I know, british politics, yick. Sorry about that, but it is relevant to everyone. There are a lot of tangents to go off on here, but I just want to comment on one particular quote from Mr. Blair, "...if people get benefits from the state, they owe some responsibility in return".
That's pretty hard to argue with by itself. I just don't want the fact that politicians get far more benefits from the state than your average citizen to be lost. It is after all the people that pay the politicians exorbitant bills, and it is also their money that funds these social programs, so if you want to cut paying out you also better cut that nasty British tax rate. It's a two-way street is all. So as long as you aren't wasting an obscene amount of money on things that the people would rather you not and doing your duty with the utmost responsibility, you can take this position with a clean conscience. I just don't like the implication of this attitude that the ruling class are somehow entitled to their extravagance no matter how well documented their anti-social attitudes or outright criminality, while the 'unwashed masses' must demonstrate their social responsibility for basic human needs like housing and medical assistance. I have a feeling that if this ax swung both ways there would be a lot of politicians out of jobs. Hopefully it's just a gimmick to get a few poorly thought out conservative votes.
:: Damien 5/02/2002 [+] ::
