The eighties were better ?

Purple said:

Inflation like that meant that your mortgage was reduced in real terms by 20% a year. We’ve had no real inflation for 20 years now. That’s why people can’t afford houses.

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For the truthful record:-
1. AIB Homeloans interest rate hit 19.75%. Rates used to increase at 2% nearly every ten minutes. We were broke.
2. Groceries and petrol increased in price almost every week. There was no Lidl or Aldi back then or even £10 off your £50.00 spend even if you could afford it. Dealz didn't exist either. We locked up our car then when houses used to have garages. I became a cyclist before cycle lanes and although few cyclists were on the road, it was still dangerous.
3. Inflation was so rampant any new wage increase was whittled away before you got it.
4. If you could afford a car and to run it very few had more than one car in the driveway.
5. We had a Minister for Hardship on Halls Pictorial Weekly (RTE television) whose say was greater than the government's Minister for Finance.

We need to go back to the 80's like we need to be infected by syphilis.

Leper said:

For the truthful record:-
1. AIB Homeloans interest rate hit 19.75%. Rates used to increase at 2% nearly every ten minutes. We were broke.
2. Groceries and petrol increased in price almost every week. There was no Lidl or Aldi back then or even £10 off your £50.00 spend even if you could afford it. Dealz didn't exist either. We locked up our car then when houses used to have garages. I became a cyclist before cycle lanes and although few cyclists were on the road, it was still dangerous.
3. Inflation was so rampant any new wage increase was whittled away before you got it.
4. If you could afford a car and to run it very few had more than one car in the driveway.
5. We had a Minister for Hardship on Halls Pictorial Weekly (RTE television) whose say was greater than the government's Minister for Finance.

We need to go back to the 80's like we need to be infected by syphilis.

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I don't disagree with any of that but the fact remains that wage inflation causes more wealth to be retained by labour. With no inflation for 20 years wealth has become concentrated in Capital. That's bad for society as it means wealth becomes concentrated amongst those who inherit and so we become less meritorious.

Purple said:

I don't disagree with any of that but the fact remains that wage inflation causes more wealth to be retained by labour. With no inflation for 20 years wealth has become concentrated in Capital. That's bad for society as it means wealth becomes concentrated amongst those who inherit and so we become less meritorious.

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I don't care where wealth is concentrated now. I just know I need the 80's situation like I need to be infected with Covid. The eighties was a goddawful time for us. I'll never forget the time and won't forgive the banks ever for the ways in which they acted.

If anybody wants to return to the 80's style of living I'll believe them when I see them using cloth nappies instead of the "snugglers." Furthermore, this is one reason I still don't listen to tree-huggers.

. . . . and you can throw in the people who tell me not to cut my grass to save the bees. Can we save humans, for a change?

. . . . and while I'm at it can we expel those "experts" who inform us with money problems that "you're better off with Vulture Funds."

I'm going back to bed. I hope I don't have one of those dreams like people who have what they want telling us who haven't what we want, that we really don't want it.

Leper said:

I'm going back to bed. I hope I don't have one of those dreams like people who have what they want telling us who haven't what we want, that we really don't want it.

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Purple said:

Inflation like that meant that your mortgage was reduced in real terms by 20% a year. We’ve had no real inflation for 20 years now. That’s why people can’t afford houses.

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Only if your salary exceeded the rate of inflation; or you were on a fixed mortgage rate below the rate of inflation; or your variable mortgage rate remained below the rate of inflation, i.e. situations where your mortgage repayment took up a continuing smaller percentage of your salary, i.e. economic conditions that may have existed in fairyland but not for most people in the 80s.

If mortgages are unaffordable at rates of around 3.5% today, it's amazing the were affordable at rates of 16% in the 80s.

PMU said:

Only if your salary exceeded the rate of inflation; or you were on a fixed mortgage rate below the rate of inflation; or your variable mortgage rate remained below the rate of inflation, i.e. situations where your mortgage repayment took up a continuing smaller percentage of your salary, i.e. economic conditions that may have existed in fairyland but not for most people in the 80s.

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If your mortgage repayment is 50% of your pay in year one but inflation is 7% then by year 5 is will be one third of your pay in 5 years. That's the point; inflation eats away at the real capital value of your mortgage. Unless you are not paying your repayments the interest you are being charged doesn't come into it.

