Re: MPs' Expenses etc.

On 12 May, 11:25, "Westprog" <westp...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
mothed out wrote:
On 12 May, 08:45, jl <j...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In article
<a095f641-9258-4c79-a2fd-131c18218...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Cormac <cormac.brada...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

The current news about UK MPs' expenses reminds me of an old joke
about an English travelling salesman in Dublin

This thing is total media hype and politically generated. I have
never met anyone with an expense account who didn't fiddle it and/or
get as much out of it as was possible.

Why should MPs be any different?

Because they are supposed to have a special role and be a good
example. They don't have an ordinary job.

Also, the expenses don't appear to be expenses, but unnecessary
luxuries and a means of property speculation on second and often
*third* homes, which is clearly beyond the spirit of the rules, and
far greater than any expenses most people get to claim.

They are legislators, laying down the rules about things like how much
tax we pay.
If they are fiddling to profit from our tax money, even the pretence
of legitamacy goes down the drain.
True, lots of people are on the fiddle, but doing it in public office
is especially corrupting, since it comes from top downwards, which by
it's nature would tend to legitimate and encourage the same in
everything below it.

There are fiddles going on, but as shown in the interview with Douglas Hogg
today, a lot of what is being criticised is actually unfair. If you need two
homes because of your job, then it's fair enough to get subsidies for one of
them. Otherwise it would end up costing you money to be an MP. When
companies like Intel transfer people overseas, they provide them with
accomodation. That's perfectly reasonable.


Indeed, but the abuses are clearly so widespread, even just looking at
the front benches. Some of them, including current senior ministers
and shadow cabinet, are claiming for second homes that are in fact
third homes, which are in some cases walking distance from London
residences they already have. Also they are 'flipping' their
designation of which is their second home, thereby getting money or
tax relief on more than one, sometimes even doing up and modifying
properties which are redundant to their own uses or requirements
(since they already have London accomodation), or even doing them up
immediately prior to sale - that obviously allows big profits which
wouldn't be possible without use of tax-payers money, and can't surely
be relevant to the issue of whether they would have to pay to be MPs -
they already have accomodation.

A lot of the arguments that the honorable gentlemen or peers are
putting forward just don't wash, as with this clip where lord such and
such slags off a journalist on the basis of her salary (which, being a
bbc journalist, is also based on tax payers money), but that's not
relevant unless he can show she's fiddling her expenses (which she
might be, but no evidence). Poor logic, they are looking flakey and
desperate on this one:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8045414.stm

There are abuses going on. If someone who's boycotting Parliament, for
example, is claiming rent on flats he doesn't need, that's unjustifiable.


Yes i watched the clip of Gerry talking about the London flats. He
says it's legitimate because 'we go there to do business on behalf of
our constituents, we are entitled to that'.

That clip's on this page,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8042519.stm

At the end of the clip the journo says the neighbours of the flat have
never seen any SF rep going there, Gerry just says he wasn't there at
the right time, sounds like a bit of solid proof might be handy to
reassure the electorate.

BTW can you run BBC video clips outside the UK in Rep of Ireland? If
so i ll stop linking them for R o I readers. I having having trouble
running the RTE ones...

J/

SOTW: "Something Global" - Fight Like Apes

http://www.fightlikeapesmusic.com/

.

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