While MOD fiddles with our pay claim our members still have to pay increasing amounts for food and fuel. In todays Independant an article by Mark Steel highlights some of the realities of todays economic climate.Mark Steel: Don't die of hypothermia until March
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
"The government tells us it wouldn't make sense to impose a one-off tax on the energy companies, as this would be a short-term measure that fails to address the long-term problem. And, to be fair, there's a logic to this. So, a decent compromise that might get round this difficulty would be to impose a tax on the pigs EVERY year, or if that still didn't sort it, every week – or maybe every 25 minutes.
The energy companies have objected that if they have to pay any more tax, they won't have enough money to invest in new projects. That's because the £1.64bn they've paid to shareholders in dividends this year has all gone on investment, hasn't it. The odd chairman may have suggested he was tempted to spend a bit of his money on a treat, such as a packet of biscuits, but then his conscience would return and it would be "invest, invest, invest".
The previous year, when they only paid out £1.38bn in dividends, there was no money for investment at all. And yet, while Macmillan cancer nurses and paraplegic sportsmen are revered for their selfless fighting spirit, how many of us stop to spare a thought for these brave energy executives, as they somehow stretch £1.38bn to last the whole year?"
To read the rest of the article please follow the following link: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mark-steel/mark-steel-dont-die-of-hypothermia-until-march-924459.html
