Rant: MP's Espenses

I can't bare it any longer, I've kept quiet long enouth, so even if I am ranting to myself it helps.

I just read the following story about an MP couple who have two homes and each one is claiming living expenses on each home, effectively living rent and mortgage free.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5322961/Andrew-MacKay-resigns-over-unacceptable-claims-MPs-expenses.html

While they may defend themselves by reminding us that this is legal it is still no excuse. I'm sure when the system was set up it was set up with guidelines. I'll bet that these guidelines have been relaxed over the years and as a result it has been abused.

Yes it is legal, but almost every MP is guilty of abusing the system and benifiting from it as much as possible. That is an act of disshonesty and greed.

These are the guy we write to when we have problems, sometimes asking for funding for projects, while our requests may not be granted, they will see to it that their expense request is!

As a side note isn't it interesting to see how 'the expense system' has broken bown over the years while at the same time 'the banking system' has done the same. Why was that? Greedy bankers willing to take greater risks? I think so. As a result we have an economy in recession with millions of households struggling. Sounds to me like something has gone seriously wrong.

I'm greatful for what has happened here, with the telegraph publishing this info, as this will hopefully put a stop to this sort of thing happening not just in parlament but possibly in other organisations also. I also hope that other investigations are carried out in other areas of businesses and so forth. The money saved by putting a stop to such greed could be massive and do so much good elsewhere.

Did it not occur to any of these MP's that their unnecessary claims could be pulling funding from other resources and potentially putting people out of work are depriving a comunity of a worthwile project.

"Thank for looking after me all you MP's (and bankers)!" Or should you be thanking me for lining your pockets?!"

You are supposed to be here to serve me, I'm not here to serve you. Lets remember that.

Job Situation.

As I read back through my blog I notice that I have not informed you of my job status. (Just in case there is anybody out there that is interested). As it turns out my Job is safe. I work for an agency and they find me work. If there is no work then the manpower they employ is no longer needed. While the project I was working on has pretty much come to an end I was moved onto another project. I am now working on an new aircraft for Bombardier and I am learning newskills and methods to work. I suspect I will be on this project for a while.

Some of the guys I was working with were not so lucky to be relocated onto another project and they have had to look for work elsewhere. Many of the guys I was working with believe I was kept on because while I am young I am still cheap. My agency can make more money out of me. This worries me a bit as I will be asking for regular reviews and there will be a point where I might be pushing my luck and my agency might choose to continue using someone else over me. Ultimately it is all about money, and I'm no different. Iwanna earn as much as possible.

This whole given notice thing has been a good experience for me, even though I never found myself out of work I did go through the motions. I updated my CV right away and posted it on many jobsites. I set up job alerts and have identified where I need to turn if this happens again. I have also identified the need to have some real savings so that we could survive for a while if needs be. And I learned that I had help out there through family and friends in the form of advice, prayer and fasting.

I got old in 2009!

I might sound a bit odd but I have identified 2009 as the year I got old. So what makes me say this? There are the usual signs of ageing such as grey hairs apearing, the hair line receading or the thinning of hair on top or any combination of the three. There are other signs too which I will share with you.
1. Gardening: While I dont really enjoy it, I do take great pride in the work I have done. I also find myself in places like B&Q wondering the aisles looking at all the items available to me so that I can make my garden even more pretty.
2. Driving: I used to be a 'speed freak', driving as fast as I dare, stupid realy considering the pathetic cars I have owned. I can honestly say I have no desire drive like this anymore. I am far more laid back and my dream car is no longer a super sports car but the more family orientated estate or SUV.
3. Music & Radio: My radio station of choice for a long time has been Radio 1, but recently I have found myself turning over to either Radio 2 or anything else. Is todays pop music not appealing to me anymore or am I craving something different? I don't know but I am, through my own free will and choice listening to and appreciating different genras of music. I still love my dance, trance, electonic music but not all the time.
4. The Great Outdoors: It has taken me a long time to appreciate this and I am dissapointed in myself because of it. My wife and I have taken up running recently as a form of exercise. This has been driven by the fact that the gym is now too expensive, the race for life events are becoming increasingly popular & possibly the publicity Mt Killamanjaro recieved during the BBC's Comic Relief this year. My wife decided that it would be a great achievement to climb Mt Snowdon. So we did. We loved it. It was hard work and a great workout but we are now looking fwd to our next outdoor adventure. We have come to appreciate the joys and benifits of walking & hiking and have great respect for those who do this as a regular thing and especially for parents who encourage their children to do this with them.
5. I'm Grumpy: And not just a little bit, so much so that I have been labeled grumpy by those that are close to me. Two main reasons, I have a mortgage and am struggling with that, I was supposed to get easier but the way things are at the moment thats not happened, and my wife is my nemisis! We get along great but there are one or two thing that are really important to me that are not important to her. So while she needs to make an effort to meet my needs I need to make an effort to be more tollerant. Until then a lil frustration will seep out of my personality.

All of these things I noticed in the 1st half of 2009.