Bon Jovi being generous? Pity there's no recession around here!

Uriel. wrote: »

There's a homeless guy down the road. has two empty cornflake boxes and a bundle of old dirty tattered clothes. Doesn't appear to have anything else.

For a moment there I thought those were JBJ lyrics.....
A follow up to what happened after Gina and Tommy ran away

Cody Pomeray wrote: »

I raised our world ranking just to show the poster the futility of making such comparisons. That's why I re-used the same wording as the poster, I agree with you on the futility of these comparisons. What matters is our own standards and whether we are in a place want to be, regardless of anyone else.

I'd agree with you on comparisons usually.

But it really boils down to being able to compare like with like.
Spain has a Gross GDP of @$1.5trillion(Spain's GDP is on a par with Australia) and @per capita @$30k and Spains debt to GDP ratio is @86%.
It is also important to take into account that Spain's economy is much less reliant on multinationals exporting and repatriating profits elsewhere. Spain tends to keep a hell of a lot more of its actual GDP in Spain unlike Ireland.

Ireland's GDP is @€;217 billion(less than a 5th of Spain's) and our per Capita is @$45k and Irelands Debt to GDP ratio is @118%
At 1st glance an Irish person is worth 15k more than a Spaniard, but the Irish income figure is hugely skewed due to multinationals declaring profit/earnings for tax purposes in Ireland that never actually filters into the wider economy.
Ireland's per capita GDP figures are not an anywhere near accurate representation of actual per capita income.

Yes the dole is significantly higher in Ireland, as are living costs.(This isn't a guess, I lived in Spain for quite a while)
A better comparison of our place in the world vis a vis any other economy is comparing what % of actual income is left over after the costs of running a household are discounted.
Spain is in a very bad place economically, but they have huge advantages over Ireland.
Spain has a significant manufacturing capacity, Spain's lower cost base allow much more scope for competiveness across all industries.
Spain's biggest hurdle to recovery is an even more F'd up public service than Ireland!
It really is on a par with Greece for waste.
Spain is in very bad situation employment wise, yes.
Especially regarding youth unemployment, as does Ireland!
The BBC did a documentary recently on Irish emigration and quoted a number of 300,000 between 15 and 34 that have left Ireland since 2007 to work elsewhere.
Personally I think its an overestimation but the fact remains, that Irish folk have the advantage of English being their 1st language and easy access to other English speaking Economies.(Which is harder to access for most Spaniards)
Imagine what Irelands actual unemployment rate would be without the safety valve of the UK\US\Canada\Australia and other places like the mid-east and elsewhere that Irish emigrés are travelling to.

Look I posted the OP to point out that Bon Jovi are discounting tickets based on their belief that Spain is ''poor'' and needs an entertaining hand out.
Which is untrue and Ireland could do with too for those fans that want see them.
And whatever about their discounting Spanish tickets, doing the same in Australia, which hasn't had a recession and is still experiencing strong economic growth....
Just smacks to me of gouging the Irish(and everyone else willing to pay their prices) whilst trying to put a nice guy spin on the act.

I hope anyone who goes along enjoys the show and has plenty of craic.....
But just remember this,
book a return flight early enough, and you can see them in sunny Madrid and still likely be home to Ireland quicker than you will get back from seeing them in Slane

DeanAustin wrote: »

To be fair, they have discounted prices everywhere bar Ireland as I understand it. There was a lot of talk about it in the UK at the time. So what they have done in Oz is just what they have done everywhere else (bar Ireland). They have discounted the tickets but are still taking a fee. In Spain, they've waived their fee.

Makes you wonder if they have much/any say in the prices being charged for Slane. Can't see any reason they'd discriminate against Ireland especially given how keen JBJ is to play Slane and how much he always talks about his love for this country.

I agree, I know tickets are available for UK shows from £25!
A huge difference from Irish minimum pricing....
I really think its a case of they set a price here, people payed didn't complain and here we are.
Now I don't have a problem with that per sé, free market\supply and demand and all that.
I suppose what my own real issue is with, is that us Irish will in the majority pay silly ticket prices rather than stay away and force reductions to realistic price levels.
But JBJ dressing up price reductions in a veneer of economic concern while not dropping prices everywhere galls me.
Trying to get the upside of the good PR while still gouging in places.

It is a problem of our own making here in Ireland though...
An ultimate 1st world problem :rolleyes: