Tuesday 15 February 2011

The Prime Minister's Salary

This has been much in the news recently and the BBC radio programme The Jeremy Vine Show is commenting on it today. The ridiculous (and seemingly incredibly naive) Vine quotes the PM's salary as £142,000 pointing out that recently newspapers have been running articles about the numerous public sector workers who earn more. Vine then undermines this by saying, 'ah yes, but the Prime Minister has many more benefits', going on to list free housing, chauffeur driven cars, bodyguards(!) etc. What a moron. Whilst the job has some nice perks it is the salary that pays the bills and Council 'Chief Executives' on over £200, 000 make sure they don't go short on perks either. The simple fact of the matter is that Councils have become far too keen to spend taxpayers money on themselves and their comfort and see no reason why a devastatingly bad slump should change any of it. If forced they are willing to cut any number of things that will annoy taxpayers and inconvenience people, but dispense with biscuits at meetings, are you mad? A council can always find £100 million for a new headquarters but £100,000 for disabled children? I think not, not in these austere times.

There is an interesting point on the PM's perks though. The government, led by the PM, introduces legislation to bring to bear taxation on any aspect of comfort that an employer may seek to bestow on you. Yet if Ministers were similarly adjudged, then they really wouldn't be earning enough -to pay the tax bill. So they are excused the onerous tribute they have demanded of others. And that is the basis of a corrupt administration. It is a simple and easy signifier of the disconnect between the governed and those wielding power.

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