Eddie Hobbs - Politically Biased?

skywalker

Tazz T wrote:

His arguement was based on the assumption that Eddie had ignored the fact that pay has been rising faster than inflation - therefore rather than getting ripped off, we are in fact better off.

Which was countered (if I remember rightly) that when things like stealth taxes & large increases in essentials such as gas/electricity were taken into account that just isnt true.

Tazz T

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Does this National Pay Agreement apply to the private sector? If so, it's the first I've heard of it.

Hands up who's enjoyed a 5.5% increase in 3 phases over the past 18 months.

pH

I think Eddie has opened the debate into a far more interesting area than people ringing up chat shows to whine about the price of eating out, drinking or a cup of expresso.

Before this debate I would have reserved the term 'Rip-off' for shady business practices where sellers in effect trick the buyers selling them an inferior product or somehow getting more money from the transaction than it originaly looked like it would cost. Rip-off now seems to mean 'expensive' I can't afford a ferrari by a long shot - is this a rip-off?

In a free market, the market sets the price, and there can be no rip-off. Prices can be high due to low supply/high demand, but that's just a free market operating. Yes monopolies can exist, but in general sectors where large profits can be made attract new entrants and prices fall.

The problems normally exist in areas where free markets aren't operating. Eddie pointed out many of these areas like pubs, solicitors etc. Normally the supply side is constrained in some form resulting in prices higher than would be achieved in a free market.

As we get richer, we want more for our time, and prices in the service sector start to rise sharply. This results in either an influx of cheap labour (immigration) to keep down the cost of services (that's another issue) or what we are seeing - if lot's of us have lot's of spare cash and want to spend it on entertainment then prices go up.

The only real alternative to this is some sort of state price setting, and we've all seen how successful the Socialist and Communist systems have been.

landser

pH wrote:

The problems normally exist in areas where free markets aren't operating. Eddie pointed out many of these areas like pubs, solicitors etc. Normally the supply side is constrained in some form resulting in prices higher than would be achieved in a free market.

.

pubs and solicitors would be examples of cartels, if anything, not monopolies. But, even then, ithink he's wrong. The market is "free". No one person or group has the monopoly on the supply of all legal services or drink. This is where hobbs' simplistic guide for idiots is grossly misleading. There is competition in the lprovision of legal services for conveyancing and probate.... ring around and you'll see.

i agree with your point that hobbs seems to think that just because something is expensive means that we're being ripped off. THe point with this entertainment show, (for that is what it is, it's not education), is that he's preacing to an easy audience. Everyone wants to pay less and get more, and if he states that we are being ripped off, everyone will want to believe him.

As for price setting. We already have that. You don't have to be a pinko to agree with it either.

DublinWriter

SparkyLarks wrote:

I enjoyed his other programs but Rip Off Republic is just tabloid sensatiolism

True, but it's a general step in the right direction in terms of consumer affairs programming by our 'National Broadcaster'.

There's a very interesting thread in the Television forum about this programme.

But I thought it was really funny when EH said to the audience "Now, do you like paying high prices for drink?" and they all went 'Mooooooooooo' in unison.

daveirl

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RainyDay

Viscosity wrote:

I hope Eddie Hobbs next series will focus on rip off financial consultants, mainly himself and Tony Taylor ! :rolleyes:

Cheap shot - remember it was Eddie who personally paid for the private detective who found TT and had him brought back to Ireland to face the courts.

landser

RainyDay wrote:

Cheap shot - remember it was Eddie who personally paid for the private detective who found TT and had him brought back to Ireland to face the courts.

... and accoring to the SBP yesterday, Hobbs consultancy has increased it's turnover substantially in the last few years, no doubt fuelled by his celebrity status

DublinWriter

landser wrote:

Hobbs consultancy has increased it's turnover substantially in the last few years, no doubt fuelled by his celebrity status

Yeah, what a cheek he has, being successful like that.

The begrudgery in this country is sickening.

parsi

RainyDay wrote:

Cheap shot - remember it was Eddie who personally paid for the private detective who found TT and had him brought back to Ireland to face the courts.

Why is it a cheap shot ? It seems Eddie is being portrayed as the best thing since the sliced pan but was involved in the whole scandal. Maybe instead of sending nappies (which are cheaper here than in France) maybe he should be investigating how his business colleagues rip people off....

gerryk

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Spoken like a true minion.

You seem to forget that back in the 80's the cost of housing was somewhat manageable. Now, for 300k+, you're lucky to get a cardboard box. By manageable, I mean a reasonable multiple of one's annual salary. I remember decent houses selling for ~65k, approx 5x the 'average industrial wage', whereas now, even 10x the average wage won't get you a garden shed. Moreover, what's happened to the quality of housing? Apartments are built to lower standards than ever, and yet cost so much more. Don't get me started on affordable housing quotas. All I have to say is it's a good time to be a developer... the government reward cowboyism.

