Resend my activation email : Register : Log in 
BCF: Bike Chat Forums


they want more the greedy b*stards

Reply to topic
Bike Chat Forums Index -> Politics & Current Affairs Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
View previous topic : View next topic  
Author Message

oldpink
World Chat Champion



Joined: 02 Aug 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 00:26 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: they want more the greedy b*stards Reply with quote

so were not all in it together

Quote:
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail.
MPs have been accused of “living in cloud cuckoo land” after a survey showed that more than two-thirds of them thought they were underpaid and should receive a significant pay rise.

The poll, by YouGov for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), which is reviewing MPs’ salaries, found that 69 per cent of MPs from all main parties felt they should be paid more. On average, they recommended a salary of £86,250 – over 30 per cent more than their current pay of £65,738.

Conservative MPs were most likely to believe they were underpaid, and wanted a bigger pay rise. On average, Tories thought they should be paid £96,740, which would equate to a 47 per cent rise. Liberal Democrats wanted an average of £78,361, while Labour MPs called for £77,321.

Dave Prentis, the Unison general secretary, said: “At a time when millions of workers are getting zero pay rises, the idea that MPs believe they deserve a 32 per cent increase is living in cloud cuckoo land.”

____________________
I have become comfortably numb

Theory & hazard 24-may 2016, CBT 8th June 2016, MOD 1 2nd Aug 2016 Mod 2 2nd-Nov 2016 - Current bike CBR 600 RR
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts
N cee thirty This post is not being displayed because the poster is banned. Unhide this post / all posts.

Joncrete Cungle
World Chat Champion



Joined: 31 Jan 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 00:29 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

The cap on benefits and pressing for a mahoosive pay rise. Methinks someone is expecting a nasty dose of inflation in the next 3 years or so.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

D O G
World Chat Champion



Joined: 18 Dec 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 00:32 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not wholly accurate.

The anonymous survey asked MP's how much they believed the post should be paid, not how big a pay rise they should have.

There was no 'calling for' pay rises, this was a survey to assess opinions on whether the remuneration is appropriate, with no suggestion that it would result in an increase.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

D O G
World Chat Champion



Joined: 18 Dec 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 00:33 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

How much should the be paid, anyway?
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Nexus Icon
World Chat Champion



Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 00:45 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

No one in their right mind would think they were paid enough if asked in a survey.

Why should politicians be any different?
____________________
Greetings from Shitsville!
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

TheSmiler
World Chat Champion



Joined: 14 Apr 2011
Karma :

PostPosted: 03:50 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

If they expected to be paid more it is a complete joke, they already get enough benefits which they shouldn't be entitled to believe £55k is actually about right £60k max.

They get a second view when the law comes into play, like the Mp's who used fraud with their expenses. Personally believe they should have all of their work commuting benefits removed, if they have to fly or use a train then go by normal class. You shouldn't be able to claim it back on traveling expenses. Also instead of having secondary homes over London have a massive block house/flat and move them all in there.

Also for those that think the quality of Mp's might drop because of the reduced pay and benefits I seriously doubt it would and believe the opposite would come into play. If you want to be an Mp you should do it because you want to help out the country not because of the perks.
____________________
CB125>CG125>GN125>ER5>K100RS>R1100RS>K100RS
A2 completed 23/07/15 Ready for the Golden Crisp Packet
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

pinkyfloyd
Super Spammer



Joined: 20 Jul 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 08:48 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dunno about you lot but I'll never earn their current salary and if I did I would live like a king.

But then thats probably because I've been used to not having a pot to piss in and had to make my money stretch. Give them a year on my salary and then ask them if they were underpaid before. Rolling Eyes
____________________
illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

fatpies
World Chat Champion



Joined: 01 Mar 2011
Karma :

PostPosted: 09:02 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think MPs should be paid £500K* a year at a minimum*

With the caveat that have to have industrial real life experience. Like Asian politicians do. Prez of China? Worked as a chemical engineer and the guy before that a hydralic engineer.

