George Lee

George Lee only recently joined FG.

It was very easy for him on RTE to sit of the ditch cribbing about the economy.

He worked in a bloated semi state for years.

What did he do with regards the running of RTE?

During the Celtic Tiger - what did he do to highlight the stupidity with regards to house prices?
 
shnaek said:
This from the guy with the post on positive mental attitude?! You're a complex man! I'd like to take George at his word and give him a shot. We need new people at the top. Otherwise nothing is going to change.
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Hey having a PMA doesnt mean you need to be naieve about individual peoples intentions . .

This guy has a headstart over anybody starting out. He has in essence been canvassing himself for years and has the public trust (as highlighted here) whether intentionally or not.

Most people in the media have some sort of agenda. I suppose I just find the convenience of Lee's situation to be a little to far fetched to believe its all been simply innocent actions that have led to this moment.

Nothing would make me happier to be wrong but there is an underlying problem that seems to happen alot in Ireland , kinda like groundhog day.

Everytime somebody has an opinion thats popular and hits a chord with the general public (or a sector of the public) we follow without asking questions. Bertie was our number 1 for years while it suited us and while we were "part of the bubble".

You need only say something negative about FF as a celebrity and you have a good chance of getting voted in (this is so wrong).

Unions and the labour party are the "in" things to support if they are saying exactly what you think. I suppose I subscribe to the line of thought "beware of people who tell you what you want to hear" particularly if they have something to gain by it.

I have nothing against George Lee, has done nothing against me, but I am not willing to take any Celebrity professional at their word on their impartiality over the years, when the facts point to something differant . .

I think he could be a great potential politician and good for the country, but am not going to assume that because he was a good commentator. I suppose some could look at it asking why he didnt try to enter politics when he knew things were going so bad, as opposed to waiting until the bar has been lowered so low, he should stroll into the Dail with little expectations (after the previous govt). But that would be truely cynical . ..

That said, it will be very interesting to see how he deals with the pressures of actually having to implement policies (as opposed to sit talking about them). For that I will have some sort of respect for the man . ..
 
cork said:
It was very easy for him on RTE to sit of the ditch cribbing about the economy.

He worked in a bloated semi state for years.

What did he do with regards the running of RTE?
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this is a strange one; George's job was to commentate on the economy not to manage RTE! :confused:

Good to see that old-style Irish begrudgery is alive and well on these pages. I happen to think that this is a principled and noble decision by George (it would be far easier for him to hold onto his RTE job) and good luck to him in the by-election, we could do with far more people of his calibre in the Dail rather than the current shower of incompetents and sons\daughters of previous TDs.

cork said:
During the Celtic Tiger - what did he do to highlight the stupidity with regards to house prices?
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he commentated on it at regular intervals, George has been consistently proved right in his economic analysis despite being labelled a 'doom-monger' and other such idiotic terms by FF.
 
cork said:
George Lee only recently joined FG.
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Err yes, it has been in the news thanks!

cork said:
It was very easy for him on RTE to sit of the ditch cribbing about the economy.
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ergo it's quite a brave move to actually put his reputation on the line rather than continue to simply commentate on it no?

cork said:
He worked in a bloated semi state for years.
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Err so?

cork said:
What did he do with regards the running of RTE?
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And that is relevant why?

cork said:
During the Celtic Tiger - what did he do to highlight the stupidity with regards to house prices?
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Plenty I think you'll find if you actually listened to him during the boom years.
 
NorthDrum said:
Hey having a PMA doesnt mean you need to be naieve about individual peoples intentions . .


I have nothing against George Lee, has done nothing against me, but I am not willing to take any Celebrity professional at their word on their impartiality over the years, when the facts point to something differant . .
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I get annoyed when 'celebrities' like Frank McNamara and Packie Bonner are proposed by various parties to run for election. I'm sure they're very nice guys but why on earth should I elect someone to take part in governing the country on the basis of their piano playing or goalkeeping skills. I feel this is really insulting and patronising towards the public. However, George Lee is skilled and talented in an area which is totally relevant to running the country, and has been a vocal critic of FFs economic policies for a long long time. He has shown he knows what he is talking about so I think he deserves a chance to show us what he can do in the Dail. If he messes up, starts putting the party before the country etc, then I won't vote for him again.
 
Sunny said:
Someone like Michael O Leary has been been taking bigger pops at FF over the past few years without declaring his political allegiences. I would still love it if he joined FG or Labour! Wouldn't make me think that the past few years spent criticising the Governments transport policies were politically motivated. It was just facts. (expressed in very personal terms!). Same could be said about people like David McWilliams.
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If an economic forecaster keeps banging on the same old drum, the cyclic nature of economics will have him right every so often. Just be careful as to when you throw in your lot behind them. McWilliams, in January, was exhorting people to put their under pressure wonga on gold. That was around $935 then. Now it is hovering around $905. But at some stage it will breech the $1'000 mark. This year, next, maybe in ten years time?
 
There are alot of incompetent idiots in the dail (family seats passed on etc), but thats the publics fault.

Its not begrudgery questioning Lee's motives, its prudent. If we had of asked more questions and demanded more answers from our politicians in the past we may not of gotten into this mess. We should start now how we mean to go on. Clean up politics with transparency.

