Is that clear enough for you? Lowry is just as bad as Haughey et al.
I think most people have no problem with the expense. The problem was the scale and attitude to these expenses. A $400 hair wash is clearly a waste of money when $50 should be more than enough. If this was a one off thing then ok however the perception is that this waste is duplicated across the public service. Why is this? Because there is no metric for performance and until there is, this will continue.Yet - a politician who represents the country cannot get their hair washed?
Two different cases. I don't care what the IT spends on it's expenses as I don't pay for it. I do pay for RTE hence I do care if there is waste.What expenses do the mandrians at RTE and the Irish Times claim?
I wasnt for canonising the man, but as a matter of interest do you have a fundamental disagreement with discerning different levels of guilt or gravity of offences?
If you were sentencing them would you apply a "flat rate" sentence or would each case be on its own merits? I'm not (I hope) being too argumentative, just wondering if you think theres even scope for differing levels (ignoring the individuals mentioned).
For me (and again this is just a personal view - I'm not battering anyone over the head with it) but I think seeking/demanding corrupt payments is more deliberate and a worse offence than tax evasion... (now I'll jump into my bunker !)
Re the operation - there could never be such a direct link, maybe 2 hairdo's less for Mary & the gals and they could have had the op, maybe 20,000 less people in "sheltered employment" in the Civil Service could have paid for an Op for us all.
Your contradicting yourself, first you say there is no link between tax revenues and public services then you go on to suggest that there is? Which is it? Are you really that niave to think that there is no link between Govt revenues and the services the State can provide? People do die waiting for operations in this country....
As a matter of interest, what standards do you expect of politicians, is it that there are some offences that are ok for you?
You state that tax evasion is the lessor of the two offences, would you still think the same way if a relative died while waiting for an operation on a public health waiting list?
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