by Tarot

Created on: September 22, 2008

It is the natural act of any businessman or common criminal to put their own welfare first and hang onto their source of income by any means available, regardless of the cost to others. This has been shown recently by the millionaire owners of bankrupt travel firms who are still living their lives of luxury as thousands of people lose their holidays or are trapped overseas. Why should it be any different for politicians; when they see their re-election in jeapardy they take any opportunity available to protect their lucrative carreers and lifestyles.

Becoming a politician has become a career rather than an act of public service, a very well paid career which is financially lucrative even after you lose your job. This is why tax policies are based on self-preservation rather than the public good because every year that a politician can keep themselves in power they can add to their pension pot, get the interest paid on the morgage of their second home and claim their expenses, not to mention a nice salary. Most current mp's have had any other career in their lives, their are exceptions of course, but most studied politics or law, have been involved in politics since leaving school and became an MP at the first available opportunity.

The only solution to this problem is to be more careful about those we elect to parliament and get more of the population voting. Another tactic might be to make the job less inviting as a long term career, by reducing the wages or entitlement to expenses and other bonuses, this might also put a little perspective into their oppinion of tax and spending policys. Make being an mp a public service that requires sacrifice rather than an opportunity to gain money.

In all honesty this is not a new problem or one confined to the UK, it is just as common a problem in the US as in the UK, the difference is that they have to get their budgets past two houses of equal power. The only time that i can recall a budget getting close to not being past by the house of commons was when John Major was Prime minister. This is because the UK system is designed to give the party that is in power control of the house so that all major acts will almost automatically go through the house, such as a budget.

Given a system that encourages the standing party to bulldoze its policies into law and which is designed to make it impossible to challenge the ruling party why should we be surprised when career politicians use it to keep themselves in power for as long as possible.
In short, blame the politicians!

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