Also, I think you'll find that most people mind less paying high taxes, and more, the mismanagement of same. Look at the number of 'private-public' projects that have gone way over budget, over schedule, been badly researched, or simply fell through the cracks. The Luas (overbudget and schedule), the port tunnel (a travesty of research), the M50 (a license to print money for NTR), the Eyre Square redevelopment in Galway (the 'contractor' simply pulled out). Where are the penalty clauses? Why has nobody swung over any of these? It's your money and my money that's being frittered away here, and we don't get so much as an apology. If we're found wanting in our tax payments on the other hand... up against the wall.

Sure, Hobbs may be sensationalist, tabloid journalism, but he's doing something to raise overall public awareness, Mob justice may be messy, but it's better than the complete lack of justice we've seen to date.

landser

DublinWriter wrote:

Yeah, what a cheek he has, being successful like that.

The begrudgery in this country is sickening.

you missed my point The guy is no Robin Hood, nor is he a comsumer rights champion, he is pedalling an easy line is moron economics. if you ask anyone.. do you think you are paying too much for and would you like to pay less for x, y or z, they will always say yes, and you will always find examples of some items being more expensice in city A than in city B. EH's programme is misleading at best.

as for begrudgery, i never said i begudged the guy a penny. i was actually surprised to hear that his company was almost broke three years ago. i referred to the SBP report to highlight that EH is a businessman, who, as such, has an interest in self promotion; he is not here to rescue you.

i hope your sickness is dispelled by the clarification

DublinWriter

landser wrote:

you missed my point The guy is no Robin Hood, nor is he a comsumer rights champion,

Since when was being a Robin Hood or comumer rights champion a viable full time career? What do you want, someone in sackcloth and ashes?

Do you seriously expect our own official *government appointed* and highly paid consumer rights champion, Carmel Foley, to criticise the government over unfair and punitive excise duties and taxes on most products?

landser wrote:

he is pedalling an easy line is moron economics. if you ask anyone.. do you think you are paying too much for and would you like to pay less for x, y or z, they will always say yes

...yada yada yada. What he is actually doing is highlighting the breakdown on how the government apply taxes and excises unfairly to certain products, such as the €2 levy on wine, the double €4 levy on Champagne, etc.

landser wrote:

as for begrudgery, i never said i begudged the guy a penny

So the sniad comments you made about him only being interested in self promotion were apropos of what exactly?

landser wrote:

i referred to the SBP report to highlight that EH is a businessman, who, as such, has an interest in self promotion; he is not here to rescue you.

So who would you prefer to do the show, a Fireman?
Jesus Christ? Buddha?

landser wrote:

i hope your sickness is dispelled by the clarification

Nope, just reinforced.

landser

DublinWriter wrote:

...yada yada yada. What he is actually doing is highlighting the breakdown on how the government apply taxes and excises unfairly to certain products, such as the €2 levy on wine, the double €4 levy on Champagne, etc.

Jesus, what age are you? 8? As for the levy, i never said, nor as a drinker, would i ever say, that such a levy is (to put it in plain english for you) big and clever. However, the fact that the levy is on these products is not indicative of a rip-off republic. further, the dog in the street knew about these levies long before this programme, so there's very little novel information here


So the sniad comments you made about him only being interested in self promotion were apropos of what exactly?

there's nothing snide about them.


So who would you prefer to do the show, a Fireman?
Jesus Christ? Buddha?

:rolleyes:

parsi

One issue that strikes me is the big hooha over the groceries order. One factor that is suspicious is that the bigs guys (Mr Tesco) want shot of it which means that they will gain from its abolition because they are hardly campaigning for it to be abolished for _our_sake.

The other thing is that the groceries order only applies to certain goods. So theoretically the multiples can use their big negotiated discounts that they get on non-Groceries order products to make these products absolutely dirt cheap. Look at coffee - its over 4euro for 225g block in Tesco but 4.15 in Carrefour for a kilo of Lavazza Mattino.

So why doesn't Hobbs go and look and see why the big retailers aren't selling other goods dirt cheap - goods that are unprotected.

As long as people go on voting in government which gives lower taxes whilst insisting that State services pay their way then we have to live with the fact that everything has to be paid for somehow. We used never have bin charges they were paid out of taxation (and before that rates) but now we do . And why because it suits the high earners more to pay flat charges that %-based tax. So Mr PD and his buddies say ok if I can get the high rate of tax reduced by 1% that will mean a couple of thousand at least and hey my bin charges etc will only take up less than a grand so I'm on a winner...

