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I disagree. Let me give you an example. Some years ago,the irish police had a grievance, they were paid less pay for holidays than normal working days. This wa
by barking 10y ago
I disagree.
Let me give you an example. Some years ago,the irish police had a grievance, they were paid less pay for holidays than normal working days. This was because when on holiday they were just receiving their normal salary and weren't getting certain other expenses.
In other words, these expenses weren't real expenses but a form of tax-free pay.
They had been introduced as an under the table pay increase during some negotiation or other, probably as a way of hoodwinking the taxpayer/other workers or circumventing some pay-cap or other. As I understand it this type of thing is/was common in the public service.
There have been moves towards openness.
Already lists of government payments to private contracters are published in Irish newspapers.
Also lists of tax defaulters and details of their settlements are published regularly.
Public servants having their salaries and expenses published is just another step further down this road.
The same should apply to welfare recipients.
Being able to see who spent what, where and how is probably the greatest way to ensure tax money isn't wasted.
- jnty 10y agoWhat's special about individuals who happen to be employed in the public sector or in receipt of welfare payments that makes it OK to intrude on their privacy in this way?
- JumpCrisscross 10y agoPrecisely that they are paid by the taxpayers?
- barking 10y agoLike jumpcrisscross said. Ideally, where every euro of taxpayers' money goes should be a matter of public record.
- jnty 10y agoI doubt that that's what you actually think. For example, I doubt you want me to be able to ask the government how much money was spent on impotence medication for you. There's a trade-off to be made regarding personal privacy. Why do you think that trade-off should be made against certain groups of people?
- Forbo 10y agoYou can have transparency and privacy, they are not mutually exclusive in this case. Government spent X amount of money on Y number of prescriptions for medication Z. You can determine if there needs to be further auditing if Y exceeds the projected number of prescriptions based on prevalence of conditions.
- optimuspaul 10y agoWhy do you think taxpayers are a group capable of deciding whether tax money is being wasted?
- barking 10y agoAren't you the best placed to decide if your money is wasted or well spent?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]