Also they are not allowed to work for a period of 5 years after they leave office. So 100K of the 500K is kept in trust for them to live on to pay out as a stipend. Also no expenses, no subsidised Parlimentary bar or bistro.

I don't buy the argument that more money buys talent as it is incomparable with the business world. It is easy to SPEND money, it is harder to make money. Corporates need to EARN money. Politicians and council staff have a captive market therefore they only worry about spending money.


Why do I want to pay them 500K and increasing their total pay to 3.2bn? Because it makes MPs more inclined to do the right thing rather than looking for bribes and making dodgy political choices which are bad for the country (like PFI) but benefit themselves.


There are a number of prime examples. Blunkett was more interested in getting the ID card contract to a company he was going to be given a job with after he left office. This wasted 10bn.

Blair spent his entire tenure looking for post retirement jobs nad betraying the country in persuit of these jobs. Pay him more? Iraq war might not have happened. 20bn saving right there. PFI might not have happened either 100bn saved right there too.


Gordon Brown, might not have sold British gold suspiciously cheap, saving the UK 9bn.



Its funny because its like the Chinese motorbike debate. Buy expensive Japanese and in the long term you save money on maintenance repairs and depreciation.
____________________
"It's easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It's a lot more difficult to perform one"
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

oldpink
World Chat Champion



Joined: 02 Aug 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 09:13 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

TheSmiler wrote:
If they expected to be paid more it is a complete joke, they already get enough benefits which they shouldn't be entitled to believe £55k is actually about right £60k max.

They get a second view when the law comes into play, like the Mp's who used fraud with their expenses. Personally believe they should have all of their work commuting benefits removed, if they have to fly or use a train then go by normal class. You shouldn't be able to claim it back on traveling expenses. Also instead of having secondary homes over London have a massive block house/flat and move them all in there.

Also for those that think the quality of Mp's might drop because of the reduced pay and benefits I seriously doubt it would and believe the opposite would come into play. If you want to be an Mp you should do it because you want to help out the country not because of the perks.



I'd agree with you on that but even £50k is a bit more than I think there worth
you should be in the job because you want to help make a better world
not to make a quick buck.
____________________
I have become comfortably numb

Theory & hazard 24-may 2016, CBT 8th June 2016, MOD 1 2nd Aug 2016 Mod 2 2nd-Nov 2016 - Current bike CBR 600 RR
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

Im-a-Ridah
World Chat Champion



Joined: 20 Oct 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 09:19 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some good points Fatpies.

These salary figures always come up, but they just present a number without considering the amount of work the person has done. A lot of MPs work very long days and do a lot of work, someone working a similar job in the private sector for long hours would probably get similar pay. A pay rise isn't justified though. There are other things I'd rather change about MPs, that are much more important than pay.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

Chalky.
World Chat Champion



Joined: 30 Jun 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 10:20 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

£65K is nothing to really write home about, and it's fuck all for London.

£65K in London is middle manager money, not top man or leader money.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Rogerborg
nimbA



Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 11:22 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fuckers don't live in fucking London though, do they?

£3,742 per month for their estate in the Cotswolds, plus their expenses. All their expenses.

When I'm God Emperor, they'll be on the national average wage, and they can pay their own bloody train fares and petrol too.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

cimbian
World Chat Champion



Joined: 27 Sep 2012
Karma :

PostPosted: 11:51 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think we should build a Travelodge-style building on a brown-field site within commuting distance of HoC. This would become the accommodation for MPs and their hanger-on brigade when at the HoC. Same as I have to use when on business trips. Breakfast of Little-Chef standard.

This would eliminate a huge amount of expenses plus it would be a national asset, not contributing to some personal capital gain. No spouse inclusion, these would be paid from personal expenses, albeit subsidised.

Married or live-in couples have a double/twin room FoC, not double entitlement.

Staffing for the accommodation should be UK nationals using the same qualification criteria as military, thereby circumventing EU regulations and must incorporate a trade-training element for development of youngsters in catering etc..

Concession would be to issue Oyster cards FoC to those staying there.

As for salary, this should be determined by public vote at the time of elections and index-linked.

