Estate Agents caught inflating reported house sale prices

[Dreaded_Estate]

There are two opposing groups in Ireland at present:
(a) those who would like to see the prosperity and growth of recent years continue and who are probably engaged in some spinning of statistics to talk the economy up - in this group would be entrepreneurs, developers, retailers, bankers etc

(b) those who for sinister political motives would like to see an economic crash and who are constantly engaged in fabricating statistics to talk the economy down - this group are heavily represented in the media.

So you think commentators are either trying to "talk up" or "talk down" the market.
Nobody is just commenting on the facts as they see them?

If controlling the economic of countries is a mater of "talking up" or "talking down" the economy why do we bother with such silly notions as interest rates and fiscal policy?

[freedomlover]

There are two opposing groups in Ireland at present:
(a) those who would like to see the prosperity and growth of recent years continue and who are probably engaged in some spinning of statistics to talk the economy up - in this group would be entrepreneurs, developers, retailers, bankers etc

(b) those who for sinister political motives would like to see an economic crash and who are constantly engaged in fabricating statistics to talk the economy down - this group are heavily represented in the media.

So you think commentators are either trying to "talk up" or "talk down" the market.
Nobody is just commenting on the facts as they see them?

If controlling the economic of countries is a mater of "talking up" or "talking down" the economy why do we bother with such silly notions as interest rates and fiscal policy?

Where did I say that?

I didn't say 'there are only two groups.....'

I said 'there are two opposing groups....'

The thread is about people putting false spin on statistics to achieve certain objectives. In relation to that, there are two opposing groups - one which puts false spin on statistics to try to talk the economy up - one which puts false spin on statistics to try to talk the economy down.

Of course, there are people who don't try to put any spin on statistics. They merely try to interpret them as accurately as possible. I'd count myself and Ard-Taoiseach among that group. Possibly you are too. However, I'd have to say that this group is not very well represented in the media (as the two examples I gave show). Paul Tansey, possibly, and one or two others, but not many.

And while it is obvious that in the long-run economic growth is achieved by correct taxation and fiscal policies (among many others), it is absurd to say that screaming but inaccurate headlines about house completions collapsing to under 30,000 or the number of shoppers falling by 17% have no effect on consumer confidence in the short run.

[freedomlover]

There are two opposing groups in Ireland at present:
(a) those who would like to see the prosperity and growth of recent years continue and who are probably engaged in some spinning of statistics to talk the economy up - in this group would be entrepreneurs, developers, retailers, bankers etc

(b) those who for sinister political motives would like to see an economic crash and who are constantly engaged in fabricating statistics to talk the economy down - this group are heavily represented in the media.

So you think commentators are either trying to "talk up" or "talk down" the market.
Nobody is just commenting on the facts as they see them?

If controlling the economic of countries is a mater of "talking up" or "talking down" the economy why do we bother with such silly notions as interest rates and fiscal policy?

I see that on Property Pin today even Kerrynorth was complaining about the negative spin the Irish Times put on today's unemployment figures. When Kerrynorth complains about the media putting negative spin on economic statistics, that tells you just how bad it is. The next question that should be asked is why are the media spinning so negatively? Is it for financial or political ends? Thankfully, I don't know any journalists, so I can't answer that. Maybe someone who does know some journalists can tell us. But, as far as I can make out, most of the Irish media are a disgrace and completely corrupt.

[Aindriu]

those who for sinister political motives would like to see an economic crash

Even by your standards that is pathetic.

The old cognitive dissonance must be overheating your brain these days.

All the "doom mongers" want is a sustainable, balanced, productive, wealth-generating, forward-looking, exporting economy - not the unbalanced, unsustainable, wealth-destroying, anti-competitive, debt-junkie tax-haven zombie bubbleconomy FF/PD have built, and which is collapsing before our eyes as it was always going to do.

If you eejits had listened to us for the last 7 years we wouldn't be in this mess now.

Plan A: Build houses! Plan B: Build more houses! Ye are about as economically literate and competent as a dead dog.

A pretty good analysis, but I would have said that a dead dog was much more economically literate and competent than FF/PDs.