Sunday, June 30, 2013

Paying someone to tell you what to do...

There are fake charities who suckle from the taxpayer teat, they do some good work (in theory) but mostly appear to be sinecures for government supporters to lobby the government to do what the government is going to do, just to give it a semi sheen of 'popular support.'
However it's getting more and more difficult these days to justify supporting some government spending by giving it a charity endorsement. A lot of people look very closely now at the who, what and why's of the matter and claiming that you are independent of the government is no shield, not any more.
Telegraph.
A supposedly independent charity campaign to pressure the Government into spending more on foreign aid was secretly orchestrated by David Cameron, his ministers and aid organisations funded by the taxpayer, it has been alleged.
The IF campaign’s target was to force the Government to stick to its pledge of ring fencing overseas aid with a huge rally in Hyde Park and appeals from a host of celebrities including David Beckham and Mo Farah.
But The Sunday Telegraph can disclose that the project was hatched at meetings in Whitehall and at the Conservative Party conference. Mr Cameron’s controversial policy, which commits the UK to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on foreign aid despite swingeing cuts in other departments, has run into strong opposition from backbench Tory MPs and activists. They complain that the target is arbitrary and that aid money is susceptible to squandering by foreign governments. Plans for the IF campaign were first laid almost two years before its official launch, during a meeting in 2011 between the Prime Minister’s aide and five charities which between them receive more than £60million a year from the Department for International development (DfID).
As far as I'm concerned the government should not be using taxpayers money to fund any charity, that's up to individual donators as we should be the ones to decide what's a good cause or not. Nor does the government (and indeed some charities) have a good track record on doling out the money successfully to those who really need it. It mostly goes to corrupt officials in third world kleptocracies. Some of the money also goes to keeping the charity runners in the manner to which they have become accustomed. You'll see the pictures of the aid workers, you won't see pictures of the bosses eating a paid for by you lunch with other ne'er do well's.
Cameron wanted the 'aid budget' to be ring fenced because it was an attempt to show that the Tories are a caring party, another reason was to make him look good on the world stage. He succeeded with neither, which is consistent with his track record so far.
The aid budget is fast becoming a millstone around the governments neck with it's own members. Stunts like lobbying yourself to do what you want are not going to help here, at all.

2 annotations:

Anonymous said...

Its OUR money FFS !

Just who the hell do these politicians think they are ?!?!

They take our money by force of law, without even asking or saying please and thank you. Then they give it away to others who have not earned it.

That is NOT their role and the MSM should be all over them on this.

We elect politicians too Government to act for and on our behalf - nothing else.

Politics needs to change in this country. Representative Democracy has had its day.

StourbridgeRantBoy said...

Fucking disgraceful - just another example of this (and previous) Governments obsession with spin and manipulation. Feedback from backbenchers and voter opinion is no considered important. How we can continue to keep giving much-needed monies, that are now 'ring-fenced' to countries that directly compete with us some of which have a mega military budget and even a space program continues to irritate me. Meanwhile we have to wet ourselves over a posh, rich little girl who is thru to the next round of fucking tennis......

Laurie -