For decades, there have been the most appalling abuses by MPs "troughing" at the public expense.

It's the same culture which allowed leading City bankers to notch up huge bonuses, and the longer it goes on, the worse it gets and the greater the eventual scandal and fallout.

Politicians, bankers, company directors of major companies, all of whom should know better, have been at it for years, big time, troughing as much as they possibly can.

A decade or so ago, journalists were as bad. When I came into the profession, half of the wage of the average provincial journalist was made up of expenses, and quite a bit of the claim was pure fiction.

The culture in the offices of national papers and in TV was far, far worse and people lucky enough to be employed there were likely to be able to claim weekly expenses into three figures. That was big money way back then.

I can remember when I was managing editor for a group of newspapers getting a real ticking off from my regional MD for putting in expense claims which were far too small.

He said my claims were making his look out of proportion and he virtually ordered me to double them!

How things have changed over the years. Back then, newspapers were a licence to print money.

Today, in the middle of a recession, newspapers are going to the wall, people are being thrown out of work daily and you're lucky to have a job, never mind getting expenses on top.

In the harsh commercial world of the private sector, troughing comes to a very sudden end when times get tough.

In Westminster, and in local councils, it doesn't, because they've fixed it so they're all feather beaded by a system which acts like perpetual motion.

MPs, bureaucrats, people employed on quangos, and senior council staff are not living in the real world.

The UK economy is contracting; people are being thrown out of work big time; and yet for national and local government and for utility companies, it's business as usual.

Spend your way out of a recession is about the most barmy attitude anyone can take. We've seen sensible people paying off more of their mortgage, putting cash into savings and cutting down spending.

But we've seen the barmy brigade still raising taxes and still spending.

Can you think of anything more stupid than dropping VAT from 17.5% to 15% and then raising fuel duty by 2p which hits things like delivery costs and puts pressure on prices in the shops. There's the barmy brigade in its glory.

Government and local government should have to regulate their spending on the fortunes of the country.

-------------------------------------
Click here to go back to Tony Mayes.

Where are you? Add your pin to the Herald's international readers' map by clicking here.

Email the Herald: tony.mayes@worthingherald.co.uk





In times of hardship like now, the public sector should have to rein in so we don't have council tax rises, extra stealth taxes and, although they're in the private sector, rises in utility bills at a time when many are either out of work or having a pay freeze.