One thing that really riles most Kiwis is when people, public figures in particular, practise or exhibit double standards. And that’s Bill English’s real problem.
I’ve written before about politicians’ perks and “entitlements”. They don’t unduly bother me. Politicians should be well remunerated to ensure we don’t discourage truly bright and capable leaders. And if they have real, extraordinary work expenses, such as the need to travel around the country, then that should be paid for by us.
Most of us, given the opportunity and a mechanism to take advantage, grab whatever lollies are presented to us. Pay rises, tax cuts, employee benefits, state benefits, business tax deductions. If they’re legal, then why not?
But we all know plenty of people who go that step further, claiming benefits or tax breaks that stretch credibility, such as an overseas vacation written off as a business trip because it includes a 30-minute social visit to a supplier. For most of us, that’s fine if it’s us that’s doing it or, more commonly, if it’s an acquaintance who we’d feel bad about dobbing in or arguing with. But we get angry if the perpetrator is someone in a different social group who we don’t know personally apart from what we read in the media.
So people in business, and other middle classers, decry state beneficiaries who practise any number of rorts – getting extra income under the table, renting out part of their state house, claiming the DPB while secretly supported by a de facto partner, etc. And hard-working employees and honest beneficiaries are infuriated by business owners and corporate executives who have the resources to manipulate their affairs to fit in with whatever tax breaks and subsidies they can cream.
I’ve always respected Bill English as a person and a political figure. I don’t agree with all his opinions and policies, but I’ve always held him in the top half for personal honesty. No longer, I’m afraid. He’s fast losing my respect.
If Bill has genuine expenses he has to pay to enable him to work in Wellington while his family lives in Southland, then by all means remunerate him for his trouble. But that clearly is not the case. Though he owns a house down south, he lives with his family in the family house in Wellington, full stop. Every attempt to justify his claim to be living away from home simply tells us that he thinks we’re all idiots who could never understand.
Even if what he’s doing is legal in the strict sense, to all people except Bill’s closest fans it’s a double standard. Most politicians are super-quick to get in on the act when a beneficiary is reported to be rorting an entitlement, and Bill’s up there among the quickest. That’s one standard. But it’s the opposite when he’s doing the rorting.
Bill English, like many others in the “better off” demographic, has the money and resources to set up his affairs so as to turn a rort into a strictly legal claim. Legal, but not moral. Most ordinary Kiwis who are trying to live honest, responsible lives cannot do this. And if they tried and are challenged, politicians are quick to look indignantly for ways of closing the loopholes being exploited.
So, Billy Boy, for goodness sake fess up and accept that you’ve been guilty of running a double standard. Kiwis cannot stand that. Save your political respectability and stop claiming a morally unacceptable benefit.
Posted by David Armstrong 