Man am I getting sick of what passes for commentary on the news sites in reaction to stories on the MLA expense scandal. Its basically variations on the theme of “hang em all and let god sort em out” and “they should all go to jail…friggen crooks!” Put yourself in the MLA’s shoes for a minute. You find yourself in a situation where you can claim expenses without any oversight. How many of those self righteous jerks so quick to the condemnation would do any differently than the MLAs? My guess is not many. —Sick of It All
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2010.
so they were in the right for taking advantage based on the assumption that is what anyone would have done…
I don’t follow….
did you really read your post before submitting?
did someone put you up to this?
are we being punked?
I AGREE, O.P., I AGREE.
why doesn’t that surprise me?
I would agree that if I had an expense account I would use it too. However I dont work in public office and my expense account isnt taxpayer money… They should be held to a different standard…
I do agree also that many of the whiners would have done the same thing though…
Actually the OP has a good point. I’d also like to mention that this has been going on long before the NDP took office, however, they’ll bear the brunt of the negativity.
Dr F, you know why the NDP will bear the brunt of this is because they went on stating they were different, for the working person, honest, etc, and it comes out they are just like all the rest, which makes it worse for them. Especially when their leader (and premier) gets up and says I’m not going to pay back past dues but will pay them now and then changes his status to save himself thousands of dollars. Talk about bad optics.
Sure, BT, it could have certainly been handled better. I will admit that.
Meanwhile, what political party doesn’t stand for the “working man”? Christ, the PCs were spinning that doctrine for years and the rural areas bought it wholesale. If the voting public in this province is too blind to see beyond political rhetoric, we deserve everything we get.
Let’s start a coup and overthrow the government. All worship Campana The Benevolent!
A lack of spending guidelines/rules for decades is solely responsible for this. Anyone in these guys shoes for any length of time would be inclined to make the same mistakes. It was government-wide and wasn’t isolated to one party. They all do it, as would normal citizens if given the same blank cheque. Yeah, so they didn’t read the ethics book first, they’re politicians and lawyers. They’re self-entitled. The ONLY way the N-Dippers can have any credibility is to change the rules and put in some guidelines. It remains to be seen, but the NDP looks more and more like they’re going to follow the same road as previous administrations. Too bad, cause they had a shot. Even if they don’t change anything, seriously, what’s our fuckin’ alternative? Sad state. IMO, there’s no case for the cops, as there are/was no rules to break.
the only expenses these MLA’s should be able to claim is mileage IF driving their own vehicles to and from work related functions etc, meal expenses when on business over night or longer. (if you arent staying over night, then make a sandwich or buy your lunch out of your own pocket like the rest of the working class.), and any other unforseen happenings (vehicle breaks down, unexpected long distance phone calls etc).
$7,995 for the supply and installation of a generator
$400 for furniture used in his residence
$373 for airfare for his son for a trip to Ottawa
$150 for the purchase of three MP3 players
$13,445 for custom-made office furniture and
$2,600 for a printer
$6,234 for website design and programming
$5,501 for a laptop computer and
$2,150 for a digital camera
$3,250 for a projector screen and dress kit
$2,969 for various books
$2,665 for a projector and
$1,763 for a video camera
$2,499 for a 40-inch LCD television and $579 for installation charges
$790 for a model boat office display
$738 for an espresso coffee maker
$750 for a GPS unit
these alone total over $50000 which could go to legitimate gov’t programs.
and to add insult to injury the premier wants to raise our taxes!? I dont believe these people need to be hung out to dry for their actions, repayment of all inappropriate expenditures and the shame, humiliation, and harassment seems punishment enough. hopefully..
Ninja, you forget a good deal of these items are already in Provincial Stores and only need to be requistioned. If they need a computer or printer, there is no need to buy one, the government have them in stock.
Maybe I’m just paranoid, but I don’t think I would’ve done shit like claim expensive personal TVs or generators or even a briefcase — I’m always thinking “what if I got caught?”…I guess I don’t like getting “in trouble”….never did. Ask my parents — I was pretty much a little angel growing up.
“”If they need a computer or printer, there is no need to buy one, the government have them in tock.”‘
hahahaha
Yeah, we’ll be right over with your Epson dot matrix and lovely refurbished 486…
Don’t be ridiculous.
They wouldn’t even have THAT, Frosty. The government tends to get rid of shit after a certain number of years. Well, the federal gov’t, anyway. Computers are usually mandated to be replaced within a certain number of years, usually when the warranties run out, and then they are usually taken away and destroyed. At least that’s the case with DND given its sensitive information on those HDs.