Train travel should be from a corporate-buy but allow 1st class (in the absence of business class) but only for the MP and one advisor. The other members of their party either pay their own upgrade or travel in standard-class.

Working from home should not be paid as an expense but should be allowed to use the standard HMRC allowances for the same.
____________________
22PlusY
Current: Moto Guzzi 1100 Breva. Previous: Honda XL650V TransAlp
Bearded, Balding, Born again Buddhist Biker
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

pinkyfloyd
Super Spammer



Joined: 20 Jul 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:06 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rogerborg wrote:
Fuckers don't live in fucking London though, do they?

£3,742 per month for their estate in the Cotswolds, plus their expenses. All their expenses.

When I'm God Emperor, they'll be on the national average wage, and they can pay their own bloody train fares and petrol too.


You get my vote.


This polishittian wage business comes up now and then and I have said it countless times their expenses is a farce and it always has the same reaction by those that are lucky enough to have a job that pays expenses so I'll try and find middle ground to appease those that tend to not like my argument.

I, like most people, have a job that requires me to travel to and from work at my own expense. This involves me having to pay either public transport costs or upkeep of a vehicle cost with all that entails, insurance, tax, petrol, mechanical work, etc. Some people may be lucky enough to get a company car and travel expenses but the majority of us workers do not have this luxury. Politicians have money for a car whilst in London and if they should need tansport anywhere they can claim for that too.

While I dont begrudge them that luxury I do find it a bit off that they earn so much money that they can easily afford to pay their own transport. I mean if I can manage it working on minimum wage I am damn sure they can on their wage.

Next is living expenses. Now most places do not tend to involve staying away from home and those that do, for courses or what ever, allow you to claim expenses to stay in a hotel for the duration of your stay which is fair enough. Politicians can claim for a house AND staffing costs for that house. This includes a maid, butler and upkeep of this house while they are not staying in London. Surely if its a place to rest ones head whilst they are in London, the local Premier Inn would be more than good enough for them? Why, if they have to stay in a hotel anywhere does it have to be the Savoy or the Dorchester at their £3K a night rooms?

Food and drink is paid, again fair enough if you are forced to eat out for work. Not fair enough if you have to eat out because you are just feeding yourself and chose to eat in a restaurant that will charge you stupid money for the same thing you can get in the local eatery. They will happily pay £200 for a meal in Alain Ducasse when £50 in the local A La Carte would give you more food.

And then on top of that everyone that does get their expenses paid for them are normally paid by the company who get their money from the charges Joe Public pay for their services, should it be solicitors, business men, even those parasites down at the banks. Politicians money comes from the tax we pay out of our wages.

The tax we pay gets put into a big pot, out of that pot the NHS is paid, schools are paid, the police forces is paid, local councils are paid to keep their roads busy, struggling families are paid, and yes some spongers are paid, plus many other things that gets paid from taxpayers money. And Politicians are paid an awful lot of money from.

From that same pot politicians expenses are paid. Now when you think about the fact that the politicians spend most of their time telling you that this pot is not big enough to pay everyone out of so we have to make cuts to everyone and tax people more its a bit off that they can claim for their expensive meals out and their second home so they can live comfortably for the days when they are in London and the staff to keep it all running smoothly while they are away from London bearing in mind they are already on a wage that is around £65K a year per person which is a salary many of us will never see from their job. Which is way above the national average over £26K

Before those earning over the national jump up and down and say its their choices in life that pay them so low and they should get a better job have a think about what falls below the national average for a moment.

A nurse will get around 13K - 16K a year as a national average and personally I think they provide a better, more important service than politicians.

Chefs earn well below the national average with a pay much the same as nurses.

Shop workers.

Carers, who look after infirm and vulnerable people keep their dignity get paid minimum wage.

I could go on but most people reading this will probably be on a lower than national average wage.

Thats the thing with averages, its not equal and its worked out in a silly way that does not reflect the true incomes of many. If we take 2 people, one gets paid £100 per week and one gets paid £1000 for a week the average would be £550 now thats £450 higher than the lowest earner and he'll feel that loss a lot more painfully than the higher earner will appreciate the gain.