PMU said:

If mortgages are unaffordable at rates of around 3.5% today, it's amazing the were affordable at rates of 16% in the 80s.

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the cost of property is determined by what people can repay every month. If the average buyer can repay €1500 a month then the average property will cost whatever €1500 a month will finance. Therefore low interest rates = high property prices and high interest rates = low property prices. Therefore the best time to buy a house is when interest rates are high.

I remember the 80's. It was bleak and aweful. I love how this country has changed over the last 30-40 years but moaning about high interest rates just doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Imaging the high repayments you were making in the 80's. Now imagine if you'd had to make them for 20 years with no pay increase and your house was worth less than you paid for it. Welcome to buying in the 00's.

If you were young, single and employed then the 80’s was a cracking decade.
Waterford won the FAI cup in 1980 after a gap of 43 years , Ireland qualified for Euro 1988 and I was lucky enough to witness both occasions.
Music was excellent and gigs were plentiful and cheap and it was relatively easy to travel to the UK - I saw Springsteen in the NEC , Birmingham and Jackson Browne in the Hammersmith Odeon and also I went to see Spurs on multiple occasions.
Socially , I played football at a relatively high level throughout the 80’s enjoying both the camaraderie and the competition.
The Pubs were lively and although the memories are somewhat cloudy I had a whale of a time.
I was lucky enough to work in the Bank of Ireland which was hugely unionised with a short working day , lunch and coffee breaks and populated by a host of great characters which was so different to the rather gray 90’s and beyond as the hitherto brilliantly organised social scene withered on the vine.
I know this a hugely personalised view of the 80’s and enjoying it was hugely dependent on one’s circumstances but I would think that if you couldn’t enjoy the decades when you were young , single and employed then something is wrong.

Deiseblue said:

I would think that if you couldn’t enjoy the decades when you were young , single and employed then something is wrong.

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Excellent point. If you have it good at all when you are young free and single then you should be enjoying yourself.

Deiseblue said:

I was lucky enough to work in the Bank of Ireland which was hugely unionised with a short working day , lunch and coffee breaks

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See , it was him what was upsetting you!

Purple said:

See , it was him what was upsetting you!

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I'm still in bed and great, I can't remember any dreams.

But, some of my Waterford memories of the 1980's
I remember the famous Waterford -v- Manchester Utd match in Lansdowne Road but that was in the 70's.
I worked as a volunteer each year at the Waterford Festival of Light Opera.
I remember Richie Power winning a top squash competition in de la Salle club Waterford.
We danced in the Ardree Hotel overlooking Waterford.
Tramore was buzzing and I made a few bob in the last race during August in backing the Fav which traditionally won.
Believe it or not I saved a life in Kilfarrissey where a person got trapped on a rock on the incoming tide.
I even performed in Tops of the Town (Theatre Royal).
Woodstown was terrific for swimming and the tan lasted for the rest of the year.
Our first child was born in Airmount.

Perhaps the 80's weren't that bad when you consider what might have happened.

Oh man...Tops of the Town!

It was dated even by 80s standards, but incredibly popular.

I think it was unique to Ireland? Don't know of a nationwide show like it anywhere else?

Tops of the town was very popular in the South East and was great fun and I was happy to have taken part in so many.

So of course I had to google "tops of the town" and this came up.

TV ads from 1984:

Skip the first 3 mins or so and howl at the voice overs and still photos. My favourite is the announcement for Cadbury's selection box which sounds like someone reading the death notices on the radio!

In my opinion music in the eighties was better than what’s on offer now.

joer said:

In my opinion music in the eighties was better than what’s on offer now.

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I dunno about that. Same ratio of rubbish to quality as now in my opinion.

I would not agree with that . There was some rubbish in the eighties but not as much as there is now.

joer said:

I would not agree with that . There was some rubbish in the eighties but not as much as there is now.

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Do remember that the market is aimed at people who are the same age you were in the 80's

Agreed, we are both right about the eighties so...in both our opinions ,of course..

Deiseblue said:

I would think that if you couldn’t enjoy the decades when you were young , single and employed then something is wrong.

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well something is wrong today with the coronavirus, young free and single doesn't mean much when you can't go anywhere and everything social has been shut down more or less since March. In that regard the 80s were much better in comparison to the immediate life of a young person now.

I also don't recall so much "stress" in the 80's. Life seemed that much more relaxed. Maybe it was because we had lower expectations.?