Nobody can guaranteed Lee's intentions and as such we should demand a proper and acceptable answer on when he decided to join FG, how can he proove he was impartial over the years etc. If he came out and said "well I actually did usually feel FG were a better party" then fair enough, I have more respect for an honest open politician. Its when you start saying "theres no reason to assume his intentions are . . " when distrust begins. . . If you have nothing to hide, then dont try to ignore the issue . .
 
liaconn said:
I get annoyed when 'celebrities' like Frank McNamara and Packie Bonner are proposed by various parties to run for election. I'm sure they're very nice guys but why on earth should I elect someone to take part in governing the country on the basis of their piano playing or goalkeeping skills. I feel this is really insulting and patronising towards the public. However, George Lee is skilled and talented in an area which is totally relevant to running the country, and has been a vocal critic of FFs economic policies for a long long time. He has shown he knows what he is talking about so I think he deserves a chance to show us what he can do in the Dail. If he messes up, starts putting the party before the country etc, then I won't vote for him again.
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Thats fair enough.

However I fear many people will vote for him simply because he says what they think (FF are bad) and because they see him on TV. Kinda like how some people still think "sure bertie wouldnt of let this happen". Some of the ignorance in our country is baffling . . Im shocked Eddie Hobbs hasnt tried to get in on the act . .
 
Simeon said:
If an economic forecaster keeps banging on the same old drum, the cyclic nature of economics will have him right every so often. Just be careful as to when you throw in your lot behind them. McWilliams, in January, was exhorting people to put their under pressure wonga on gold. That was around $935 then. Now it is hovering around $905. But at some stage it will breech the $1'000 mark. This year, next, maybe in ten years time?
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Where did I say I throwing my lot in due to their economic forecasting? I know how economics works. Unfortunately not one member of our Cabinet does. I would like that expertise to sitting at the table next time there is a budget meeting.
BTW, this can be done across the board. Brian Lenihan was good Minister of Justice because he understood it. I would like to see someone from a medical background (outside consultant level) be Minister of Health. Someone from the SME sector or a successful entrepeneur as Enterprise & Development etc etc.
 
Sunny said:
Where did I say I throwing my lot in due to their economic forecasting? I know how economics works. Unfortunately not one member of our Cabinet does. I would like that expertise to sitting at the table next time there is a budget meeting.
BTW, this can be done across the board. Brian Lenihan was good Minister of Justice because he understood it. I would like to see someone from a medical background (outside consultant level) be Minister of Health. Someone from the SME sector or a successful entrepeneur as Enterprise & Development etc etc.
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I agree. However, in relation to your last point, its the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, and has a very big remit that goes way beyond just the needs of small businesses.
 
liaconn said:
I agree. However, in relation to your last point, its the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, and has a very big remit that goes way beyond just the needs of small businesses.
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Yeah I know but we have a trained social worker running it now! And I do want want a bigger focus to be paid to domestic industry and small business. The days of massive FDI are over. We will have to learn to do things ourselves
 
Sunny said:
Where did I say I throwing my lot in due to their economic forecasting? I know how economics works. Unfortunately not one member of our Cabinet does. I would like that expertise to sitting at the table next time there is a budget meeting.
BTW, this can be done across the board. Brian Lenihan was good Minister of Justice because he understood it. I would like to see someone from a medical background (outside consultant level) be Minister of Health. Someone from the SME sector or a successful entrepeneur as Enterprise & Development etc etc.
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When I said 'you' I was speaking in general terms. Of course the ideal situaion would be each minister fully understanding and being experienced in his/her role. This is unlikely to happen. The status quo. Let the minister of transport drive his car to work .......... he might understand the problems facing commuters. Let the minister of health join the queue for a proceedure. Let the finance minister try to budget a mortgage, insurance, hp repayments, school expenses, clothes and food and a little bit for emergencies out of the average wage. Let the minister for communication try and run a small business in an area without broadband. I wonder if a lie-detector test could be introduced in the Dail :eek:
 
Simeon said:
When I said 'you' I was speaking in general terms. Of course the ideal situaion would be each minister fully understanding and being experienced in his/her role. This is unlikely to happen. The status quo. Let the minister of transport drive his car to work .......... he might understand the problems facing commuters. Let the minister of health join the queue for a proceedure. Let the finance minister try to budget a mortgage, insurance, hp repayments, school expenses, clothes and food and a little bit for emergencies out of the average wage. Let the minister for communication try and run a small business in an area without broadband. I wonder if a lie-detector test could be introduced in the Dail :eek:
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Wonder where Martin Cullen would end up!
 
The muppets in the Dept of Finance must be worried - the last thing they want is an abled, educated Minister for Finance. Best of luck George, if I was in your area you'd get my #1
 
NorthDrum said:
I have nothing against George Lee, has done nothing against me, but I am not willing to take any Celebrity professional at their word on their impartiality over the years, when the facts point to something differant . .
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Do you have any examples of impartially in George Lee's reportng? If so please post.
 
liaconn said:
I'm not voting for him because he's a big name, but because he has a proven ability in the area of economics, something which has been lacking in government so far. As other posters have said, we need people with specific and relevant areas of expertise to start running this country properly. Obviously it is always a risk voting someone new in, but its a better option than voting in the same old faces over and over no matter what a mess they've made of things simply because your father always voted for them or they come from a political family or they got a pedestrian crossing installed at the local shopping centre.
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Fair enough he will be strong on economics, what if he wants to slash child benefit, halve the dole, remove medical cards for pensioners and reduce the carers allowance? I'm just saying that we should all wait and see a bit more of 'political george' before we cast any votes (not that I can anyhow). He will have to get used to knowing what makes best economical sense and what the people will actually put up with which is not alot.
 
MrMan said:
Fair enough he will be strong on economics, what if he wants to slash child benefit, halve the dole, remove medical cards for pensioners and reduce the carers allowance? I'm just saying that we should all wait and see a bit more of 'political george' before we cast any votes (not that I can anyhow). He will have to get used to knowing what makes best economical sense and what the people will actually put up with which is not alot.
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all of this is going to happen anyway - George Lee or no George Lee!
 
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