The Brighter Side Of This Recession
September 27, 2009 (One Response)
IRELAND INC may be in shite (with worse to come before it gets better), but there are still some good things happening which we need to focus on…
It’s easy to get lost in doom and gloom in the middle of one of the worst recessions this country has ever seen. Hell I’m as guilty as the next person of falling into the same old traps because, as usual, it looks like we (and by ‘we’ I mean me, you and every other private sector worker in the country) are going to have to fund the recovery over the next few years whilst others get away scot free. I think I’ve finally figured out what the “Inc” in “Ireland Inc.” stands for too… Incompetent, Nearsighted and Corrupt. So yes it’s true to say that the bastards that caused all this mess are gettig away pretty easy compared to the rest of us, and I wouldn’t even deny that the corruption and incompetence will probably prevail through to the recovery, but there are some side effects of this recession which should make our lives a little easier going forward if we can just hang on in there and get through it.
For starters “Rip Off Ireland” is getting a kick in the nuts at long last. For the last decade prices in this country have been out of control and we’ve been getting royally screwed at the retail and services end of things. Some of those greedy bastards that were raking in our cash are now going to the wall and I certainly wont miss ‘em. So even though we have to take some pain in the short term, the longer term outlook should be better going forward. For example…
House prices are coming down, and will continue to do so for a while yet. Bad news for those of us with large mortgages and negative equity, but good news for the country as a whole in the long term as house prices return to some kind of normailty. I won’t be shedding any tears for the property developers who go to the wall either; greedy bastards took enough from us as it is, and if the government wasn’t so spinless we’d be getting it back now through the courts.
Car prices are also dropping. Granted those of us who payed a fortune for the big rigs in the boom years are getting hit hard now because the same motors aren’t worth a fuck now in the second hand market, but new car prices are dropping at a huge rate and, given the number of car dealerships closing every month, you can pretty much haggle the arse out of any deal now with them and they will bend over backwards in order to get a sale and keep their job. The same fuckers who wouldn’t let you in the door a year ago because you didn’t look like you were floating in cash will now kiss your arse to get you in to purchase anything at all.
The politicians have been exposed for what they really are, a bunch of self serving, corrupt, greedy, nearsighted and incompetent fuckwits, most of which ought to be behind bars or on dole queues with the rest of us. The downside of course is that this has always been the case, but is only becoming more obvious in recent times given the issues the country is facing and of course the seemingly endless series of scandals and media exposes. On the brighter side, I seriously doubt the Greens or Fianna Fail will get a look in again at the next election. Unless of course they grow a set of balls and actually adress the bloated public sector problems we have in this country. I’m not talking about the teachers, nurses, fire brigade or cops here; I’m not even talking about the genuine folks who do an honest day’s work. I am in fact referring to the massive amount of wasters and wastage that exists within the public sector, the mandarins and beauracrats, the clerical officers and administrative staff who bring no value what so ever to the frontlines, who cost this state billions of euro every year and deliver absolutely fucking nothing in return. It would be nice to see those gits taking some of the pain for a change.
Hell, even the price of hookers is dropping in the big smoke. I came across a website recently which was advertising ‘credit crunch’ deals and ‘recession busting’ hourly rates for escorts in and around Dublin. Even they seem to have realised that in a downturn price is king. Discretionary spend is rapidly going to shrink and unless everyone starts to compete on price they won’t get a look in… Even for the oldest profession in town! That should merge nicely with the hotels dropping their prices dramatically in the last few months too. I wonder if they have moved to a ‘by the hour‘ model yet? 
Plus, you can pretty much chance your arm now in any department store, online retailer or service provider, looking for a better deal. Competition is king remember, so why don’t you try calling up Sky Ireland and telling them you’re thinking of leaving for a cheaper service… I guarantee you they will drop their price by 20-25% right then and there on the phone rather than loose your custom. You can apply this same logic to everywhere else and get some deals at last, and maybe even some value for a change.
And remember – when all the dust settles – just remember who got us here in the first place. It’s always you and me that has to fund the recovery, but let’s not forget the politicians, bankers and property developers who got us here folks. Because I can tell you I won’t forget ‘em, and next time I get my hands on one I will gladly ‘remind’ them of their culpability.
And even though you are probably either trying to keep a job, or worse trying to find one right now… just remember to hold your head up hight and fight back. Demand better from your politicians, from your retailers and anyone else who trys to sell you something. Go look for better deals. Don’t just assume that because you have been taking it up the ass for the last decade that you should continue to do so. Challenge the status quo.
Try it! You might just be surprised at the results. And in these recessionary times, any victory is a good victory in my book!
Well yes i think that the brighter side of this is that most people will strive to work harder and produce more of the quality goods and i hope that we learn something from this crisis too.