Do politicians need that money AND those expenses? In my mind no. From what I have seen and experienced politicians get paid an obscene amount of money for arguing with each other about who they can rape next and blaming the other party when it goes wrong, going to meetings and pushing pens around and they get paid over twice the national average!

I can do that for half the amount.
____________________
illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

oldpink
World Chat Champion



Joined: 02 Aug 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:24 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

£80k a year for a chaffer driven car for the guy that put up the train fare's
rather than use the bloody trains

Quote:
The rail fares minister who oversaw a controversial hike in ticket prices days ago spends £80,000 of taxpayers’ money each year on a chauffeur-driven car to work, it has emerged.

The disclosure concerning Simon Burns comes after inflation-busting average rises of 4.2 per cent for regulated rail fares, which include season tickets, took effect for passengers.

The Conservative MP travels the 35 miles between his Essex home and Westminster using an £80,000-a-year departmental car service

____________________
I have become comfortably numb

Theory & hazard 24-may 2016, CBT 8th June 2016, MOD 1 2nd Aug 2016 Mod 2 2nd-Nov 2016 - Current bike CBR 600 RR
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

Derivative
World Chat Champion



Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:24 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's funny. I expected to see this sort of nonsense after the news broke, and lo and behold, here it is.

Is it really surprising or offensive that people want to be paid more? The fact they are MP's has absolutely sod all to do with it.

If someone handed me a survey and said "how much would you like to be paid" I'd write down the biggest number I could think of.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

pinkyfloyd
Super Spammer



Joined: 20 Jul 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:37 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Derivative wrote:
It's funny. I expected to see this sort of nonsense after the news broke, and lo and behold, here it is.

Is it really surprising or offensive that people want to be paid more? The fact they are MP's has absolutely sod all to do with it.

If someone handed me a survey and said "how much would you like to be paid" I'd write down the biggest number I could think of.


Would you still write that same number down when your wages come out of the same pot you are desperately trying to cut spending from? Would you sit there and want a higher wage knowing other departments might have to close and productivity would slow down causing more problems than it solves? Would you want more when you already have more than enough money to spend?

I mean really, if almost everything can be put down as expenses what is their £65K a year going towards? They dont need a car, it gets paid for by the pot. Dont need holidays, they get paid to go on business trips around the world and paid to take their family it seems. Cant sit there and tell me their hard up for a bob or 2 on their wage?

What they are actually doing when it boils down to the basics is taking money from the most vulnerable and complaining that they are not getting enough wages to screw those worms over with.

We've seen a 1% capped increase in benefits for those that are struggling, bearing in mind that the average inflation rate is 3% the only people who are going to suffer are those bottom feeders who are currently relying on the benefit system. Those that are barely afloat with the current system are going to struggle even more. Those on 65K a year have no idea how that feels and they live in a dream world if they believe that a 1% cap on benefit increases wont harm anyone.
____________________
illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

Derivative
World Chat Champion



Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:48 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Would you want more when you already have more than enough money to spend?


I have enough money to spend now. I want more.

pinkyfloyd wrote:
Would you still write that same number down when your wages come out of the same pot you are desperately trying to cut spending from?


20 grand for 500 MP's is 10 million a year.
Or about 0.0014% (actual percentage, not hyperbole) of public spending.

Quote:
what is their £65K a year going towards? Cant sit there and tell me their hard up for a bob or 2 on their wage?


I'm not hard up.
I still want a pay rise.
Don't you?

Quote:
they live in a dream world if they believe that a 1% cap on benefit increases wont harm anyone.


The entire point of the cap on benefit increases is to harm people. That is the intention. If an MP states otherwise, it's about saving public face, because democracy requires manipulation of the populace (otherwise the bottom half will simply repeatedly vote for the money of the top half).

I just don't think 'harm' is the right word to use. If I'm your boss and I sack you, I've harmed you. A gift is being taken away. I'm not stealing your property.


