Dancing on graves and other stories
It was lovely to see Brian Cowen taking the moral stance on not ‘dancing on the grave’ of his colleague John O Donoghue yesterday.
Or was it a moral stance? I mean would it not have been more ethical for him to stand up and admonish his colleague for his irresponsible and extravagant spending of tax payers money? Of course it would, but because he has ‘done the decent thing ‘ and resigned well sure we’ll just him go quietly. Poor lamb. Now he’s only a mere backbencher with less (but not too much less) scope for expenses than before....
But at least justice was done - who would have been happy having such an irresponsible and arrogant man in a position of authority when he clearly had a skewed view on the ideas of right and wrong. Nobody in his right mind. However, unfortunately, John O’ Donoghue is just one of many people who have been taking advantage of their positions to date. But why wouldn’t they. Wouldn’t you if you could? The biggest problem here is the lack of accountability for expenses incurred. Ultimately, he and others have a blank cheque book with which to do as they please. That is most of our fantasies! This is how the other half live. But we are paying for it.
There is corruption in every government throughout the world and it takes different forms and styles. In Bali they stop tourists in hire cars and take their passports until they pay for their return. In Thailand you can end up in jail without fair trial. In Ireland politicians spend taxpayer’s money recklessly. (At least our human rights are in order). It happens everywhere and it is not just happening in government parties - it’s a cross party practice that needs to stop now.
We are experiencing one of the hardest hitting recessions ever in this country and people are feeling rather hard done by. It is time for our elected representatives to lead by example. Curb their expenditure, cut out unnecessary travel, put an end to 5-star accommodation and Michelin Star restaurants and use modest transport when necessary. The general public would be happier to take the slack for mistakes of the government if they thought that politicians would do likewise. It is the unfair distribution of the effects of the recession that is making people angry. The Government would be better off to try to get the general public on side at the moment and try to avoid a general election. It will be an interesting few months ahead with the imminent budget, which will almost certainly bring more bad news for Joe Soap. Let’s hope next year will bring more positive news and less scandal from our elected representatives who we have elected to do a job - and not to bankrupt the country with their ‘expenses’.
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- Snip, snip - nobody has escaped the government’s big chop
- Coming to the end of the road for politics - phew