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| Millionaire politician (& Prime Minister) David Cameron |
Politicians. What are they good for? Apart, I mean, from feathering their own nests at our expense and lying to us. Unless you've been living in Outer Mongolia for the last few years, you'll know about all the impending benefit cuts and 'room tax' that claimants will very soon be hit with. Politicians, with their usual vacuousness, say it's not right that those on benefits should have a higher standard of life than those who are working. Sounds good, doesn't it, but can you spot the flaw in their rationalisation?
Firstly, the number of unemployed people who are better off than those in work is a minority and not representative of the overall picture. I'm sure we're all aghast at feckless unemployed mothers of 11 children having new houses purpose-built for them 'cos they can't keep their legs together, but to penalise those who are genuinely in need of financial assistance is not the way to go. Secondly, if anyone working has a lower standard of living than someone who is unemployed, it's not because benefits (in the main) are too high - it's because wages are too low.
If the government (of any party - I'm not partisan) is serious about addressing the alleged discrepancy between wages and benefits, then they should raise the minimum wage, not cut benefits, which - for the majority of those on them - do not provide the envious life of unbridled hedonistic luxury that politicians seem to imagine.
No - for that kind of lifestyle, one has to be a politician. Let's face it - what with their expense accounts, food allowances, travel costs, subsidised bars and restaurants in the House of Commons, and all sorts of perks and extras that folks in the 'real' world can only dream about, politicians are the biggest 'benefit' scroungers in the country.
Don't know about you, but I'm sick of the lot of them.
And, of course, the politicians who preach the work ethic and advocate cutting public assistance programs are often the same ones who condone corporate downsizing, resulting in fewer and fewer jobs. Downsizing increases the corporation's profit margin, allowing them to pay bigger dividends to their stockholders, so Paris Hilton can have parties in five different cities on her birthday. That's another thing: poor people on the dole are bums and scroungers, while idle rich people are "celebutantes."
ReplyDeletePoliticians who preach the work ethic don't even know what a hard day's work is, with their lives of pampered privilege and overpaid positions far removed from the experiences of the common man.
ReplyDeleteAnd now, when there are fewer jobs than ever to go around (never mind ones with a decent wage), they're suddenly trying to force people who aren't even able to work to go out and find a job.
Scandalous.
Well politics, it's a thorny topic, granted the current crop of dead heads populating the British political class leaves you wondering why anyone that stupid would wish to do engage on a task as tricky as running a country. Personally I think they're in it for the game, you know, like playing with a train set. One of the things that I would point out is that we're in whole heap of trouble right now, I mean serious trouble. If you thought snuffing pensioners in the hospitals and care homes was bad you're gonna freak at what -could- happen just around the corner. All it would take a Saudi prince to wake up and decide that he'd like to sell his oil for Rubles instead of Dollars and a large portion of the population here will be chasing the neighbours cat for a meal. I know that sounds alarmist and that's probably fair but things like our food and fuel security have been dangerously eroded. You're unlikely to see much attention paid to that topic in the media because it's seen as dangerous and liable to provoke panic. While it's wise not to alarm folk unnecessarily, the false sense of security engendered my news management does permeate in to the political institutions, which is one of the reasons we're in sh.. street.
ReplyDeleteAnd ain't that the truth, DSE.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's so much more to look forward to if they're elected for a second term! The scrapping of our human rights, great. Can't wait.
ReplyDeleteKid, could not agree more. Have just seen Alex Salmond wave the Scottish flag like an excited school girl in the Royal Box at Wimbedon. Has the guy no class? He belongs in the enclosure of bufoons that the likes of Boris, Ed Balls etc inhabit at our expense in Westminster. And don't get me started on those minor Royals!,
ReplyDeleteKen.
I've no time for any politicians - they're all a bunch of self-serving liars.
ReplyDelete