just curious what it is about the Irish Ferries Rip-Off that's different, so that in future I'll know and I can use the term without getting slapped down by the various Mods for using it incorrectly.

-Rd
 
For somebody who regularly accuses me of engaging in semantics you're doing a good job of doing the same thing in attempting to draw some subtle distinction between "campaigning on behalf of" and "campaigning for" and not joining a team but offering your services...
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The word Canvass was introduced by you and it has a very specific meaning. I will not be going door to door canvassing for anyone. I will be asking people I know to vote for him. Happy to clear this up for you.

I don't agree with your analysis because it is still the case that none of this in any way makes sense of campaigning and voting for a member of a party whom you have stated need to be removed from Government.
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If you can't get your head around that then OK. It makes perfect sense to me to encourage and support those in FF who want to change the Party. Rather than engage in the pointless cycle of kicking FF out for one term and then having them come back the same or worse than they ever were. I'd like them to leave government seeing that those preaching change kept their seats.

Thanks for your advice that I'm wasting my time.

-Rd
 
Well seeing as you asked, Irish Ferries charged me the guts of €10 for a tea and sandwich the last time I travelled with them. I counted this as a ripoff. The combined stated price of the tea and sandwich was about €6 or €7, not cheap in the first instance. Because I had no Euro on me, and because they wouldn't (quite conveniently, from their point of view) accept credit cards, I had to pay them with a £20 Sterling note. They had no sterling prices displayed (despite the fact that the ferry was travelling from Wales to Ireland), and I had no choice but to accept the terrible exchange rate which they were offering. I reckon I was done in this way by at least a further €3.

Bear in mind that this has happened and will happen to at least a large percentage of tourists that use Irish Ferries to visit our country.

Btw, if you're tired of "getting slapped down by the various Mods", ie others not agreeing with your repetitive rants, then maybe its time you looked for another site to bore...
 
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