We don't have to remain a nation of fools

IF the epigram “a fool and his money is soon parted” be true, then we are a nation of fools.

Rip-off Ireland is alive and well. The most fleeting analysis of the retail and services sectors will show the consumer is not king but is preyed upon by knaves.

The worst part of this is that the rip-off merchants have an army of dim-witted accomplices, a vast array of conspirators who facilitate the culture of greed. Who are these terrible people helping the overchargers? The shoppers of Ireland, that’s who; you and me. Many scoffed at Tánaiste Mary Harney’s advice to people fed up at being ripped off to shop around. Say what you want about the PD leader, in this case she is on the ball.