the_leander wrote:
Right, first off name calling is a breach of the TOS, so knock it off, secondly a countries wealth means bugger all, people may still be poor, even in the most afluent countries around.
I have to agree with leander about the name calling thing, although once or twice I've had to bite my tongue so to speak... Thankfully the provocative poster concerned isn't likely to return here.
Anyway, back O/T.
Leander is right, it's not living in a prosperous country that's a problem. The distribution of wealth is nowhere near uniform and you only have to take a cursory glance at society to see that. Our priorities are wrong, and I think Whabang feels similar to me; that our taxes aren't spent wisely.
For example, the UK government offices moved a couple of years back at the taxpayer's expense. Included in this was the provision of office furniture paid for by all of us, which in one case amounted to £70K for an "antique office desk". And that's only the tip of the iceberg.
£32 - £36 billion of taxpayers money here is spent on the non-elected committees that decide policy and run the country. They aren't accountable to the public and are largely made up of cronies of those in power, a typical "jobs for the boys" mentality that wastes billions which could be spent on transport, the National Health Service, education and of course, grants for good causes.
If I had my way, we'd disband the QUANGOs (QUasi Autonomous Non-elected GOvernment body), open an account with Ikea for our official office furnishings and put the money saved into balancing the books, the NHS, transport and lower taxation.
So long as we continue to waste public money in this fashion I remain contemptouous of those in power.