Eoin

parsi wrote:

One issue that strikes me is the big hooha over the groceries order. One factor that is suspicious is that the bigs guys (Mr Tesco) want shot of it which means that they will gain from its abolition because they are hardly campaigning for it to be abolished for _our_sake.

And another suspicious factor is that SVP and another Irish charity do NOT want it abolished - and these people represent the most vulnerable in our society. There is a thread on this in this forum where I posted some facts I heard on the "Last Word" incidentally not mentioned by Eddie.

Snickers Man

Eddie Hobbs Rocks!!!!!!

His show is fast paced, amusing, interesting and from what I can see pretty much factual. I don't see anyone actually refuting any of the points he made. They're just saying 'Oh he should have said something nice about those poor publicans/estate agents/car taxers etc etc who are only trying to make a living and contribute so much to our way of life'

We tolerate far greater prices here than we should for many things. Just because Hobbs has the chutzpah to make his points in a brash way he's being branded as a liar and a political chauvinist.

Even those politicians who good naturedly say that maybe he shouldn't be driven off our screens for having the effrontery to shout about something that pisses everybody off feel they can criticise his voice, or his accent or his presentation.

Cobblers!!!!!!!

I believe he's talking about the motor industry tonight. insurance. VRT. total rip off prices on spare parts etc etc

I think every legal tax paying motorist in this country deserves to have their arse licked clean by every politician for the HUGE contribution we make to the public exchequer. VRT is a complete con. A way of keeping an import tax that should have been abolished in 1992 with the Single European Market.

And as for the price of spare parts. It's a disgrace and we're as bad for putting up with it.

Go on Eddie. Stick it to the bastards. tell it like it is.

Eoin

Snickers Man wrote:

Eddie Hobbs Rocks!!!!!!

His show is fast paced, amusing, interesting and from what I can see pretty much factual. I don't see anyone actually refuting any of the points he made. They're just saying 'Oh he should have said something nice about those poor publicans/estate agents/car taxers etc etc who are only trying to make a living and contribute so much to our way of life'
...
Go on Eddie. Stick it to the bastards. tell it like it is.

But people are refuting facts he is stating. The C.S.O. have just said that his figures do not add up. He is not presenting the facts in an impartial manner - for instance the "average shopping basket" he mentioned contained a bottle of bacardi, ferrero roche (sp?) chocolates, and an electric toothbrush. Take these out of the basket, and the price difference drops from 13 euro to less than 2 euro.

He didn't mention that Spain also has a ban on below cost selling which he wants abolish, however their groceries are much cheaper. One of the differences between Spain and Ireland is that our mininum wage is over E3 more per hour, but he is not going to suggest that we lower the minimum wage as he would lose a huge amount of his following.

And like I said earlier, two major Irish charities have come out in favour of the grocery order, as they say it is actually better for the poorer people.

I am not saying that we aren't being ripped off, we clearly are. However, the so-called facts that are being stated on Eddie Hobbs program are quite often a stretch, and can't not be taken at face value. He is NOT telling it "like it is".

Tazz T

eoin_s wrote:

But people are refuting facts he is stating. The C.S.O. have just said that his figures do not add up. He is not presenting the facts in an impartial manner - for instance the "average shopping basket" he mentioned contained a bottle of bacardi, ferrero roche (sp?) chocolates, and an electric toothbrush. Take these out of the basket, and the price difference drops from 13 euro to less than 2 euro.

Few people on these boards need 'an average shopping basket' to know that prices are much cheaper on continental Europe. We go there for our holidays because we know it is so much cheaper. There's a comparison in the Indo most weeks - it's always cheaper.

Prices have come down over the last year or two to close the gap siightly. That change is simply down to the entry of Lidl and Aldi into the market. Nothing else. If any point should be taken away from Eddie's series of programmes, it' s the fact that Ireland is anti-competitive and that is the government's fault.

Eoin

Tazz T wrote:

Few people on these boards need 'an average shopping basket' to know that prices are much cheaper on continental Europe. We go there for our holidays because we know it is so much cheaper. There's a comparison in the Indo most weeks - it's always cheaper.

Prices have come down over the last year or two to close the gap siightly. That change is simply down to the entry of Lidl and Aldi into the market. Nothing else. If any point should be taken away from Eddie's series of programmes, it' s the fact that Ireland is anti-competitive and that is the government's fault.

I am not saying otherwise. My point merely is that the facts & figures being stated are a stretch at best, and some of the solutions that are offered do not add up.

As I said earlier I am not suggesting that we are not being ripped off, but the program can't be taken at face value a lot of the time. This is why I think people - government included - are quite entitled to question a lot of what he says.