Last edited by Derivative on 12:59 - 11 Jan 2013; edited 3 times in total
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Im-a-Ridah
World Chat Champion



Joined: 20 Oct 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 12:50 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

An accommodation block of a good standard for MPs would be a good idea, somewhere near near Parliament. They could incorporate other parliamentary facilities there too, perhaps some meeting rooms etc.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail You must be logged in to rate posts

angryjonny
World Chat Champion



Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 13:04 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Im-a-Ridah wrote:
An accommodation block of a good standard for MPs would be a good idea, somewhere near near Parliament. They could incorporate other parliamentary facilities there too, perhaps some meeting rooms etc.

I think that would work nicely. Far as I'm concerned they could all have apartments there with a bedroom, a lounge, kitchen and a room to work in. It'd still save thousands per year per MP. It'd be available to MPs free of charge so there'd be no claiming for accommodation expenses at all. Wherever they want to live in their own consituency is their own business.

Anyway, I don't know what all the fuss is about. As Derivative says, they're not demanding more cash or threatening action or anything. They were simply asked "do you want more money?" and in an unusual move for MPs, answered honestly.

To put this in perspective, 65k is not a lot of money for a high-profile job (or anything at all in the arena of public spending), expenses are nowhere near as high or widely abused as the media likes to report and many MPs will have given up higher paid jobs to focus on their duties when they found themselves elected in.

GPs (as an arbitrary example) earn somewhere in the region of 100k. So if I was a GP, ran as an MP and got voted in, I'd have taken a 35k pay cut to do the job.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

pinkyfloyd
Super Spammer



Joined: 20 Jul 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 13:21 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Derivative wrote:

20 grand for 500 MP's is 10 million a year.
Or about 0.0014% (actual percentage, not hyperbole) of public spending.


Erm MP's get paid over £65K which works out at £32.5M a year.
MPs can claim a maximum of £120K in addition to their wage. Not all do and most do not but they can and thats around £60M giving a maximum total cost to the tax payer of over £90M a year.

Where did you get 20 grand from? And then when you take into consideration that they are scraping pennies away from the poor who cannot make ends meet as it is, its a bit naff.

I'm on minimum wage, I'd love a pay rise but if I was doing my job for enough money to live comfortably already on I would actually be content with the wage I have and oddly enough I am content with the life I have. Yes a few extra pennies in the pot would make a bit of difference to my standard of living but I do not earn the kind of money that makes unexpected bills easy to deal with. As a result of the wage I am on we do without many of the luxuries many take for granted. Things like cable/sky TV. xbox. PS3. We do not even have a DVD player and rely on one of the kids PS2 systems she's had for years that was bought second hand to play any dvds. I have a bike as a mode of transport, many have it as a hobby. We do not have a car. We live in a council flat overcramped because we cannot afford a mortgage.

But I am content with my life and given the choice of having my current life or losing out on any aspect of it in favour of a higher wage I wouldnt want to change it.

For you to sit and want more money, what for? I mean is your life that unforfilling for you that you feel the need for more money?

Derivative wrote:

The entire point of the cap on benefit increases is to harm people. That is the intention. If an MP states otherwise, it's about saving public face, because democracy requires manipulation of the populace (otherwise the bottom half will simply repeatedly vote for the money of the top half).


And its going to harm the people who are already suffering. No life is not fair but thats taking the piss. It brings us into the tax argument too. Why does Mr rich have to pay more tax than Mr Poor. Because he can, no its not fair but taxing everyone the same would leave Mr Poor in a terrible state of affairs. If you are earning £50K you can afford to lose half of it to the tax man and survive. Mr Poor earning £13K loses half of that to tax and he's screwed without enough money to eat.
____________________
illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
Hockeystorm65:.well there are childish arguments...there are very childish arguments.....there are really stupid childish arguments and now there are......Pinkfloyd arguments!
Teflon-Mike:I think I agree with just about all Pinky has said.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website You must be logged in to rate posts

Derivative
World Chat Champion



Joined: 03 Aug 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 13:30 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

pinkyfloyd wrote:
Where did you get 20 grand from?

Quote:
On average, they recommended a salary of £86,250 – over 30 per cent more than their current pay of £65,738.


