Middle Class: the milk cow of dysfunctional democracies

In typically insensitive fashion a British politician has warned the Middle Classes in the UK that they "do not know what is about to hit them." Ken Clarke, the Justice Secretary made it clear that the 'Poor' and the 'Rich' are not willing and or able to make a proportional contribution to put the country's finances in order. It is particularly galling the the Super-rich paymasters of the Conservative Party - many of whom make little or no contribution to the common good as they are adept at evading taxes - are treated so leniently while the rest of the population has to tighten the belt. Ironically the financial games where these donors played a significant role are to a large extent the reason for the precarious state of Britain's finances.

EU - did anyone ask you for your opinion about these issues?

Duplication of Parliament seats costs Euro 180 Million per year
 MEPs not required to disclose details on their allowance of £91,000 a year tax-free expenses
 EU watchdogs find errors in 90% of Brussels budget
 Hungarian company paid more than £3200,000 by EU to build new facilities for dogs
 Tyrolian farmers paid £14,000 to "increase their emotional connection with the landscapes they cultivate"
 France and Germany spend Euro 400 million a year on Arte TV despite declining viewer numbers
 Structural Funds spend Euro 50 billion a year
 Gipsies entitled to share of Euro 17.5 billion of structural funds destined for 'vulnerable' groups
 MEPs to get 736 more 'researchers' at a cost of £16,600 each to deal with External Affairs questions
 £163 million for schooling children of Eurocrats
 EU wants to spend 6 per cent more next year
 24 Million Euro subsidy for Hotel construction in Lanzarote
 European Council members must put interest of the Union above those of their own countries (Lisbon Treaty, Article 9)
 EU prepares expanded sanctions against Iran
 MEP wants tax on carbon-intensive products
 EU wants introduction of body scanners on Airports
 US to get access to customer bank accounts
 'Only' 300 new diplomats for EU Embassies
 EU plans green taxes to cut debt
 104 lobby firms go in and out of EU ParliamentGreece gifted Euro 6.3 billion in 2008
 8000 bureaucrats for 130 EU embassies
 EU wants proceeds of financial transaction tax for itself
 EU permits planting of genetically modified potato
 EU wants to attract more refugees
 EU Parliament costs Euro 1.5 Billion annually
 EU wants to attract more refugees
 EU Parliament costs Euro 1.5 Billion annually
 Monster Trucks up to 60 tons may be allowed
 One in three MEPs employs a family member
 Spendthrift countries bailed out by taxpayers in thrifty countries
 Airlines compelled to use renewable energy
 Unrestrained immigration into Italy
 Excise taxes on Tobacco to rise again
 EU wants to store airline passenger data
 500 Million Euro for Kosovo
 Non-Eu troops stationed in Europe
 Ireland to vote again on Lisbon Treaty
 'Green' plans could put £300 on prices of new cars
 Tobacco-style health warnings on all car advertisements
 New passports must include fingerprints from 2009
 Air passenger information exchange with USA
 EU control of climate strategy of member states
 Free speech outlawed by EU bureaucrats
 Fundamental Human Rights Agency opens in Vienna
 Model History textbook planned
 EU Officials vote to cut emissions
 Euro-constitution is sneaking in by the back door

French Prime Minister accepts free gifts

When Francois Fillon admits that he accepted free holiday accomodation and transport it is a poor advertisment for the role that the political elites play in our semi-democratic politcal systems. Career politicians with no or very little experience of working outside government or government-controlled sectors such as education, civil service or the justice departments are dominating the levers of government and pursue an agenda that is less and less reflective of the wishes of the population at large.

Charter Cities - good idea but not so new

Paul Romer's concept of 'Charter Cities' that operate outside the dysfunctional tangle of a country's existing rules is an idea whose time has come and fits in very well with Dirdem's vision of Direct Democracy. But one must remember that the concept is not that new: the city states in Ancient Greece and the independent City-States in Italy and Germany during the Middle Ages were to all intents and purposes precursors of the Charter City that Romer postulates.

Local tax must be backed by local democracy

WEF Davos - neither economy nor development

Neither the economy nor development is the main subject of the Annual Davos Circus. Apart from the fact that 4,000 Swiss soldiers are protecting the 'Forum' (at a cost of Sfr 1.5 million) the only reason for the media circus seems to be the self-promotion of the various participants. While some of them may have their participation paid for by the forum the majority is there courtesy of the taxpayer or shareholder of their country or company and is happy to freeload at other people's expense. Quite what the purpose of all this hot air should be becomes more and more unclear and the significance of this PR stunt declines as the number of gawking media representatives rises.

IMF agrees $ 30 Billion loan for Poland

How much longer can international organisations distribute helicopter money to countries that are perfectly capable to keep their own financial affairs in order? And where is this supposedly 'free' money coming from? How are the citizens of the states that guarantee this largess able to supervise this spending?

Regions

Local politicians in the Bavarian city of Passau are unhappy with their government in Munich and have threatened to attach the town to neighbouring Austria. (21/01/2011)

Media: Questionable public 'discussions'

As the present system of pseudo-democracy in essence degrades the citizens to helpless spectators they are nevertheless desperate to make their voices heard. One outlet that gives them the illusion of having their opinions considered is provided by phone-in programs on radio or comment sections on websites maintained by newspapers and other media companies. But nearly always these events are carefully monitored (one could say censored) and all undesirable views are eliminated. Alternatively the public's contributions are selected in a biased fashion. A good example is often given by BBC News on the web were an even or very similar number of voices for or against a proposition is often published (all in the interests or 'impartiality') and no accurate reflection of the balance of opinion is presented. Venting their frustration may help lower the blood-pressure of angry citizens but does little to improve governance in countries that need a complete overhaul of the democratic institutions.

How to reign in government spending, control the burden of taxation

An interactive budget-balancing tool (for example the one published by the New York Times) illustrates that with good will and common sense any state's budget problems could be solved quite easily and the tax burden reduced considerably. Usually spending is a one-way street were politicians buy votes with money that is ultimately raised from their constituents and we all love to spend other people's money. Letting citizens vote on each individual spending item will make it much more difficult for politicians to continue playing this game. Naturally, each group of citizens will still fight to gain as much from the government spending as possible but in each case there will be a larger group of citizens that does not participate in the benefits from this particular spending measure and will oppose it. The usual backroom deals between representatives of different interest groups will be impossible as they lack the final say on any spending.