Cork Boy

When we pay ridiculous amounts of money for things we can easily have ourselves, we drive up the prices (eg, prepared salads at the supermarket)
In modern Ireland, being thrifty is equal to being a leper. Funny thing is, do you think millionaires have millions by spalshing the cash??!!!
Its basic free market economics lads, demand dictates price with the exceptions of:

Insurance (monopoly/cartel so free market doesnt apply)
Housing (where demand outstrips supply)

ESB doesnt count cos you can change to solar panels and wind energy
Car Fuel Prices.....ever heard of the smart car/rapeseed oil/walking/public transport?
Eating Out...Try cooking yourself for once, much healthier too!
Drink....If your too cool to be seen dead anywhere but posh bars, then stop complaining bout the prices....pints are a euro cheaper in raheny than in town.

parsi

As an aside has he covered the Licence Fee yet or would that be a taboo subject ?

Wertz

well even though I had a rough idea of the costs involved in motoring in this country, tonight's show was still an eye opner....the man himself annoys me as does the style of the show, but there's no arguing it's effectiveness. He kind of tells us what we wnat to hear in some cases though.

RainyDay

parsi wrote:

but was involved in the whole scandal.

Please explain exactly what you mean when you say he was 'involved'?

Macy

It's tabloid economics, but he's the first one to make the general public sit up and take notice. The only one's put out by this are the Government Parties who have had the power, the purse and the time to change things.

If his shows make people look beyond their nett pay at the bottom of their pay slip and see how much tax they're really paying then it can only be a good thing for this country. Only FF and PD activists could possible disagree that this would be a good thing.

Cork Boy

parsi wrote:

As an aside has he covered the Licence Fee yet or would that be a taboo subject ?

I think its very unrealistic to xpect RTE to survive without the Licence fee and rely on advertising alone, or vice versa.
Before anyone says "but the BBC do it" let me remind ye the yes, the BBC doesn't have advertising revenue because it gets licence revenues instead.
However, the licence fee in the UK x Number of Licences is millions and millions more than what RTE generate from advertising AND licence fees!

The second counter argument here is "TV3 manage fine"

TV3 is nothing but (IMO) cheap drivel bought in from America, trailer trash TV thats mind numbing and very cheap to buy. I'd like to see TV3 afford Kevin Myers, Charlie Bird, George Lee and make informative programs like Prime Time.

dregin

Macy wrote:

It's tabloid economics, but he's the first one to make the general public sit up and take notice. The only one's put out by this are the Government Parties who have had the power, the purse and the time to change things.

If his shows make people look beyond their nett pay at the bottom of their pay slip and see how much tax they're really paying then it can only be a good thing for this country. Only FF and PD activists could possible disagree that this would be a good thing.

Agreed.

BrianD

parsi wrote:

As an aside has he covered the Licence Fee yet or would that be a taboo subject ?

Why would it be a taboo subject? As a community we contribute towards our public broadcaster. Broadcasting is an important form of cultural expression. Like any organisation, RTE has room for improvement but bear in mind there have been some huge employee culls in RTE in recent years. They still produce some of the most popular programmes on radio and TV.

Illkillya

BrianD wrote:

Why would it be a taboo subject? As a community we contribute towards our public broadcaster. Broadcasting is an important form of cultural expression. Like any organisation, RTE has room for improvement but bear in mind there have been some huge employee culls in RTE in recent years. They still produce some of the most popular programmes on radio and TV.

I think that Hobbs could show that it is in fact a rip off. It is a taboo subject because the program is being aired on RTE and they would not be too happy to show that.

Macy

Macy wrote:

It's tabloid economics, but he's the first one to make the general public sit up and take notice. The only one's put out by this are the Government Parties who have had the power, the purse and the time to change things.

If his shows make people look beyond their nett pay at the bottom of their pay slip and see how much tax they're really paying then it can only be a good thing for this country. Only FF and PD activists could possible disagree that this would be a good thing.

Aha Macy, we meet again. I would have expected different signature though!!

Of course much of what you say is true. He is a character, he is entertaining, he is a far better presenter than other RTE gob****es like Derek Mooney, he is highlighting an issue that needs to be dusted down. But the stuff he peddles can be very weak. I mean, last night he managed to get through a whole programme about overruns in road contracts without once mentioning the small issue of how land values have shot up, as have the wages for road workers to the point where gangers now come in from England to carry out works here in a reversal of every stereotype. I would have thought that would be central to the issue, yet he didn't even allude to it. As someone said here or elsewhere, he is the Roy Curtis of economics - flimsy tabloid-style patter, jokes about public representatives, and a few anecdotes about getting a mixed grill on a train. Classic cut and paste. If anyone in the Government is worried, more fool them. When the SSIA's are handed out, if Eddie is giving out about the cost to the nation he may well be trampled over in the rush...