Thursday, September 04, 2008

Olympian Tax

In London there are a couple of old age pensioners who will, no doubt, shortly be arrested by a posse of armed policemen, backed-up by some of Ms. Jacqui Smith’s Gestapo of badge carrying jobsworths, who will whisk them off to the nearest hoosegow. Their heinous crime is that they fail to see why they should help pay for the Olympic Stadium, a facility that is hardly a community amenity or service, and that they, along with most of their fellow citizens, will never use.
It seems to me that they have a point. Having to live in London surely counts for a few penalty points to start with and the Olympics, whether they interest you or not, are not London’s, they are Britain’s.
That they should be penalised for someone not getting the arithmetic right does not seem fair.
Of course, if they were terrorists, illegal immigrants or criminals, they could claim that their Human Rights are being breached. But such recourse is not available to honest taxpaying citizens of Great Britain.
Whether or not a stadium is required in Stratford E 15 is another matter. The official line is that it will rejuvenate the area. My mother came from Canning Town and, from what I recall, the place was pretty lively and not in much need of rejuvenating with a feisty and down to earth population.
A friend of mine got his first job selling Caxton Encyclopaedias door-to-door. His sales manager, a man with a sense of humour, assigned him to Stratford E 15.
He sold no encyclopaedias but said that the advice he received from the inhabitants on the various uses to which he could put his books, together with further instructions on just where he could put them, stood him in good stead in later life.
I hope they build the stadium strong enough and allow plenty of space for graffiti. It’s a robust neighbourhood
And what of those who, having contributed, willingly or otherwise, fail to see 2012 in? Are they eligible for a rebate or possibly a voucher towards their funeral expenses?
Surely the people should have been able to have a vote on the matter.
But I suppose the same thing applies to appointing a Prime Minister.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home