Wasting money doesn't help

chris_spackman

Cleaver wrote: »

Actually, I couldn't care less. I think we have pretty fair taxes in this country, we have pretty honest people in public office (compared to the rest of the world) and for what we pay we get pretty decent schools, healthcare and protection in the way of police, fire, etc. I'm also quite pleased that a lot of tax goes to help people less fortunate than others in life. Sure, the system ain't perfect, but nor is any system.

It surprises me to say it, but I really don't care about MPs spending £700 on a tv. I have no idea why I don't care, but it simply doesn't bother me in the slightest.

£34k on postage, £700 per month on a taxi, a TV License put through as an expense. In all the figures for the last tax year work out at an average of £135,600 per MP on top of a basic wage of over £60,000 and a total of over £87m in expenses, nice when we have to face higher tax bills and less money in our pocket. Matthew Elliott, head of pressure group the TaxPayers' Alliance, said while families struggled to pay higher tax bills, MPs were spending "more and more of our money on themselves each year".

So when the public are looking at job cuts, loosing homes etc MP's are fitting theirs out etc with OUR money.

Does that not bother you? Just think what it could do for the NHS,Schools and our pockets!

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mps/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7062525.stm

neverdespairgirl

chris_spackman wrote: »

Does that not bother you? Just think what it could do for the NHS,Schools and our pockets!

Very little for any of the above, it's not a large amount of money in public spending terms.

IveSeenTheLight

chris_spackman wrote: »

I am sorry if that came across as anti Scottish. I am not but it is a fact. My post is to highlight the huge waste and sometimes unfair way our money is thrown around.

So you choose one possibly correct fact but do not consider many others such as the revenue generated from oil and whisky or that an extra ordinary amount of Scottish water is pumped down south to help you cope with your droughts

IveSeenTheLight

chris_spackman wrote: »

I am in NO WAY anti Irish Scottish or Welsh, i am anti money wastage by councils and Government

my point was that in England we do not get the full allowence per person for health and education, i feel this should be stopped and we all get the same but that is a different topic in a different thread so my focus is on the way in which OUR money is wasted so i would like to stick with that.

Have you considered why Westminster wants to hold on to Scotland when for a long time independence has been requested by many.
Their concession, to give devolution while still keeping the overall control at Westminster.
The government wont even hold a referendum to ask the question once and for all

JoolzS

chris_spackman wrote: »

£34k on postage, £700 per month on a taxi, a TV License put through as an expense. In all the figures for the last tax year work out at an average of £135,600 per MP on top of a basic wage of over £60,000 and a total of over £87m in expenses, nice when we have to face higher tax bills and less money in our pocket. Matthew Elliott, head of pressure group the TaxPayers' Alliance, said while families struggled to pay higher tax bills, MPs were spending "more and more of our money on themselves each year".

So when the public are looking at job cuts, loosing homes etc MP's are fitting theirs out etc with OUR money.

Does that not bother you? Just think what it could do for the NHS,Schools and our pockets!

Wow, I'm absolutely horrified to learn that if MPs were abolished I would have an extra £1.45 in my purse this year. I guess we need to abolish parliament so that everyone can have that extra £1.45.

Julie

carolt

JoolzS wrote: »

Wow, I'm absolutely horrified to learn that if MPs were abolished I would have an extra £1.45 in my purse this year. I guess we need to abolish parliament so that everyone can have that extra £1.45.

Julie

I don't think that's really the point. The point is 'leading by example'.

How can we expect MP's with their noses so firmly in the trough to notice let alone be taken seriously if they object to corruption, bonus culture etc among banks, big business etc?

Some of the measures to deal with the economic crisis recently suggest MP's are so totally out of touch with the lives and expectations of their ordinary constituents that they can no longer represent them properly (and yes, I know there are some individual, honourable exceptions to that - just sadly, not enough).

JonnyBravo

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

So you choose one possibly correct fact but do not consider many others such as the revenue generated from oil and whisky or that an extra ordinary amount of Scottish water is pumped down south to help you cope with your droughts

Oh come on ISTL you normally do better than that.

You berate him for choosing "one possibly correct fact" and back up your argument with one definite falsehood.

There is no "national water grid" and no large scale movement of water happens across large distances. The infrastructure simply doesn't exist. There have been many calls for it, but it just hasn't happened. Nor is it likely to with private companies now responsible for the creation of it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/apr/15/comment.water


ok just spotted your wink so perhaps you know this?

chris_spackman

carolt wrote: »

I don't think that's really the point. The point is 'leading by example'.

How can we expect MP's with their noses so firmly in the trough to notice let alone be taken seriously if they object to corruption, bonus culture etc among banks, big business etc?

Some of the measures to deal with the economic crisis recently suggest MP's are so totally out of touch with the lives and expectations of their ordinary constituents that they can no longer represent them properly (and yes, I know there are some individual, honourable exceptions to that - just sadly, not enough).

Thank you, a very good post. It is all about OUR money being chucked around by people who do not know what we are going through.

The best expense i came across is Tony Blair using tax payers money to pay off a red reminder letter from his water company, only £200 or so but it's our money.

stephen163

I don't like the tone of some of this thread. "Get rid of Wales, Scotland and N. Ireland because they are taking OUR money". While it may be true that these 3 take more in tax per person than England, there is absolutely no historical (within the last few hundred years), social or geographical reason to distinguish England as 'US' and Wales, Scotland and NI as 'THEM'

The UK is the UK. If England doesn't want to be part of it then it should begin it's own devolution process!

IveSeenTheLight

stephen163 wrote: »

The UK is the UK. If England doesn't want to be part of it then it should begin it's own devolution process!

They have put devolution in place.
It's independence they need to start. Even a referendum to ask the people if they want this.