20 grand is the 'pay rise' they believe is deserved. To a close enough approximation anyway.

Quote:
I'm on minimum wage, I'd love a pay rise but if I was doing my job for enough money to live comfortably already on I would actually be content with the wage I have and oddly enough I am content with the life I have.


Quote:
I do not earn the kind of money that makes unexpected bills easy to deal with.


Is it that surprising that some people aren't content to have their lives ruined by 'unexpected bills'?

I would debate more but it's a bit tiring, sorry. As far as I'm concerned, your 'need' for anything other than a roof and food is false. After that, everything is a want, and you get as much as you can grab, really.

That's all anyone does. Satisfies their basic needs, and then grabs, grabs, grabs. You educate yourself, so that you're more valuable, so that you can grab more. You try to get a better job, so that you can grab more.

Hell, some people decide not to work. So that they can grab more.


Last edited by Derivative on 13:32 - 11 Jan 2013; edited 1 time in total
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

pa_broon74
World Chat Champion



Joined: 28 Mar 2006
Karma :

PostPosted: 13:31 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm not sure what this story highlights has anything to do with money or MP renumeration at all.

I think it speaks volumes about how thick MP's are though. Did they really think this wouldn't find its way into the papers?

Here for your interest would be my thought process were I an MP and being asked whether I should be paid more:

- If I say 'yes I should' and the news finds its way into the mainstream press, how will that play out in the open?

- Given the current situation and how unpopular we are for making the cuts we're having to make (and some, if' I'm being honest we don't because deep down, we know it'll just make poor people even poorer but since I'm a sociapath with a heart of obsidian I don't give a fuck.) If I said yes, would this be excacerbated or alleviated?

- Will this make me look like the grasping out-of-touch tosspot that I actually am?

- Will saying 'yes I deserve more money' make me a) popular or b) even less popular

- Maybe I should say no.

- But since I'm a politician, ergo, a massive fucking chancer, i'm going to say; 'yes, I do deserve more money, and not just a little bit more; a lot more.'

This story does one thing and one thing only, it confirms that a great many of the people who are supposed represent us in the Westminster parliament are in fact; complete fucking morons.

Thumbs Up
____________________
Didn't catch anything.
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts

Rogerborg
nimbA



Joined: 26 Oct 2010
Karma :

PostPosted: 13:33 - 11 Jan 2013    Post subject: Reply with quote

Derivative wrote:
If someone handed me a survey and said "how much would you like to be paid" I'd write down the biggest number I could think of.

The question was what they should be paid. It's not a fantasy question since they run the business, so to speak.

Sure, business owners want to take home as much as possible, but that means someone else getting less. Ethical ones don't increase their own take while laying staff off.

Purely personal expenses for MPs come to about £35K a year (2011/2012). On the best possible interpretation, they scrape by on about £6K a month after tax, which would be an annual £118,000 before tax.

And that's leaving aside cash-for-questions "consultancy fees", and pretending that much of the "constituency office" costs on top of that don't end up in their family's pockets as well, although they do. Don't they, Nadine?

What do we get in return? The majority of our laws come from Brussels now. Day to day, your local Council (or regional psuedo-parliament) has more say in your life than Westminster.

The UK Parliament just tinkers in the middle to generate sound bites for their re-election campaign. Budgets and the actual wording of Statutes and Regulations are decided by the Sir Humphreys.

You could lock the doors and gas the lot of them (dear Procurator Fiscal, this is not a threat) and we wouldn't notice a jot of difference, except a slight lowering of our tax burden.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike
 Back to top
View user's profile Send private message You must be logged in to rate posts
Old Thread Alert!

The last post was made 13 years, 252 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful?
  Display posts from previous:   
This page may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Bike Chat Forums Index -> Politics & Current Affairs All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
Page 1 of 3

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum

Read the Terms of Use! - Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group
 

Debug Mode: ON - Server: birks (www) - Page Generation Time: 0.20 Sec - Server Load: 0.82 - MySQL Queries: 13 - Page Size: 151.63 Kb