This story has been running for a good few weeks now: the expenses claims filed by various MPs over the years.
All I've been hearing on the radio and seeing on the TV are various people saying "it's disgusting, I have to work so hard and I don't get this...". I'm not condoning some of the ridiculous claims (clearing a mote, ride-on lawn mowers etc), but I do think we should get a little perspective on this.
1) Their actual annual wages are a pretty pitiful (for the stress involved) £60-£65k a year. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to do their job, certainly not for those wages. I think they should be paid at least twice that and then have no expenses.
2) If you worked for a company and they were actually inviting and encouraging you to claim for things then you would wouldn't you? Common sense should have told some of them that their claims, on tax payers' money, were rather unethical, but nevertheless they are ligitamate under the current system. Surely the system is as much to blame as the individuals abusing it.
3) I hardly think it's fair to say 'I work hard and don't get these privileges' (quoting several members of the public sampled). It's rather like saying 'it's not fair, David Beckham gets paid millions of pounds and I have to work so hard'. You get what you work hard for in this life - if you are ambitious and truly work hard than I think you can accomplish anything, as they have done. I don't begrudge anyone their success. As I say, I wouldn't swap my job for theirs any day!
I'm not sticking up for MPs, far from it, but I do think we should make the system more transparent - give them the pay they deserve for being in the public eye and working hard and let that be it.
Feeling better today as you can probably tell! :-) I would be interested to hear what you all think about this?
