Ordinary Eve
Expensive politicians
Why does it matter that our politicians have been over-claiming on their expenses?
At the moment there is a lot of media interest around the fact that politicians in the British government have claiming "little extras" such as porn or second home allowances that run way above the rent for a large sized house in the home counties. Of couse the media love a story but there is a reason why we are all interested and shocked or annoyed by this, ie there is a reason why the media can actually make a story
We expect our politicians to be upright, to represent the best in society. If there is corruption in high places that means that these people are open to bribery and the implication is to more corruption - and that doens't bode well for us
More than that they are spending our money, that we are regularly being taxed at increasing levels, on themselves and subsidising their lifestyle.
And there is another factor in this. Their basic salary of a politician is £61,820. Sounds good, until you realise that the salary being offered to the next head of Durham Council is £200,000. So people who are making decisions about whether we enter wars, how our health service is run and what environmental policies we will use to restrict global warming are paid less than those who administer much of those taxes in a local area. And if we realise that, don't you think that's going to be realised by the politicians too? And rankle...just a little bit?
Our is a society that values people by the amount of money they earn. What does that say about societal value afforded to politicians?
Let me ask you a question. Do you always pay for your train ticket? Do you never use stationary from work or the work post? How is that different to claiming extra expenses?
The bothering thing about God is that he doesn't actually distinguish between the two. So we are as guilty as the politicians. And that should enable us to be a little less black and white about this situation.
In an environment where everyone is "on the take" it's difficult to keep your head above water and maintain your integrity. Christians have to try to do that in these circumstances, not so we can point the finger at others but so we can point the finger towards God, towards an attitude that says that a person's value isn't actually about money, but instead about who they are, the person that God made them to be.
Katie McLaughlin
