Consumer News Weekend Short Stack
Here’s a few items for you for the weekend:
- First ever negative comment – This week say my first ever negative comment on ValueIreland.com – first in 6 years. You can see what the brave anonymous reader had to say, and my response, by clicking here.
- Uptick in Vasectomies Seen as Sign of Recession – So goes a recent headline from the New York Times this week. “As this recession continues, it is understandable that more people might hesitate to expand their families. A baby born in 2006 — the latest year for which data are available — will cost middle-income parents $260,000 by the time the child reaches 17, according to the Agriculture Department. And that doesn’t include college.” And given the recent harsh budget in Ireland this week for families, maybe here’s a new “growth” industry for Ireland.
- Bord Bia scraps “Buy Irish” - I did mean to write about this before, but didn’t get around to it. Apart from being a shocking waste of money because of all the marketing material that now needs to be scrapped, the remove focus from getting Irish people to buy Irish in this day and age is ridiculously short sighted. Check this article here for more.
- Dodgy Taxis - Have you ever been in a taxi front seat where the door handle was missing? Happened me this week and it was a bit freaky. In order to get out of the car, I had to open the window and open the door from the outside. It merely confirmed my suspicions about the dodginess of the taxi driver concerned – he wasn’t the same person as pictured on the ID card. I’m guessing the removed door handle was to prevent people running off without paying. Unfortunately, I was a little the worse for wear, so I didn’t get any details to make a complaint – however, it just highlights another thing to watch out for when you’re getting into a cab.
2 Comments
arn’t we supposed to buy EU, what the official line on that?
@sw I don’t know if there’s a specific “buy EU” campaign, but the EU did put a stop to the Government supporting the “Buy Irish” campaign. Maybe that’s why Bord Bia (a government funded quango) had to cease their own “Buy Irish” campaign.
Given the controversy over the US stimulus package plans to insert a “Buy American” clause, I guess there probably isn’t a “buy European” campaign either – overtly anyway.