What can you get away with on your expenses?

Ultimately the problem is that it doesn't matter how scandelous and corrupt a story The Sun can come up with on government, most people will turn straight to the back to read the sports section. In short - things won't change, because no-one cares.

G2D also makes a good point - ?60k for the level of responsibility MP's have, especially ministers, isn't very much when you consider comparable jobs in the private sector. Whether a serious increase in salary would attract more able politicians is difficult to say though. Public sectory salaries are something I think need a serious look at though. I certainly wouldn't consider getting shot at for ?16k a year for example. And it's little wonder teaching standards aren't as good as they should be. We should have some of the brightest people teaching - but why would anyone with a degree commit to a life time of pittyful pay when you can earn many times more elsewhere? A point lost on the government it would seem.

[G]

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

And it's little wonder teaching standards aren't as good as they should be. We should have some of the brightest people teaching - but why would anyone with a degree commit to a life time of pittyful pay when you can earn many times more elsewhere? A point lost on the government it would seem.

If you would believe what the exam boards say.....then more people are passing than ever (Because they have made it so easy to pass now)

No offence is meant towards any capable teachers on here, but of all the people I know from uni, the ones that were crap and always failed or got rubbish marks went on to be teachers, mainly because their intended industry wouldnt take them and the teaching industry would.

That is why standards are so crap.

Those that cant DO, teach.

The Royal Mail lost £279 million last year, but their boss got paid £3 million. So it seems a bit silly to be moaning about a few tens of thousands for the people who are running the country yet are paid a tiny fraction of what top businessmen are earning.

Originally Posted by graemepaterson

If you would believe what the exam boards say.....then more people are passing than ever (Because they have made it so easy to pass now)

No offence is meant towards any capable teachers on here, but of all the people I know from uni, the ones that were crap and always failed or got rubbish marks went on to be teachers, mainly because their intended industry wouldnt take them and the teaching industry would.

That is why standards are so crap.

Those that cant DO, teach.

I know many teachers, some highly qualified and striving to make a difference but battling against the endless paperwork and testing enforced by NuLabour. We now teach to pass exams, not to learn the subject. I for one am pretty well qualified yet won’t hesitate to say certain subject areas I have studied I have no understanding in. I worked hard just learning what would let me pass the exams because that is ALL that counts these days. Is that any surprise?

Well no. We’re a bitter nation who compare ourselves to our neighbour rather than judge their happiness on their success. We love to believe “we” have had it harder than the current ‘youth’, and as such impose more and more tests, exams, standards and excuses. Exams are set by those who’ve never left academia; the ones that exam grades mean everything, the ones angered by their strife at the subject and keen to pass it on generation by generation.

Exams are getting tougher as more work is crammed in to a shorter period of time over a long education career without break from assessment. As such the only way to pass these tests is to ‘cheat’ by learning how to pass them and ignoring any understanding of the content. This is only encouraged by teachers who too have ‘targets’ set by Mr Browns terror-army.

There’s such a difference between the standards of subjects. Try and compare a maths A-level to a ‘photography’ or media studies A-level .The difference is staggering and only devalues the work put in by the students trying to achieve a high grade in a reputable subject.

We should be teaching children to have a passion for learning, how to deal with social situations, current affairs, philosophy, why you can do your own thing and not fall in to NuLabours trap of producing ‘bodies’ incapable of complex thought, of free ideas and questioning the why’s and how’s of this world!

Originally Posted by wyrdness

The Royal Mail lost £279 million last year, but their boss got paid £3 million. So it seems a bit silly to be moaning about a few tens of thousands for the people who are running the country yet are paid a tiny fraction of what top businessmen are earning.

I dont think its the actuall money, as you saycompared to industry its not a lot. But the priciple of it smacks a bit.

Why should they live susedised in every aspect of their life. It means they are out of touch with the majority in this country and therfore devoid of the issues affecting us, like the rise in food, energy and fuel.

if i hada 89 a week allowance towards food, the increase would not bother me, now if i was claiming 40p a mile for fuel, why would i care the price keeps going up??

bottom line no one deserves to live that well supported efectivly by the state, they are just as bad as the benifits scroungers in this country doing the same thing.

Trouble is, if MPs were affected by tax rules like everyone else, then all that would happen is they'd change the tax rules so they were the least hard hit.

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

Trouble is, if MPs were affected by tax rules like everyone else, then all that would happen is they'd change the tax rules so they were the least hard hit.

Haven't they already? rather than increasing their salary they've given themselves a ?23k allowance that they can spend on anything that is....of course... untaxed

Paying a big salary does not automatically mean you don't still get a monkey.....but not paying a big salary means you do either get the monkey OR folk who will make up the difference by other means.......not to say of course not plenty of snouts in the Trough, and quite often legally.

FWIW I think the UK is fooked and this time ain't no cure - too many vested interests in a culture of short sighted stupidity that is now regarded as "Normal".

I think it's worth fighting our way out of this ditch. The UKs heritage goes far deeper than their current problems, and can overcome them with sufficient leadership and direction. Labour have done it before and we survived then, and we can do it again. It's time to turn to our industries and get them working once more, to rebuild the infastructure neglected for so long, to utilise the academic prowess locked up in lecture rooms around the country We've got the know-how, the manpower and the ingenuity to pull it off. We just need something or someone to unite us under the same dream

Britannia Rules right?

First of all we should make the media accountable for what they publish, remove the tax breaks attributed to the super wealthy, remove micro management of our lives, allow communities to have say, open all governement transactions to public scrutiny, reward small businness and ventures by generous tax breaks, take a stern view of the benefits system, make provision for the elderly, and of course GET OUT OF THE EU!

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by gettin2dizzy

remove the tax breaks attributed to the super wealthy,

What are these? IMO wealthy folks are treated exactly the same as the less well off by the tax system.